Jodie Foster's somewhat befuddling speech proves one thing: Actors need directors. Foster's fluency, keen mind and sharp discourse are nowhere to be found when left to fly. Some can improvise, but most need a script and a director. And so to a point: so do I. I am mere actor and I need a director - a pastor. And, like an actor left to go off script, I too need a director who knows the script and can direct lives according to it. This is the admirable job of a pastor; he takes up God's script and teaches the flock to follow and apply it to their lives. This sounds like I am subjecting myself to a thought police, a kind of oppression. But that is not what I mean. You see a pastor has no licence to write his own script and make interpretations according to his own unspiritual inclinations. He only directs rightly in as far as he directs according to God's interpretation. The protestant instinct is to check with the scripture to see if what is taught ...