When God Gives You a Story to Tell
What are some of the stories that God is giving you to tell?
The last six months have been an incredible learning process for our family about the role that adoption does, can, and should play in our spiritual lives. Of the many things we've learned, one of the points that has been reinforced to us is that people are more compelled by stories than they are by abstract ideas and principles. In other words, people are much more receptive when we tell them about our adoption experiences than even when we point them toward the scripture verses laying the foundation for an orphan care ministry within the local church.
We completely see this as God's story - our job is simply to give voice to it and share it with others. From a rhetorical perspective, there are two components of a narrative, or story. The first is the idea of coherence - is the story internally consistent. In other words, does the story make logical sense. The second part to consider is the fidelity that a story has with a larger narrative or story. This one may be a bit confusing, but let me give an example. Since we view our story as God's story, we see our experiences as a chapter in God's larger narrative. His story existed before us and will continue after us. Therefore, what we say should align itself with the larger biblical narrative and should help move His story forward (just like main characters in a novel). When our stories possess both coherence and fidelity then others will be more motivated by what they hear.
So, what happens when God gives you a story to tell? You tell it. Right now, our story is about our adoption. You can read more at our blog - just click here. This adoption story is allowing us to connect with a wide variety of people about what God's doing in our lives. It's fair to say that my wife and I have both talked with people that we never expected. It took awhile for us to view this experience in this way, but once we did the opportunities only have grown. We are now in the process of trying to start an orphan care ministry at our home church as well as begin to make connections with some other churches within the CGGC. If we can share our story with you or anyone you know, just ask and we'll see what we can do.
If my thoughts are on track, then there are others who read this blog who also have stories to tell. What are some of the stories that God is giving you to tell? Are you telling them?
Let's start the conversation here...
Labels: Adoption
posted by Brent C Sleasman at 9:06 PM
10 Comments:
Brent,
I love what you are doing! As I've said, it is in the spirit of a manner in which early Jesus followers lived out the story of His grace and mercy--by saving and raising thrown-away babies.
You are correct that in the emerging world that this blog is devoted to, people are anxious to take note of stories.
It is a source of amazement to me that, of all the things that I say that people find offensive, the one that they find most offensive is my critique of sermon-centered Christianity. I suspect that we all know that people of the emerging generations do not want to be preached at. We absolutely know that they don't want to be sermonized to. We know that they are drawn to stories and yet, too often, we offer them nothing except the thing we really know won't touch their hearts.
Thank you for proclaiming a message that will give you a testimony. Thank you for living out a story that is intimately connected to a powerful and ancient form of the righteous Jesus both taught and lived.
Peter said, "Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us."
Thank you for living the story of mercy, grace and love. Thanks for preaching the sort of sermon emerging people are searching for. Thanks for offering yourself in leadership.
Bill,
Our church is in the process of establishing a partnership with a church in Haiti. We attended an informational meeting this past week to help define the relationship between the churches. It's easy for an American church to look at Haiti and be critical of how many of their practices are culturally influenced. Yet, as Americans, we tend to overlook our own culturally conditioned faith.
Part of your project seems to be to strip away the elements of the gospel that are culturally conditioned so we can get to more of the essence of what Jesus taught.
Stories are timeless - sermons are only one way to communicate the message of the gospel. The problem may not be that there are sermons in churches. The problem may be that there are too many people who see the sermon as a universal answer to the question "what is the best way we can share the message of Jesus?"
If the heading of this blog is correct in suggesting we live in a postmodern moment, then we need to consider that part of postmodernity is the demise of a universal answer to many questions.
Brent,
Without question, you understand postmodernism far better than I. Based on what I know of people who are not churched and are your age or younger, they do not look for a universal answer to many questions. They also believe that truth is found in community and not from an outside authority. They have no interest in being consumers of truth; they yearn to contribute to the discovery of that truth that has meaning in their hearts.
You are living a story that has integrity because you are not ashamed to call Jesus your Lord and the story you present reflects your love for Him and devotion to Him.
Again, thank you for BEING the sermon.
Bill,
I'm posting a reply to "How Do I Live Missionally" here because I think the two posts are inter-related.
Do you think part of the issue is that we (as the Church) don't provide the time for others to share stories like yours? A three point sermon with a concluding application is transferable. In other words, we can sit alone and listen, leave alone and think, and try to apply the application alone.
Your story is messy. There is no clear application. In order to make sense of what you are suggesting we will need to interact with others to consider what "it means for me."
When God gives you a story to tell, you tell it. Thanks for telling yours.
Brent,
Do you think part of the issue is that we (as the Church) don't provide the time for others to share stories like yours? A three point sermon with a concluding application is transferable. In other words, we can sit alone and listen, leave alone and think, and try to apply the application alone.
Well, of course, at Faith we don't have sermons. Much of our time in our gatherings IS connected to telling stories. That's probably why we don't have to convince people in the 'church' to care about what we care about.
But, still, can't find wisdom outside of us to figure out the how-tos.
Bill, what wisdom 'from the outside' did the N.T. church have (or need?)
The experience of the apostles with churches in other cities perhaps, how how long into a situation would hit have been before the leaders in a certain city would be able to hear?
What I mean by all of this is that I believe that God's Word, God's Spirit and God's people (the local body you are connected with) you can discern these situations.
Take heart, you are in the same place that the first church's were, in a sense.
Now you get to live the N.T. plan, which is as exciting as it is scary.
Brent - I would argue that there is plenty of place for story in gatherings that include preaching / sermons.
1. We have time every week that people can and our encouraged to share their stories, testimonies or whatever.
2. Don't discount 'The Story' which is what preaching at it's best is all about. God's story. The story of the bible, of human history. It's into this story that all of our stories that we tell are connected.
I believe that one of my responsibilities as a leader in our church is to keep on telling the big story and help tie everybody's stories (like yours) into it. And to incude them in it.
M,
...what wisdom 'from the outside' did the N.T. church have (or need?)
None. But, they hadn't forgotten The Forgotten Ways.
...what I mean by all of this is that I believe that God's Word, God's Spirit and God's people (the local body you are connected with) you can discern these situations.
Since the ways have been forgotten and because the church has been quenching the Spirit for so long, I'm not sure it's that simple any longer. At least, it's no longer that simple for me.
Dan,
I don't disagree with anything you said. But, and I am thinking out loud (or, in writing) here, but a traditional approach to testimonies doesn't provide an opportunity for sustained conversation about one topic. Too often I've seen them serve as "here's what God is doing in my life right now" moments.
The power of the Story is that our telling of the gospel should return to a few central aspects every time we tell it.
When people tell their own individual stories, do they see the connection between their small part and the Story? Most often, probably not.
I'm not going to make too much of this since this is a busy time. But, I find it striking that we're having a conversation about telling stories instead of hearing others tell their story. I opened the blog with a story about our adoption. This is just one story. Bill told the story about taking in the pregnant mother with children. That is just one other story. I think it is safe to say for both of us that we see how these stories connect to the Story. These are sustained commitments to a way of life not just a here's what God is doing now story.
Where are the other stories? A sermon-driven (and proposition-driven) culture can easily get sidetracked into conversations about how to tell the story, and never actually make it around to telling the stories themselves.
Bill is voicing frustration about the lack of resources. I am frustrated that I get blank looks from people when I say that the church should be actively involved in orphan care.
Telling stories raises questions that a propositionally-driven culture may not be ready to answer.
But, this all begins by telling our stories.
So, what story is God giving you to tell?
I do think that Brent is correct.
A testimony in a priesty, sermon-dominated 'worship' culture is not the same thing as the telling of stories in a setting where there are no consumers, only contributors.
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