Who’s telling your story? And, perhaps even more important, who’s writing it? When I was going through my time of conflict at the traditional churches I pastored it was the people putting out stories about me that got the ‘votes’ on their side. They were better equipped to wage a STORY WAR than I was. At the time, I didn’t understand the power and impact of story in a church setting, let alone a BLACK church setting. The STORY MERCHANTS knew their audience better than I did. They knew how to communicate with them better than I did, because they natively spoke the same language. And they crafted better stories than I did. In fact, I was crafting no competing stories at all. I ceded the story telling, and by so doing, ceded the votes that a STICKY STORY buys.
Story telling is an ancient, enduring staple of human life. It remains the most reliable and effective way to move people; to inspire the best in us, and to incite the base in us.
– in the political wars on Capital Hill the best story merchants command the headlines and rule the roost.
– in the Trayvon Martin case the side who told the most vivid stories got the best results.
– in the first OJ case the side who used the more memorable slogans walked away with the prize.
– The lesson here is simple: TELL THE BEST STORY AND YOU WIN!
And that is why Jesus is still relevant, still captivating, and still influential, after more than 2000 years. Because his Dad wrote a great, heroic story for his life. And Jesus stuck to the script, telling the most compelling story ever told by the way he lived his life. His coming, and its meaning, was foretold: he would be born of a virgin and deliver the world from its brokenness. His life story, and its meaning, continues to be told: he lived flawlessly, healed indiscriminately, died completely, and arose convincingly so that we could live eternally. And his return is foretold over and over again: he’ll be back to claim those who trust in him.
Who’s telling YOUR story? You, by the way you are living your life? Or have you ceded the telling of it to those around you who may not have your best interest at heart? And whose script are you living? The one written for you by your Heavenly Father, or an amateurish piece of tripe riddled with errors and inconsistencies that will cause its audience to lose interest and turn away? God has written an awesome script for your life. Will you decide to tell your story by living out God’s script for your life? Or will you cede your story to the adversary of your soul, the story merchant who doesn’t really care about you?