A new Star Wars movie came out. Maybe you heard about it.
Amid all the hoopla, I’ve been marveling at how this story has captivated our culture for the past few decades—and now it’s repackaged for a new generation. Those of us who grapple with “the Greatest Story Ever Told”—studying it, sharing it, and searching for new ways to deliver it—should keep reminding ourselves how important stories are to the people who hear them. Here are some thoughts to consider.
1. Humans are storytellers.
From the caves of France to the theaters of Athens to the studios of Bollywood, we have ample evidence that stories are in our DNA, perhaps literally. A child will see a picture and tell a tale about it. We routinely gather facts and string them together in narrative form, and this is how we understand politics, the economy, human behavior, or the weather.
2. Your people live and breathe stories.
Try doing a “story audit” for yourself, your family, or your congregation. How many stories do you encounter in a typical day? Maybe you wake up to news stories on the radio. You get reports from co-workers. Friends on Facebook tell you intimate details of their lives. Over dinner, it’s “How was your day, dear?” You might watch a TV drama that’s interrupted a dozen times by the mini-stories we call commercials.
I recently attended a story-making seminar for marketing and PR people. Story is the key to good advertising, they said. Everybody has a problem that your product is destined to solve. Tell your customer’s story, with your company as the helpful sidekick.
3. The Bible doesn’t just have stories; it is story.
Some read the Bible as a collection of inspiring stories. Others see it as a set of principles about God that are occasionally illustrated by stories. But what if we treated it as a mega-story of God and his stormy relationship with the people he created? Keep in mind that, when Jesus taught about God’s kingdom, he used stories. Maybe that’s the best way to understand it.
A new friend of mine is urging people to read the Bible in large portions. Why? To get the full story. He says we treat the Bible as a reference book rather than the adventure tale it is. (We’ll be inviting him to write more about that on this blog.)
4. We want people to see their story in God’s story.
Take a look at the apostles’ sermons in Acts 2, 3, 5, 7, 10, 13, and 17. Seven different occasions, different crowds, but they were shaping a common story of Jesus’ life and ministry, death and resurrection. It’s especially interesting to track the “you”-references in those sermons. The story of Jesus had a place for the people who heard it. It still does.
5. We get to be creative in telling the story.
The Bible’s own creativity not only gives us permission—it gives us direction. And in today’s story-driven culture, we need to find compelling ways to share God’s story, in the styles and media that people pay attention to.
American Bible Society has been working with a creative team from New Zealand on an imaginative video game. The Aetherlight is set in a steampunk world that badly needs redemption. Along assorted quests and tasks, an Abraham-like character faces challenges to his faith. The game creators have crafted a cool-looking environment, but they’ve also done their homework on the subject of story. God’s story underlies every aspect of this game. It’s a bit like Narnia in that way, but highly interactive. They are hoping that the kids (and adults) who play the game will connect with Scripture through participating in this story. (The Aetherlight is now rolling out in a public beta of its first chapter and with a full release in March. Click here to learn more.)
“Tell me the old, old story of Jesus and his love.” I remember singing that song in church
as I grew up. There was something comforting about the story’s oldness; it was time-tested, uncorrupted by new-fangled notions. But now we find a generation staring at screens, desperately searching for their place in the world. How can they connect the random events of their lives? How can they find meaning? Is anyone out there listening? They are saying, in essence, “Tell me the new old story of Jesus and his love.”
