As one does when pondering, I distracted myself with Facebook. An ad came up offering a free masterclass on how to earn a living online as a musician. It looked intriguing, and I love playing music so I signed up. I committed to a 90 minute masterclass and I was sure they were going to try and sell me something at the end. They did. The class was good, and despite not being interested in the expensive coaching program, it inspired me to take action in another direction.
For several years, I have been interested in storytelling, and its potential for evangelistic ministry. I have always wanted to see people able to share their faith in a way that’s respectful to the listeners. I bristle at the high pressure tactics that some traditions use - "believe or else" kind of messages. I have also wanted to see The Episcopal Church grow, because I believe our ethos has something unique and valuable to offer. The Episcopal Church is a place where people can come and encounter God without having every motivation questioned or described as sinful. Instead we can come as children, and ask where God is leading us to go. In the past I tried to rely on the beauty of the liturgy, and I expected reputation and organic growth would occur naturally. In the early days of my discernment, say 2000-2003 things were working that way. But for the last 20 years culture and ethos have been different, and The Church has been in steady decline. Many people would like to see this trend turn around, but they worry that they don’t have the skills or knowledge, or that they will come across as a pushy evangelist and avoid it all together. I know because I used to have those same fears.
My fears really came about in college when I was in an ER waiting room. A friend was suffering from a detached retina so I drove him in to get it looked at. While he was in the back waiting to be seen, a man approached me and started his witnessing pitch. Then he invited me to his Church. I responded thank you but I had a church I was very happy with, and named my college chaplaincy. His response was, “Oh I used to be an Episcopalian before I got saved.” The conversation went downhill from there. When he was finally ready to go he tried to hug me. I just looked at him dumfounded. After insulting my Church he stood there with a big smile on his face and his arms outstretched. As my throat constricted I told him that was okay and offered a handshake instead. “Come on I’m just trying to give you a hug!” he said. Again, no thank you, and a handshake. This time he took me up on my offer, and I’m sure my hands were sweaty and clammy from being so uncomfortable. Please dear God, do not make me like this person. I want to share faith just not like that.
As the years have progressed the theme of storytelling has come up again and again. When I was going through my bout of rejections for parish jobs, I read Carol Martin’s Boost Your Interview IQ. Her biggest piece of advice is to prepare yourself with stories before the interview to show how you’re the best fit for the job. When I took Vinh Giang’s Stage Academy class for continuing education, he advocated using stories to illustrate points and make your public speaking come alive. When I looked into nonprofit fundraising during the pandemic, I found suggestions of storytelling to show the impact donations have on people’s lives. Finally when I turned to Russell Brunson’s Expert Secrets to help with this project, he teaches how to use stories to make an emotional connection with your audience.
At some point in this journey I had an epiphany. Storytelling can work so well within the Church. I’m convinced that stories are the perfect vehicle for sharing faith in a way that respects where a person is on their journey. One image from the Bible that comes to mind is Jacob’s ladder. Jacob had a dream where he saw a giant ladder and angels were ascending and descending on it. Today I think of it as a symbol for a spiritual journey. Some people are on higher steps, some are on lower ones. A good story meets the person at their current step, and offers something valuable that’s relevant to where they are.
I’ve come to develop two different types of stories, and two subtypes of each. Lenten Stories describe how you’ve changed your mind or actions on a topic. We all have these little moments in our lives where we respond to particular moments of good news. Easter Stories point to goodness in some tangible way. Along with these types I have developed three keys for keeping your listeners engaged, and those are Empathy, Anticipation, and Laughter.
Since I’ve been doing this work I’ve watched my online presence expand. In the past I would write a blog post full of content but no stories. If I got a dozen views I was lucky. Now I’m getting anywhere from fifty to one hundred views, and I’m posting much more often.
Storytelling has affected me personally as well. The other night my wife and I attended a Christmas party, and I found myself asking questions to solicit people’s stories, and when I had a point to make I would lead off with a story. My favorite moment was when I was talking with a gentleman about cooking, and I described the first time I had a sous vied steak at a restaurant. That steak was so tender I could cut it with my fork, and the flavor was perfect and intense. When I told him how I learned about the sous vied technique he was getting out his phone looking up one of the wands on Amazon. I wasn’t intending to sell him anything, just share this delicious way I learned how to cook steak.
I’m looking forward to the journey. I truly believe storytelling can add a lot of value to the life of the Church, and I’m happy to spend these days doing it.
1 - If you'd like to help me out, like and follow my Facebook Page. If I can get up to 25 followers I can have a custom URL.
2 - Also, I'm having conversations with some people about doing a half day storytelling workshop. If you're interested in having me come out to your parish at no charge send me a DM on Facebook.
And finally: #TellYourStories
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