Word of the Week
Story is a word I’ve been thinking about this week. Do you know Donald Miller who wrote the best seller Blue Like Jazz? It was a great story of his struggle to live out his faith in Christ. He’s gone on to start his own company called Storybrand that helps others communicate their message. He’s worked with several large companies putting his expertise in the study of story to good use.
He talks about a basic 7-part framework to every story from Shakespeare to Star Wars. Every story starts with a hero character (1) who has a problem (2) who meets a guide (3) who gives them a plan (4) that they put into action (5) that results in either success (6) or failure (7). When a Shakespeare play ended in success it was called a comedy. If it ended in failure we label it a tragedy.
Think about Star Wars.
Luke Skywalker is the hero character (1) who wants to fight in the rebellion against the Empire, but he’s stuck on a desert planet (2). He meets Obi Wan Kenobi who guides him (3) to find a way off the planet and sets him on a course to rescue Princess Leia (4). They put the plan into action along with several other characters to rescue the Princess, find the stolen plans, and attack the Death Star (5). This results in the success of the rebels against the evil Empire (6) and avoids failure of the galaxy being ruled by intergalactic bullies (7).
What’s the story of Grace? Have you ever thought about it? This week I’ve been thinking about the story of Discipleship through Relationship here in our church.
Who is the hero character? What is the problem? Who is the guide? What is the plan? How does it get put into action? What does success or failure look like as a result?
Here’s one way to think about it:
You are the hero character—a visitor, member, or attender (1) who is looking for an authentic spiritual adventure.
While we are all very different, our basic problem boils down to some combination of unbelief or idolatry (2). Either I don’t believe the gospel that Christ saves me, or I’m looking for something to rescue me from life’s problems that can’t actually do it.
The community of saints united to Jesus are the guides (3). We remind each other all the time that what solves our problem is meeting Jesus (knowing God) and responding to Him in faith and repentance (knowing yourself). That’s the plan (4).
How do we meet Jesus and respond to Him? We participate in Corporate Public Worship, Foundations for all ages, Small Groups where we can be honest with one another. We participate in the mission of the church (5). It’s in those places where we meet Jesus and respond to Him.
The result is that we grow in our faith (belief). We become people who produce fruit planted in the soil of the mercy we received. Our lives begin to look more like Jesus. That’s a great definition of success (6).
The thing we want to avoid when we meet Jesus is carrying our own burdens. Failure in the Christian life is carrying your own fear, pain, shame, and guilt. Christ has done this for you. You don’t have to carry it yourself. What’s even more important is the truth that you can’t. You can’t carry fear, pain, shame, and guilt yourself, so why not let Jesus do it for you?
Of course, this is a very simple way to write the story. Sometimes simple is what we need, though. We read stories because we love this formula. We also read them because we want to know how exactly it gets worked out. How have you met Jesus? What did it look like when you responded to Him in faith and repentance? What does your life look like now on the other side of that?
This is the story of grace. It repeats itself in our lives again and again. We face trouble in this life. But we also walk with a powerful Savior in a community of stories that are headed to a happy ending where Jesus sits on the throne and makes all things new (Rev. 21:5).
In Him,
Tag