A Word from Pastor Lisa: What's Your Story?

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. – John 1:1

In the beginning when God created[a] the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. – Genesis 1:1-3

I fell in love with reading and writing stories in the first grade when my teacher offered a giant Lisa Frank sticker for writing a certain number of tales. I was hooked, and my mother still has some of my first masterpieces. As a teenager, I dove into journalism, where I was entrusted with the power and privilege of sharing someone else’s story. As a preacher, I love digging into Bible stories in their original context and by God’s grace interpreting them for our lives today.

We are people of story. In her book, Story Genius: How to Use Brain Science to Go Beyond Outlining and Write a Riveting Novel, Lisa Cron suggests that biologically speaking, we’re wired to crave, hunt for, and latch onto story, so that we might experience the emotions of a protagonist’s struggle as if they were our own. Functional MRI studies reveal that when we’re engaged in a story, our brain activity isn’t that of an observer, but of a participant. Cron writes that the purpose of story is to help us “interpret, and anticipate, the actions of ourselves and others. … We don’t turn to story to escape reality. We turn to story to navigate reality.”

As people of Judeo-Christian tradition, we find so many of the stories that define us in the Bible. From the cry of God in Genesis 1 to “let there be light!” to the declaration of John that Jesus is the Word who was with God in the beginning, the divine word has shaped us. The irony is that as much as we are shaped by story, and in particular the Biblical story, many of us aren’t aware of our own faith story. When I say faith story, I mean the way you would articulate to someone outside the church the difference Jesus has made in your life. This story may include what you were like before you became a Christian, how you came into relationship with Jesus and the church, and what life is like for you as one of his followers.

There may be many reasons why you can’t identify your faith story, let alone have the courage to tell it. Maybe you’re thinking you don’t have much to say, or that your story doesn’t hold a candle to someone else’s dramatic tale of deliverance. Maybe you think religion and politics are two taboo subjects that should never be discussed in polite company. Or maybe you have a lot of baggage associated with other church experiences where Bible stories were used to manipulate or beat up others.

If so, this Sunday is the perfect day for you. Pastor Teri will be exploring in her message what it means to be a witness to Jesus through the lens of the Samaritan woman at the well. On the Journey, we’re excited to host the Rev. Dave Byrum, who will teach us how to reflect on our own faith stories. Once you’ve worked on crafting and practicing your faith story, I pray you’ll cultivate relationships with others outside the church where you can share the difference Jesus has made in your life, so that we might all celebrate the greatest story ever told.