Last weekend at the OCCWF Conference, writer pals Merrie Destefano, Rachel Marks, and I sat at Waterbrook acquisitions editor Mick Silva‘s table for lunch, along with five other aspiring authors. If you’ve never attended a writers conference, these lunch settings can be quite awkward, full of fevered pitches, anxious wannabes, and well-meaning but overly-chatty writer-types. This particular setting was not much different. The room was noisy, the line for food was long, and my deodorant was failing.
Mick managed to salvage our time by asking us to go around the table and individually share why we write, what motivates us to share our stories. When it came to me, I talked about my years in the ministry and how I 
learned about the power of story. Stories can go where sermons can’t. The following came to my mind….
I was preaching a short series on Forgiveness: Being Forgiven and Being Forgiving. It was based on Jesus’ Parable of the Unmerciful Servant, a story about a guy who locked himself in a prison of his own making. The first Sunday, a visitor approached me after the message, introduced herself, and said she really appreciated what I had to say and would be back. Cool. The next Sunday, she returned with a man who listened carefully throughout my message. At the end, I asked everyone to bow their heads and consider the ways that unforgiveness may be imprisoning them. And to give it up. Well, this man stared at me the entire prayer.
That next day, I received a call from the woman asking if we could meet for lunch. We met at a local diner and she told me this story.
The man who was with her was her husband. He had not been to church in over a decade. The reason? One day they had arrived home to find their oldest daughter floating face down in the swimming pool. This was not a child, but a young adult, and a good swimmer at that. Everything just caved in. So great was their confusion, their bitterness, their hurt, their anger towards God, that they stopped attending church and after the funeral, never again visited their daughter’s grave. Until that Sunday. After hearing The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant, this couple whom I’d never met realized they had been imprisoned by unforgiveness. They were drowning in their own anguish. So after the service, they purchased a dozen roses, took them to the graveside of their daughter, where they sat and wept. Finally letting go.
Yes, sermons can be powerful. But I write because of the power of story.
I’m new to your blog… I recently was blessed by stumbling onto Gina Holmes’ website, and found you from there. I enjoyed this post, and I feel the same way. When I started writing with some degree of seriousness about a future in it, I started on secular stories. Other stuff was going on in my life, too, but as I worked I began to see that it would be easy to misuse the gift of communication through writing. I now only seek to glorify the Lord with stories… I have a long way to go, but I agree there are few things quite as powerful as a good story. Nice post.
Amen, Mike. I bet it was a terrific day at church that Sunday.
(Mick’s the best, isn’t he?)
Mike,
That was an awesome day and I really liked it when Mick asked that question. It forced me to dig deep into the reasons behind why I’m writing what I write. Not just why I write, but why I’ve chosen my particular genre and style of writing.
Also, sorry that you had to sit next to one of those quite awkward, full of fevered pitches, anxious wannabes, who was also well-meaning but definitely an overly-chatty writer-type: me.
=)
Looking forward to our next writer’s group meeting, bro.
Merrie
The parables of Jesus are powerful storytelling devices. Preachers should use them more often. Dogma is important but a good story can soften a person to harder truths.
I agree with you about the power of the parabolic method. Much preaching is far too didactic, which is why “narrative theology” is growing in popularity. In fact, it could be argued that very little “hard theology” is actually found in the Parables.
Someone much wiser than me said there’s only one way to God but there’s many ways to Jesus. Stories are one of them.
Mike,
What a great reminder of the power of story. I’ve sat through many a sermon where my “take away” was a powerful story that personalized the speaking point. Because it resonated with me, it stayed with me. I try to do that in my writing as well. Even nonfiction is stronger with story running through it.
I believe we need to hear each other’s personal stories, too. There is healing in speaking them aloud, and in seeing how God uses our journey in someone else’s life. It’s an element of worship — testimony — that a lot of contemporary churches have lost sight of. Here in New England, our little church is reviving it. Those are some of the most powerful Sundays.