Written by Michelle J. Goff, founder and director of Iron Rose Sister Ministries
What makes a story worth telling?
What makes a story memorable? Special? Significant? Relevant?
What makes a story bad?
One of my family members is known for his storytelling… his poor storytelling, I should say. At a birthday party, the group was sharing unusual stories. He joined in, declaring, “Yeah! I heard a story about a guy who was in the ocean and got bitten by a shark!”
His prolonged silence prompted puzzled expressions and finally someone asked, “Was he alone?”
“I don’t know,” he shrugged.
“Did he survive?” asked another.
“I don’t know,” he continued, undaunted by the increasing level of concern in the voices among the rest of the group.
“What more can you tell us about the story? How did it end?”
“I don’t know,” the inept storyteller repeated once more. “I just remember that a guy was in the ocean and got bitten by a shark.”
“That is a horrible story!” declared one of the women present. “You are fired from storytelling because you can’t just leave us hanging with only that one tragic part of the story without telling us how it ends or what else happened!”
That family member has many talents. He is a highly intelligent, respected person in many areas of his life, but storytelling is not one of those areas.
Is storytelling a talent? Or is it a skill we can develop? I propose it is a little of both.
There are orators whose voices emulate the inflection of every emotion carried throughout the story being narrated. Their description of the events and the tidbits shared about each character invite you into a reliving of the story, rather than a mere retelling.
Jesus was an excellent storyteller. He fostered connection, invited involvement, challenged with His words, and inspired with His eloquence.
His illustrations were layered in such a way that the simplest application was as practical as the deepest purpose was relatable. Jesus painted pictures in the readers minds, drawing lessons that could be easily recollected and universally applied.
The best stories are the ones with God as the main character, whether in a protagonist role or hidden behind the scenes. God stories may sound like a simple narration of the events of someone’s day, but what makes it a true God story is that it is an account in which He gets all the glory. The kingdom-level relevance of the retelling is highlighted through God’s role—one of greater importance than the minor, secondary characters.
God is the Author and we, along with others in the Kingdom, are all part of the greater story—in the same way that the heroes of the faith in Hebrews 11 often did not see the fruition of their involvement.
These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. (Heb. 11:39-40)
What makes a good story?
1. God gets the attention or the glory (John 12:49; 2 Cor. 4:5,7).
2. It points others to Christ and the gospel message (1 Cor. 2:2; 15:1-4).
3. It is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, or praiseworthy (Phil. 4:8).
4. A conflict, challenge, or dilemma is resolved by God’s hand at work, a biblical insight, or spiritual growth (Gal. 2:20).
When Jesus told stories, He only spoke what the Father told Him to say. In human form, Jesus was a mouthpiece, a vessel of the Spirit’s voice in Him. He was truly One with the Spirit, yet we are invited into that same oneness—a unity that is emphasized when we testify to the working of the Spirit in our lives.
The Messiah’s stories were not His own. He used His life and His stories to point back to the Father and present a Kingdom invitation and application.
Our stories are not our own. God wants to use our lives and our stories to point back to the Father and present a Kingdom invitation and application.
Therefore, Iron Rose Sister Ministries, in the year 2022, will be sharing stories—stories from the Bible and stories from our own lives. We will invite others into their own God story. We will be equipped to recognize our story as a part of God’s bigger story, “Our Story in God.”
Thank you for all of the stories you have been a part of in 2021. We cannot wait to share in the God stories that God will bring about in 2022!