To Tell—or Not to Tell ... a Story

A recent Facebook post cemented something I already had in my heart to share. In it, a minister spoke of his belief that personal stories have no place in the pulpit. The way he saw it, Christian teaching should be straight-from-the-Bible truths, no embellishments with "stories."

Strangely enough, I had already been pondering this very thing. I might not be standing behind a pulpit, but I am adding my little "grain of sand" to propagate principles in God's economy through my blog. I had recently asked myself if sharing my personal stories was valid. Then the post forced me to quit procrastinating and investigate the validity of what that minister averred. If he was right, I had a lot to repent of—most of my blogs revolve around personal experiences, Biblical truths I have learned and internalized as I walk with Jesus through life.

I am ashamed to admit that my initial reaction to the post was self-righteous anger, even though I had been asking myself that very thing. How dare that minister criticize my MO (modus operandi)! Then a little memory cracked through that knee-jerk reaction. I remembered Uncle Leo's admonition to me when I complained about an insensitive doctor.

"Janine, even when we don't like what is told us, or the manner, it behooves us to pay attention. Many times there is truth to be gleaned from those words that offend." And he was right. Though that insensitive doctor had the worst bedside manner ever, the things he said did indeed have merit. In other words, sometimes God gives us blessings disguised by packaging that isn't all that appealing to us. With my Uncle's words in mind, I thought it prudent to revisit the words in the offending post. If that minister's words were true, my blog posts needed a complete redo.

So what is the truth? Do personal examples have merit in putting forth God's truths—or not?

The first thing that comes to mind is a horrible example—the missionary who gave the eulogy at my spiritual grandfather's home going. There's no way to couch a summary of it in any positive way. Simply put, it was awful. The missionary went on ... and on ... and on about himself! His ministry, what he had done ... on and on ad nauseam. We, the mourners, were left scratching our heads. Weren't we supposed to be celebrating the deceased? Weren't we supposed to be talking about his life? That is one time when personal stories were definitely totally anathema. It was pretty clear that it was because they were centered on self with absolutely no reference to the subject at hand.

Now, every teacher knows the importance of stories. Studies abound about the process through which humans (little people as well as big) internalize learning. The basic rule of thumb, with variants here and there, is this: students need to hear something X number of times in X number of ways in order to internalize knowledge. The variable X depends on the ability of each student as well as how he/she is wired to learn (visually, orally, or kinesthetically). That's where stories play an indispensable part.

Being a pleasurable venue causes stories to be useful and beneficial in the learning continuum. Research about how stories affect learning show a definitive link between brain activity, learning assimilation, and stories. Simply put, stories release a hormone called oxytocin that serves as a pathway between the emotions evoked by stories to memory retention. When we listen to a story we can connect with emotionally, our body essentially use that story to learn.

That's the natural side of the matter. Can stories be used, then, to teach spiritual truths? Thankfully, we have biblical examples to guide us. More than one prophet in the Old Testament used a story to bring home a point (2 Samuel 12:1-15 and Isaiah 5:1-7, for example).  In the New, Jesus used parable after parable to explain principles that uphold God's economy. So just as stories have a place in natural learning, they also play a role in learning of spiritual matters. The key to using them successfully seems to lie in focusing on the truth to be learned.

Rabbit trails about self, as in the case of the rambling missionary, take away from the objective and, sadly, reflect the devils' "I" mantra. In Isaiah 15;12-14, the evil one names things he wanted to usurp from God, using "I" no less than five times. We sure don't want to follow his example! If there is a purpose to the point for using a personal story, fine. But talking about self for the sake of aggrandizing oneself, that's a definite no-no!

The end of the matter is this: personal stories, though not the begin-all and end-all of learning, do have a place in teaching spiritual principles when used judiciously.

Something comes to mind that Auntie Trinie, with whom I partnered in the ministry for many years, said. "Sometimes people criticize me for using examples from my own life." She shrugged. "And I tell them, 'Sorry, but my life is the one I know best. I don't know other people's lives so I can't use examples from their lives.'"

She was unknowingly reiterating what Mark Twain said about authorship,, "Write what you know." Applying those words to the ministry, they would sound similar to what Auntie said, '"Use life examples of what you know."

I'm not a theologian, just an ordinary Christian God has used with the strengths He has given me—ministry to children and a limited ability to communicate through the written word. If anyone wants theology, there are many wonderful sermons to be found online as well as in old-fashioned tomes (including Dennis's sermon notes on our website). But my blog? It focuses on how a very ordinary Christian learns godly principles as she travels through life.

Phew! Sigh of relief! After slogging through this post and examining the worth of stories, I feel the relief of vindication.

My style—my stories—may not be deep theology, but they are what I can write, and because of that they are acceptable to the Lord. Didn't Paul say: "For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not" (2 Corinthians 9:12)? What we have to offer God, the strengths that we have, those are what matter, those are what He longs to use.

I have a beloved sister-in-law who loves to make cards. When I visit her church, people stop me not only to welcome me, but to tell me how much they appreciate the encouragement they get through her cards. Only eternity will tell how many lives she has touched through this hobby turned ministry that she has given to the Lord.

What strengths has He given you?  He has made you to minister in your strengths, be they stories or some other practical hands-on work. You don't have to stand behind a pulpit to be used of God. Go forth with confidence, not comparing yourself to others. God has made you unique, one of kind. Your personal strengths are what He longs for and what He will use.

"For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13)

"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:10).

"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might ..." (Ecclesiastes 9:10).