“Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise.”
(Deuteronomy 6.6-7)
“You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should have behaved better.”
(Anne Lamott)
“Therapy is telling your story ’til you get it right.”
(Bob Ezell my homiletics professor)
I once heard someone say that humans live for stories. (Or did they say humans are alive because of stories?) The stories we tell define us, shape us. “Our” stories are our reality. The proliferation of conspiracy theories and lies are alternative stories that provide easy answers in tough times. When the Israelites made the golden calf, they had lost faith in the promise (story) of Moses that they would eventually have a new home. The hardship of the journey was too much so why not try another story?
Congregations tell stories, too. While there are many variations of “the story” (because there are numerous congregants), there is usually a unifying narrative. “We started because…” “We are a church that…” “We value…” Claiming a common narrative (story) provides sense of cohesion, identity and belonging. My favorite anecdote about this is from my home church, a story told in one sentence by a long-time member. “I don’t believe in organized religion. That’s why I’m a member here!”
Some stories are told as alternative narratives. “The real reason that happened…” (The “real” reason being the perspective of the story-teller.) “And did you know…” (This borders on gossip which is usually a power play but gossip tells a lot about the source.)
Congregational stories change because congregations are people and people change. Congregations grow, mature, experience birth and death. Everything about human life shapes the story of the congregation. The story of Jesus is about his very human joys and struggles. His divine nature is revealed in his human personhood. Ditto with congregations. The holy people of God are nonetheless people so the story of this holy people will change over time.
Some will resist the narratival shift; it’s too uncomfortable, too unrecognizable. But the shift will occur. The story will change. Some may try telling an old story trying to stave off the change. Others will embrace the new story.
THE greatest story ever told is the Easter Sunday story. The women went to the tomb looking for a body but there was none. Jesus had flipped the script. He was out in the world telling a new story.