Tag: story

How Story is Trumping Word: Len Sweet

I got the pleasure of hearing Leonard Sweet in person at Evangelical Seminary yesterday. It was a free event, and that was surprising in itself.

Len talked about some important things. Some of them were already clear in my mind, but for the audience they felt shocking.

I will unwrap a few of his main points and add a few of my own over the next few posts.

He spoke about the power of image and story trumping words and books (which are essentially an anti-social and individualistic experience).

Len showed this video:

 

(It’s for a hotel. Their tag line is THERE’S NO GREATER ACT OF HOSPITALITY THAN TO EMBRACE A STRANGER AS ONE’S OWN.
IT’S IN OUR NATURE.) The (French) language barrier is overcome by using just a soundtrack and story that gets to the heart of something we all want.

“The world is stealing our best lines (as Christians) because we don’t know we have them.” -Len Sweet
(I would add that the Story is gone too–left to marketers and cheapened to sell goods and services, yet failing (of course) to truly deliver on its promise.)

It only takes a generation to lose a Story. Instead of mission statements maybe we need stories, or The Story.

How can we bring it to a new age and generation that has move “from Gutenburg to Google” ?

The arts may have a new renaissance if we properly apprehend the shift.

(Check back soon for the next in this series on “The Tyranny of the Left Brain”. Or get it sent to you directly by signing up in t he sidebar for delivery.)

Evil & The Justice of God

 “When people deny the humanity of others, they become evil themselves.”  -N.T. Wright

 

I’m preparing to do a quarter of a year (January-March) teaching with the themes and the companion videos of Tom Wright’s book Evil and the Justice of God.

We’ll be tackling some tough territory:

• Why is there so much Evil in the world? (More than ever?)

• Why does God let it happen and what, if anything, is God doing really about it? (What’s going on?)

• How does the Bible approach the subject? (Whoa. Lots of common misunderstandings here!)

• How does Justice work? (Revenge, Justice, Mercy, we’ll be sorting that out.)

• What is our role or best response with regards to Evil? (Do we stand against it, roll over, avoid it, bear it? The answers may surprise you.)

If you can’t make the classes Sundays 9:30-10:15 a.m. at Bethesda, I’ll be highlighting items here as I work on it and as I teach.

Here’s an intro video trailer. The book is remarkable. I highly recommend it.

RE-entry is hard after STORY 2012

It’s normal but unsettling…

The period of time when we return to normal life after an event such as a conference or gathering. The Story Conference in Chicago is just that sort of thing.

I woke up today with a palpable need to self-soothe. The stress of travel, new surroundings, increased interactions, imparted wisdom, and stimulation overload unearthed deeper pain.

Creativity and pain hold hands. Did you know that?

The one helps the other and vice versa.

Interactions and creative energy revive us at a wonderful conference like STORY, but the let down happens just afterwards, and we scarcely feel ready for it.

Pain surfaces after our experiences and without the tools to do well with it, and the spiritual friendship and mentoring to make sense of it (a.k.a. SOUL CARE), we can make poor decisions or fail to thrive in the aftermath of something so initially nourishing.

You’ll find yourself doing what I’ve done:

Distracting yourself (be it with tech, food, friends, or hobbies)

withdrawing (disconnecting from others)

feeling angry or discontent (do I really need to explain this???…GEEEZE! …er….whoops)

The inspiration shifts to frustration or let down. 

But this is the time when divine stirrings are greatest. Spiritual companionship is a way to work through this time and grow. It can be a time of hope instead of confusion or awkwardness.

What are some of the emotions you feel in the days after a great and uplifting event?

If you’re interested learn more about spiritual guidance here. Or find a director/companion near you using the directory here.

How to pack for STORY2012: the adventure begins!

Here’s my first video of my STORY 2012 adventure in Chicago: packing.

It’s an introduction and a few packing tips I’ve picked up along the way. (Perhaps the only usable skill I gained as a kid from a divorced home. Thanks mom and dad!)

Most videos from my journey this week will go straight to the special youtube channel (for this and other adventures), and not be posted here on the blog. So, after today get the latest news and adventure in video form when you go here.

I’ll post updates and include videos and photos on my twitter and Facebook outlets.

A surprise twist at the end of this STORY…

I’m excited to tell you this update.

Some of you have been following the STORY of my STORY and here. For the sake of time I won’t recap, just click the links if you aren’t in the loop…

It was  lovely surprise, and I was taken aback on Friday. Well, in a surprise twist, and a gracious gesture going to the STORY conference in Chicago is now possible.

I’m blown away!

I just need to scrape together some lodging and a plane or train ticket. But, it’s GOING TO HAPPEN!

Choices: Plane ($266 + tax and fee via Southwest, trip take a few hours.)

or  Train ($168 + tax and fees via Amtrak, trip takes 19-20 hours, but I can really see the countryside)

Seriously…What would you do?

If anyone knows someone I could lodge with in Chicago, that’d be awesome. (Did I mention I was poor?)

I’m super stoked to record my journey and share it with you as I travel to #STORY2012. Look for more on this in mid-September.

WEDNESDAY’S post will be on using Social Media better.
With that in mind: How do you need help with this for your project? Do you have any questions about social media? I’m going to set to helping with this. Stay tuned.