The Story I'm In

Chris Brogan, author of Trust Agents, is giving away 100 copies of Donald Miller's A Million Miles in a Thousand Years (here). All you have to do is blog about the impact of story in your own life. (By the way, if you're a reader, one of the best reasons to set up a Twitter account and follow authors and publishers, is they're constantly giving away books. I seriously get tons of free books this way.)

I love to think of my life in terms of story. Doing so is in itself an act of faith I think. If I admit that I'm in the middle of a story, it's also admitting that there is an Author of my life who knows how the story ends. Of course, as a Christ-follower, I'm aware that my story isn't really my story. I'm not the star. I'm just a bit player in His story.

But when I think back through my life it is definitely the more dramatic parts that have shaped who I am today and continue to shape who I'll be. I think a perfect example of this is all the different churches I've served in. I've stated before that I've served on staff at several different churches. A few were great; most were dysfunctional. Through the years I often wondered why I had to endure all those experiences. But it all became crystal-clear when I was interviewing for my current position as pastor of Living Hope Church. The elders asked me to share my philosophy of pastoring and ministry. As I began to speak and share different qualities that were important to me, the faces of all the pastors I had previously served under started flashing through my mind. I realized I was sharing things that each of these men had taught me. Even the guys that I didn't see eye-to-eye with about everything! Suddenly, I had this moment of clarity. God had lessons for me to learn from each of them before I was ready to take the lead myself. I'm sure each of them had pastors that taught them, they taught me, I'll teach others, and the story goes on.

I hope that my story is really just the middle chapter of a larger story that will continue in the people's lives that I've touched.

If you are bored with your story, maybe it's because you're not doing anything. Even though I believe God is the Author, I also believe that he won't force his story on you. Make some decisions in your life that require faith or growth or courage. You'll start to see your story come to life again!