It was still early, but the lingering summer weather had robbed us of that morning chill in the air that announces the arrival of autumn. Nonetheless, the fall series of our Saturday morning men’s gatherings was underway. Guys with camp chairs in hand were trudging up the hill where tables with doughnuts and coffee and an assortment of burning fire pits awaited them. The scene was familiar. Guys signed in, stuck a name tag on their shirt, and began to unfold their chairs around the fire pits. The early minutes are always marked by the pleasant hum of random greetings and conversations accompanied by guys sipping on coffee and munching on doughnuts (and they may not be “holy food”, but at least they are “holey”, so God probably approves, right?  😉 ). But soon everybody sort of settles in, and the group around each fire pit begins to engage with one another to explore whatever Scriptural passage or spiritual objective has been targeted for that particular session. But almost always, the most captivating, motivating, and inspiring elements of these sessions are the individual stories that unfold.

Going Deeper Brings Us Closer ~
Some of the things we share are our answers to predictable questions, like “Where are you from?” … “What kind of work do you do?”… “Do you worship with us regularly, or are you new to our ministry?” And with the influx of folks moving to Middle Tennessee from other states, there’s always this one . . . “How long have you been here, and where are you from?” Those are interesting things to hear, but they aren’t usually the kind of things that motivate and inspire us. What seems to reach in and grab our hearts in those Saturday morning sessions isn’t the oft repeated recitations of incidents or experiences that guys are used to sharing in group situations. The stories that are hard to tell and hard to hear without struggling to keep our emotions in check … Those are the stories that open the doors to deeper territory for all of us. Stories like that bring our relationship with God into sharper focus and invite His Spirit to participate in the discussions.

Here’s an example … A father shared the story of his daughter who had been drawn away and blinded by the deceptive and seductive influence of people in the college she attended. The man and his wife had spent many thousands of dollars to send her to that school as a means of preparing her for a career and equipping her to be successful in the world. Instead, they watched in heartache and disbelief as her moral codes and the spiritual pillars of her soul were systematically dismantled. We felt the anguish as this father talked about what it had done, and was doing, not just to her, but also to him and his wife who had poured their lives and their love into her. He told about how he struggled to understand and to maintain his trust that God would bring her back. As his story concluded, others began to respond by sharing times when their faith was challenged and how God had eventually come through for them. 

Another Challenging Story ~
Later, another of our guys fought back tears as he shared a story that illustrated how love can sometimes bring problems that the mind can’t resolve and a weight that the heart can’t sustain. In this man’s case, the love of his life, had been stricken with a chronic, painful, nearly debilitating condition years ago that had all but taken over their lives. He shared the awful roller coaster ride they had experienced repeatedly. They would hear of some new therapy, some new treatment possibility, or some newly-discovered “natural” remedy. With newfound hope, they would sacrifice whatever it took to try it, only to have their dreams crushed again. And once again, the guys around the fire pit felt the struggle and began to offer stories of their own in an effort to bolster his faith and encourage him not to give up.    

Just days later, my wife shared a story that she heard in a table fellowship gathering for the women of our church. One of the ladies told a story that highlighted God’s incredible power to take complex, seemingly impossible situations and produce resolutions that most would have considered impossible. The story was a woman’s odyssey involving disappointment, heartache, betrayal, physical incapacities, and a deep sense of spiritual abandonment. The journey covered years of ups and downs, of faith being smothered by fear, and hope being crushed by life’s cruel and inescapable realities. Then, in one dramatic, heart-gripping moment, the Living God showed up in a way no one would have expected and affected a transformation no human could have accomplished.

Names Aren’t Always Necessary ~
The names of the people sharing these stories are not mentioned, of course. Some of the reasons for that are obvious, but there’s another one we’ll get to in a minute. In that regard, it’s worth mentioning that Jesus didn’t always share the names of people in His stories, either. For instance, there’s the story about an unnamed woman who just happened to encounter Jesus as He was sitting near a well in Samaria where she was going to draw water. After her meeting with Jesus, she went into town and began to tell everyone her story about meeting some radical Rabbi who knew everything about her. John tells it like this:

The woman then left her waterpot, went her way into the city, and said to the men, “Come, see a Man who told me all things that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?” Then they went out of the city and came to Him. (John 4:28–30 NKJV)

Then there’s another story about a guy Jesus encountered in a graveyard near the Decapolis. He lived among the tombs and was possessed and plagued by a horde of demons. In that encounter, Jesus did what Jesus was prone to do … He delivered him – and once the man was free, he wanted to follow Jesus back to Galilee, but Jesus had a different plan. He sent him back home into the Hellenistic culture of the Decapolis to tell his story: 

And when He got into the boat, he who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him. However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.” And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marveled. (Mark 5:18–20 NKJV)

And we mustn’t forget the story about a woman who was afflicted with a physical disorder and because of that affliction, she was abused medically, isolated socially, and rejected spiritually. Believing that if she could only touch Jesus, she could be healed, the woman fought through a crowd and managed to get close enough to touch the edge of Jesus’ prayer shawl. Immediately she was healed, but being aware of what happened, Jesus was not content to leave her healing unacknowledged. And with a crowd thronging around Him, Jesus said this:

And Jesus said, “Who touched Me?” (Luke 8:45 NKJV)

The Power’s in the ‘Story’, Not the Name ~
Jesus was content to leave her name unmentioned, but not to leave her story untold. And there’s a reason for that. These stories we tell, these accounts of our lives, these dramatic episodes that have contributed in many ways to molding and shaping us into who we are, are not just “our” stories. They aren’t now, never were, and never will be “our” stories, because they’re not just about us. Every one of them are now, always were, and forever will be stories about the One player who was a part of every one of them. “Our” stories are God’s stories: 

• • • They’re glimpses of who He is, what kinds of things He does, and sometimes why He does them. 
    • “Our” stories are windows into God’s heart and revelations of His will.
    •  “Our” stories are examples of His mercy,  illustrations of His grace, demonstrations of His power to forgive and restore . . .
    • And sometimes, they’re reminders that sin is toxic – and we’re not the only one it hurts. 

Maybe what our spiritually destitute culture needs is not more Sunday sermons, social media memes, and three minute devotionals. Maybe what the world needs to hear from us is how God’s story is playing out in our lives. The stories we tell about the life we live are really just episodes God uses to reveal to the world who He is. The most important question in any of our stories is not “What happened to us?”  It’s “What does our story reveal about the God Who, in one way or another, was with us through it all?” 

So, as we continue to listen to our friends’ stories and to share our own, may we never forget Whose story we’re really telling and always focus our attention on what it reveals about the God who loved us enough to make us a part of His own story … the story that will never end!

“TWEETABLES” ~ Click to tweet and share from the quotes below.  Each one links directly back to this article through Twitter . . .

• • • Stories that are hard to tell and hard to hear without struggling to keep our emotions in check are the ones that open doors to deeper territory for us. They bring our relationship with God into sharper focus and invite His Spirit to participate in the discussions. @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)
    • Maybe what the world needs to hear from us is how God’s story is playing out in our own lives. The stories we tell about the life we live are really just episodes God uses to reveal to the world who He is. @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)  
    • The most important question in any of our stories is not “What happened to us?” It’s “What does our story reveal about the God who, in one way or another, was with us through it all?” @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)
    • As we continue to listen to our friends’ stories and share our own, may we never forget Whose story we’re telling and always focus our attention on what it reveals about the God Who loved us enough to make us part of His own story – the one that will never end! @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet) 

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