Special Note: Today I am taking part in a blog series on Prodigal Magazine. You should check out the other articles from a list of incredible bloggers. You can submit you own article there as well. Just visit: prodigalmagazine.com/living-story

The Beginning

You know, the biggest difference between a journalist and a storyteller is their attitude toward finding the rest of the story. Just like the difference between a writer and a would-be writer’s attitude towards revisions.

For the majority of my career in TV News, I walked a tight robe dangling above the mass media complex doing things differently, avoiding the typical; in search for the real. To buck the norm, I started writing and editing the middle of story first in hopes that it would allow me to answer this question “how can I allow the audience to leave with a lasting impression?” I would go so far as to wrap adventure, romance, and humility into all of my stories.

Line by line.    Shot by shot.    Graph by graph.    Sound-byte by sound-byte.

I did this to suspend disbelief to follow the hero of the story and how they triumphed over unambiguous antagonists from city council or Capitol Hill.

I became very good at it. I wasn’t playing with plot gimmicks tricking viewers into something other than fact or what played out in front of my lens. Rather I wanted the audience to see the beauty of humanity, see the extra-ordinary in the ordinary, and to leave people thinking.

Since 2005, I’ve been left thinking about a change in my story. I was at my zenith. Traveling the world, leading a great group of photojournalists, my news division had rocketed from being an after thought, to being among the best staffs in TV for storytelling.

The Middle

Things were good as the cobblestone line streets of Rome were barely lit by the sun as it set set behind the stone plaza known as St. Peters Square. Shortly after sunset the narrow entry-ways into the square became clogged from people gathered as the Basilica bells tolled. The papal apartment sealed off as mourners fell to their knees. Standing there, you could not help but turn your eyes to the heavens knowing Pope John Paul had just passed away.

I went through the motions of covering and assembling crews throughout the weeks coverage. One night, I was invited to view Pope John Paul with Cardinal McCarrick the Archbishop Emeritus of Washington. Given a minute apiece it was hard to collect your thoughts surrounded by the golden domes of St. Peter’s Basilica – Bernini’s Alter and Michelangelo’s Pietâ and in the middle of all of that beauty laid a man filled with humility and who was so beloved. Something began happen to me personally during my time there, while at the moment I would call it shock. It wouldn’t be until I was somewhere between Eastern Europe and New York where it would hit me. When it did, it hit me like a brick to the chest at 45,000 feet. It was almost a moment of clarity, where everything in ones life comes in focus.

It’s that plot turn. It was God writing the middle of story first in hopes that it would answer the question “how can I leave an lasting impression on Matt?”

I sat there in my seat on bound for Chicago and realized life was a series of moments that are strung together that make up our existence. Just like in a story there is that one moment, a definite period that changes the course of events. I realized I needed to do more with my life.

In the years that proceeded I walked away from TV News, moved my family to a small town and entered ministry. Nothing about this was easy. Matter of fact everything about it was hard. I had to give up a way of life, for something that was forcing me to be meek and mild.

I battled God in this time.  I’m not proud of it.  It wasn’t fair that I put him through that or myself for that matter. I just didn’t fully know what was going.  I was not in control, something the storyteller in me likes to be.  I remembering one day coming home to an empty house and screaming out loud to Him:

“God what are you doing, why are you torturing me here… why are you holding me back and what are you wanting from me.”

Nothing happened.    No voice.    No sign.    No parting of the clouds.    No gong.    No cymbal.    Just silence.

Then one day. After what felt like eternity. The phone rang. There was a job offer back in TV News. The next day the phone rang with another job offer. What played out was probably the worst period of my life. Every time I turned around I had a job offer. It felt like I was playing “Lets Make a Deal.”

Do I choose door number 1 or 3?    Maybe 6 or 10?

Then I felt like I had found the right fit. The pay, the city, everything was perfect. I was about to except, what would have been my dream job when I read this line in my Bible: “Faithful is He who calls you…don’t forget what He has called you to do.”

The End

Robert Frost said a “poem beings with a lump in the throat.” I believe that stories should end with the lump in the throat.

I realized God was faithful to me, but I was not faithful to him. See when I left my career in TV, I gave only 90% of my heart to him, because I feared I would fail at following my calling from Him. I knew if I couldn’t make it work, I could at least go back to my previous life. I was trying to write my own story and in many ways write my ending first. God showed me that he would provide if I wanted to go back to my previous life, if I didn’t want to follow what he had called me to do.

I believe the biggest difference between a Christian and a Christ follower, is their attitude on how they follow.

I gave Him the remaining 10% and since my life has been far from predictable, but I have been blessed immensely. I know that I’m under His authority and that I’m writing a story that He would be proud of… though it still has me thinking about what will my ending be.

Have you tried to control your life? Have you learned to appreciate the extraordinary in life… and God?

I was amazed by the turn out. I feel God is really using this Conference to really reach into churches to add focus and a unique approach to communicating to a new generation. The church is a communication/storytelling machine. Narratives of changed lives, transformation, renewal, and, most importantly, the gospel include every component of a great story. But we communicate it like a textbook rather than a story. In many ways, story has taken a back seat to the cultural wave drowning out the unique voice of many churches. My prayer, is we revive the power of testimony to inspire people with our living God. Storytelling is the language of our culture.

You requested them, so here they are the slides from my session along with a brief quick story guide to help you in the story process; love to carry on the conversation. Thanks to ECHO for having me. It was a great honor.

QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE: DOWNLOAD

There are a limited number of spots left for my Storytelling Coaching Community where you will learn the art of telling a memorable story with a camera. You can get more info by visiting: mattknisely.com/blog/coaching

What churches do a good job of communicating vision and/or the gospel through story?

Where do you think the church is when it comes to identification of relevance, community, engagement, and convenience?

Storytelling is the most powerful way to put ideas into the world today. Yet what is the church missing when it comes to storytelling?

“Let us run the risk of wearing out instead of rusting out.” – Teddy Roosevelt

I’ve always found it interesting that something can wear out when it isn’t being used. It’s common knowledge that a house that just sits without being lived in seems to deteriorate faster than a house that is inhabited. A car, or an airplane, or a tractor can be stored inside but it will deteriorate if it isn’t “cranked up” periodically.

What about the narratives and stories in our churches? If we are not actively seeking, telling, illustration, and celebrating those story lines our identity becomes lost. The Christian faith, nearly 2,000 years old with two billion adherents worldwide, owes its very existence to the power of story. Since Christ, God has raised up many great churches to serve as beacons in a dark world. But the greatest force in the history of our faith is still testimony.

Yet, I feel it’s getting more and more difficult to tell our stories, because they’re getting oxidized by things we maybe feel are more important. In fact David McFadzean the creator of the ABC hit television show Home Improvement recently said that, “in the years a head we will be charged with telling our story, but I feel we will not be able to because we’ll forget how.” I hope that’s not true, but I do think there is a sizable truth to the statement. I don’t have to look far, I can count on my hand how many personal stories or stories of celebration I’ve heard this last year. We must keep story at the forefront. People remember what they feel longer than what they know. There is nothing more powerful than telling or hearing a spiritual story. It’s no wonder Jesus was so narrative!

I admit I don’t really understand all of this. But I do understand the power of a story and somehow I remain convinced that God intended this to happen and that he wants us to keep achieving and growing and sharing our stories and his in new an unique ways for as long as we are alive. My prayer is we don’t allow our story to become corroded or obsolete and we learn to to use our voices and personal stories to communicate our faith. In the end it’s not because we have smarter teachers, better preachers, more money or bigger churches. Our faith will triumph through real personal stories.

I firmly believe God has designed us to share our stories, to live out his story and ultimately God wants us to do is write a good story, yet day after day we write a bad story. We make choices that can have a positive or negative impact on our health and our family. Those choices are great seedlings in our stories. Right or wrong they reveal something about us, something God has created for a purpose. Every great story has to have conflict or the story cannot evolve. But when it comes to our stories we tell, we choose to go with the Hollywood ending and somehow look past the bad thoughts we may battle on a routine basis, our feelings of being rejected, or being terrified of intimacy. The best stories are those of ordinary people who live extraordinary lives; unflitered and organic. Their stories are dirty, off color and not safe. Their stories are not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but their stories reveal a level of authenticity that inspires.

Yet what many of us do is once we move from a non-christian view to a saved and christian view we put on heirs that “I’m saved and just because of that life is peachy.” That’s far from the truth. You know it. Yet why on a daily bases do skip to the end of our stories and omit the gritty, not so nice details when we tell our story? The moment we skip to the end of our stories, we fall captive and accommodate to the stories of this world, we loose the uniqueness of our story, and in turn we loose the power of the gospel.

Don’t hide your story. Our stories in there entirety, no matter how ugly or pretty, are transformative and healing.

This fourth of July I think Mahatma Gandhi said it best, “Infinite striving to be the best is man’s duty; it is its own reward. Everything else is in God’s hands.” “Infinite striving?” What does that mean? It probably means that it is our duty to strive forever to be the best we can be – - – - forever – - – - as long as we live.

What do you consider your most important duty? My answer to that question would be: “It is my duty to be better today than I was yesterday, and better tomorrow than I am today.”

Transition, Chaos, Change, and Control: navigating that formula is a-little like drinking a lethal cocktail set on fire. To most that maybe a turn off and to a few they see the beauty in the adversity.  Scott Wilson manages to steer one through the chaos continuum in his book “Steering Through Chaos” by using personal experience and drawing on clear examples from others who are dealing with the same hardships.

From my personal experience, “Steering Through Chaos” is not just designed for church leaders, but for any leader dealing with transitional change with their organization. Scott helps culture and apply different practices and principals for maximum impact. Chapter 7, “Celebrating Every Step Of The Way,” really resonated with me because the importance of storytelling.

Out of everything in our world no matter geographically or demographically,  storytelling is at the root of every culture.  Think about it. Who are among the greatest storytellers throughout history?  Whatever the genre the narrator used exposition, description, and narration to illustrate what they considered to be fundamental truths about the human condition.

When you think about it all great organizations, Fortune 500 or not, all have been built on a strong foundation of storytelling.  For organizations stories are the language of success and celebration they bring about serious positive change.  Informative narrative sparks action, transmits values, gets everyone working together, shares knowledge, and sells vision by leading people into the future.  Sounds a lot like most churches try to do week in and week out, but rarely understand it’s power.

So what does storytelling have to do with effectively transitioning an organization?  Well unlike abstraction and analysis, storytelling is inherently collaborative.  Storytelling helps leaders work with other individuals as co-participants, not merely as objects or underlings.  Storytelling helps strengthen leaders’ connectedness with the world. Isn’t this what all leaders need, a connectedness with the people they are seeking to lead?