Stories… I have just completed two interviews with Steve Lowton and Michele Perry on the nature, power, relevance of stories. Would have loved to have gone for a few hours – fascinating responses from them both… Hopefully in this and the next video there is enough to stimulate your own thoughts.
5 thoughts on “The importance of story”
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Wow this is so good to hear and what a relief for those of us who are nobodies and whose life stories are not interesting or even positive a lot of the time. There can be so much inadvertent condemnation perpetuated by well meaning ministries, Christians etc in the name of wholeness. My story goes something along the lines of Psalm 42! I pray that my story has some redemptive aspects even though the narrative doesn’t sound so great with chronic illness and sometimes crippling anxiety my daily situation. Jesus whispers affirmation quietly and speaks through occasional dreams when I actually listen and I try to still support friends, family, and others I interact with, when I can in the limited way I am able and I do fail often. That’s about it right now. Thank you for this video.
When an elder dies a library burns to the ground.
I’ve been thinking about what you said, Martin, that you had many stories to support your newfound conclusions about gender/sexuality but you thought there would be as many brought forward by those of an opposite opinion, so it turns into stalemate. I disagree. I don’t think those opposing freedom have stories – they have rules. It’s when we look beyond the rules and what we think God has said and find out the experiences of real people we discover the grace at work that overcomes the law.
This article was on BBC news today illustrates this perfectly. Though the Christians are trying to be good, faithful and righteous, they have no personal experience (story) to bring to bear and therefore lack compassion.
Just my thoughts. If you can find a story of someone who disagrees that God loves trans and homosexual people I’ll take it back!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-60115606
Wow, is that kind of discrimination legal in the UK? Shouldn’t be. And why should a seller care about the sexuality of the buyers anyway. They get to choose the colors, landscaping, repair schedule of the house after they buy, why care at all?
Anyhow, love your statement. I do find humans funny critters. Here we are, facing turmoil and the loss of millions if not billions of us due to climate chaos and we fuss about someone’s sexual preferences or their clothing choices, or work, or housing or whatever. Strange. We do spend lots of time fighting over the most non-essential things.
I am with you Sally Ann… I am aware though that there are people who say they were trapped following a certain course, Jesus came and set them free. Those are the stories quoted to support a position.
I think the ‘stories’ quoted from that side are then taken as evidence that is put on everyone, without hearing the back-story (or simply story) of the individual.