3. Folklore.
Folklore stories are simply ones that are worth being told and retold. While there may be overlap between the first two of the list, folklore often focuses on the life-change journey of individuals. Even though everyone has special stories of God’s transforming work in their lives, folklore shows off, in brilliant detail, the mission or strategy, a value or life mark, from the church’s articulated DNA (Vision Frame).
Folklore often embeds a moment of modeling — like repeated prayer, gospel conversation or invitation toward an unchurched friend — that reflects “the win” we are striving for as a congregation. Imagine a church planter who sees a convert grow with unusual intentionality to become a key leader in the church. This story could model the pattern that we hope to see repeated over and over.
Action Step: Identify three stories from individuals in your church that you know could never be shared too much. Ask another leader in your church to capture all of the details of the story in a two-page, five-minute summary.
4. Horizon Story.
Now we turn our attention of storytelling to the future. Think of the horizon story as a time machine window where you tell people what God is going to do. It may have a lead in like, “What if … ” or “Imagine … ”
Tell me a story of what the church will be like in one year. How about three years? When crafting this vision casting story, it’s important not to be presumptuous. To guard against that, make sure you show what we call the “God smile,” that is, remind people that this is God’s idea not yours.
Action Step: Prepare a two-minute story to tell someone what your church will look like in one year. To give yourself freedom, don’t worry about sharing it with anyone — you may or may not. But practice thinking about the future feel of a story.
5. The Gosepl.
The centerpiece of all storytelling is the Gospel. It is important to define every other story in relationship to the grand news of God’s intervention in our world and our lives through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. You may wonder, “This is a given, so why would you mention this as an organizational story.”
First, I am surprised by how many congregations are stuck in a shallow appreciation for the Gospel’s ongoing presence and power in daily life. Second, as you master story as a leader, you won’t want to develop and practice the other story types to the neglect of the Gospel. Rather, let the Gospel develop you as you integrate it into all storytelling.
Action Step: Grab a copy of Center Church by Tim Keller and study the section on “Atonement Grammars.” This is one of the most helpful summaries I have ever seen.
