I am speaking in Indianapolis and I have been borrowing the wireless from Panera. Since I am away from everyone in my family except Holly, I have been writing little “Epistles from Panera” to my family every day. Here is part of todays epistle:
Stories
Tonight I am speaking on “How to Tell Unforgettable Stories.” I had a story in mind to open with, but I can’t remember it. I love the idea of taking back the sacred art of storytelling from the liberals and post-moderns. The post-moderns and emergents like to talk about narrative and story, but they reject or distort the great over-arching story upon which our lives and eternities depend, the metanarrative. I’m on the soapbox for the using narratives within the context of meta-narrative. In other words I think sound, orthodox, evangelical communicators should tell stories without rejecting the clear propositions of Scripture. Jesus did it and I think he intended for us to do it too. He was the master storyteller and the very Word himself the origin and end of all theology. He is my model. I believe we can be faithful Bible preachers and teachers and use stories and it is only legitimate to do so if we are always telling THE STORY.
On Young Dads and the Queen of the Sciences
A couple of guys in front of me are reading theology I didn’t immediately recognize. I “googled” it. Looked interesting. One of the guys said he can do theology with light jazz in the background but not with three little boys running around. He seemed like a nice guy and he is diggin’ into it like I approach the ham loaf special at the Amish diner. Inside I feel happy for those three little boys whose Dad is pursuing the Queen of the Sciences. I, too am a son of a man who was doing theology the night I was born – church history to be precise and I commend the practice to all good fathers for the good of all young boys.
Speaking Tip
Robert Greenlaw spoke today and will carry most of the load tomorrow as well. He is one sharp guy, an absolute poster-child for IBLP. Mr. Gothard should be proud of guys like this. He, too is communicating on communication. Here was a nugget of wisdom from Mr. Greenlaw that had me scrambling for my pen: “As a general rule, when you use yourself as an illustration, share your failures. When you use someone else as an illustration, share their successes.” As you can see, I’m an old dog but I’m still working on some new tricks.
Great week in Indianapolis, wouldn’t you agree? I am in the process of getting a blog just like yours, because of your encouragement. May the Lord richly bless you 🙂
As a note: I am the one that asked you the question, “How would I be able to witness to my unsaved clients in my business?” And you answered, “Be their friend.”