Jesus always used stories and illustrations like these when speaking to the crowds. In fact, he never spoke to them without using such parables. (Matthew 13:34)

Earlier this evening I was at a meeting of the Presbytery of which I am part in our denomination. To be very honest with you, I do not particularly look forward to these meetings. We spend most of our time taking care of church “business.”

Words such as the following fill the air in copious amounts:
Moved by so-and-so, seconded by so-and-so, that…
“so and so be appointed to such and such church.”
“so little money be given to this ministry here.”
“so much money be cut from that committee’s budget.”
Delegates have been known to suffer attacks of “motion sickness” from time to time 🙂

And then there are times when we have guest speakers. Most of them come to promote a particular cause or offer a workshop on a topic of interest to them. Again, not exactly something that produces an adrenalin rush in the hearers 🙂

So, imagine my surprise when today’s guest actually captured my attention and managed to hold it for most of his 15 minute talk!

After briefly sharing a few personal details, he quickly started telling a story about a young man who was part of the L’Arche community where he had been working at the time. He told us how Lloyd, who came to the community as a loner, was only concerned about himself in the early days of his stay there. With time though, he began to include in his prayers those other than members of his birth family. With this story, our speaker illustrated his point about how life in community opens us up to include others.

As you can tell, it wasn’t exactly a riveting story, but it made the point way better than a series of statements about the benefits of being part of a caring Christian community.

He reminded me of an outreach ministry that was facing severe cutbacks in its budget from the Presbytery of which I was part at the time.  Rather than offer a defense of his ministry or argue against the proposed reductions, the Chaplain simply shared real life stories of three people whose lives were blessed and transformed through the ministry. Needless to say the stories carried the day and his budget was spared the sharp edge of the scalpel.

Ever notice that parts of the Bible we remember the best are stories, not sermons? Jesus himself was a master storyteller. Rather than expound on the virtues of being a neighbour, he simply told the parable of the Good Samaritan. The memorable story of the Prodigal Son speaks volumes about the Father’s love that we remember way better than a speech on the subject, amen?

That is the power of storytelling.

As you advance toward your destiny, you too are bound to face situations when you will need to get your point across to another person or a group. You too would be wise to follow Jesus’ example and tell a story instead, as did Rev. Keith Reynolds this evening and Rev. Bob Gay a few years back.