The Power of a Story

Everyone loves a good story.

I am on the way to a wedding in Sewanee, TN. Someday I will ask Lane, “So tell me your story. How did you and Bill fall in love…?” She will blush, smile widely as precious memories flood her mind, and then she will tell her love story. Powerful.

Part of my energy is invested in leadership coaching through Awake Consulting. Recently I asked a client and friend to write his story – “What were you like as a leader in the past, and how did you get to this point?” He had never connected the dots. This new perspective gave him and his team encouragement. The changes in his leadership style and effectiveness over the past 12 months are radical. He loved telling his story.

Men and women gather in a borrowed room, and someone begins with, “Hi. My name is Bob.” Within moments, people are sharing about their real and difficult struggles, as well as victories. In this confidential and compassionate circle, people struggling with addiction or struggling with an addict meet for accountability and encouragement. One reason this recovery model is so helpful is the power of storytelling.  

Over the past 25 years I have taken over 50 teams of volunteers into various cultures around the world in order to share and receive the love of Christ. Every person that has traveled with me has been asked to do things in preparation for the journey. But no preparation has been more important than the writing of their faith story. It is not easy to write briefly and in way that “works” in a setting far different than the witness’s home environment.

Storytelling is powerful in both directions. I am challenged and amazed as I carefully think through my own journey AND the listener catches a glimpse of how another human has walked this earthly journey. Hearing someone’s story is a blessed gift.

Prepare and tell your stories this week. Write, blog, record, whatever….

Ask someone about their story. Listen carefully, with gracious ears ready to learn from a fellow-traveler.

And then there is THE Story. Have you heard the story of God? How is your story a part of His Story?

I Want

Ok, I agree with my wife and kids. I may be a bit hard to shop for.  It’s not that I have risen above materialism, but I can’t really think of much that I desire from the mall. So for those curious about my “wants” on this my 58th birthday, here is a partial list (off the top of my head) –

I want my children and grandchildren to know how much God loves them and how beautiful and gifted they are.

I want everyone in my family – near and far – to become more radically committed to Jesus and his mission of love in the world. This includes me.

I want to pray with someone today as they say yes to Jesus and enter the family of God.

I want churches in Orlando, Birmingham, Starkville, Oxford, Tallahassee, Charlotte, Hattiesburg, Lexington, Nashville, Knoxville and Tampa to begin transforming hospitality ministries to the Chinese scholars God is bringing to their communities.

I want to laugh more.

I want to be a better lover of people.

I want peace and deliverance from pain and worry for my dear mom and other family members.

I want my “son” Runner (China) to find the love of his life and continue to grow as a mighty man of God.

I want to go to heaven, and to hear the words, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”

I want to dance… probably just in heaven.

And I want my fellow June 17-birthday-buddies to have a wonderful day.

• Rivers Rutherford, my favorite country music writer/performer and dear brother in Christ
• Mitch Schrenk, my Orlando buddy and a source of great encouragement and laughter
• Larissa Lam Chiu, my sister in California that is one of my favorite worship leaders/song-writers

Thanks for all the birthday greetings. Pray that all my wishes will be fulfilled.

Race, Reconciliation and Real Life

Some thoughts on race and life from one in recovery -

1. Racial reconciliation involves more than political correctness. Not every relationship, office or church that appears to be reconciled is in fact reconciled. Healing comes one person at a time. It is not a corporate event.
2. Diversity is not the same thing as reconciliation.
3. I’m not sure how I can be held guilty or accountable for the sins of white racist predecessors. That’s not the primary issue. I have my own sins and tendencies to deal with.
4. I am not the one who decides what is racist or not. It doesn’t matter what I think. It is what the other person thinks – the offended party.
5. Some people claim they have never owned a racist thought or action. Even if that is true, they have probably been the beneficiary of racism (especially white folks like me).
6. Racism is not just an issue in the southern part of the United States; nor is it just a black and white conflict. It occurs across the nation and around the world because it is rooted in basic human nature: pride, fear and the depravity of the soul. Any demographic or race that has power can be lured into racism.
7. Intentional participation in transforming process of racial reconciliation is foundational for those seeking to become grace-filled disciples of Jesus Christ. I wish I had started earlier than age 30.
8. Healing requires honesty, courage, intentionality and a long term commitment.
9. Reading and prayer are important in the process, but there is no substitute for face-to-face involvement with people in other cultures and races.
10. Since most racism is heavily influenced by heritage, a commitment to reconciliation calls for careful parenting, including worship, education and recreational decisions.
11. Freedom from this sin, fear and disease – and from the pain caused by it – is found in Christ alone.

What steps can you take to deal with the obvious, latent or smothered reality of racism in your life? What steps can you take to communicate racial equality and an appreciation for the sacrifices of people like Martin Luther King Jr.?

Possible Action Steps

• Visit the Civil Rights Museum in Memphis.
• Stop at one of the many sites in the South that are marked in memory of those involved in civil rights – Atlanta, Birmingham and elsewhere.
• Read a book on the history of civil rights or racial reconciliation. Or what about a book a year?
• Watch movies about race and civil rights struggles.
• Honestly consider your own family background and heritage – not to create guilt but to be authentic and intentional.
• When making educational choices for your children, consider reconciliation issues as well as the quality of education in various settings.
• Have you ever asked people of a different race to have a meal in your home?
• Seek out a friend of a different race and ask them to mentor you on the topic of race and reconciliation.
• Regardless of how prestigious it might be, why would you be a part of a club or organization that has racist practices or policies (yes, I’m including country clubs)?
• It is one thing to never use humor or language that might be considered racist. It is another thing to smirk or even laugh when someone else resorts to this. Would Jesus really smirk? What might he/we do instead?
• Confess your sins and ask Liberator Jesus to set you free.

Share with the blog-world other things you have done in this area…?

Part 2 of 3

My Pilgrimage Away from Racism

In honor of the life and contributions of Martin Luther King Jr., I am sharing a bit about my pilgrimage as a white boy reared in the religious but mainly racist environment of Mississippi in the 1950s and 60s. God has begun a good work in me, a work that I pray brings joy to the cause and work of MLK, Jr.

• 1953 I was born in Jackson, MS. I am the son the wonderful, church-going, hard-working, loving parents. Both my parents grew up on rural farms in the South, and mirrored the values of the dominant culture on race and most other issues.
• 1963 President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, a leader that confronted the destructive power of racism especially in the South. I am embarrassed and humiliated to admit that I remember rejoicing when I heard this news. At age 10 perhaps I was just glad to get out of school, or perhaps the disease racism was already showing up.
• 1968 Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. Sadly, I have no memory of this loss although it occurred 200 miles from my home. I was 15 years old.
• 1969 The school system of Jackson, MS was integrated during my junior year in high school. There were big changes including the cancellation of our prom. “What an injustice!” we cried. I was totally ignorant of the true injustice that caused the forced integration.
• 1970 I was converted to Christ as a senior in high school. This was real and authentic, but Christ had (and has) a lot more work to do in my life. God gave me a passion to share his transforming love with others, and I did. But all the “others” in my life were white Americans.
• 1972 I took my first job in youth ministry. Over the following 16 years, I served 6 churches in this capacity. Pretty much all white kids in all white churches. I don’t remember ever teaching on anything related to racial reconciliation.
• 1975 I began four years of education at Asbury Theological Seminary. I have no memory of wrestling with the issue of race during these years.
• 1980 While serving as youth minister of a church in Meridian, Mississippi, I was introduced to John Perkins and Voice of Calvary Ministries (VOC) in Jackson, Mississippi. I was amazed that I had never been told about this great man when I was living in Jackson.
• 1981 I began taking groups of youth and adults to serve as volunteers in VOC in Jackson. I also began to read Perkin’s books, beginning with Let Justice Roll Down. I slowly began to understand the racist history of my state and my own life. Real people, actual events in my lifetime.
• 1983 I started working as youth minister at a Memphis church. Because this city was the site of Dr. King’s assassination and because of the very real racist tension there, Memphis is seen by many as a symbol of racist hate and evil. That became obvious to me after a few months in Memphis, but I still gave no specific attention to the racism in my own life.
• 1986 For some unknown reason, I received an invitation to a consultation in Chicago on racial reconciliation co-sponsored by the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE, predominantly white) and the National Association of Black Evangelicals (NABE). To this day, I have no idea why I read the “junk” mail invitation or decided to go – other than the grace of God. For the first time in my life, I sat face to face with black men and women and heard their painful stories. I also heard the stories of white racists. I witnessed reconciliation. It was very moving. For the first time, I admitted that I had racist roots and tendencies that had to be redeemed. I knew that I would never be the same again.
• 1987 I began to serve as minister of missions at the same Memphis church. This involved in urban ministry as well as international ministry. During this season, I began to be very intentional about my racial healing. God gave me two great gifts – new black friends, Pastor Freddie Moore and brother Roy “Soup” Campbell. I read a lot on racial reconciliation, but most of my healing came through these relationships and our brutally honest discussions. A breakthrough happened when I realized that in addition to owning my own racist thoughts and actions, I have been on the beneficiary of racism.
• 1990 I convinced the Memphis church to begin a racial reconciliation task force, “Let’s do something practical about racism in our lives and in this city.” The task force eventually became a standing committee in the church, and contributed to several accomplishments related to race and reconciliation.
• 1991 One day I was contemplating the courage it took for white and black men, women and children to nonviolently make public statements about race and equality. Not only had I never participated in any rallies or civil rights events, I was oblivious to the need as I was growing up. From that day on, I began participating in at least one public event related to reconciliation each year. Often this has been a parade and/or rally on MLK day. Some of my best memories are about times our family participated in these events. These events don’t require courage, but I feel that I’m walking on ground made holy by the faith, hope, love and blood of people like MLK.
• Today I am still a work in progress. One example. A few weeks ago, my brother Soup called me to humbly help me see some unintended racism in the choice of a name for a ministry event I was helping organize. Soup was absolutely right. I clarified my intent with the other event planners, and we changed the name. None of my white friends had felt any connection between the name of the event and race. Pray for me.

To my Mississippi and Tennessee friends - No offense is intended, and I am certainly in no place to judge. I love both states, and I’m thankful for the changes that have taken place. But like the life of James Loftin, more change is needed.

To my friends outside Mississippi and Tennessee – Don’t get smug or look down on these two states. Mississippi and Tennessee have more good people than you imagine; and perhaps there is more racism in your state than you imagine. No offense… .

What does your journey look like?

God help us all.

Today I am thankful for several friends that have contributed to my journey in reconciliation and deliverance – Freddy Moore, Soup Campbell, John Perkins, Eloise Mays, James Tucker, Charles Hall and Russell West. Thank you for demonstrating forgiveness, tough love, transparency and reconciliation to me.

PART 1 of a 3-part series.

Zeal without Wisdom = Fire

I almost went to Gainesville on Saturday (9/11), but not to see the Gators play ball. I felt compelled to help pour waters of grace on fires of hate. I’m not sure what I would have done, but I wanted to be a witness to the love of God for all people – including Muslims and fire-breathing pastors.

Like almost every person on the planet with access to TV, radio or the internet, I have been following the activities of Pastor Terry Jones in Gainesville. I don’t pretend to understand his motivation, theology, politics or mental condition. It seems that he is more interested in judgment (the judgment of others, not his own judgment) than in mercy. He is more concerned about punishing people than proclaiming forgiveness found in Christ. He seems to be more focused on limiting the location of mosques than expanding the Church.

On Friday I tried to reconnect with my friend Imam Musri at the Islamic Center here. He and I first met on September 13, 2001. The Imam wasn’t available, but I did make a new friend. Fahaz and I talked about holy books, respect, friendship and ignorance. He was not concerned or angered by the threat to burn copies of the Koran. He even chuckled at the thought. Fahaz acknowledged, however, that Muslims with a shallow appreciation of the Koran might be more likely to respond in a different way.

In my humble opinion, Pastor Jones has more zeal than wisdom. These are the most dangerous people in the world. We have not heard the last of Jones. Don’t buy his book (there will certainly be one). Don’t watch any more interviews with him – change the channel. You know enough about his venom.

Jesus Christ died for Terry Jones, Jim Jones, James Loftin, Imam Musri, Fahaz and you. That’s Good News. By God’s grace, may we live in such a way that this eternal truth will be heard and received by those who are yet to acknowledge Jesus as the Son of God and Savior of the world.

As followers of Jesus, let’s look for opportunities to begin or deepen respectful relationships with followers of Mohammed. For the glory of God and the good of the world!

I’m not guilty of burning holy books, but do I have any area of “zeal” that is limiting the love Jesus wants to communicate through my life?

PS – For readers that don’t know me well, let me answer a question you may be asking. I am not a universalist, “all roads lead to heaven,” everything-is-gray, religious person. I believe that Jesus is the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through him (John 14:6). Although this belief separates me theologically from about 4 billion people, it does not separate me from loving them or wanting to have some kind of respectful, mutually beneficial, relationship with them.