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Read more about the article Fight Abortion By Telling Stories Of Abortion

Fight Abortion By Telling Stories Of Abortion

Stories are the beginnings of conversations.

The pro-choice movement’s new-found interest in the testimony powerfully reveals the truth that everyone is longing for a place that feels like home, a place to be validated, known through and through, and loved unconditionally. By opening conversation space for post-abortive voices, they have acknowledged that those impacted by abortion are, perhaps especially, in search of such a safe haven.

The church could be this safe haven. Jesus is the ultimate and perfect safe haven. We should not miss this moment.

What storytelling does is give us insight into the contexts and circumstances, the mindset and needs, that lead to abortion. Storytelling can prepare us to intervene and assist in the crucial moments before a woman’s decision. And storytelling helps us better understand the post-abortive reality and how we can speak the truth and healing of Christ over these lives.

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Read more about the article How To Fail At Making Disciples

How To Fail At Making Disciples

We need to remember that God is inviting people into Jesus’ story. As important as we might think we are, we only serve as the go-between. We are called/commanded to go out and live on mission. As we live as missionaries in the world, we find those people that God is inviting and then we connect them to His story.

The typical model I’ve seen is to get people to buy into the grace God extends through Jesus (evangelism) and then tell them everything they must do as believers (discipleship)! What a crappy model! Not only is it wrong, but it sets people up for a life of bondage to religious behavior.

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Read more about the article A Story Of How Muslims Are Becoming Fishers Of Men Through Storytelling

A Story Of How Muslims Are Becoming Fishers Of Men Through Storytelling

Oral story telling is proving to be one of the most effective means of communicating the gospel, and specifically the biblical narrative.

For many Muslims, the Bible is considered haram (i.e. forbidden) because it is believed that Christians have changed it and therefore corrupted it. Appreciating these realities, fruitful teams make a bridge using Islamic terms (e.g. Injil for gospel; Isa for Jesus; etc.) and thought patterns. This is not so much about using the content of the Quran, but rather it is about reflecting the value of sharing the gospel using terms, symbols, and forms of thought that are familiar to peoples with an Islamic heritage.

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Read more about the article What Would Jesus Tatoo?

What Would Jesus Tatoo?

For someone who is a follower of Jesus I believe one of the most powerful things that they can do is to tell their story. The most difficult part of this task though is to tell the parts that we do not want to tell. There are generally two reasons for this.

The first is that we have forgotten them. Humans have an uncanny habit of using their current position both geographically and relationally as their sole point of reference.

The second is that when referencing our past there are quite a few things that if mentioned are not the most flattering to our own personal glorification.

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Read more about the article The Family That Stories Together Stays Together

The Family That Stories Together Stays Together

Later, my dad called me to his bedside. There was a palpable sense of fear I couldn’t remember hearing before.

“Our family’s falling apart,” he said.

“No it’s not,” I said instinctively. “It’s stronger than ever.”

But lying in bed afterward, I began to wonder: Was he right? What is the secret sauce that holds a family together? What are the ingredients that make some families effective, resilient, happy?

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Read more about the article What We Learn From Job

What We Learn From Job

The story of Job shows us that we are foolish if we are trying to find a formula for getting God to bless us in our story, but we are wise if we submit to God’s story and accept his rule and reign as the Creator of all and Master over all.  Job’s friends had a very simple formula that went something like this: Doing good stuff = getting God’s blessing, sinning = getting God’s curse. As their thinking went, Job was clearly under God’s curse, so he must have sinned. So, if Job simply admits his sin and gets back to doing good stuff, then he’ll get blessed again. To this, God says, “I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken the truth about me” (42:7). In contrast to this foolishness, Job proves wise when he humbles himself and agrees that God can do all things and that his purposes will not be thwarted. In other words, he confesses that the story isn’t about him. This is God’s story, and creation proves it.

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