We just started new conversation called "Stories" at Oak Life on Sunday mornings. Stories are profound on many levels. Our sacred texts contain many stories, we get to know one another by hearing each others stories, and Jesus himself taught spiritual truths using story. As one theologian puts it, "The language of the kingdom is story."
Over the next few weeks we'll be hearing from various voices in our community as we share our stories with one another. Some of the stories will be life long, some will be simple and anecdotal. The hope is that we'll all find that God is doing something in our story, and that we are invited to play a part in the story of reconciliation that God is writing in our world.
As we engage with stories from our lives and the scriptures we're inviting anyone and everyone to share stories from their own journey. Charlotte has put together a blog in which you can post something that tells a story that is significant to you. It might be a picture, a poem, a story, a testimony, a reflection, a question, a video or song- anything really. Story comes in many forms. If you'd like to post a story- you can follow the link above or below, or email it to: oaklifestories@gmail.com
One more quote to illustrate the power of story:
“It is significant I think that in the presence of a story, whether we are telling it or listening to it, we never have the feeling of being experts. There is too much we don’t know yet, too many possibilities available, too much mystery and glory. Even the most sophisticated of stories tends to bring out the childlike in us. Expectant, wondering, responsive, delighted, which of course is why the story is the child’s favorite form of speech. Why it is the Holy Spirit’s dominant form of revelation, and why we adults who like to pose as experts and managers of life so often prefer explanation and information.”
-Eugene Peterson, Christ Plays in 10,000 Places