story workshop

part 1:

living a good story

The 5 components of story are:

character

Two ways to create characters that don’t suck:

• Understand backstory
• Remove black and white filters

reflection:

1. Who are the main characters of your story? Write some snippets of their backstories. What don’t you know?

2. Make a list of some of the “black and white” people in your life. How could you see the gray?

point of view

Three main points of view:

• first person singular
• third person omniscient
• third person limited

reflection

• Make a list of the people who give you perspective.
• Are you letting them tell you the truth?
• Whose perspective do you need to see more from?

setting

reflection

• Are you settled in or not? If you’re not, what would you need to do to settle in?
• Option: Draw a picture/doodle that represents how you feel about your setting

plot

theme

reflection

• What might be the theme of your life (or some potential themes)?
• Draw a map/diagram of your life story so far… where’s the rising/falling action?

part 2:

owning.

“Owning our story can be hard but not nearly as difficult as spending our lives running from it. Embracing our vulnerabilities is risky but not nearly as dangerous as giving up on love and belonging and joy—the experiences that make us the most vulnerable. Only when we are brave enough to explore the darkness will we discover the infinite power of our light.” [Brene Brown]

"We either own our stories (even the messy ones), or we stand outside of them - denying our vulnerabilities and imperfections, orphaning the parts of us that don't fit in with who/what we think we're supposed to be, and hustling for other people’s approval of our worthiness." [Brene Brown]

"Good leadership comes from people who have penetrated their own inner darkness and arrived at the place where we are at one with one another, people who can lead the rest of us to a place of "hidden wholeness" because they have
been there and know the way."
[Parker Palmer]

reflection questions

reflection

telling.

"My life story is God’s story, authored by him. He has uniquely orchestrated and providentially created me to bring him glory through my story. As I chart his hand in my life, I gain insight into his purpose. I am the only one who can reflect his glory through my story. Understanding and accepting my story becomes a tool of personal spiritual formation. As my story intersects with your story as a part of his story, we become story keepers of God’s story and offer, in community, his story to the world." [Gail Seidel]

"My life is not a story about me. And your life’s not a story about you. My life is a story about who God is and what He does in a human heart. There’s nothing small or inconsequential about our stories. There is, in fact, nothing bigger. And when we tell the truth about our lives—the broken parts, the secret parts, the beautiful parts—then the Gospel comes to life." [Shauna Niequist]

guidelines

but how to?

reflection

leading.

how do I lead from my story?

“I am convinced that the most effective leaders are those who take time to ponder what God is up to in their own lives.
Those who understand their own hearts will be better prepared
to lead.”
[Reggie McNeal]

the bottom line

leadership is
creative strategy

your story must be told.