benbartosik DOT com <script type="text/javascript" src="http://springvalestudents.org/benbartosik/wp-content/themes/colorpaper/js/jquery-1.2.6.min.js"></script> <link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="benbartosik DOT com » Storytelling 101: Make it Personal Comments Feed" href="http://benbartosik.com/?feed=rss2&p=329" /> <script type='text/javascript' src='http://springvalestudents.org/benbartosik/wp-includes/js/prototype.js?ver=1.6'></script> <script type='text/javascript' src='http://springvalestudents.org/benbartosik/wp-includes/js/scriptaculous/wp-scriptaculous.js?ver=1.8.0'></script> <script type='text/javascript' src='http://springvalestudents.org/benbartosik/wp-includes/js/scriptaculous/effects.js?ver=1.8.0'></script> <script type='text/javascript' src='http://springvalestudents.org/benbartosik/wp-content/plugins/lightbox-2/lightbox.js?ver=1.8'></script> <script type='text/javascript' src='http://springvalestudents.org/benbartosik/wp-includes/js/swfobject.js?ver=2.1'></script> <script type='text/javascript' src='http://springvalestudents.org/benbartosik/wp-content/plugins/podcasting/player/audio-player-noswfobject.js?ver=2.0'></script> <link rel="EditURI" type="application/rsd+xml" title="RSD" href="http://springvalestudents.org/benbartosik/xmlrpc.php?rsd" /> <link rel="wlwmanifest" type="application/wlwmanifest+xml" href="http://springvalestudents.org/benbartosik/wp-includes/wlwmanifest.xml" /> <link rel='index' title='benbartosik DOT com' href='http://benbartosik.com' /> <link rel='start' title='A Worthwhile Thought From Leviticus' href='http://benbartosik.com/?p=47' /> <link rel='prev' title='Once Upon A Time: The Power Of Real Life Stories (1)' href='http://benbartosik.com/?p=312' /> <link rel='next' title='Once Upon a Time… The Second.' href='http://benbartosik.com/?p=331' /> <meta name="generator" content="WordPress 2.8.6" />  <script type="text/javascript"> //<![CDATA[ document.write('<link rel="stylesheet" href="http://springvalestudents.org/benbartosik/wp-content/plugins/lightbox-2/Themes/Black/lightbox.css" type="text/css" media="screen" />'); //]]> </script>   <script type="text/javascript"> AudioPlayer.setup("http://springvalestudents.org/benbartosik/wp-content/plugins/podcasting/player/player.swf", { width: 290, transparentpagebg: 'yes' }); </script> <style type="text/css"> .better-tag-cloud-shortcode li, .better-tag-cloud-shortcode li a, li#better-tag-cloud ul.wp-tag-cloud li, li#better-tag-cloud ul.wp-tag-cloud li a { display: inline; } </style> <link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="Podcast: Springvale: Thursday Night Talks" href="http://benbartosik.com/?feed=podcast" /> <link rel="stylesheet" href="http://springvalestudents.org/benbartosik/wp-content/themes/colorpaper/styles/teal.css" type="text/css" /> <link rel="stylesheet" href="http://springvalestudents.org/benbartosik/wp-content/themes/colorpaper/style.css" type="text/css" /> <link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="benbartosik DOT com RSS Feed" href="http://benbartosik.com/?feed=rss2" /> <link rel="pingback" href="http://springvalestudents.org/benbartosik/xmlrpc.php" /> </head> <body> <a name="top"></a> <div id="footer-back"><div id="footer-bg"> <div id="main"> <div id="main-top"> <div id="navigationed"> <ul id="navigation" class="clearfix"> <li><a href="http://benbartosik.com" title="Hello">Home</a></li> <li class="page_item page-item-183"><a href="http://benbartosik.com/?page_id=183" title="About the Author">About the Author</a></li> </ul> </div> <div id="container"> <div id="content-back" class="clearfix"><div id="content-bottom"> <div id="left-col"> <div class="clearfix"> <div id="colors"> <a href="http://springvaleyouth.com/" class="color-blue">Blue</a> <a href="http://whatisthealivemovement.com/" class="color-orange">Orange</a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Springvale-Youth/164406855197?ref=ts" class="color-green">Green</a> <a href="http://www.youversion.com/groups/springvalesrhigh" class="color-pink">Pink</a> <a href="http://www.wordle.net/" class="color-purple">Purple</a> </div> <div id="page-title"> <div class="page-title-content clearfix"> <div class="page-title-text"> <h3 class="page-title">Storytelling 101: Make it Personal</h3> <div class="post-meta-single"> <span class="georgia block">Posted in <a href="http://benbartosik.com/?cat=47" title="View all posts in Ministry Thoughts" rel="category">Ministry Thoughts</a>. on Tuesday, March 9th, 2010 by <a href="http://benbartosik.com" title="Visit benbartosik’s website" rel="external">benbartosik</a></span> <span class="tags"></span> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="left-content"> <div class="post"> <div class="post-date"><span class="month block">Mar </span><span class="day">09 </span></div> <p>The children are the future.</p> <p>This morning I began a study through the minor prophets. They’ve kind of become my most neglected part of scripture. I have a great love for the Old Testament and am often drawn to books like Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Ezekiel; but never really move much past that. There’s a lot of unmarked and scarcely read pages between Hosea and Matthew in my bible.</p> <p>So this morning I began in Joel. I’ve put no time limit on myself, I just want to dig through these at my own pace and let God saturate my soul with his words as I savor them. I did a little background research on the book to give myself some context and then began with chapter one. Several things stood out but the most significant was the prophet’s call to <em>remember</em> what has happened. The nation is in a state of turmoil and sorrow. The land has been torn apart by locusts and the prophet is pointing to this as a the coming judgement of the Day of the LORD. It is a time of sorrow. It is a time for lament. But it is also a time to remember what has happened.</p> <p><em>“Hear this, you elders; give ear, all inhabitants of the land! Has such a thing happened in your days, or in the days of your fathers? <strong>Tell your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children to another generation.</strong>” </em></p> <p>One of the things I’ve come to love and respect is the Hebraic oral tradition. Simply writing things down wasn’t enough. If you really wanted to get the message across you had to tell it. Telling a story captures the emotional intensity and personal investment in a way that reading it never could. So when God was sending Israel a message that he wanted remembered – you would teach your children to never forget it. Recite it over and over and pass it on to their children, generation to generation so that Israel would always remember. We see this same principle applied when God first gives his commands at Sinai. <em>“…And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children….”</em> (Deut. 6: 6,7)</p> <p>Teach the children.</p> <p>Our children need to personally invest in these stories of faith. If they don’t enter in and become a part of this tradition it will get lost. How do you pass on the emotions and life changing power of these biblical narratives in such a way that the next generation adopts them as a part of their own history? Perhaps a better and more prevalent question is, how do we?</p> <p>We need to find our own voice amidst the many other voices of the bible. These are the collected stories of our faith, our history, our roots (see Gal. 3:29). We need to feel the emotional ties and seek to understand the cultural mindset of our ancestors and when we read these stories buy into them every bit as much as they did. If we don’t, how do we expect our children to?</p> <p>Tell your story.</p> <p>If it is to be remembered it needs to be told in such a way that reflects its significance; passionately and with personal connection to the story. Otherwise it is doomed to be forgotten. This is the way God’s truth and love will be passed on into the next generation. Know God’s story. Make it yours. And tell it.</p> <p><em>“Let your heart hold fast to my words; keep my commandments, and live. Get wisdom; get insight; do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth.”</em> (Proverbs 4: 4,5)</p> <p>Oh, and baptisms this past Sunday… Seeing a bunch of young people commit their love to God before the church is truly inspiring. Talk about telling your story! 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