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Tell Your Story

            Trevor’s ring tone chirped the unique ring tone belonging to only one person and his caller ID flashed the name “Stacy,” so he clicked his girlfriend on with happy anticipation. After a few pleasantries she asked him out on a date, which was a little odd because he – being of the male species – usually set these things up. She told him to meet her at 7 p.m. in the front lobby of the Hyatt downtown. And wear a tie. Which he did; the best one he had. It just so happened that his tie matched her outfit and they giggled about it when they met in the lobby. “What’s this all about anyway?” Trevor asked. Stacy explained, “I’m on the board of the local Big Brothers Big Sisters and tonight is our fall gala. You’re one of seven other people I invited to sit at my table.” Trevor’s hopes for a romantic evening dimmed, and she could tell. “It’ll be fun,” she offered cheerily as she took his arm and they headed into the banquet room. Yeah, right. Fun for Trevor was not sitting as a prisoner in a banquet where they stuff you with Chicken Kiev then press you for a big donation. When they found their table he was surprised that a 12-year-old girl was already sitting there. “Asking a child for money?” he thought to himself. “That’s really low.” Then Stacy introduced him to her “little sister,” whom she was mentoring in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program. During the meal Trevor heard about this girl’s family dysfunction and abandonment, but you couldn’t tell it by looking at her bright eyes and listening to her big dreams. Dreams that Stacy was helping come true. Then during dessert, to Trevor’s surprise Stacy stood up and took the podium in the front of the banquet room where she shared how her life had changed since she became a Big Sister, and how she felt so fulfilled making a difference for her little sister’s dreams. Trevor thought about his job, his apartment, his friends, his purpose in life, and felt a little empty. He wondered what it would be like to make a difference for someone like Stacy was doing. When they passed out the information pamphlets at the table, Trevor was the first to snatch the sign up form and filled out an application to become a Big Brother. “Thanks for inviting me,” he whispered in Stacy’s ear. They chatted with a few other “bigs” before continuing their evening at their favorite restaurant which would be a bit more romantic, but … Trevor couldn’t stop asking questions about becoming a Big Brother. He was hooked.

            Non-profit organizations are finding that the best way to involve more people in their mission is not through a direct mail campaign or a newspaper ad but through the very people who are already part of the organization, like board members or volunteers. And the non-profits don’t send these people out to ask for money, either, but create point of entry events like a banquet or breakfast where volunteers or board members can do what is most natural. Share their passion. Tell their story. Explain what made them want to become part of the organization and what keeps them there.

            Now, way back at the beginning of this sermon I could have just said, “Non-profit organizations are involving more people through board members and volunteers telling their stories.” But instead I told you a story. Did you find yourself answering a cell phone, wearing a tie in a hotel lobby, or sitting in a banquet? Did you ask yourself if you are fulfilled and how you are doing pursuing your purpose in life? Did you consider becoming a Big Brother or Big Sister? That’s the benefit of a story. It draws you in, unlike a plain statement which can easily fall to the ground short of its target.

            Everybody has a story. What’s yours? Who are your parents? What is your favorite pizza topping? Where did you learn to dance like that? When did you pop your first zit that exploded onto the mirror? These are stories that you can talk about as naturally as scribbling your own name. There’s another story you can talk about just as naturally. Your story of God working in your life. A story of sin and recovery, of confession and forgiveness, of weakness and strength, of mundane and miraculous, of faith and answered prayer, of Jesus and what he means to you, of a fulfilled life now and forever life in heaven. I’m embarrassed to say, however, that the church hasn’t done the best job of encouraging you to share it. Like many non-profit organizations once believed it was the job of the development director or president to involve more people and raise money, the church has fostered the idea that it’s the pastor’s job to recruit members. There are many ways to stifle the faith, and that’s one of them. Not only are pastors limited in their time, skills, and resources. But pastors’ lives really aren’t all that exciting. What I mean is that pastors don’t have lives filled with nearly as many stories as can be found in the lives of different people like you. And personal stories draw others in better than a sermon or a personal phone call from the pastor inviting a person to church. Oh, and by the way, it’s not really about bringing in more church members, either. It’s about connecting people to Jesus, which may take place under this roof but doesn’t have to. Ask your unchurched friends some time and they’ll tell you that pastors are most always seen as wanting to recruit more members to help pay for bigger church buildings and more church programs. People like you have an advantage over pastors. You have a story. What’s yours?

            Today God’s Word clearly invites – urges – you to Tell Your Story by offering a compelling example of the apostle Paul telling his story. Let’s check out Paul’s story and break it up into the “who,” the “what,” the “where,” and the “when,” to help us consider our own story and how we can tell it in more ways to more people more often.

            The “who” of Paul’s story, the main character, is Jesus. Paul mentions the name “Jesus” or a title like “Christ” or a personal pronoun for him 16 times in these 6 verses, compared to his own name or pronoun only 10 times! He begins, “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me…” Who Paul is begins and ends with Jesus. A common confession among us Christians is another saying of Paul’s, “By the grace of God I am what I am” (1 Corinthians 15:10). We understand that who we are depends solely on God’s grace. Paul knew this especially because of who he had been. “I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man.” Once upon a time Paul was Saul, the preacher was persecutor. Once upon a time Paul stood chest to chest with Jesus and spit in his face with murderous threats to his followers. His rage against the free forgiveness of Jesus expressed itself in violent acts of aggression against Christians. Until that free forgiveness of Jesus found him. Until the persecutor needed that forgiveness too. Jesus, the one whom Paul was persecuting and pushing to the ground and whose followers he was punishing with death again and again let Paul kill him by choosing to die that one time on the cross. “Father, forgive them,” Jesus sighed from the cross, “for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). “They” is the “who.” “They” is Paul the persecutor, the blasphemer, the violent man, and all of us who persecute Jesus by harsh thoughts against others whom we don’t think are as good as we are. Jesus died for Paul and all of us who blaspheme his name with our sinful behavior and violently oppose him by insisting that our ways are smarter and stronger than his ways. “I am the worst,” we confess with Paul. When it comes to sinners, each of us feels as if we are the greatest. But we also believe there is only one thing greater than our sin and it is God’s grace in Christ Jesus. So we call him “our Lord.” There is only one Lord, one Master, one who has the right to sit on the throne of your heart and call you his own, only one who can claim you. It is not sin or your guilty feelings or your shameful past. It is Christ Jesus! He is the “who” of your story, and makes you “who” you are. Someone in your life needs to hear that. Tell Your Story. Tell them who you are and who they are because of Jesus.

            Because the “what” of your story is a gift. It is not a reward achieved by those skilled enough, discovered by those smart enough, or won by those strong enough. It is a blessing given by God who is generous enough. “Given me strength,” Paul writes, because God has made him stronger than his sin and temptation. “Appointing me to his service,” Paul writes, because out of all the people hoping to serve God picked him at this time for this task. “I was shown mercy,” Paul writes, because God extends his exceeding compassion on sinners who can’t make themselves good enough for God on our own. “The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus,” Paul writes, because he is only the receptacle, the jar of clay filled over the brim with God’s gifts of grace, faith, and love spilling over into everything he thinks and says and does. “What” is most important in your life? Here it is. The gifts God chooses to give you even though he shouldn’t have, the positions and responsibilities in your life he appoints to you as opportunities to serve him by serving others, and the strength he gives for you to row courageously through any storm. Paul knew that his blessings in life were a gift, and that God was a gracious and wise giver who decided exactly what Paul needed and what he didn’t need. What gifts do you posses?  What blessings to you enjoy that others don’t? What have you asked God for and he has said no? Someone in your life needs to hear that. Tell Your Story. Tell them what it is that God has given to you, and what he is waiting to give to them.

            “Where” exactly would Paul find these blessings of a gracious God? “In me,” he says. Think about that. God’s saving work is not out there somewhere living across Lake Michigan or locked back in Bible times or looking good only in your neighbor’s garage. In me. In you. That’s where God is. That’s where God works. You are God’s workshop, you are his secret chamber, you are his trophy case and his MySpace for the world to see. When you are confused and lost like a straying sheep God goes to work where you are to rescue you. When you are displaced in life like a coin lost under the sofa God doesn’t forget about you but goes to work where you are to reclaim you. “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners,” Paul writes. He came. Unasked. Unforced. Unearned. Came from his place in the universe to your place in the universe. And he’s still there. Stop looking everywhere else for headlines about God’s work in the world when he’s already at work in you. Someone in your life needs to hear that.  Tell Your Story. Tell them where God is working – in you, and in them too.

            And finally, “when” does all this happen? Paul answers, “Now, to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever.” When will your ship come in? When does your story start to unfold? Now. And it will never end. Your everlasting life with a gracious God doesn’t begin when you die but began when you were born again in baptism. From that moment you live forever. At this moment you are God’s story and he is yours. Every moment in your life is an opportunity for you to share with others like the shepherd and the woman call their friends for a party after they find a lost sheep and a lost coin. Someone in your life needs to hear that. Tell Your Story. Tell them God is part of your story, and theirs, now. And he will be forever. He promises.

            I saw him biking up my driveway and knew what he wanted, just like all the others who come and ask for my money. Police associations. Girl Scout troops. Soccer clubs. To some I give, to others I don’t. But this guy came at a busy time and I just wanted him to turn around and ride away but he didn’t. He introduced himself like they all do. Said he was walking five miles in Al’s Run and needed $265 more in pledges to meet his goal. Showed me his Al’s Run certificate. I still wasn’t sold and he could tell. As I was about to ask him to leave he reached for his wallet and pulled out a picture of his niece and told me her story. I saw a bald, 12-year-old girl. A head about a cancer survivor through Children’s Hospital, an organization that benefits from Al’s Run. I was hooked. I gave him the biggest bills I had in my wallet. Not really because of his story. But because of his niece’s story. Someone in your life needs to hear your story. Wants to year your story. Tell Your Story. Not really because it’s your story. But because your story is Jesus’ story. Amen.

Preached at Grace Lutheran Church, Milwaukee, WI (www.gracedowntown.org) on September 23, 2007

Services

Sundays 7:45, 9:00 & 10:30 am

Mondays 6:30 pm

Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church | 1209 North Broadway Milwaukee, WI 53202 | (414) 271-3006

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