Easter Sunday we were with 22 kids, kindergartners thru 5th grade, in a room, talking about Jesus dying and coming back to life.
We talked about blood and how when you see blood you stare and get concerned. The kids were about 25% attentive. Then, we asked for stories about seeing blood. This they got into. They told about cuts and scalp wounds and punctures and scrapes – it went on and on. Even after we moved on to other subjects, a hand would shoot up and there’d be another bloody story.
Then we watched 15 minutes of a movie showing Jesus crucified and buried and coming back to life. Some of the kids covered their faces when the soldiers pounded the spikes in Jesus’ hands. It wasn’t graphic; just enough that you knew what was happening. The kids were dead silent and attentive. We had talked about the spikes earlier; the kids didn’t cover their faces then.
When the story-part of the movie finished, there was an epilogue with some kids from the movie talking into the camera about what Jesus’ death meant and how each kid had to decide for himself how to respond. It was very good – well said and done by peers the kids could relate to. A really perfect conclusion to the story.
But the kids in our room lost interest when the story-part ended. They squirmed and twisted and whispered and gawked around. Not all of them but most. If you went by what got their attention, you’d say dump the talking-heads part and stick with the story.
When it was over we talked a bit and asked if any of the kids prayed along with the kid at the end of the movie to trust and receive Jesus. Four hands went up. More than one out of six. In the evangelical-table-of-odds, that’s pretty good.
The story put the kids there, made it real. Their hearts were engaged. It got their attention. The explanation at the end pushed them to conclude something personally, but was only engaging to a few.
Stories themselves are neutral. They can be fluffy, meaningless entertainment. But, usually, stories carry messages – even unintended – that can inspire, revolt, enlighten or challenge.
Are you who you are more because of things your parents said to you in a lecture or more because of what you picked up from the influence of their living? Story is the living.
At the same time, can you remember a moment when mom or dad got down at your level and stared you in the face and spoke words you’ve never forgotten? That wasn’t a lecture or a story – but that was living, too. They got your attention, so you heard.
Attention opens the door. Stories talk because they get our attention, and we feel a message with our hearts and souls. And our hearts and souls motivate us to act and change.
Illustration from What Matters Now ebook from Seth Godin.
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