Story-formed
We
understand, experience and intersect with God's Story and other's.
God has been unfolding his
Story since before time began. We believe we are participants in the Story and
need to understand it and see how our lives intersect with it. Therefore, we
regularly reacquaint ourselves with the Story by interacting with God's Word.
We look for ways and times to tell the Story often. We also take time to listen
to others stories and help them find their lives within God's Story.
Being part of Soma and hearing the Story of God has helped me see the big picture. To me, the Bible seemed very disconnected growing up, like it was a rule book or some sort of text book that I would refer to for guidelines... I never felt like I was a part of the story at all. Now I see that God has been at work from before Adam until now. I'm starting to see how my life and my friends' lives fit in to what God's up to. For instance, my wife and I have a really close friend who is a Buddhist. As we hang out, we listen to her and to her life story, about why she follows Buddhist teachings. We try to find the truth in it, the good things, the connection between her story and the story of God. Drawing connections isn't hard at all; she gives her life selflessly all the time as a mentor for the YWCA. It's really cool watching her take these broken teenagers and then work to help restore them. It's funny because we look at it and say, "Wow, what's she's really doing is trying to restore these people back toward the image of God!" We have great conversations about how the good things in her life are from God.
Luke - Hilltop, Tacoma
Once upon a time I felt overwhelmed by the Bible, thinking of it as a large and even confusing "instruction manual". After hearing Caesar tell the Bible as the Story of God I began to see things differently. Knowing the Bible in story format clearly reminded me of the consistency of God and his continual restoration of us back to Himself. The Story of God repetitively shows God using messed up people in the redemption process- that's us! It is exciting to me to remember it isn't an outdated story; it's our story even thousands of years later. While I still value studying the Bible, learning it in story form has opened my eyes to see that my own life is a story with God's handwriting all over it. Now, I can't meet or even see someone walking down the street without wanting to know their stories. Whether we recognize the same author or not, our stories tend to have these common themes of pain, celebration, loss, love, etc. that are healing when shared. I have learned the importance of knowing and sharing my own story while consistently seeking to know the stories others long to tell.
Sammy - Hilltop, Tacoma
When I began to follow Jesus, I thought I had everything figured out. Growing up with versions of the Bible intended for children with a predilection towards pictures rather than words I understood the Bible in very broad strokes. To me the Bible was a book where humans were capable of great feats, like building arks, slaying giants, staring down fierce lions in their dens all while wearing amazing techni-colored dream coats. I remember knowing somehow that Jesus was the best of the bunch, the nicest man who ever lived, who fed many people and although I was weak He was strong. At least that's what the Bible told me. I also remember thinking it was a bummer that they killed him for no reason. But through out all this, God was always a background character, one who simply rewarded these men for their excellence.So when I agreed to sit through the story of God, I figured I'd have all the answers. Never was I more happy to be wrong.
Here for the first time was a story where God took center stage; where the creator of the universe was the main character (imagine that). Suddenly, not only were all the stories I had heard as a child told accurately, but for the first time I saw how they all fit together in one great story. The Story. I saw God working through out all of human history, and even before it was created. I saw His anger at sin and His love for humanity. I saw His compassion for people and the great lengths He would go for His children. Jesus had died for a reason. When it was done, I had very little to say. I just kept thinking of the parts of the story I had glossed over all my life, and how God was always the same, always consistent, always good, always right and always perfect.
I remember saying to the story teller "Its better than Lord of the Rings, I wish the story kept going." He responded, "It does. You're in it now brother. The same God from the Bible is the God of today, the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob is the God of Tom, Dick and William. Not only do you get to tell the story of God, you get to live it." Its an amazing way to look the world now; to realize that our lives are pieces of a much larger story, a grand adventure, a romance on a divine scale. My life used to be a story about me, and while it was a pretty good comedy, it is now the only type of story worth living; the kind of story where God is the main character.
Willie - 6th Ave, Tacoma
