A Question Of Failure

So far this week, the discussion has revolved around stories. Monday’s post revolved around our church beginning a Bible study series from Zondervan Publishing, called The Story. Yesterday, we heard from a man named Max regarding his story in a piece entitled Your Life Is the Greatest Story Ever Told. In this, he discussed the premise from Donald Miller, “that some of us are not living the right story." This is a fair question to ponder upon for all of us. As was said yesterday, many more questions arise than answers.

In any story, situations in life shape us. Successes, failures, setbacks, unforeseen occurrences; that take the very life away from us. Today, failures in life are the topic. Simply put, we all experience failures of some type. What failures have you experienced? There are many that come to mind; failures in our jobs; personal failures; family failures; relational failures, all of which shape how we view ourselves.

I came across a blog post by Dan Rockwell, a.k.a. @Leadershipfreak, entitled, The Question that Changes You. In his post, he discusses failures as such. Dan puts it this way.

“Failure humbles you by demonstrating your lack of knowledge and ability. Failures, additionally, burst the bubble of perceived control. Failure breaks up old ways of thinking and doing. Failures are followed by nagging questions. What would you do differently? What have you learned? These are good questions but they aren’t life changing.”

He then goes on to say,

“I asked a leader I’m coaching how his recent experiences changed the way he viewed himself. The question that changes you is about “being” not “doing”. Engage in self-reflection by asking – how have my experiences changed the way I think about me.”

Wow! Lots to ponder today when you finish reading. So my question is this, “what about our being?” Where do we find and nurture that sense of "being" that Dan discusses? Can small groups be that nurturing place of “self-reflection” and safe open dialogue (regarding our failures) that connects others in the same place in life? More to come! 

Story #1

I went searching today for a story to write about. If you read yesterday's post, you would know that I am discussing how important each of our personal stories are. After perusing my Twitter feed, I came across a story by Max Dubinsky, found on a website known as People Of The Second Chance. In his personal story, entitled, Your Life Is The Greatest Story Ever Told, he recounts this.

"I’ve been reading Donald Miller’s book A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. It’s the story of him editing his life into a story fit to be made into a movie. Miller discusses how hard it is to remember the life you’ve lived, how memories get lost in a few drinks in a few years, and whether life even happened if you can’t remember it.

He believes we all have a story to tell, and that some of us are not living the right story".

Max points out some salient points put forth by Donald Miller. Would each of us, as Miller puts it, "remember the life you've lived..." Would it be possible to recount our story if asked to write a screenplay about our life? How would other actors fit into our story? Tough questions to consider. How would you answer? What would your story look like?

What about his last statement, “that some of us not living right story.” How does that sit with you? Could this mean that we are not living the life God has called us to live? Have we even considered this aspect of our story? Again, lots of questions with answers begging to become known.

So where do we begin? How will our story play out? 

Our Stories

This fall, our church is embarking on a campaign to get our members to begin reading their bibles on a regular basis. As I stated in my previous blog post, "we have got to start somewhere." So this is where we will begin as a church. We are beginning with Zondervan Publishing's, The Story.

As we begin, we have to come together as church to start listening to the story God has given us in his word. In keeping with the idea of God's story, we also have to listen to each others story as well. Our stories define us personally, as a church, and as a community of believers. With that being said, we each need to tell our stories; we also need to hear others stories as well.

As a small group pastor, I am praying that God will send forth those in our church, as well as churches everywhere to start telling their own personal stories of how God has changed their lives. You can even send me your story! I would love to hear it and include it in my blog.

Let the story begin!