Mastering Your Storytelling Ability

Over the course of the last year, there have been some amazing shows that have been released on streaming and other TV channels. The Mandalorian, WandaVision, Loki and Ted Lasso are some of the most talked about shows released during that time. They were amazing!

What do these four shows do that sets them apart for others?

• Great Storytelling. Marvel has decades of stories that they can share on television or in movies and they are doing a great job of translating them from paper to TV and movies. Star Wars has a whole universe they are just beginning to explore and Ted Lasso is a whole new story with amazing writers. The writers are great about sharing the stories of the characters in them. They have amazing storytelling ability.
• They hit on nostalgia. Part of the great storytelling are the nostalgic references shows like the Mandalorian highlight that draw die hard fans into the story even more. They do a great job to connect people from across their universe and to other characters or stories in their shows. Nostalgia is always heartwarming and pulls on the emotions of fans.
• Characters development. These shows highlight people that you can relate to. In all these shows I highlighted above you can relate to the main characters. They have their imperfections, especially Loki. But they are all people that viewers can relate to and aspire to be like. Ted Lasso is the perfect example here. Ted is someone everyone, especially ministers can relate to.

As great as these shows are, they aren’t the only group that has amazing stories to share. Christians have the greatest story ever told. However, it seems like when we talk about Jesus and God’s redemption story we only focus on certain aspects of it. We don’t share all the stories about Jesus, God and the first Church. We don’t share often about the failures and heroes of the Israelites in the Old Testament. There are so many stories we can share about that people can relate to.

As ministers and storytellers, we can dig deeper and share about who the disciples where, what they gave up to follow Jesus and how imperfect they were.  God’s redemption story is amazing and it began the moment Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit. While it ended at the empty tomb, the stories of that story and the stories of the first Christians, Church and Missionaries are amazing. These are impactful stories we can be sharing.

Jim Rayburn, the founder of Young Life, once said, “It’s a sin to bore a kid with the gospel.” That is why sites like Preaching Donkey, Pro Preacher are great for minsters to use to help learn how to how to share the gospel in a compelling and relatable way. Also, check out the 4 Keys to Good Storytelling blog post I did. We have a tremendous opportunity to tell stories that people today can relate to and identify with. Let’s go out, continue to grow as ministers and storytellers and share about Jesus not just on Sundays but everyday.

What do you think? How can you master your storytelling ability? What can you do? Share your ideas below or on social media using #ymsidekick when you share. 

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