Category Archives: Story

Overcoming the monster

People who teach writing like to talk about the basic elements of any good story. Characters. Setting. Conflict. A 350-foot-tall lizard that breathes lightning and threatens humanity. Stick with me here. Any story needs a monster, and according to three … Continue reading

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How to tell a dangerous story

Here’s another guest post from our friend and fellow missions journalist, Heather Pubols. You can learn more about Heather’s work at: http://www.lemotif.org “I know how you can tell this story,” I said to a colleague with a smile. “Someone did … Continue reading

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2019: Year of the Shed

I’m building a backyard shed this year. Several months ago, I would have told you I’m building a backyard shed this weekend. We needed more storage space and this seemed like a good idea at the time. That was before I … Continue reading

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Brevity on the Battlefield

Last summer I spent a day on the battlefields at Gettysburg, Pa. From July 1-3, 1863, almost 50,000 men died here. The relatively short battle turned the Civil War; Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Confederate army would never again invade the … Continue reading

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Impact stories and the power of one

Think of the best movie you’ve ever seen. A movie that did more than just entertain, but impacted you — changed the way you look at the world. In fact, list your top three. We’ll wait. Got ’em? Now summarize … Continue reading

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Eternity and the ultimate slam

Please indulge me as I show this video. If you’re a Washington Nationals fan, I’m sorry. Wait. No, I’m not. https://www.facebook.com/ESPN/videos/2236865546360189/ Last night was every kid’s baseball fantasy: a walk-off grand slam. They call it the ultimate slam or the … Continue reading

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Jonah’s blind side might be ours, too 

In a forthcoming book called The God Impulse: The Power of Mercy in an Unmerciful World, author Jack Alexander unpacks a startling statistic from Barna Research: “Only 17 percent of American Christians believe that mercy is their personal responsibility, while … Continue reading

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Report globally and help the Church engage

A video segment from Jimmy Kimmel Live! is getting big social media play this week. People interviewed on the street could not identify a single country on a world map. Not even their own. It couldn’t possibly be this bad. Could it? Things … Continue reading

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The defining moment

It was September of 1976, the week before the NFL season began, and Gary Fencik had just been cut by the Dolphins and signed by the Bears. On his first day of work, he borrowed his parents’ car and set out … Continue reading

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Raising questions and starting conversations

  In the days leading up to Memorial Day, PBS reran The Vietnam War, the riveting 17-hour documentary film by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick.   Last year, Burns was asked about his team’s reporting process in deeply telling the … Continue reading

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