Tag 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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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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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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Common themes reduce cultural distance

Effective stories can result from simply spotting familiar themes in unfamiliar cultures. For a Seed Company-engaged project in Guatemala, Bible translators provided quick, personal stories about Scripture-related conversations with friends. Here’s one: One day, Jakalteko translator Josefa was talking with … Continue reading

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The Power of Being Invisible

Book recommendation: “Invisibles: The Power of Anonymous Work in an Age of Relentless Self-Promotion,” by David Zweig. I’m just starting this one, but the title alone sold it for me. In his introduction, Zweig writes: “… I was fascinated by people … Continue reading

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Glimpses of home

Christmastime brings a great reminder of one of the most impactful story elements: surprise. C.S. Lewis loved the term sehnsucht. The German word has no English equivalent. Roughly, it means a longing “to find the place where all beauty came from.” … Continue reading

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