He seems to be saying some of the same things that you are. The email, which came to me from my wife, referred to a speaker who had visited my son’s school. Not the typical gig at a Christian college, Ralph Winter, is a Hollywood producer with notable credits including the X-men films. Many things in his speech proved provocative like when he said, “Hollywood leans toward focusing on how the story is told, not its content, while churches focus on the content and not how to tell it.” But what grabbed my interest most was how he exhorted us to disclose our real journeys. Contemplate these excerpts:
“The Bible is full of honest, authentic stories with flawed characters. That is why the Bible continues to be relevant in this generation.”
“Storytelling makes us human. Everyone has a narrative. We may know how the story ends, but the journey makes us care about what happens.”
“Christians are bad storytellers when they omit the journey that leads to the transformation. That’s the job of a storyteller. Only when we reveal something about our journey do we truly connect.”
As my wife insinuated, I heartily concur. Let me try to articulate why this message is so important. Winter is pinpointing the great deficit that exists in the church with its communication patterns. I wrote Soul Whisperer, partly to help Christians bridge this gap. Instead of the cosmetic polished piety, we must get to the more honest darker places, where dialogues of meaning can emerge. Sadly, the Christian church still buys the modern mindset that we must present a favorable picture of ourselves or none will want our faith. We teach people to offer what I call “ta da” testimonies. This is who I was, and now I am like this. Ta da! By adopting this idyllic pitch, we fail to allow others a glimpse to how God is working in our current struggles and challenges. Thus, they can’t see the real journey!
This reduction guts the conversation from what is most relatable: our humanity. All people, believers or nonbelievers, are intrigued with human predicaments. This is how movie producers keep us on the edge of our seats (note that each mutant character in X-men has their own set of problems). Ironically, this very thing that is so compelling and that has the power to bond relationships is what Christians are afraid of. By presenting a falsely dressed image, we shelter them from the truth, and cloud what is truly relevant about our faith.
Unintentionally, mind you, we offer a skewed view of discipleship, which implies that we’ve got it all together. Unlike the Bible, which reveals its characters for who they really are, warts, issues and all, we offer something different. In this way, we are anti-biblical.
In short, bereft of honesty, non-believers can’t intuit what Jesus does for us—and what grace and faith might do for them! Let me add, utilizing disclosure effectively is a skill. Most Christians are clueless on how to utilize it potently and timely for the gospel’s sake.
Note: My book Soul Whisperer develops how the Apostle Paul used honest disclosure to connect on four levels!