By Melanie C. Gordon

“We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us…” (Romans 12:6).

Search the internet and you will find many personal stories of faith from all over the world. You will find places to tell your story and send it out to the millions who log on everyday--both strangers and neighbors. Through blogging and podcasts, our technological world has become both a venue in which individuals can share their stories and also a clutter of information that can potentially leave behind those who communicate in other ways. Do you ever wonder how those stories might be told through a science experiment or in three dimensions or face-to-face?

There are many ways to tell our faith stories

Storytelling has been a tradition in many cultures and families for centuries. Storytelling is also a part of our Christian heritage. Jesus used storytelling to teach. Sermons sometimes tell a story. You may know people who have the gift of storytelling, but for many of us telling a story out loud in front of a sanctuary filled with people-- or even in a small group of people --may prove daunting at best. 

One of the requirements of my residency as a hospital chaplain involved “Unfolding the Tapestry of My Life”. This was divided into ten categories and the calendar years of life – quite an intense and telling look into my own faith journey. What I discovered as I presented this life tapestry to my colleagues was the desire to tell my story in photographs rather than on a chart. Granted, the chart was a great place to begin, but pictures allowed me to tell stories in a richer and more effective way.

One of the ways that we can tell our own faith stories, and help others to do the same, is by first understanding how we best encounter the world. We are all given different gifts, and this includes the way we communicate most effectively. For many people, sharing a personal faith story is scary or overwhelming for reasons reaching from the definition to the delivery. If all of us possessed the “gift of gab”, we would need only to answer the questions below and find a listener. But many of us have different gifts, ranging from mathematician to musician to chef. We express ourselves in various ways and we must be careful in helping each other to share our stories in the arena in which we are most comfortable, for it is here that others will connect to us. Songs, photographs, and charts tell a story. Movement, nature, and games can also tell a story. All these gifts are important in this world. 

Where do we begin?

• Look at different stages in life: Pre-school, elementary, adolescent, late teen, 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, and beyond.
• In a way that you are comfortable, respond to these questions as they influenced you at different stages in your life, including the present:
• Who is God to me?
• What people are significant to me?
• What major events are occurring in my life?
• How are major societal events impacting my life?
• What people and institutions are the authority figures for me?
• What stories or people in the Bible are significant to me?
• How does the life of Jesus reflect in my life?
• Tell your story in a way that is most comfortable to you.   

Melanie C. Gordon is director of younger children's ministies at GBOD in Nashville, Tennessee.

• Faith Development and Pastoral Care, by James W. Fowler (Fortress Press, 1987).
• Living Into the Answers: A Workbook for Personal Spiritual Discernment, by Valerie K. Isenhower and Judith A. Todd (Upper Room Books, 2008).
• Multiple Intelligences: New Horizons in Theory and Practice, by Howard Gardner (Basic Books, 2006).
• Storytelling Discoveries: Favorite Activities for Young Tellers, by Vivian and Barbara Dubrovin (Storycraft Publishers, 2002).