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“If a child is engaged by a story nothing else competes” – Sally Lloyd-Jones
Stories are powerful we forget this, Jesus did not but we do. We get distracted by the shiny things that are intended to enhance stories not replace them. I know for me as someone who is a lover of technology and is an early adopter. Nothing replaces a good story. Never forget that. No icon, no game, no app replaces a story.
“The PlayStation puts his life on hold the book expands her life” – Sally Lloyd-Jones
I am not anti video game, but I think Sally is on to something here. Books transport kids because they force you to create in your mind the very things a good writer describes. The world you create in your own mind as a result of a good story is much more vivid and unique than any movie or game could ever try and duplicate. My theory as to why we have such horrible movies now days is because we focus so much on shared experiences that we lose the depth of imagination good stories are meant to bring.
“Escape isn’t a bad thing if you are escaping into the truth to bring you back to live fully in your life” Sally Lloyd-Jones
Here is where Jones drives it home. We all escape into something. It’s why we love sports, leisure, and entertainment. They help us forget who we are for a few moments. As parents and pastors I believe our job is not to spend our efforts railing against the evils of this age and tearing down the story we find more damaging. As a pastor and a parent I need to tell a better story. Stories are containers for truth. If we can tell a story that helps kids escape into the truth and come out of the story to live a life framed by the view of the world the story showed us. That is powerful.
So as you prepare to tell the greatest story ever this weekend make sure you tell it in compelling fashion, because the kids we lead are longing to be part of a story that is bigger than them.
Take a few minutes and watch Sally Lloyd-Jones talk about the power of good stories.
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