Using Stories to Reach Readers

by Ron Estrada

I’ve undertaken a post in a new ministry in our United Methodist Church. It seems the Methodists are going through a transitional stage, a return to our roots so to speak. More for most of us, it’s a heavy sigh of relief. But it’s not just the UM Church undergoing a change, it’s society and other churches as well. I attended a conference recently and learned about the “Emerging Generation.” Essentially, we are past the modern generation, which had turned its collective back on the church but was drawn back through contemporary, or seeker friendly, methods.

Now we’re onto the post-modern, or emerging, generation, people who don’t even know what church is and have a basic mistrust of organized religion. Funny thing is, the twenty-something crowd of this generation is more spiritual than those previous. The problem is, they’ll find spirituality in whatever form it’s presented to them. Thus, the frightening rise of Wiccans and other pagan religions.

For writers, this knowledge of this current mindset is critical. These are the people we’ll be writing to within the next ten years. How do we do that? Well, think like someone from another planet who’s never even cracked open a bible and never stepped into a church. In other words, behave and think like a first century Christian. You’ll hear the phrase “Vintage Worship” tossed about. It’s exactly what it sounds like. Nothing fancy, just a return to our heritage.

I wrote this because my recent journey in this new ministry has forced me to think about how I write. Do I want to reach out to these folks who may be coming into the body of Christ with no former knowledge of the church? If I do, then I need to get into their heads. Trust me, they think nothing the way we do. The world has shaped them, not a Judeo-Christian society. If I’m to love them into the body, I need to speak to them. I speak with stories.

Sounds like the way my Savior taught.