Pastor, tell your story — but it’s hard for pastors to tell their stories because their stories are not their own. Because no individual’s story is only about that individual. The protagonist is always surrounded. There are always antagonists, companions, and supporting characters.
To tell my story is to also tell part of someone else’s story. And, of course, as the saying goes, there are always two sides to every story. In the case of a pastor telling their story, there can be dozens of other sides to a single story.
Tell Your Story – The Beauty and the Heartbreak
Pastors’ stories also belong to their congregation, to the volunteer leaders, to the staff that they work with. This is both beautiful and paralyzing.
Here’s where it makes the story-telling beautiful: If I try to tell a success story, I quickly realize that my success is not my own. In fact, in my 13 years as a senior pastor, I can honestly say that I was only marginally involved in most of the great things that happened in and through our church: Pancakes and Prayer; Women’s Shelter Breakfasts; our incredibly rich and talented worship team; our strong and vibrant Small Groups system; our generous giving which was double the national average; physical healing and restored relationships; the dozens of people who came to faith or found a church home for the first time in their lives.
