Yesterday, I spent some time with my ol pal, Dave Ramseyer, National Director for Campus Life with Youth for Christ ministries. Dave and I share a long history going back to our freshman year at Huntington College in the fall of 96. We’ve always shared a passion for pushing the envelope in order to make people laugh as well as a passion to live for Jesus in the most incarnational and ordinary way possible.
This morning I was going over some of yesterday’s conversation with Dave and thinking through the “3 Story” idea which he explained as YFC's incarnational training which they have been developing over the course of the last 10-15 years. We discussed the recognition that to some degree all campus ministries have increasingly struggled navigating postmodernism/globalization (whatever you want to call our shift in cultural philosophy) in which sharing a life survey and a 4 step gospel track is about as relevant as muscle shirts and mustache’s. It is in response to this tension that YFC developed 3 Story. They explain 3 Story as… “Stories more than steps. Questions more than answers. Honesty more than perfection. Them more than You. Love more than knowledge. By the Spirit more than by the numbers.”
The basic idea to YFC’s 3 Story training is that Christians don’t appear as superior to pagans, rather in vulnerably living life together, the Spirit in us touches our friend's desire for lasting fulfillment. In the process of genuine yet intentional life conversations one discloses their own story as they discover the story of the other. This may happen over the course of one or several conversations. The key to 3 Story is caring enough for an individual to listen and engage the story of their life. As YFC states, “As true friends we will continue the journey with them. Ever eager to collaborate with God in connecting their story with God’s story.”
It doesn't seem like an agenda laden sales pitch. It's not rocket surgery and actually seems like a natural way of helping youth (or anyone else) be good news to the world. Interesting stuff.
Man I miss you guys.
How's Josiah?
Posted by: Mike O | July 30, 2008 at 07:11 PM