To tell or not to tell? Only if you've listened well! (WHYS? Group)

What's His/ Your Story? (WHYS?) Group leaders must be able to (as with STS teachers):

• Tell a story in an interesting and accurate way.
• find deep truths in the story and prepare questions.
• skillfully lead discussions.
• help people discover, themselves, the spiritual treasures in a story and then make personal applications.

A WHYS? Group is Relational, & utilizes Story, (half being those from Mark’s story method of telling the Gospel of Mark; & half of the stories being those from our own lives in this day & age, where the Lord Jesus has brought healing, health, thrown out bad spirits from the ways we relate, and brought the announcement of good & true leadership (a thing most pressingly needed). It also involves Discussion, and Discovery. Thus it is more than a teacher Telling People what to do - as a little tin god; it involves  telling stories to people, and allowing God to work in, on, for, & eventually through them, via the avenue of storytelling. Thus they retain the dignity of discovery, rather than being the foil for the teacher to show off their learning - over against the ignorance of the students… This method is stolen straight from Jesus, Peter, Mark, Matthew, Luke, John, Paul, etc. How gracious, the Lord Jesus is, and was!

STS teaches storytellers, “If the story you want to tell has not yet impacted your life, you are not yet ready to tell it.”  My ditty for this is: 

Choose a story God has used

in you - caught your attention!

Follow through, until you’ve mused

and know God’s deep intention.

Good questions might help folks,

and as you learn to listen,

‘member Peter and those blokes

and Mary’s eyes that glistened.

Let your life be changed by what

you hear - and know to be true.

Then you’ve earned the right by God

to speak, as true people do.

And we hear the Gospel of

Jesus, God’s Messiah, told

(by Matthew, Mark, Luke & John),

as he said “right round the world”,

retold by some modern folk

each week as we do this group.

God you picked the best-est bloke

to lead us, please lead, and snoop!