Recap of STORY Speakers — Part 3

Friday STORY Speakers —

Complete speaker list here at my Recap of STORY – part 1.

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1. David Wenzel – short film producer. David’s life was good, almost perfect — never having had a broken bone or even a cavity. Until June, 2009, when he had a grand-mal seizure and discovered he had a large, inoperable, cancerous tumor growing around and through his brain.

He felt that God directed him not to do medical treatment, but that God would heal him. He doesn’t believe that is what everyone should do, but he does feel that is what God has told him to at this time.

I must admit I question what he is doing, but there was something about his story and his faith that was inspiring.

2. Wesley Hill – student and author. Wesley grew up in a Christian home and as an early teen realized he was more attracted to men than to women. It isn’t a choice he made, it’s just who he is. He doesn’t know why. He hoped and prayed that his body/desires/attractions would change. They didn’t. He struggled silently for years, knowing it was not ‘safe’ to share his sexuality issues with other Christians.

He slowly opened up to a counselor and others. He believes the Bible views sex as something that should take place between one man and woman, so he lives as a celibate gay Christian. He encouraged the church to make room for all Christians, no matter what issues they struggle with.

He said the Christian life is about waiting — we live in the time between when Jesus came and when he will come again. We groan, wait and hope. Following God can mean there will be victory in some areas, but it also means that we learn to struggle well as we wait. That is what he tries to do — struggle well as he looks forward to the day when he will have a new body.

His first book (just published) is called Washed and Waiting – Reflections on Christian Faithfulness and Homosexuality.

3. John Sowers - John grew up without a father in his home and today his heart breaks for fatherless boys. As president of Donald Miller’s The Mentoring Project he works to provide mentors for hundreds of boys and change the future of their (and our) world. Statistics show that many of the boys/men in prison grew up  without a father in the home. Having an absent father affects how children view God.

John’s heart and softness was touching to see (he wiped tears away multiple times) and I’m so glad that many boys will be given hope because of the work John (and others) are doing with The Mentoring Project.

5. Princess Zulu – human rights advocate. As a child in Zambia, Princess lost both parents to AIDS and as the oldest child had to parent her siblings. Now she lives part of the year in Zambia and part in Chicago, working with organizations to help the AIDS epidemic. She said that even though the epidemic is happening half a world away from us, it is still part of our story. What are we doing about it? Are we willing to help — to help change the story of other children, so they don’t lose their parents like she did?

She was interesting to listen too — but as she closed she read some verses about God predestining everything, so I question whether she implied that he caused the AIDS epidemic. I have a hard time seeing a God of love doing that (or anything) to hurt humans, especially children.

6. Shauna Niequist - author. Shauna encouraged each of us to share our story. She said that while pastors/teachers are important, they are not the only ones that have a story to tell, we all do. Everyone has a story to tell and sharing our stories can bring encouragement and hope to each other. Not just sharing the good of our story, but also being honest about our struggles.

I like how she challenged us to forget about the ‘correct’ or ‘normal’ way of storytelling and to be open and willing to share our story in whatever unique way we want to.

7. Leonard Sweet – author. Of all the speakers, Leonard is the one I was most familiar with going into the conference. I’ve read many of his books and love them! He looks at the Bible and Christian life in a way that I can connect with.

At the conference, he reminded us that Jesus was a storyteller and we would do well to do the same. He talked about the importance of telling our and God’s story in a way that others can understand. We need to live in our time, not in the past. TGIF now stands for Twitter, Google, iPhone, Facebook and we (and churches) need to live in that world to connect with others.

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This wraps up the speaker lineup for STORY10. Recaps don’t do a conference justice — you need to be there to get the full experience. STORY is founded and directed by Ben Arment (my super coach!) Follow his blog for news on next year’s conference.

The overall feeling I came home with is one of hope and inspiration. Hope in the middle of the many questions I daily live with — about life, love and God. And inspiration to be willing to be me and to freely share who I am — both the shadows and the sunshine.

I have a story to tell. You have a story to tell.

Will we do that?

STORY Recap 1

STORY Recap 2

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