Had a thought this morning about the use of communicating stories to motivate others into service.
Typically, most people or churches, create stories that celebrate the “WHAT.” As in, WHAT someone has done, or WHAT someone will be doing in the future. Usually, it’s the WHAT that has caught our attention to want us to create and share their story in the first place.
But, as you communicate the WHAT, it’s more important to uncover and reveal the “WHY” that is behind the WHAT. As in, WHY do they do what you’re creating the story about? WHY do they dedicate their time, resources or skills?
For the WHY is what drives the WHAT, and when we reveal the WHY, this is what has the potential to create the “WIN.”
As in someone else seeing this story and then deciding to take the next steps to discover their WHAT.
As an example, let’s say you have a ministry at your church that we’ll call “WHAT.” And a member of your church, Bob, comes to you and says, “I am so passionate about “WHAT” and would love to lead this event!” So you, of course, say YES! Because, I mean really, how often does that kind of thing happen? So you jump at the chance to let Bob take ministry “WHAT” and run with it, and he does and does a tremendous job! So much so that you say to your staff, “we need to create a video story to share with the church what a tremendous job Bob has done with “WHAT.” And that’s what you do, you create a video thanking Bob for creating such a great “WHAT,” and in the video, you share what a tremendous “WHAT” it was, and that you have never had a “WHAT” like that ever before at your church.
Now Jerry who happens to be at your church that Sunday, is also someone who contains a tremendous amount of potential to do good, and sees the story you created celebrating Bob and the tremendous “WHAT” he was able to pull off. Now although Jerry is happy for Bob, and for the church, he’s not really motivated to do anything more, because after all “WHAT” really isn’t his cup of tea, or this particular “WHAT” is not really designed for the ‘age that he identifies with’, and so that’s where the story ends.
Now imagine though, that you create a video story that celebrates Bob and the tremendous job he did in leading “WHAT” but you also give Bob a chance to explain “WHY” his ministry in “WHAT” is so important to him. It might sound something like this – “Bob we can’t thank you enough for the time and effort you have spent leading this great event, but if we could, I’d like to go back to the first day we spoke about “WHAT” out in the church parking lot. Now what many of you don’t know, is that Bob approached me and shared with me, well Bob why don’t you share with those here today “WHY” it’s so important to you? And then Bob begins to share the “WHY” behind the “WHAT.” And after he explains it, you begin to see that the “WHAT” is really, just an extension of his heart towards people, and the skills that he has for “WHAT” is just how God has designed him to be, and then Bob says, “and even though this is my “WHAT” it may not be your “WHAT,” so today I challenge you to discover “WHAT” areas you could get involved in.”
Now after seeing this is excited for Bob and his tremendous win, but as Bob was speaking about “WHY” he wanted to serve, this sparked something inside of him that related to “WHAT” he was good at.
A seed has been planted. This is the “WIN!”
Celebrate the WHAT.
Reveal the WHY.
Discover the WIN.
“A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” Luke 6:45
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