My website has a new header. It’s not dramatically different, just a change from “Passionate living through passionate writing” to “Storyformed living through storyformed writing.”
Why the change?
I was first introduced to the term “storyformed” back in 2015 when my husband and I attended a church planter training called Soma School in Tacoma, WA. Soma recommended The Story-Formed Way, a method of facilitating conversations about God and the Bible through the overarching narrative of Scripture with believers and nonbelievers alike.
The concept behind the Story-Formed Way is that the Bible is first and foremost a story, a grand narrative in which God is the main character. To help people understand who God is and what He has done for us, it’s helpful to start by understanding the Story of God. Stories level the playing field, because when we stop and read the Bible as a story (a true one) and its individual components as stories, we relate to it, to God, and to each other on a whole new level.
The term reflects an instrumental change to my perspective on the Bible and my faith walk. I am part of a larger story. Every verse of the Bible fits within a larger story, a story God has been unfolding since the beginning of time. It’s incredible and masterful and brilliant.
We are a Storyformed people. We tell stories. We relate to stories. We pass down stories. Jesus used stories called parables to illustrate his points and the Bible is at least 50% narrative text because God knows this about us. We are a people shaped by stories, and specifically by the Story of God, whether we follow Him or not.
When it comes to my writing, I don’t love the term “Christian fiction,” because it’s too vague and peachy. My books aren’t just clean books Christians can feel comfortable reading or fun stories with some Jesus sprinkled on top (not that there is anything wrong with that); they’re purposeful vessels of life-transforming truth that include messy, raw people and complex plot lines. They’re intentionally written to reflect the reality of living in a broken world and how the gospel of Jesus breaks in and changes everything.
I slightly prefer the term faith-filled fiction, but considering that some of my characters are definitely NOT Christians for a good part of the story, that doesn’t quite resonate either.
Instead, Storyformed sums up the purpose and content of my writing. Every word is shaped by the Story of God, the grand narrative of God’s unrelenting pursuit and His redemptive work to save Humanity from our sin. Whether I am writing articles for small newspapers, penning blog posts, or authoring books (fiction or not), my prayer is that every word I write will point people to the person and work of Jesus Christ.
So, welcome to Storyformed Writing, where you’ll find Storyformed Fiction and other forms of written word. If my writing in any way helps you to better understand the Story of God and your part in it, I would love to hear from you – please send me an email or post a comment!
P.s. – I did my research on the term “Storyformed” to make sure it isn’t trademarked (it’s not at present). I did find one other organization using the term, The Storyformed Project, which is focused on getting quality literature into the hands of children. AWESOME! I haven’t dug into it much, but I plan to check it out, and if you’re a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, or have ever met a child, you should too 🙂
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