I am loving this book! The subtitle is what caught my attention: "The Power of Telling Authentic Stories in a Low-Trust World."This book has a blog here!
Here are some elements of a great story, according to Seth in his chapter "Highlights."
- A great story is true.
- Great stories make a promise.
- Great stories are trusted.
- Great stories are subtle.
- Great stories happen fast.
- Great stories don't appeal to logic, but they often appeal to our senses.
- Great stories are rarely aimed at everyone.
- Great stories don't contradict themselves.
- And most of all, great stories agree with our worldview.
He comments, "This book is a book about the psychology of satisfaction. I believe that people tell themselves stories and then work hard to make them true. I call a story that a consumer believes a lie...this is a book about telling the truth...and the only way your idea will spread is if you tell the truth. And you are telling the truth when you live the story you are telling - when it's authentic."
How does all this work? "This is what makes it all work: a complete dedication to and embrace of your story." (pg. 16)
I am praying that the students in our community will embrace this type of authenticity as their lives have intersected with the story of God. I hope that they will stop just relaying the Truth that they know and start giving away the Truth they are living for. If Seth is asking for authenticity in the marketing world, lets hope he can meet the families and students in our community and see authentic followers of Jesus' Way, Truth & Life!
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1 comments:
Dan,
What a timely book. I had a relevant experience a year or two back when Stacy and I attended Woodale Church in Minnesota. The pastor is a well known Christian author and speaker. One sermon he used an illustration that was not his own. It was actually a joke that had been circulating on the net for some time, however the pastor made it a first person story infering that it had happened to him, the congregation got a good laugh, but it was not true, and people in the congregation knew it. For us, it added to our growing fealing of disingenuousness with that church, certainly not the reason we left, but it rasied our eyebrows.
Hodges
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