The Story the Bible Tells

ACT I

Setting

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. He created all things and they were good. God also created man in His image: male and female. He placed Adam and Eve in a garden to the East. They ate from the tree of life and lived in harmony with God and creation. Utopia was created. Shalom was enjoyed.

Now Satan was an angel who rebelled against God. He attempted to equate himself with God and waged war in heaven. Satan and his angels were defeated and cast out of heaven. Since he had failed in his mutiny against God Himself, he now sought to destroy that which God loved most: man.

Inciting Incident

On earth, Satan took the form of a serpent and befriended Adam and Eve. Contrary to the words of God, Satan told them that nothing bad would happen if they ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. In fact, good things would happen. They would become very wise, like God Himself. Adam and Eve ate from the tree and immediately life was drastically altered right before their very eyes.

Shortly thereafter, God came looking for Adam and Eve because they had hidden themselves from God for they were now afraid of Him. When their disobedience was brought to light they made excuses and passed the blame for their actions. Sin had now entered the human realm. No longer were they able to live in harmony with God and others. God had no choice but to expel Adam and Eve from His presence for He could not allow them to continue to eat from the tree of life in their sinful state. Otherwise, they would live forever separated from Him. Utopia was destroyed. Shalom was shattered. Man grieved. God was heartbroken. Satan rejoiced.

ACT II

For many years man continued to rebel against God. God desperately desired to be back in right relationship with them and for them to live in harmony with each other. Because of man’s wickedness, He brought judgment with a great flood and he brought confusion of their languages. Yet, when presented with living God’s way or his own way, man continued to live out the evil in his heart thus having no regard for God.

Character Flaw

In the battle between right and wrong, it would require great faith for man to disregard his natural self-centeredness and live a life devoted to the worship of God alone. In order to teach mankind about faith, God chose a man named Abraham. God continually placed Abraham in situations that required him to look beyond his present circumstances and trust in the promises of God. Sometimes Abraham trusted. Sometimes he did not. Yet, God put forth Abraham as the model of a man who learned to live by faith. It was Abraham’s faith in God that caused God to declare him to be righteous.

B Story

God told Abraham that He would make his descendents into a great nation. This nation would be called Israel. The people of the nation of Israel were chosen by God to be an example to the world of what it looked like to live in right relationship with God and in harmony with each other.

Sometime later the people of Israel found themselves in captivity in Egypt. God brought plagues upon Egypt in order to punish Egypt for its brutal treatment of Israel as slaves. Pharaoh agreed to the release of the people of Israel and God’s prophet Moses led the people out of Egypt and into freedom. God had promised Abraham that His descendents would inhabit the land of Canaan and so Israel began their journey from Egypt to the land God would give them.

Even though they had just witnessed God practically destroy Egypt, the Israelites failed to trust God and the promises he made to them. Knowing they were too spiritually immature to live a life of faith like Abraham, God gave the nation of Israel a set of laws that proscribed right living with Him and others. Additionally, Israel’s blessing of remaining in the land given to them by God was dependent upon their obedience to God’s laws.

Vice

For a period of time, Israel was lead by different judges who administered justice and lead them in battle when necessary. In order to be more like the other nations around them, Israel desired to be governed by a king. Some kings were good and lead the people in worshipping God but most were evil and turned the people away from God and worshipped the idols of their neighbors.

God continually sent prophets to the nation encouraging them to turn from their idol worship and worship the one and only true God. The prophets warned Israel that God would bring judgment upon the nation if they did not turn back to Him. Israel refused to listen to the words of God through His prophets. Israel, as one nation, had consisted of twelve tribes but divided into two nations. Ten tribes continued to be called Israel while the other two tribes were called Judah.

God first brought judgment upon Israel by having them overtaken by the Assyrian Empire. Judah was spared destruction at this point but was later enslaved by the Babylonian Empire. Israel and Judah spent many years in captivity. When the Medo-Persians overthrew the Babylonian Empire, the people of Israel were allowed to return to their land. Some returned but many stayed and assimilated into the nation that had captured them. It was during this time that the last of God’s prophets appeared to the people. These prophets spoke of another prophet from God yet to come. One who would be known as the Messiah, or Savior.

Years later, the Roman Empire took control of the land in which the people of Israel lived. The Israelites hated being under Roman rule and longed for the day when the promised Messiah would free them from captivity. For four hundred years, no prophet from God appeared among the people of Israel.

Midpoint

One day, in the small town of Bethlehem, a teenage girl who had never been with a man sexually gave birth to a baby boy. An angel told her fiancé to name him, Jesus, which means Savior. This Jesus was the promised Messiah to the people of Israel.

Jesus grew up in the small town of Nazareth in Israel. At age 30, he began his public ministry as a Rabbi, which means Teacher. He traveled around preaching that the kingdom of God was at hand. He performed many miracles to substantiate that He was sent from God. In fact, He not only claimed to be sent by God, He claimed He was God.

Virtue

Jesus claimed that He alone could provide forgiveness for sins and that only through Him could one be in right relationship with God. He taught that faith in Him alone lead to eternal life with God. In Jesus, man would no longer be separated from God. Jesus did not limit his ministry to just the Jewish people. He welcomed Gentiles to be His followers. Many people accepted Jesus’ teachings and chose to follow Him.

Jesus also taught that where man lacked in his desire to love God and others, the Spirit of God Himself would indwell those who had accepted Him and would work to change their heart. This transformation would move someone from their natural focus on self to a life that genuinely cared for the well being of others and that their life would be characterized by a life of love. In short, the person who had accepted Jesus would become, over time, more and more like Jesus in word, thought, and deed. In other words, they would become a Christian, which means ‘little Christ’.

But not everyone welcomed Jesus and his teachings. Many of the religious leaders hated Jesus and felt threatened by Him. While their religious system was based on external obedience to rules and regulations, Jesus taught about a personal and intimate relationship with God. For Jesus, love was the fulfillment of the law. According to Jesus, if one loved God and loved His neighbor there would be no need for rules. God was more concerned about a relationship with man at the heart level rather than surface level compliance to man-made regulations.

Apparent Defeat

The hostility toward Jesus by the religious leaders continued to grow during the three years that Jesus traveled around preaching and teaching. To them, it was inconceivable that God could become a man and so they accused Jesus of blasphemy for claiming to be God when He wasn’t. Furthermore, Jesus’ teaching on love, peace, and self-sacrifice was not the message of overthrowing the Roman Empire they had expected from Israel’s Messiah. The religious leaders wanted to kill Jesus but could not impose the death penalty while under Roman rule. So they needed to somehow convince the Romans to execute Jesus. Ironically, they told the Roman governor that Jesus claimed to be the King of Israel, which meant he would attempt to overthrow Rome. Even though the governor, Pilate, believed Jesus to be innocent of these charges, he sentenced Jesus to death for being an insurrectionist. Jesus was beaten severely and then executed by means of crucifixion. His disciples were disheartened. Satan was delighted.

ACT III

After his death on Friday, Jesus’ body was buried in a tomb just before sundown. On Sunday morning, it was discovered that He has risen from the dead. He then appeared to His disciples and to many others. Over the next two months, there were reports by many of seeing Him. On one day, he met with His disciples and commissioned them go into all the world and preach the gospel to everyone. He then ascended from earth to heaven right before their very eyes. While the disciples were standing there perplexed, two angles appeared to the disciples and told them that Jesus would one day return to earth the same way he left.

Final Incident

Shortly after this, one of Jesus’ disciples, Peter, preached to the Jewish people that they had just executed their Messiah but that He had risen from the dead and was alive. Peter taught that God had declared Jesus to be both Lord and Christ. Many believed and the Church was born. Just as Israel was intended to be an example of right living with God and others and failed, now the Church, as the body of Christ, was given the charge to model to the world right living with God and others.

Climax

The gospel of Jesus quickly spread and churches began to form in city after city. Yet, there were still religious leaders who refused to believe that Jesus was the promised Messiah. One such leader, Paul, was determined to stop this movement by arresting and killing those who claimed to follow Jesus. However, one day, while on a mission to arrest Christians, Jesus appeared to Paul and the experience changed him forever. He went from being one of the biggest persecutors of the Church to arguably being its greatest advocate. Like Peter, Paul preached that salvation is by faith in Jesus and not on the basis of works.

Conclusion

Life was not easy for those who chose to follow Jesus. They soon found themselves shunned by those who held onto the Jewish faith. The Church had to deal with false teachers who came in attempting to teach that salvation was by works. They also experienced persecution from the Romans. While Judiasm was a legal religion in Rome, Christianity was not. Many believers were killed by the hands of the Romans.

One of Jesus’ closest friends on earth, John, was arrested later in his life and exiled to an island called Patmos. On this island Jesus appeared to Him in a vision and showed him events that would take place at a later date. John saw angels, trumpets, bowls, and many strange creatures which all had symbolic meanings. John also saw God Himself seated on the throne being worshipped and at the end of all things, those whose names were written in the book of life united with Him forever. Those who had rejected Jesus while on earth were sent away from the presence of God forever.

Final Image

John recorded the vision which was to serve as an encouragement to the churches that no matter what happens on earth, in the end, Jesus will return, Satan will be defeated and God will reign supreme. And once again, man will be united with God and live in harmony with each other. Utopia will be recreated and shalom will be restored.

A Closer Look at Movies, A Closer Look at Life

Every movie has a message. In every film that hits the big screen the writers are making commentary, on either how life is or how life should be, and they do this through the words and actions of characters. In order to best understand what commentary is being communicated by a movie, we must first zoom in for a close-up on its different parts and then pull back for a wide-angle look to see its message.

Most movies follow the same basic pattern. First, we are introduced to the protagonist who has a strong desire about something. We are also introduced to an antagonist who is the external opponent to the protagonist’s goal. Next, we see that our main character has an internal character flaw that is also keeping him from achieving his goal. Our hero’s goal will continually be just out of reach and he will continue on this path until the moment that all is lost. It will appear that our protagonist has either given up or will ultimately be defeated. Then, our hero experiences a moment of self-revelation. It often involves another character, typically a lover or a mentor, who helps the hero understand his character flaw. He finally realizes what his internal flaw is and what he must do to deal with it. It is only in overcoming his internal opponent that our hero can overcome his external opponent. The movie climaxes with our protagonist meeting face-to-face with his adversary and it is at this point that we see whether our hero has truly overcome his character flaw. Finally, the movie will conclude with a picture of how overcoming this internal flaw has changed our main character and what the future might look like for him.

It is typically in the moment that our hero realizes the true nature of his internal flaw that we see the message of the movie best communicated. The message of the movie is what the movie is really about. The movie is never really about overcoming an adversary. The messages of films are really about overcoming internal character flaws. The decisions made by our hero in dealing with his character flaw are what the writers are using to communicate either how life is or how life should be.

As an example, in Top Gun, our hero, Maverick, has the goal to be the best Navy pilot, but so does an equally skilled pilot named Iceman. Thus, Iceman serves as an external opponent to his goal. Both pilots are very confident, if not arrogant, about their piloting skills and they believe that to be the best is an admirable character trait. After his co-pilot, Goose, is killed in a tragic accident, Maverick loses confidence in his abilities as a combat pilot. This loss of confidence is Maverick’s internal opponent. As a result, it appears that all is lost as we see him ready to quit the elite training program. Maverick goes to tell Viper, his Top Gun instructor, he is leaving when Viper says to him, “You feel responsible for Goose and you have a confidence problem – a good pilot is compelled to evaluate what’s happened so he can apply what he’s learned.” Here is the moment of self-revelation for our hero. Maverick then returns to Top Gun for graduation and we think he has overcome his confidence problem. But the movie can’t end here. Maverick needs to prove to us that he has regained his confidence.

We then move toward the climax of the movie when we learn that Russian Migs have invaded American air space. Guess who is picked to repel the Russians? Iceman and Maverick. The Migs get a lock on Iceman and he is now out of the fight. Maverick now has the opportunity to show he is the best Navy pilot if only he has truly regained his confidence. The battle with the Migs is Maverick’s time of testing to see whether he has truly overcome his character flaw. At one point in the final battle Maverick disengages from the fight and we are led to believe that he hasn’t really regained his confidence. But Maverick does find his confidence, reengages in the battle and scares off the remaining Migs. The resolution of the movie is Maverick returning to the ship to a cheering crowd who acknowledge him as the best Navy pilot. Even Iceman acknowledges that Maverick is the best when he says that he would be Maverick’s wingman anytime. Therefore, as evident from the self-revelation section, the message of the movie Top Gun is: in order to be the best, you must learn from your experiences and move on.

Movies follow the same basic pattern because this pattern reflects human life experiences. Good stories mirror life’s realities. That is why they are so powerful. As a general rule, life isn’t easy. We have all sorts of goals and desires and yet we also encounter many obstacles to those goals. I am a follower of Jesus Christ which means I have a goal to become like Christ in my thoughts, words, and deeds. However, I have an Adversary (Satan) who places circumstances and people in my life who work to block that goal. Yet, the external opponent is rarely the biggest obstacle. More importantly, I have internal character flaws that prohibit me from becoming like Christ.

Too often I run from conflict. Typically, at the first sign of conflict I quickly head in the other direction. But the Scriptures tell me to endure (literally, “remain under”) during times of suffering. It is only in enduring the conflict to the point of apparent defeat that I learn the true nature of my character flaws and what I must do to overcome them. Overcoming character issues is not for the weak. The phrase “no pain, no gain” is just as much a spiritual reality as a physical reality. However, these are valuable life lessons that God wants to teach me and you. These are the lessons that forge my character and yours into becoming like Christ which is a life of love, peace, and joy.

So as you are watching movies, pay attention to the structure of the film. Identify the hero’s goal and what is blocking him, both externally and internally, from achieving that goal. Pay close attention to how the main character deals with his internal flaw. For it is in how our hero deals with his internal issue that we find the message of the movies we watch. Likewise, as you experience conflict in life, remain under. Instead of solely focusing on the external opponent, identify your internal opponent. What is it inside of you that God wants to change to become more like Christ? This is God’s message for your life story. It's the life of your story that becomes the story of your life.

How The Moral Premise Influenced My Parenting

As a parent, I want to know how to raise my kids the best way possible. Parenting doesn’t come naturally or easily for me. So I am always looking for tips and advice on how to best parent my kids. Specifically, I get tired of getting on their case all the time. It drains me to always have to say, “stop that,” “get down from there,” “put that away,” “get your room cleaned,” or “you better hurry up and eat.” And I really hate getting angry with them. Sometimes they can push my buttons and really send me over the edge. I know they are young and I do my best not to raise my voice but sometimes I feel that’s the only thing that will get their attention.

I ran across a book recently called Parenting with Love and Logic by Foster Cline and Jim Fay. The byline of the book is “Teaching Children Responsibility.” One of the main principles of the book is that responsibility is caught, not taught. In other words, kids learn best when they learn the lessons themselves. “Let the consequence be the teacher” is a popular phrase used in the book, which means that children learn responsibility best when they make the choice themselves and experience the consequences, whether good or bad. You can preach at them until you are blue in the face but they won’t take it as true for themselves until they learn it on their own.

I wasn’t sure I believed this principle until one summer I saw it actually work (proof also that it’s true). My three-year old daughter kept walking up close to the edge of the swimming pool without her life jacket on. I must have told her a dozen times to not get close to the pool without her life jacket because she might fall in. Yet, she continued to get closer and closer to the edge, even with me standing right there! So I finally decided that she needed to learn for herself. I watched as she leaned over the edge to look at the water and I knew right away what was about to happen. I quietly walked up behind her and sure enough, she leaned over too far and fell in. I jumped in right next to her and pulled her up just as her head was about to go under. I put her back up on the edge and her eyes were huge from the shock. After that, I never again had to tell her to put her life jacket on when she got close to the pool. Every time she came within six feet of the pool she would run and grab her life jacket and put it on. I could have continued to preach and get angry and send her to timeout but it wasn’t until she learned for herself that she actually changed her behavior.

I recently read, The Moral Premise, by Stanley Williams. The Moral Premise argues that every movie has a message, which can be stated as follows: “Vice leads to undesirable consequences; but Virtue leads to desirable consequences.” Every movie shows the main characters making moral choices, which then determine how they behave. Their behavior either leads to consequences that are desirable or consequences that are undesirable. This principle is present in every movie because it accurately reflects the human experience. Every day we make choices upon which we then act and which then have consequences, whether good or bad. What better way for me to raise my kids than to start now helping them to practice making choices and understanding that those choices have consequences. After all, this is how life actually works.

So now, as a parent, I look for opportunities to give my kids choices. I allow them to make the decision on what their behavior will be but also help them understand that they will experience the consequences of that choice. This has greatly helped take the anger and preaching out of disciplining my kids. For example, if my kids are jumping off the back of the couch, I could get mad and yell and send them to their rooms but now the focus for them is on my anger and not their behavior. Instead, I look for ways to give them a choice with consequences. Now, I tell them they can either stop jumping off the couch and continue playing in the living room together or they can jump off the couch again and go play in their bedrooms by themselves. I have now given them a choice of behaviors but have also informed them of the consequences of their choice. Now the focus is on their behavior and not my anger.

So if you want to control their behavior, give them a choice between a behavior with desirable consequences and a behavior with undesirable consequences. I am sure you know your kids well enough to know exactly what are desirable and undesirable consequences for them. As I am also sure you well know, it’s different for every kid. The hard part as a parent is allowing them to suffer the undesirable consequences if that is what they choose. However, better they learn life lessons about responsibility at age six with a toy car than at age sixteen with a real car.

Movies and their Message

Every movie has a message. Every film that makes it to the big screen has one central idea it intends to communicate. It may have many themes but it will have only one message around which the entire movie revolves. The message of a movie is often subtle and may not be recognized on the first viewing. But with a little discernment, we can pick up on the movie’s message quickly and be able to articulate it accurately.

In every movie, the main character has a physical challenge that he must overcome. In confronting the physical obstacle he must first overcome a psychological obstacle. Only in overcoming the psychological challenge can our hero conquer his physical challenge. Think of how many sports movies (i.e. Remember the Titans, Miracle, and Glory Road) that show us a group of athletes needing to learn to play together as a team rather than as individuals (psychological challenge) in order to win the championship (physical challenge).

The psychological challenge presents our main character with a moral choice. In this sense, the message of a movie will always be about a choice that is right and a choice that is wrong. For example, in Glory Road and Remember the Titans racial prejudice serves as the psychological challenge for the basketball and football teams. In Miracle, holding on to past grudges and college loyalties serves as the psychological challenge for the U.S. hockey team.

The moral choice made by the protagonist in an attempt to overcome the psychological obstacle will change the protagonist in some manner, either for better or for worse. The nature of the hero’s moral choice and the resulting consequences is where we find the message of a movie. In each of the three sports movies mentioned thus far, each team was able to win the championship because they made the moral choice to set aside their differences. We like movies with happy endings. We like to see the underdogs win the big game. But how would have things been different in Remember the Titans if Gerry Bertier and Julius Campbell did not lead the team in getting past their racial prejudices? If the movie is true to its message, they would not have won the state championship and we would not be watching a movie about remembering the Titans football team.

In his book, The Moral Premise, Stanley Williams writes that one way to identify the message of a movie is to discover the virtue (right moral choice) and the vice (wrong moral choice) presented in the movie and the resulting consequences. Williams points out that at the beginning of the movie the protagonist will choose the vice, and as a result, suffer defeat. Then, around the mid-point of the movie, the hero chooses to embrace the virtue, and as a result, starts to experience success. The main character will continue to experience success as long as he embraces the virtue. Again, think about the three sports movies mentioned. In each movie, the teams suffer defeat when they are divided, but once they begin to play as a unified team, they begin to win. The more they come together as a team, the more unstoppable they become.

Williams writes that the ‘moral premise’ of a movie can be articulated by stating that “Vice leads to undesirable consequences; but Virtue leads to desirable consequences.” So all we need to do is plug in the virtue, vice and resulting consequences presented from the particular movie we are viewing. In our sports movies discussed, we can articulate the message generally of each movie as follows: A divided team leads to defeat but a unified team leads to victory. Again, this is generically true for all three movies. However, each movie presents a slightly different angle on what divides a team. For example, in Glory Road and Remember the Titans we can say that a team divided by racial prejudice leads to defeat but a team united despite its racial make-up leads to victory. In Miracle, we can say that a team divided because of past grudges and college loyalties leads to defeat but a team united who has put the past behind them leads to victory.

So as you watch movies, identify the virtue and the vice presented and the resulting consequences. Pay attention to what behavior leads to bad consequences and what behavior leads to good consequences. Once you have identified these, plug the particulars into the statement: “Vice leads to undesirable consequences; but Virtue leads to desirable consequences” and now you have the message of the movie.

By the way, I plan on writing a future blog entry on the connection between the tagline of a movie and the message of a movie. But as a teaser, notice the tagline used for Remember the Titans: “Before they could win, they had to become one.”

The Hero's Paradigm

Movies are simply visual stories, and as such, follow the same pattern as all good narratives: introduction, conflict, rising action, climax, and conclusion. In his book Hollywood Worldviews, Brian Godawa presents a slightly more detailed paradigm of the typical narrative structure. This is very helpful in assisting the viewer to determine the meaning intended by the writers of a movie. His analysis is as follows:

Hero: who is the story about?
Goal: what is the hero’s strong desire that drives the story?
Adversary: who/what is the external opponent to the hero and his goal?
Character Flaw: what is the internal opponent that holds the hero back?
Apparent Defeat: what is the point where all attempts to achieve the goal are frustrated to the point of total futility?
Self-Revelation: what does the hero learn about the true nature of his character flaw and what he must do to overcome it?
Final Confrontation: what is the point where the hero and adversary meet face to face or their worldviews come into direct contact?
Resolution: how has the hero been changed and how will the future be different?

As an example, in Top Gun, Maverick (hero) wants to be the best Navy pilot (goal), but so does an equally skilled pilot named Iceman (adversary). Both pilots are very confident, if not arrogant, about their piloting skills. After a tragic accident, Maverick loses his confidence in his abilities as a combat pilot (character flaw), and as a result, is ready to quit the elite training program (apparent defeat). Maverick goes to tell Viper he is leaving when Viper says to him, “You feel responsible for Goose and you have a confidence problem – a good pilot is compelled to evaluate what’s happened so he can apply what he’s learned.” (self-revelation) Maverick then returns to combat flying and is called upon to repel several Russian Migs. The Migs get a lock on Iceman and he is now out of the fight. Maverick now has the opportunity to show he is the best Navy pilot if only he has truly regained his confidence. The battle with the Migs is Maverick’s time of testing to see whether he has truly overcome his character flaw. Maverick does find his confidence and finally scares off the remaining Migs (climax). Maverick returns to the ship to a cheering crowd who acknowledge him as the best Navy pilot (resolution).

Once we understand the different parts of a story, we can then begin to understand the message that the writers are attempting to communicate. Most often, the message of a movie can be found in observing the hero wrestle with and overcome his/her character flaw. In most cases, the hero is unable to defeat his adversary until he first overcomes his character flaw. It is in how the hero deals with his/her own internal issue that we find the message the movie is intending to convey. Thus, in Top Gun, in order for Maverick to be the best Navy pilot, he must first regain his confidence. In order to do that, he must “evaluate what’s happened so he can apply what he’s learned.” Therefore, the message of the movie Top Gun is that in order to be the best, you must learn from your experiences and move on.

The Three Bears (new version)

My four-year old son often times has trouble settling down and going to sleep. He is such a people person that he wants to talk and talk and never let me leave. Even when I do leave he lays in his bed talking or singing to himself. Too many times I have had to go back in his room and tell him to settle down. But tonight I tried a different approach. Tonight, I laid in his bed with him and said that I wanted to tell him a story (and not one from the bookshelf). So I told him a story that I literally made up in about thirty seconds.

Once upon a time there were three brown bears. There was Older Bear, Middle Bear, and Younger Bear. It was autumn. The leaves were beginning to fall and it was starting to turn cooler outside.

Older Bear said, “Winter is coming soon and then it will be time to hibernate. Bears need lots of good sleep in the winter so they are well rested for the spring.”

Younger Bear said, “I don’t need that much sleep. Besides, I want to play during the winter.”

Middle Bear said, “I don’t know Younger Bear. Maybe Older Bear is right.”

The nights turned colder and all the leaves had fallen off the trees and the first snow of winter began to fall.

“It’s time to hibernate,” said Older Bear. “Bears need lots of good sleep in the winter so they are well rested for the spring.”

“I don’t need that much sleep,” said Younger Bear. “Besides, I want to play.”

“I don’t know,” said Middle Bear. “Maybe Older Bear is right.”

“C’mon,” replied Younger Bear. “Let’s go play.”

So Middle Bear and Younger Bear went off to play in the snow while Older Bear found a nice
cozy cave where he could hibernate. After a while Middle Bear began to feel tired and changed his mind.

“I’m going to find Older Bear and go hibernate,” said Middle Bear to Younger Bear.

But Younger Bear continued to play. He made paw prints in the snow. He played with other animals. He had a great time playing all winter long.

Before he knew it, spring had arrived. The snow began to melt and leaves began to appear on the trees. Older Bear and Middle Bear emerged from hibernating. “Where’s Younger Bear?” they asked each other.

They wandered down to the stream and found Younger Bear. “Did you hibernate at all during winter?” they asked.

“Nope,” answered Younger Bear, “I played all winter long.”

Older Bear and Middle Bear went into the stream to catch some fish to eat. They were hungry after hibernating all winter. Younger Bear was hungry too from playing all winter. He also went down to the stream to catch some fish but he was too tired to catch any. He let out a big yawn and said, “I am so sleepy. I don’t have any energy to catch fish and I am really hungry.”

“I told you that bears need lots of good sleep in the winter so they are well rested for the spring,” said Older Bear.

“You’re right,” replied Younger Bear. “I should have hibernated so I would have energy to catch fish but I played all winter instead and now I don’t have any energy to catch any fish. Next winter I am definitely going to hibernate.”

“I think you’ve learned your lesson,” said Older Bear. So Older Bear went back into the stream and caught some fish and gave them to Younger Bear to eat.

When I finished telling the story, my son let out a big yawn. It couldn’t have been timed any better. He looked at me and said, “Just like Younger Bear.” He rolled over and grabbed his blanket. I kissed him goodnight and left his room and never heard anything from him the rest of the night.

The Pattern Behind the Magic

I couldn’t believe my teacher was telling me this! I had believed in the fantasy and the magic. I had been in awe of all the wonderful places and characters. But now my literature teacher had just ruined it all for me. There was actually a formula to a good story. I was in shock. How could all of the stories I had been so fond of all have the same pattern? Doesn’t this now diminish their greatness? Aren’t they all now equalized so that the great are the same as the weak? Such is the mind of a young student when he/she first realizes there is a man behind the curtain pulling the levers of that which we deem magnificent.

At first I was disappointed to hear that all stories follow the same pattern. But then I realized that knowing the pattern has opened up a whole new world for me when it comes to storytelling. It’s a world where I can better measure the greatness of stories and a world where I can create amazing stories myself. It’s a world where I can use the pattern I know as the bones for a story and quickly wrap those bones in some flesh of characters and setting. It’s a world where I can be ready at a moment’s notice when my kids change their bedtime request from asking Daddy to read them a story to asking Daddy to tell them a story. When my four-year old son wants me to make up a story to tell him he says, “Can you tell me a story and I mean not one from the bookshelf?”

You remember hearing about the pattern in your literature class, don’t you? First, there is the introduction. In the introduction we are introduced to the characters and the setting (i.e. when and where the story takes place). You remember the terms protagonist and antagonist, right? The antagonist is the one against the protagonist so the antagonist is the bad guy. The protagonist is the character whom the story is really about. At this point the author will also tell us a little about the characters and their personalities.

Second, a story has a conflict. Not just that it has conflict but a conflict. There is one singular conflict that the entire story revolves around. The conflict is what the story is really about so that, without it, there really would be no story. The conflict is often called the inciting incident.

Third, a story has rising action. This is the time period between the inciting incident and the eventual resolution of the conflict. It is during the rising action that we see that the protagonist and antagonist are on a collision course with each other. It is also the period of time when other minor characters may be introduced. The rising action builds the tension leading up to the climax.

Fourth, a story has a climax. The climax is the moment of greatest tension. The climax is when the protagonist and antagonist finally do battle. It is the moment that resolves the initial conflict.

Finally, a story will have a conclusion. The conclusion tells you how the conflict has changed the protagonist. The conclusion also gives you a glimpse of what the future may look like for the main characters.

In Finding Nemo, the main characters are Marlin and Nemo, father and son clown fish who live in the ocean and can speak remarkably good English. Marlin is an overprotective father who is scared of losing his only remaining son from a previous family tragedy. The conflict arises when Nemo is captured by a diver who serves as the antagonist. Marlin now faces the prospect of losing his one and only son. Thus, the story is about Marlin finding Nemo. The rising action is the great lengths that Marlin will go through against all odds to find Nemo. The climax is the moment when Nemo escapes from the diver and father and son are safely reunited. The conclusion is where we see Marlin allowing Nemo to swim off without Marlin being the overprotected worry-wart that he was at the beginning of the story.

So when my son asks me to tell him a story and not the ones from the bookshelf, I can think through the basic elements of a story and in a couple of minutes make up a story for him. I pick some characters and create a conflict for them. I have the protagonist jump through some hoops and then square off with the antagonist. The protagonist will win and everyone lives happily ever after. My son thinks I am the greatest storyteller ever. I am not looking forward to the day when he first learns of the formula. But then again, it will open up a whole new world for him as well.

"Tell Me a Story"

“Ok kids, it’s time for bed,” I call out. Off they run to get their pajama’s on and go to the bathroom. They wash their hands and brush their teeth. They dash to their bedrooms and make sure all of their toys are picked up. They immediately climb into bed without any hesitation or complaining. And then I remember that I had just drifted off into that zone of twilight between being awake and being asleep where my world exists as I wish and not as it really is. But we do have a bedtime routine established with our kids and yes, on most nights, they try to stall as much as they can. Our routine consists of saying prayers and singing songs. But there is one part of the bedtime routine that they love the best and it’s the part where they say, “Daddy, can you read me a story?” Every night they desperately want their daddy to either read or tell them a story. I have often wondered where this desire comes from. Why do they enjoy stories so much? I wonder why they don’t simply say, “Daddy, can you tell me a quotable quote?” or “Daddy, can you give me a point to ponder?” One thing I never hear from my kids is, “Daddy, can you just give me a good piece of advice? I don’t need all the other characters and suspense stuff.” I never hear that from my kids. In fact, they want to hear about the characters and what happens to them. They want to visualize the events of the story and get caught up in another time and place. Why is this I often wonder?

I also wonder when they will outgrow this stage. When will they stop asking Daddy for a bedtime story? I will be sad when that day comes. But something has dawned on me recently. I have realized something about myself and other adults. We don’t ever really outgrow stories. Sure we don’t have someone read us a bedtime story anymore, but we still like stories. We still like hearing stories and telling them. In fact, as adults, whether we realize it or not, stories are how we best communicate our life experiences. It’s also how we best process what we learn about what works in life and what doesn’t.

Let’s say a good friend of yours calls you on the phone and says, with an excited voice, “You’ll never guess what happened to me tonight in our last game of the softball tournament!” How would you respond to that? Would you say, “Just get to the point and tell me. Did you win or not? I don’t want to hear all the details.” Of course you wouldn’t respond that way. What you really want to know is what happened in the game. Why is your friend so excited? What happened to him? Your mind is racing to try and guess why he could be so excited. What you want to hear is a story. You want to hear your friend tell you how the game was tied going into the last inning and there were two outs when he came to bat. After two pitches that were strikes, questionable of course, he hit a towering fly ball to straight away center field. The outfielder ran back all the way to the fence. It was going to be close as to whether the ball would make it over the fence or be caught. As the ball started coming down, the fielder prepared to jump up and grab it as it went over the fence. He jumps with his glove stretched out and the ball hits his glove and bounces out. The fielder reaches to grab it with his other hand and it is just out of his reach. The ball goes over the fence and your friend has hit a home run and won the game! Now that’s what you wanted to hear from your friend. You wanted to hear the story of how the game was won. It would not be enough for your friend to simply say: “We won. That’s it. That’s all I called to say. Bye.” No, you want to hear the details of the game. Why is he so excited about this particular victory? You want to know about which inning it was, what the score was, and how many strikes he had. You want to experience the game happening even though you weren’t there. And it took a story to help you do that.

As adults, we haven’t changed much since we were kids. We still like stories. We communicate our experiences in life by telling stories. We understand other people’s experiences by listening to them tell us stories about what they did. We don’t communicate in the form of one-liners. We don’t just get to the point and leave it at that. We include the details. We include the suspense. We include them because they make for a great story and we all still love a good story.