Stories that the couch can't tell

I'm about to take a plunge, a leap of faith; Over the next eight months, with a team of six guys, I am going to raise 100,000 dollars, build a house and put on a concert like Baylor University has never seen. Am I scared? a little bit; could I fail? yes; will it be a great story regardless? hell yes! Will I have any time to be bored? nope. I'm talking about the 45 year old Kappa Omega Tau tradition of hosting Christmas on Fifth, a campus wide concert event and Christmas celebration.

Today, I met with the head of the Waco area Habitat for Humanity along with Cramer and John, two of the Christmas tree chairs, to discuss what a partnership for this event might look like. I have spent the past week calling band after band, everyone from Pat Green to Josh Abbott to Randy Rogers gathering pricing info, but today, as I sat across from the Waco Habitat for Humanity president, it all became real. I'm about to start writing a story that I have an obligation to finish because if I don't, people will be let down, a Waco family will stay without a home and I will be known as the guy who lead the charge for Christmas on Fifth and failed. Sounds like a pretty good story right? Of course it does, the hard part is, now I have to write it.

It's no secret that Christianity is in decline in America. It's not too hard to figure out why. As Christians we need to tell better stories with our lives. Smiling and being friendly only gets us so far. God created us to play a role in the domain that he has placed us in. He needs each one of us to step up and be who were created to be, to run after him and to tell a good story with our lives.

What makes a good story? Think about all of the movies you love, what do they have in common? Characters you like and a cause worth fighting for. Take "The Hangover" for example, even as crude as this movie is, we all love it because Alan is hilarious and Stew is likable and we all genuinely want this group of friends to find Doug. All good stories involve a character or characters who want something who go through conflict to get what they want.

What kind of story are you living? Is it one worth reading or are you in the same boat as so many of us are where you go to extensive lengths to stay comfortable? Comfortable is boring. As humans, we always seek the way of least resistance, but sometimes as Christians we are called to take the narrow road and I can guarantee you that this road is filled with resistance. Have you ever read a story about someone who sat on the couch all day and watched TV? No, of course you haven't, there's no story there.

This is not a guilt trip trap where you are supposed to feel like you should move to Africa or go live in a box (unless that is really where God is taking you). All I'm saying is that in Matthew 10:39 Jesus says, "Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it." Losing your life for Jesus' sake involves risk. Right before this verse, Jesus talks about how hard it is going to be to forsake everything and follow him. He goes so far as to say that he has not come to bring peace, but a sword. This is not to say that Jesus is not peaceful, but that he did not come to hold our hands and walk us through the daisies of self-help sermons. Jesus is calling us to live better stories and live up to what we have already attained in him. Our faith demands it. What better way to spread the Gospel than to live engaging lives the exude the joy that God has given us? What are you waiting on? Get writing!