I am a person of stories. I think I always have been. That is part of the reason why I love this storytelling series (yes we are still in the same series) that we are going through right now with the youth. I love these stories and I love learning new stories so I figure that these students would love it too.

Of course that isn't the case. Some of them love it, some of them don't, and some of them haven't heard a word I have said because they are always just paying attention to their girlfriend or boyfriend. But that is a common thing and as a youth pastor just a part of the fabric of our lives.

The problem for me, the problem that has me awake at midnight looking for answer is that every single student that comes through the doors of our church (and the ones who don't) are hungry for stories. They crave the stories of their friends, they search for stories of celebrities that they want to be like or who they feel connected to. They are hungry for stories because that is how we related to each other. We don't give a bulleted list of our lives, we share our stories with each other. So these students want stories, so my mission is to find a why to help them see that this God story that we are talking about is the root story, the heart of all that they are searching for. This story is connection like they have never dreamed because it is the story of the creator of connections.

They are hungry for story and it is shameful for me to serve them something that makes them turn up their nose and refuse to eat.

So I have some more praying, some more writing, and some more just plain old thinking to do before I sleep.