The Power of Story
At City Church, we believe that the stories we choose to live by shape our understanding of reality.
They tell us who we are. They tell us where we come from and where we are going. Our stories are what define us and set us apart as individuals. But they are also what connect us together and bind us to each other in community. They allow us to truly know and be known, amidst love, loss, success and failure, and provide us with the context for finding meaning and purpose in this world.
We all feel most alive when we perceive that we are living in the midst of a great story. But in our modern, pluralistic, hyper-connected world, where we are all being confronted on a daily basis with an ocean of conflicting narratives of reality, it is becoming increasingly difficult to know which story is true and can actually lead us to flourishing.
What is the meaning of the seemingly mundane events of your life: paying taxes, doing laundry, or endlessly checking email? These moments are where the vast majority of our lives are lived. But are these moments meant to keep the viewer interested? Or are they foreshadowings of a meaningless life?
If the plot of your story is about a character who overcomes all obstacles to get what they want out of life, how does that story shape your understanding of kindness and truth, justice and mercy, or care for the oppressed and marginalized? Does your story draw you to love the unlovely and to sacrifice your desires for the good of others (despite their race, gender, politics, or socio-economic status)? Or has it led you to live a life of selfishness and indifference?
What does the protagonist of your story do when you're wrong, when you're confronted with a moral dilemma, or when you're faced with a relational difficulty? Does your story compel you to be truthful, even when it hurts, and faithful, even when it costs? Or has it led you to live a life of deception and isolation?
How does your story answer these questions? What does the life you are currently living say about the quality and truthfulness of the story you've chosen to live by?
In the midst of our great cultural struggle to answer these questions, Christianity admittedly makes a very bold claim: that the great story contained in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible is not just one more story among the endless options. It is the one great true story of all reality and human history.
As J.R.R Tolkien once said:
"The Scriptures contain a story of a larger kind, which embraces all the essence of fairy-stories. But this story has entered history and the primary world;...This story begins and end in joy. It has pre-eminently the "inner consistency of reality". There is no tale ever told that men would rather find was true, and none which so many skeptical men have accepted as true on its own merits. For the Art of it has the supremely convincing tone of Primary Art, that is, of Creation. To reject it leads either to sadness or wrath. This story is supreme; and it is true. God is Lord, of angels, and of men—and of elves. For in it, Legend and History have met and fused."
At City Church, we believe that the Bible is one great unified story, that has been revealed to mankind by God Himself, in order to lead us to truth, reality, and life. Whether you consider yourself to be a Christian, a follower of another tradition, a hardened skeptic, or generally nonreligious, we believe that the great story of Christianity is a story worth knowing and understanding. Therefore, we warmly invite you to explore our website and to come visit one of our many community gatherings, services, or events. For our story is founded in His story.