How Can We Tell Better Stories?

My biggest stumbling block are anger-based or accusation-driven blog posts pointing fingers or treating people like they are crazy or fearful for wanting to protect their own neighbors, jobs, etc from a large influx of refugees or immigrants. Instead, we should be finding some kind of solution between closing the borders (isolating ourselves) or laying out a welcome mat. The refugees are here and, according to some of the numbers I have seen since becoming a WorldVenture missionary appointee, they have been coming here for some years now. So my question is: How can we tell better stories to persuade rather than treat insensitively any invalid or valid concerns?

The UN Refugee Agency posted this story about a Syrian Refugee:

Miraculously, the disabled boat washed up on the Greek island of Lesvos. Everyone survived, thanks to the swimmers. But now they had even lost the shoes on their feet. The sisters set off on the Western Balkan route for Germany where they hoped to be able to rebuild their lives. Yusra could not have guessed then that she would soon be preparing for another journey, under very different circumstances. The dream she has nurtured for more than a decade may soon come true. This summer, she hopes to travel to the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, as part of a team representing millions of refugees fleeing war and persecution throughout the world. (FROM HERE)

What struck me about the post was its non-political nature. It told a story. It didn’t point out who was doing it wrong or right. When I watched a video about the Syrian refugees from David Platt, the boy planted face down on the beach with the waters rushing around him made me want to cry. While, as writers, we need to be careful not to use story as manipulation, we also need to point out the reality of our situation to encourage those being called to GO and serve those needs.

So, as writers, let’s write better stories. Maybe God is calling you to Sports ministry?