Sometimes you just gotta stretch, blink your eyes a bit and step back from the glowing screen. It seems like I have to remind myself of that more and more lately. See, when [AC] started, it was with just a couple of churches so it was pretty easy to hear all the cool things people were doing to make Christmas a different experience. All I had to do was call some friends up and chat over the phone, or I’d head down the hall and talk to someone over coffee. Now? Well, the movement’s gotten a little bigger. Ok, it’s gotten significantly bigger. I have no idea how many people are doing [AC] now, but I know it’s in the several thousands. That’s something we should all be thanking God over. I know I do. Consider this: Right now, at this very moment, there’s a bunch of really smart people somewhere, and they’re all sitting around a big oak table, and they’re racking their brains on how their brand of diapers or nail polish or beer can go viral. That is, how can they get their message out there in a way where it spreads from person to person, story by story. Because when something makes a personal impact on a person’s life, the first thing that person wants to do is share it with someone else. Every brand in the world wishes it could have that sort of connection.

I guess that’s one of the many things I find so amazing about the story of Christ. It’s a story that is told person by person, changed life by changed life, story by story. It’s the most viral movement in history, and it’s not because of a product or a jingle or a slogan. It’s because it’s a story wrapped in love, redemption and a renewal so deep that sometimes I don’t know if I can quite take it. Stories are the jet fuel of the church. They are what connect the past with the present, and they remind us that none of this is theory. The ancient reality of Jesus is the reality of the 21st Century, and there’s not a speck of dust to clear off its shoulders.

So, yeah, it’s good to back away from the backlit screen I’m looking at right now and find the stories. And that’s what we’ve been doing. For the next few weeks we’re going to be posting some snippets of folks who have shared their story with us. Here’s one to kick things off. Thanks to Future of Forestry for donating their song “Open Wide” to this project. We love you guys!