Last spring, our mid week groups participated in an exercise to communicate God’s story within flash fiction parameters. In preparing for our Covenant Member Orientation last month, it dawned on us that the apostle’s creed is 108 words. For centuries, this concise story has grounded orthodoxy for communities like ours. With that in mind, we gave participants 15 minutes to write their 108 gospel story. The result was beautiful. Here are some samples from that day:
In the beginning, perfect relationship
man and trinity in harmony
and I, known fully, within them
Then I fell, Lording myself
Striving, obsession with self
I steal, kill, destroy
I covet and slander
I am murderous and evil
I am empty
But from the beginning
a man of sorrows comes
He bears my grief and sorrow
by his wounds I am healed
damned to my own personal hell
but He defeats death
He was crucified, and I with him
He was resurrected, and I with him
His grace given freely
His father, my adoption
His kingdom, His glory, my life forever
His light, forever within me.
— Jordan Vonderhaar
With joy, to share in perfect love,
God made humans.
Designed to live in community,
we are invited into life with God.
But we suck. We doubt. We’re interested in ourselves, forgetting the other.
We don’t see what’s important
because we’re too worried about looking good, feeling good.
We are infants big enough to reach the knives.
Still, we are good. We’re God’s image-bearers.
Unsatisfied with human selfish love, God gave Jesus a body to give us true love.
God gives grace through the spirit that we don’t live in poopy diapers,
or let our friends live in poopy diapers.
We are given the grace to love.
— Sarah Berson
God existed somewhere that I can’t know.
Out of his creative spirit he crafted a universe and made me with a piece of him.
I was supposed to care for his creation and have fun. But I started to break and I started using his creation in ways that the creator didn’t designed them for.
I ended up miserable in the world is coming undone.
The creator chose a girl to be the mom of a man named Jesus. Jesus came and showed us with the creator intended for us to live like. And we killed him. He came back to life to prove the death couldn’t win anymore.
Now is spirit is in our cities helping us to copy Jesus and live like we were designed to.
— Shane Stearns
There was nothing in the beginning.
The voice came down.
Clouds, earth, sunsets, streams, the deer and me.
It was hard to trust. The good isn’t always obvious.
I made my way through, but I wanted something bigger.
I found it when I let go.
He found it when He let go.
He caught me when I let go.
I start to see with eyes beyond my own.
I hear sounds that were always there, but I missed.
It seems good, but I get scared and take control back.
I keep falling. He keeps catching.
— Tim Bauer