“Why spend so much time telling stories?”
It’s a common question, for the FREEDOM TOUR and most endeavors. What’s the big deal with the pictures, the videos, the constant effort to share the memories?
It’s not a flashback to Glory Days. Storytelling, it seems, is essential for community.
“Where common memory is lacking, where people do not share in the same past, there can be no real community. Where community is to be formed, common memory must be created.” ~ Georges Erasmus
History isn’t an objective list of dates and timelines relegated to boring textbooks. History has the power to either connect or divide.
We see plenty of examples of weaponized history, distorted portrayals designed specifically to separate and harm. Unscrupulous folks leverage lack of understanding for all sorts of hurtful purposes.
We’re about using stories to expand the circle and invite people to join the adventure. As Mr. Erasmus said, “Where community is to be formed, common memory must be created.”
Common memory means we share an understanding about how we got started and why we’re doing this crazy thing. It’s a way of assuring that, even though we arrived from different places at different times for different reasons, we can move forward toward a common goal because we understand our common story.
We hope you’ll follow a God-sized dream with us, so we tell the story of an impossible 1500-mile handcycle ride. We share the journey of RELENTLESS GRACE so you’ll believe that Hope Changes What’s Possible. Maybe you’ll jump into the amazing story of supporting kids rescued from human trafficking, now living in hope and freedom.
Creating common memory is a big part of the long-term process I talked about last time, a process I all-too-frequently bypass in search of short-term results. It’s an essential element of the culture that’s required for a successful enterprise.
No matter the community – church, small group, company, bike tour – it can’t work effectively without a sense of shared memory.
What are you and I doing to make sure the folks in our group know the story?
Speaking of memories, check out our FREEDOM TOUR photos.