Telling The Story: A Lahash Media Gathering

Earlier this month I attended an event entitled "Telling The Story: A Lahash Media Gathering" at the Lahash headquarters in Portland, OR. I and other volunteers were invited to hear from a variety of guest speakers and engage in deep discussion on the topics of meaningful communication and intentional living in an increasingly digital world. "As an organization that uses media extensively to advocate for the vulnerable and to connect people around the world, it is important that we look critically at the positive and negative effects that our digital culture is having on our lives and relationships," explains Casey Schilperoort, Media Director for Lahash. In a time when our senses are constantly bombarded by the distractions of browser pop-ups, text messages and email notifications, we have to be very intentional about how we communicate lest we become part of the static.

Casey and guest speaker Ron Holcomb explored the topic of effectively telling our story to help people connect with God's greater story. Not only do we each have a unique and important story to tell, but each of our stories is a chapter in God's greater story and how we tell our individual stories affects how those around us connect with and understand that greater story. I am encouraged that my life and my words have the power to connect others to God's greater story and have been convicted to maintain a greater awareness of the theme of my own story.

Dana Berterman and Dan Holcomb transitioned to an examination of the challenges of effective communication in a digital universe. We discussed the difficulty of "being present" with smart phones constantly begging for our attention and considered the concept of a digital Sabbath, wherein we take a recurring, scheduled vacation from our devices in an effort to reconnect with God, people and the world around us. As a self proclaimed technophile, I was challenged by these ideas, but inspired to make some changes, including limiting usage of the internet on my smartphone and spending less time on Facebook and more time in person.

Digital technology is here to stay. It is an integral part of our lives and will only continue to become more and more prominent as time goes on. We can't avoid it, but fortunately we don't have to. We simply need to consider its place in our story and how it connects us to God's bigger story. We need to create space in our lives for face to face interactions, quiet reflection and prayer. Turn off the TV and tell your kids a tale. Put away your iPod and listen to the wind blow. Instead of checking your email first thing in the morning, say a prayer of thanks to God for the incredible story that he has made you a principal character in.