Tyler Stricklan
Stories hold power. I think that’s why Jesus primarily taught in parables. Stories draw us in, allowing us to see life through someone else’s eyes.
When told with authenticity, they can transform us, mold us, and connect us to emotions we may have never experienced. I come from a family that never shies away from telling a story. They often stretch the truth, turning a simple tale into a tall one.
Nevertheless, I grew up hearing our family’s history around a campfire, at the dinner table, or over a cup of coffee. I was captivated. I could sit for hours, listening. I wanted to know what it felt like to stare a razorback boar in the eyes on a guided spear hunt.
What was it like to have the fight of your life reeling in a fish that ended up just under the legal catch length? How amazed were you when your lumberjack cousin lifted the back end of your Ford Escort off the ground so you could change a flat tire? (That one is a true story.)
What did it feel like to hold the hand of your wife as she took her last breath? What pain gripped you as the family gathered around a hospital bed to say goodbye to the Stricklan patriarch?
Details matter. They hold the pain, celebration, fear, hunger, and thrill that make stories come alive. That’s how we know Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane wasn’t just a prayer – it was an agonizing battle between his flesh and his holiness.
It’s why those who first heard the story of the Prodigal Son would have been struck by the Father’s undignified, reckless love as he ran to embrace his son.
Your story matters. There’s a reason all of scripture points back to the story of one man’s life. The story of the Gospel turned the world upside down. At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit literally ignited a flame — the church was born.
And what did those first believers have? First, the Holy Spirit. Second, a testimony of how the Old Testament pointed to Jesus and how he had radically changed their lives. It was their stories – their transformed lives – that inspired, challenged, and grew the early church.
And not much has changed in our modern times. The most powerful witness to the Gospel is not just theology or doctrine – it’s how Jesus takes us from death to life. Your personal journey through that process, shared with just one person, could change everything for them.
Tyler Stricklan is associate family pastor at LifePoint Church in Minden.