Last week, like many others, I received a mysterious box in the mail from my friend Ben Arment, Purveyor of Extraordinary Experiences and genius behind the Story Conference.
The box did not let down.
You may have seen some other bloggers document their box opening experiences.
And it’s not like I’m really competitive or anything, but even though their boxes contained some amazing things, my box had author Donald Miller and Thomas Nelson CEO Michael Hyatt in it.
And a couple video cameras.
And a tripod.
Yeah, that’s right.
Booyah.
How all that fit in the box, I’m not really sure. I know Don and Mike are both pretty athletic, so maybe that helped them contort and mold into it. After picking all the white styrofoam peanuts off their clothes and stretching out a bit, they sat down and I had the opportunity to ask them a few questions about Don’s new book, about the development of story, and what they would be talking about at Story.
Here’s what they had to say. (And maybe I was exaggerating just a little bit on them fitting in the box. Maybe Don was just in Nashville where Mike already is and the stars aligned and we were able to shoot this video and there was no contorting involved).
—–
—–
Two story experts in one video. Pretty amazing, huh?
What I love about story is it doesn’t force. It simply guides you down a path and ebbs and flows. You can learn so much from a story but you’re never spoon fed easy answers.
Who’s your favorite story teller? It doesn’t have to be an author…it can be a photographer, a musician, a poet, a speaker, or a mom.
—–
Comments
12 responses to “Oh Yeah? Well, My Box had Donald Miller & Michael Hyatt in it.”
I love me some Explosions in the Sky. Makes any video about 5 times better.
Donald Miller actually is one of my favorite storytellers right now. I just used his story of seeing Santa not wash his hands in the bathroom as a sermon illustration yesterday. Don’t ask me how, but it worked…at least in my head it did.
Hmm…how about Jesus? (I’m not trying to be cute, well maybe a little.)
I love Garrison Keillor. But there are so many.
I have several. One is a woman named Elizabeth Rooney. Several years ago there was a book published called “Bright Legacy.” In it lots of well known Christian leaders (mainly authors) wrote about someone who touched their lives. Luci Shaw, the wonderful Christian poet, wrote about Elizabeth Rooney. She didn’t start writing poetry until later in life, sort of an outgrowth of her deepening relationship with God. There’s just something in her writing that so resonates with me. Her family has continued to publish her books of poetry after her death. Her daughter was very gracious to talk to me on the phone when I ordered them. I wanted to let her know how much her mother’s life had impacted me, at total stranger. Reading the excerpts from her diary that Luci quoted stirred up something deep in me. That longing to be closer to God and to other believers. Here’s a part of one of her poems called “Wild Geese”
Barking and calling courage to each other,
The singing skein sweeps south across the sky.
We hear their legendary cry
Saying goodbye to summer swamps and sweetness.
They know some ancient mystery of weather,
Of daring and caring for each other,
Which we have lost.
Shrouded in sheets and city streets,
Our stifled hearts half waken at their sound
Something within us tembles, flaps its wings,
Falls back against the ground
We dress for breakfast, start the daily round
And wonder, why
Must we know only fenced yeards,
And shelled corn, until we die?
favorite story tellers? easy:
paul meaney of mute math
the dc*b guys.
jyro xhan
Yay!!!
I am just thrilled about STORY… I could say a thousand things but the most important is THANKS for sharing the STELLAR time with these two men… ummmm, PS…. STORY is GOING TO ROCKKKKKKKKKKK….
Best Storyteller, Don…. like he said, “he is more of, ‘listen to what happened to me’ sort of friend… That works real well for me… I am not so much for sifting through facts and going through the checklist on how to make life work…. more of a ‘this is what happened to me, hope it helps your walk’ sort of writer.
that rocks
awesome responses. thanks everyone! love learning about some new peeps!
Loved this post! What a fun place to be on that night. (I’m trying to talk my husband into a move to Franklin, Anne, you make it sound so fun!) The video idea was awesome. I’m looking for a way (financially) to get to Chicago for this – DEFINITELY!
@fel – franklin is amazing!! we love living there. and it would be great if you made it to chicago – would love to meet you!
Just a shout to say I FINALLY got a copy of Mad Church and am enjoying it immensely and will do the unthinkable…will be recommending it on my blog and facebook and twitter and…well, you get the idea, BEFORE I finish it! I’m speaking at a teen camp in Nebraska, and go home for a couple days before flying to Philly for yet another camp; so don’t know when I’ll finish it (Probably on the flight) but I’m certain it’s going to be in that rare category of books I’ll read again. Thanks! Praying for you…
My favorite storyteller is Mark Batterson. That dude is FULL of ‘genesis stories’…where people came from. Love it.
Wondering…the background music in the video…the same band from Friday Night Lights? Anybody?!