What's your story?

One of the greatest blessings of my job is being located in downtown Chattanooga, a city of great coffee shops.  This has given me the opportunity to sit with so many guys and ask a simple question.  "What is your story?"  Too often as guys, we meet and ask "What do you do for a living?", "Are married/kids?", or "Which church do you go to?"   I'm not saying these aren't valid questions, but I love to see the look on guys faces when asked what their story is.  So many times, I've gotten the "Man, I never really thought of that" look.  Then we begin to take a journey through their life.  Some will jump back to childhood and some will jump into who they are today.  I've learned that guys want to tell their wins and their losses.  We, as men, may put up a tough front, but we really want to be heard.  We want to know that someone else understands where we're coming from.
I have sat with men who are broken and men who run successful men's ministries.  The amazing thing is, that many times, the struggles are the same for both.  I've sat with men that I thought were untouchable with their walk with God and heard stories of incredible heart break and breakthrough.  I've sat with homeless men and heard incredible stories of faith.

I love to follow up with the question, "If money wasn't an issue, what would you do with your life?"  Once you know their story, this unlocks their passions.  So many times, I've heard "I've always wanted to..."  Maybe that conversation will re-ignite a passion to chase that dream again or maybe not, but I love to see guys talk about their passions.
Here's my part of the conversation.  I'm an open book.  I talk about my own struggles and failures, as well as my own successes as they relate to the conversation.  Those of you who have read my previous blogs or ever sat with me for long at all, know this about me.  Maybe to a fault.  It used to be a way of me unloading my own struggles, and at times it still is.  Mostly, it's to let these guys know that we all struggle, we all have dreams, and we all have a story.
The last thing I like to ask, and I don't always expect an answer, but I like to leave them thinking, is "How can God use your story for His glory?"
So, if you ever want to meet up for coffee and talk life, passion, and how to let God use us, let's do it.