People typically are good at starting things, but not very good at finishing them. The act of reporting home is an area where simply returning to your normal life, sometimes referred to as the “default mode” of STM, rears its ugly head. I’ve heard all kinds of reports from STMers, both young and old. While some reports are thoughtful and compelling, most range anywhere from unprepared all the way to irreverent.
The Default Mode: Before the team departs, they want everyone to know they’re going and they want people to support the team. Therefore, there is an effort for public communication about the mission. But after returning, people are anxious to return to normal routines, and while they love telling stories about their trip, they either a) don’t even think about reporting effectively back to the senders or b) they do think about it, but don’t want to do it.
Yet excellence in reporting is more important than most would imagine. Making the effort to tell the story well will:
I’ve heard more reports telling about how many steps to the top of the Eiffel Tower than I have reports about spiritual breakthroughs and life-change. That’s not to say that spiritual breakthroughs and life-changes don’t happen. Rather, it’s a reflection on the lack of emphasis placed on preparing for and reporting back to the senders.
The short-term critic doesn’t want to hear how many steps to the top of the Eiffel tower. Moms don’t want to hear about how cute the girls were where the team was serving. Nobody wants to hear about the men with guns who followed the team around. And pastors don’t want to turn the platform over to people who are unprepared.
“An audience doesn’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.”
-- Claude Bowen
There are so many layers to a STM experience. Sometimes team members report about an event without realizing that they chose that event because of the feeling and the impact. However, they end up reciting the details of the event and leave out the most precious part of the story – the impact.
Rather than telling the itinerary or describing the things you did, choose to tell how your life was impacted by somebody or how you were used to impact somebody else’s life. Tell stories of being instead of doing.
“Go unprepared and you never go alone. Fear is your constant companion.”
-- Dale Carnegie