The Movie Exercise

Many people can tell you what the life vision is, but few know the narrative that they are actually living out of. Often unconscious storylines are dysfunctional and cause patterns of hurt and failure.

This fun and easy exercise can help leaders understand what storyline is actually driving them, and can easily become a dinner party discussion with believers and nonbelievers alike.

Steps:

1. Ask the leader, “Without thinking about it too much, what are your three favorite movies you could watch again?” (If they don’t watch movies, you can ask about books, or other stories.)

2. The rest of the group then brainstorms the common issues or themes in at least two of the movies. After the group enjoys the discussion, you can ask AI for additional thoughts.

3. The leader then honestly considers which issues and themes resonate deep within. These are likely related to their inner narrative.

Why this works:

• Neurologically, we all organize experiences into some sort of storyline.

• Stories are powerful. It’s why Jesus used them. It’s the form God chose to communicate with us via the Bible. We were created to resonate with narratives.

Next steps:

1. Once a leader gets a better grasp on what storyline they are living out of, the next question to help them consider is: “Does God want me living out of this narrative?”

2. With the leader, pray that God would reveal a biblical narrative that can provide guidance and insights for the future.

3. Be sure to tie the new narrative into the metanarrative of God’s story throughout history so that the exercise doesn’t become self-focused.

Example:

Years ago when I first did this, my three favorite movies were The Lord of the Rings, Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Star Wars (episode IV). The group helped me realize I had been living out a narrative of always being outgunned, an outsider, and an underdog. While it may have been true that I was usually an outsider when I was growing up, it was no longer true as an adult. Nevertheless, I was repeating history and acting like an outsider which created a self-fulling cycle that was harmful to me and others. I began a new journey to live out a different story of being part of the family of God in reality and not just theory.