Ben Arment believes that the only reason the greatest story ever told isn’t being heard is that its storytellers are ill equipped to tell it. Often, people in ministry are well studied in theology, he says, but not in the narrative wealth the Bible has to offer. They’re dedicated but not inspired. Or they’re passionate and inspired but lack the skill to get that passion across to the people.

But rather than sit back, casting a critical eye and mouthing off about it, this former pastor turned communication advocate/guru has pulled together an award-winning team of teachers, authors, speakers and storytellers to re-imagine, re-think and re-teach ‘The Story’ in all its narrative, ‘edge of your seat’ dramatic glory, to give ministers the tools and inspiration needed to present the Gospel in its most attention-grabbing light.

We caught up with Ben to talk about his efforts, and specifically about Story Chicago, a communication-in-ministry conference at Chicago’s Paramount Theater on October 28th.

Integrity Media: For those who haven’t heard about Story Chicago, give a synopsis of the purpose of the event, what do you want those who participate to take away?

Arment: Story is an event, a one-day conference for communicators in ministry, really a conference for communicators of the gospel, the greatest story ever told. The event is inspired in part by the writings of C.S. Lewis, and his amazing ability to incorporate great theology but to do it highly imaginative ways. He knew how to get to that ‘sweet spot’ in the narrative, to deliver the message in such a captivating way.

I was a pastor for seven years, and so I know firsthand how difficult it can be to keep telling and retelling the same story in fresh, compelling ways. It’s easy to lose your way, to begin trying to emulate the speaking styles of other pastors or speakers you feel are having more success in communicating the Gospel.

Story Chicago is a first-of-its-kind event designed to help inspire and enlighten, but also teach pastors and those in ministry to communicate the Gospel story in powerful, new ways. It’s an attempt to do something fresh, different, unpredictable, to explore a different kind of creativity, more obtainable by the typical church.

Integrity Media: We understand the venue itself was quite intentional.

Arment: Yes. We’re holding this event not in a church, but in the Paramount Theater. The idea was to bring out the dramatic and theatric aspects of the Bible... and to make it more of a theatrical conference experience, incorporating a storyline throughout the day.
The content of the event will be set in the context of story, with different backdrops throughout the day, and the Paramount Theater really lends itself to that.

The conference event is Wednesday October 28, followed by a practical (optional) workshop event from 9 am to 4pm the next day, October 29th, at Orchard Valley Community Church.

Integrity Media: Who are some of the speakers participating in Story Chicago?

Arment: The six master storytellers are a diverse lineup, in their approach to ministry and just in terms of personality. It’s really an incredible smorgasbord of communicators who are very intentional in the ways they use their platforms to communicate. We didn’t want it to be about presenting ‘the formula’ for success, but it’s more about presenting different ways of going about it.

We’ve got Dave Gibbons, founder and pastor of Newsong Church in Irvine, CA, the author of The Monkey and the Fish; Ed Young, founding/senior pastor of Fellowship Church in Dallas/Ft. Worth and conference speaker; Nancy Beech, speaker, author and passionate advocate for the Arts in the local church; Chris Seay, pastor of Ecclesia Church in Waco, TX, author of The Gospel Reloaded and founder of The Voice project, a translation to restore the narrative qualities of the Bible. Stacey Spenser, innovative pastor of New Direction Christian Church in Memphis, TN, has literally taken the Gospel to the street, launching a charter school, restaurant, a beauty school and a carwash. His methods are working; his church has grown to 14,000 in eight short years. And that’s just the beginning, really.

Integrity Media: What inspired you personally to launch this? What is the greatest communication challenge facing the 21st Century Church?

Arment: I have always been drawn to creating inspiring experiences. As a pastor, I dabbled in the conference world. Now that I’m not a pastor, I see that pastors have lost their inspiration and how creativity in ministry has gotten pretty formulaic and stale. The Bible has been treated like a textbook instead of a storybook; our services have become very academic, and I think we’re missing out on capturing people’s hearts. That’s what God wants. God doesn’t want our heads filled with knowledge, but our hearts surrendered, and for that to happen, the Story must captivate our hearts again.

Integrity Media: Registrants can also enter to win a pretty amazing trip, is that right?

Arment: That’s right. The CS Lewis Foundation in California is giving away two roundtrip tickets to the C.S. Lewis Seminars-in-Residence at the Kilns – CS Lewis’ home in Oxford, England. Airfare, accommodation, special event access to the lectures at Oxford—such an amazing opportunity! The winner will be announced at Story Chicago.

For more information on and to register for Story Chicago, go to: www.storychicago.com