My Storyline Conference Impressions: People Are Beautiful

A couple weeks ago, I attended my first Storyline conference — a three-day escapade in Nashville, Tennessee. Storyline is an organization run by Donald Miller and friends; its sole purpose is to help people find their subplots in God’s story. From Day 1, Moment 1, I was just so jazzed to be there. Here’s part 1 of a two-part recap from my time in the Music City!

Everyone’s here. That was legitimately my first impression as I walked up to the sign-in table and received my giant paper-bag of goodies — complete with nametag, session binder, workbook, postcards, and even an official Storyline-emblazoned WATERBOTTLE. Oh man, I love free stuff.

But back to the whole people thing — seriously, every age group and demographic seemed amply covered. There were college students, and there were balding gentleman with suspenders. Singles and marrieds aplenty. Red and yellow black and white, they — we — were all such a precious sight to behold.

I tweeted about said demographics while at lunch the first day in the Belmont University cafeteria:

First impressions: such diversity in age at this conference. From young to old, living a good story knows no bounds. #StorylineConf

— Thomas Mark Zuniga (@thomasmarkz) October 12, 2013

It was an innocent 131 characters that I didn’t think much of at the time. But hours later, when I returned to my hotel room and fired up the Twitter, I found my jaw on the bed below me as my eyes met the screen:

If you can’t see it…well…

DONALD MILLER RETWEETED ME.

ME.

A PEASANT.

A PAUPER.

A MEANINGLESS WORTHLESS DREG UPON SOCIETY —

Okay, perhaps I’m overstating my mediocrity, but needless to say, I was pretty jazzed going into Day 2 knowing that the one and only Donald Miller retweeted ME and nobody else from the conference.

Sorry if that makes me sound prideful and obnoxious. Like I said. Jazzed. I started garnering high hopes for my first face-to-face encounter with Mr. Miller by conference end.

Just think, I could walk up to him and be all like, “I’m the guy with the crazy last name whom you retweeted last night!”

(I’d then panic and inwardly wonder if I correctly used “whom” or not.)

But I’ll get to my actual real-life encounter with Don in Part 2. (Friends call him “Don,” you know.)

It was honestly quite surreal to walk into the “dream chamber” on that first day, that first session, and listen to Don talk about characters and story — a subject in which he’s become undoubtedly well-versed. Throughout the conference he often invoked the words of Viktor Frankl and Robert McKee, two masterful juggernauts of life and story.

I could type quote after quote of inspirational goodness, and perhaps I’ll include a few in Part 2. But for now — my impressions of this year’s Storyline conference from Nashville.

Storyline Conference Impression #1: Diverse People

I know, I already covered this. But I got over-eager and my OCD self needs to re-include such diversity in list form.

Storyline Conference Impression #2: Energetic People

I don’t know how else to describe it, but everyone just seemed so…happy. Perhaps a silly pointless observation, but I honestly think there’s something intrinsically magical tied to this whole “living your life like a great story” deal. I mean, I saw an old guy there who looked like Carl from UP and he was talking to everybody. I couldn’t stop staring at him.

Storyline Conference Impression #3: Clear People

Each of the incredible speakers at Storyline had such a clear and vivid story. They were writers impacting the world through art, they were lawyers impacting the world through social justice — each one a miraculous inspiring story.

A clear story; a good story.

At the end of the conference, Don gave us a quiz and put many of those same speakers’ faces on the screen and asked us what their stories were. We could tell him in a single line. Single words.

Bold.

Vulnerable.

Justice.

I want my story to be clear. Something that thousands of people could shout aloud when they see my awkward mug on a giant screen.

I’ll elaborate more in Part 2, but the Storyline conference definitely got my inner wheels turning. What is my story, anyway?

Storyline Conference Impression #4: Beautiful People

One of my favorite Storyline conference activities was getting into small groups with various attendees according to the animal stickers randomly stuck onto our name badges. I was an awesome TURTLE, and as such, I joined a group with my fellow turtles — oh, and a couple rhinos and a squirrel.

(The directions to small groups were confusing. So, we cross-bred.)

ANYWAY, I was amazed by the beauty of the six other people in my group. A mother and her son, a young woman my age and a couple older men. Beautiful people with hearts for orphans, youth, and the suicidal. Humanity.

We shared our stories, our dreams, and supported one another with held hands and prayer afterward. I loved this communal sharing of stories, and I only wish there had been more intentional connection time with others — my only real “complaint” from the Storyline conference.

All in all, it was three days that were just too few. I wish the Storyline conference could last a whole week; maybe someday it will. Count me in if that ever happens. I’m sure Don and the gang will only get better at what they do with each subsequent go.

So there you have it; my main impressions on the Storyline conference were, essentially, the people themselves. Stay tuned next time for the lessons I learned!

OH, yeah, I also got an awkward, borderline-creepy picture “with” Brandon Heath who was at the Storyline conference delivering a workshop on telling one’s story through art. I couldn’t really fit the picture anywhere else into this post SO HERE IT IS IN ALL ITS GLORY.

As I’ve stated many times, I don’t exactly do well with celebrities.

Question: what’s your story? If you could condense it into one line — who you’ve been, who you are, where you’re going — what would it be? What would people shout if they saw your face on a big screen? GO.