EVERY PICTURE TELLS A STORY: 48 EVOCATIVE PHOTOGRAPHS FOR INSPIRING REACTION

AND REFLECTION

Original Title and Leader’s Guide Copyright ©2002 Mark Oestreicher. Revised Version Copyright

©2013 Mark Oestreicher. All rights reserved.

Photos are owned and copyrighted by the individual photogra-phers. All rights reserved. See Photo index for copyright attribution.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher, except where noted in the text and in the case of brief

quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

ISBN-13: 978-0-9851536-0-1ISBN-10: 0985153601

For information, visit www.theyouthcartel.com.

Publisher: Mark OestreicherManaging Editor: Anne Jackson

Typist: Vicki FreeseCover Design and Layout: Adam McLane

Photographers: Jonny Baker, Patrick House, Tash McGill

Creative Director: Ghostface Chillah

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright ©

1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.TM Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

The Youth Cartel, LLCwww.theyouthcartel.com

Email: info@theyouthcartel.comBorn in San Diego

Printed in the U.S.A.

Contents

INTRO TO THE 2013 EDITION 4

LAST NIGHT I SAW GOD 6

EVERY PICTURE TELLS A STORY 8

HOW TO USE THESE PHOTOGRAPHS 9

THE BASICS 10

MY FAITH STORY 12

THE FAITH STORIES OF OTHERS 14

GOD’S STORY 16

EMOTONAL ROULETTE 18

PARABLES 20

MY WEEK IN REVIEW 22

BILLBOARDS 24

GLOBAL PROBLEMS 26

FRUIT PURSUIT 28

WHERE’S WISDOM 30

WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS 32

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? 34

PICTURE PAIRS 36

BIBLE ILLUSTRATIONS 37

CLOUDS 39

LECTIO DIVINA 41

MY DESIGN 43

Photo Credits 45

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INTRO TO THE 2013 EDITION

It’s been more than a decade since Every Picture Tells a Story was first released. It had a great first life, opening up discernment and conversation for thousands. Over the years, I heard from youth worker after youth worker about how they had used this simple tool to get teenagers talking: talking about God, talking about their inner lives, talking about hopes and fears and dreams.

The reach and impact of EPTAS truly surpassed my expectations. But one thing surprised me. I was surprised by how this product was being effectively used with participants of all ages. Really, it’s not a youth ministry product. I’ve seen it used with 7 year-olds and 70 year-olds. All the potential uses writ-ten out in this leaders guide wouldn’t work for every age, at least not without modification. But the primary usage–using photos to get participants looking inward and verbalizing what they’re sensing or feeling or thinking or hearing from God–seems to be rather ageless.

The original product, with its cardstock photos, was outside the box for the pro-duction people at my original publisher. And while the product sold fairly well, the cost of that sort of physical production eventually forced it out of print. But in our current digital age, it seems silly to not make EPTAS available again, giving youth workers the option of printing their own photos or using them on screens or in some other creative way. You can even make multiple copies, to send home with students, replace missing or worn images, or to use the same image with multiple particpants.

Additionally, I’ve had fans of this resource begging, for years, for a second set of photos. Usually, I’ve just encouraged them to find their own. But there’s something to be said for a carefully selected set of high quality black and white photos that span a range of moods. After recently working with a team of pho-tographers to collect hundreds of black and white photos for The Way Bible, I realized that I’d seen more than enough wonderful EPTAS-like photos, that it just might be possible. So with great thanks to the three wonderful photog-raphers from three different continents–Patrick House (who contributed many photos to the original Every Picture Tells a Story), Tash McGill, and Jonny Baker–The Youth Cartel is now able to offer this resource completely revised with 48 gorgeous new photos.

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My hope is that Every Picture Tells a Story will continue to provide you with amazing ministry moments, glimpses into the souls of your students, and meaty conversations about the presence of God. The presence of God is what’s really at the heart of this resource. Similar to the Ignatian Prayer of Exa-men, where one reflects back over the day to notice God’s presence in good and difficult times, my prayer is that participants (and you!) will learn to notice God’s loving presence during both moments of consolation and moments of desolation.

Marko, April 2013

Mark OestreicherPartner | The Youth Cartel

6

LAST NIGHT I SAW GOD

Last night I saw God. As I sat at the kitchen table of a small home on the idyllic island of Guernsey, off the coast of France, Tricia explained how Jesus pur-sued her: from a strict religious upbringing, through semi-rejection of her faith, through a few years as a spiritual medium, and then somehow back into God’s arms, teaching religion to teenage boys in a private school. As I listened to her torturous story, full of unresolved questions and an inescapable Jesus, I saw God—in her story, in the pauses between her words, in her face.

I’m learning—very slowly, I admit—that God wants to be seen. And God’s desire to be seen relates to his love for me. It has something to do with his unexplainable desire to make me aware of his constant involvement in my life. All over the world teenagers are listening to God. More than that, they’re hear-ing, seeing, experiencing, and knowing God.

Almost a decade ago Mark Senter wrote The Coming Revolution in Youth Ministry. Senter’s book challenged so-called proven methodology and as-sumptions. At the end of the book, Senter speculates about emerging models of youth ministry. He didn’t see much on the horizon then; and to be honest, there still isn’t much new under the sun—except for one bright spot.

That one significant, “new” model is the spirituality movement in youth ministry. A dozen other ideas flirt with being a movement, but none go beyond a set of assumptions and values into real practice that’s truly new to youth ministry.The funny thing about focusing on spirituality is that it’s not really new at all. It’s old—way old! It’s downright medieval. That’s what makes it so cool: by using historic, contemplative practices and fleshing them out in the context of modern youth ministry, we’re not just connecting kids to God in real and tangible ways—we’re also connecting kids to God’s unfolding story.

As youth workers, we help teenagers see God work in their lives on a daily basis instead of just learning Bible facts, letting students “hear” God speak to them directly instead of just listening to their Sunday school teachers, and see-ing kids grow comfortable with silence—often the residence of God—instead of running to noise and activity.

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But there’s more! As students are experimenting with silence, scriptural meditation, meditative praying, spiritual listening, and a host of other counter-cultural practices that help them see God in their lives on a daily basis, they’re finding (often at youth group) that God is mightily at work in the subtle and hor-rific and gentle and menial nuances of their everyday lives. They’re realizing that they don’t have to go to youth group for God to show up.

This God-spotting is revolutionary for teenagers (and adults). God moves from being academic and distant to being relational and intimate. Well, that’s not quite accurate: God doesn’t move; it’s the students’ understanding of God that takes a perspective leap.

I know a few of you are thinking, “What a new-age pile of horse stuff!” Well, get over it! Just because some new-agers co-opted spiritual practices that began as devotions to Christ doesn’t mean we should shy away from them. They’re part of our tradition, part of our story. New-agers are into angels at the mo-ment, too, but that doesn’t decrease the reality of God’s messengers! Every Picture Tells a Story is something new—I mean old—I mean, well…it’s a fresh way for God to work in today’s postmodern kids and in you, too.

Marko, August 2001

8

EVERY PICTURE TELLS A STORY

A few years ago in Ireland, I stumbled across a collection of black-and-white photos designed for reflective use by a small, mainstream publisher. The leader’s guide was a two-sided piece of paper with about three ideas. And the product was out of print. (I got the very last copy from the publisher’s ware-house.)

But I loved the idea.

Black-and-white photos are pregnant with story. They beg the imagination to kick into high gear. I find God’s story, my story, and many other stories in these images—especially when I look at them contemplatively.

What’s that mean? Well, when I read a newspaper and notice the photos, I’m usually glancing at them for information: What facts can I glean from these photographs?

But when I look at photos (or art or people or nature or…) with a contemplative perspective, I ask my soul to respond intentionally:

What do I see beyond this photo? How can I see the reflection of God in this photo? What does this photo remind me of in my own story? What deeper meaning can I find in this photo—especially a meaning that resonates with my spiritual longings or frustrations or questions or complacency?

When I look at these pictures, I pray, “God, what are you doing in my life? Where are you present and active, and how can these pictures point me to that reality? How can these snapshots capture or leverage or mirror the work you’re doing in me?”

To say this is a youth ministry product is a bit silly. Senior adults or young mar-rieds or men’s groups or teachers in children’s ministries can use it just as eas-ily. But I’m passionate about youth ministry, so I’m launching this resource with youth workers in mind. I know Every Picture Tells a Story will be a resource you’ll return to again and again in your youth ministry. And I hope you’ll loan it out or point it out to other ministries in your church, too.

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HOW TO USE THESE PHOTOGRAPHS

On the pages that follow, you’ll find 18 ideas for using this group of photo-graphs. But the basic idea is simple, and you can use it frequently. Spread the pictures on the floor or table. Ask students to choose photos they connect with. Then give them some time to look at the photo and to ask God what he’s saying to them. That’s it, in a nutshell—or, in a snapshot, so to speak.

You’ll experience success when you give your teens plenty of time to ruminate and pray, especially if contemplation is new to them. It takes time to shut out the world, to put aside the events of the day, to quiet the soul. Don’t rush.One more thing: Be a player-coach as you use Every Picture Tells a Story. In other words, you set the stage for the level of vulnerability you want from your students. This doesn’t mean you’re always the first person to share. But it does mean you should participate in each exercise and share most of the time.May God speak to you and your students through this unique rescource.

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THE BASICS

FOCUS Give students an opportunity to hear from GodEXPOSURE 30-60 minutesEQUIPMENT Photos, journaling materials, Bibles

Spread the photos on the floor or a table and ask students to spend a minute looking through them. Then ask them to select photos they are drawn to—those that catch their eyes or their hearts.

Give the group members these instructions before they disperse. Have your students take the photos they’ve chosen to a place where they can sit alone, undistracted. Ideally you’ll have enough space so your group can really spread out—or even go outside. This kind of contemplation and listening work is dif-ficult for teens if they don’t feel as if they’ve separated themselves from others a bit.

Tell the students to quiet themselves, maybe by closing their eyes for a few minutes and asking God to help them listen to him. Then they should take 10 to 15 minutes to look at the photos contemplatively while asking God:

+ What do you want to say to me about my life? + How do you want to show yourself to me? + What do you want me to see in this or learn from this?

Students should have Bibles with them so God can “speak” to them through his Word.

After a period of reflection, students should take out journaling materials (paper and pens you’ve given them earlier) and record some of their thoughts. This journaling process forces clarification and helps crystallize their thoughts and the thoughts God has given them.

Finally, regroup and ask students to voluntarily share their photos and reflec-tions. If they are comfortable with the idea, ask them to read portions of their journaling or summarize what God impressed upon them.