156 Resonate
Storytelling creates the emotional glue that connects
an audience to your idea. Creating unique, inspirational
messages every week is demanding, and Pastor John
Ortberg of Menlo Park Presbyterian relies heavily on his
own life stories to illustrate his messages.
Ortberg’s ability to weave stories into his messages is a
big part of his trademark style and appeal. He spends as
much time as he needs to word-craft and story-craft his
messages together like a tapestry. He develops a master
theme supported by Scripture, then carefully weaves
personal stories throughout. It’s very similar to the woof
and warp of a loom. The master theme and Scripture
hold the latitudinal messages together, and the stories
are like the yarn that shuttles back and forth, creating
patterns in the fabric.
The sermon analyzed on the next few pages was the
first I heard Ortberg deliver. www I was intrigued by its
structure and its ability to move me. The master theme
was “people can bring the Kingdom of Heaven to this
Earth by showing love.” He sprinkled several stories
through the sermon, but there was one master story
that was referenced and carefully woven throughout:
that of his sister’s rag doll, Pandy. After telling the rag
doll story (below) at the beginning, he continued to
use it like glue with references to raggedness through-
out the sermon.
The master story conveyed that people want to be
loved in spite of their ragged condition:
Case Study: Pastor John Ortberg
Emotive Storytelling
attractive doll. In fact, she was kind of a mess. But in
the way that little kids do, for reasons that no one
could quite understand, Barbie loved that little rag
doll. So when Barbie ate, Pandy was next to her; when
Barbie slept, Pandy was next to her; when Barbie took
a bath, Pandy was next to her. Love Barbie, love her rag
doll—it’s a package deal. Other dolls came and went.
Pandy was family.
“This is how strong that love went. One time, we took a
vacation from Rockford, Illinois, up to Canada; and, of
course, Pandy went with us. When we came back home,
we realized Pandy had not made the return trip. Pandy
had stayed in the hotel back in Canada. No other option
was thinkable. My father turned the car around, and we
drove from Rockford to Canada to get that doll because
we were a devoted family. Not a very bright family, really,
but a devoted family. And we tracked Pandy down.
“Pandy had never been worth very much to start with.
By now, she was so disfigured that the only logical
thing to do was to trash her. Get rid of her. But Barbie
loved that doll with a love that made that doll precious
to anybody that loved Barbie. Love Barbie, love her rag
doll. It’s a package deal.
“She did not love Pandy because Pandy was beautiful.
She loved her with a love that made Pandy beautiful.”
“Now Pandy had lost most of her hair, one of her eyes,
and one of her arms. But she was still my sister Barbie’s
favorite doll. She was not a very valuable doll. I don’t
think we could have given her away. She was not a very
Ortberg ended his sermon by coming back to the premise
of the opening story. Returning the congregation to the
opening narrative took them to where they started with
new, enlightened insights that made the story more
meaningful and complete.
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John Ortberg
Pastor, Menlo Park Presbyterian Church
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