I was recently asked to respond to the following note . . .
Hi, I was wondering if [X] had any book recommendations for me on the subject of storytelling and incorporating stories into writing. What I’m looking for is very similar to what pastors would read and study as they prepare for their sermons. . .and exactly what [X] does. . .telling a story at the beginning of sermons and then using that story to illustrate a biblical principle applied to life. I do quite a bit of writing and would like to hone that skill and thought of [X]. Any recommendations?
And here is my response . . .
Hi [Y],
I am a poor second to [X], but hope that my suggestions may be of assistance to you.
I love the way you are thinking about this and have several recommendations.
1. Christian Essayists — You are probably not surprised to know that I think the best resources for developing this portion of our art is to read the works of some of those who are true masters at weaving important truth and narrative. It is interesting to note that some of the best Christian essayists have been writers that are best known not for their essays but for their fiction; C.S. Lewis, Madeleine L’Engle, Dorothy Sayers, etc. L’Engle has actually written a book on this very topic, The Rock That Is Higher: Story as Truth
However, I must warn you to beware of some of their theology (L’Engle was a universalist among other things).2. Journal / Record Observations – Like you, I am amazed by the manner in which [X] weaves stories into his sermons. Many people are great storytellers, but [X] has the ability to use illustrations that truly illustrate. If you go back through some of his sermons and analyze his illustrations you will soon discover that many of them include him as a participant. In order to effectively employ this he first has to engage life in such a way that he really “Experiences Life”. He seems to have developed the ability to do as Brother Lawrence wrote about in his book The Practice of the Presence of God
. This is both a spiritual discipline and an artistic one. I firmly believe that one of the best ways to develop this disciple is to faithfully journal; not as a sequence of events (who, what, when, where, how), but as a record of the sensory experience (hearing, smelling, touching, tasting, seeing) and emotional description. When we are able to adequately describe our experience, and only when we are able to do so, then we are capable of inviting in other vicarious participants. There are lots of books out there on journaling, most of which are garbage. I can’t think of any that I would recommend off-hand. But I do strongly recommend the practice.
3. Learning From the Master – I love the book Teaching as Jesus Taught
, by Roy Zuck. No one, not even our [X], ever came close to the storyweaving ability of Jesus. In this book Zuck explores Jesus’ teaching in all its fullness.
4. What You Really Asked For – There are many books out there on developing homiletic skills. In an interesting twist of irony, most of them are pretty boring. Four that might interest you include
a. Preaching and Teaching with Imagination: The Quest for Biblical Ministry
, by Warren Wiersbe
b. Between Two Worlds: The Challenge of Preaching Today, by John Stott
c. Biblical Preaching: The Development and Delivery of Expository Messages, by Haddon Robinson
d. Supremacy of God in Preaching, The, by John Piper
Recently there has been a flurry of books on narrative preaching. Some of these might be useful to you, but I haven’t been overly impressed with any of them.
5. Cultural Geography – Although we wouldn’t ordinarily think of cultural geography when addressing the topic of creative religious writing, there is some very interesting material being published in the field of “landscape interpretation.” I wouldn’t run out and buy a bunch of these books if I were you, but you might check out a few titles using interlibrary loan. For starters you might check out Mapping the Invisible Landscape: Folklore, Writing, and the Sense of Place
by Kent Ryden (isbn. 0877454140) and maybe one by a father of this discipline such as Yi-Fu Tuan like Space and Place: The Perspective of Experience
(isbn. 0816638772) or perhaps one from my old teacher Richard Francaviglia like Believing In Place: A Spiritual Geography Of The Great Basin
.
6. Youth Specialties Recommendations – The following link will connect you to books that were recently recommended at a Youth Specialties conference for youth ministers to use in developing storytelling. I have not read these books myself, so I cannot comment on their usefulness, but I thought you might like to see the list : http://www.buildingatheologicallibrary.com/storying-resources/ .
Well, [Y], I hope this helps. And, I commend you for seeking to become a more able communicator of truth. May God help us all to do so.
Blessings and peace,
Kevin
What advice would you have given had you been asked to respond to this request for information?
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Story is the primary way we impart what really matters to the next generation. Stories have the potential to embody biblical and theological content in ways that sink into the imagination, take root, and grow.
~ Sarah Arthur, in The God-Hungry Imagination: The Art of Storytelling for Postmodern Youth Ministry
People are being changed by their media. In order to speak to changed people, the Church must speak in changed ways. Preaching must adopt a new kind of language–a language of narrative and emotion.
~ Richard Jensen, in Thinking In Story
The language of logical argument, of proofs, is the language of the limited self we know and can manipulate. But the language of parable and poetry, of storytelling, moves from the imprisoned language of the provable into the freed language of what I must, for lack of another word, continue to call faith. For me this involves trust not in “the gods” but in God.
~ Madeleine L’Engle, in A Circle of Quiet
Storytelling is powerful because it has the ability to touch human beings at the most personal level. While facts are viewed from the lens of a microscope, stories are viewed from the lens of the soul. Stories address us on every level. They speak to the mind, the body, the emotions, the spirit, and the will. In a story a person can identify with situations he or she has never been in. The individual’s imagination is unlocked to drea what was previously unimaginable.
~ Mark Miller in Experiential Storytelling: (Re) Discovering Narrative to Communicate God’s Message
Stories are designed to embody–in their characters, plots, and imagery–patterns and relationships that nurture a part of the mind that’s unreachable in more direct ways, thus increasing our understanding and breadth of vision, in addition to fostering our ability to think critically. Stories activate the right side of the brain much more than… reading normal prose. The right side of the brain provides “context,” the essential function of putting together the different components of experience. The left side provides the “text,” or the pieces themselves.
~ Robert Ornstein, in a 2002 Library of Congress lecture
Story is the most natural way of enlarging and deepening our sense of reality, and then enlisting us as participants in it. Stories open doors to areas or aspects of life that we didn’t know were there, or had quit noticing…. Stories are verbal acts of hospitality.
~ Eugene Peterson, in Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places: A Conversation in Spiritual Theology
The universe is made of stories, not of atoms.
~ Muriel Rukeyser
If you want to build a ship, don’t herd people together to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.
~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Our lives as human beings are made up of stories that have shaped, or are shaping, who we are. The story of the Bible has the power to make sense of all the other stories of your life. When it is internalized and it becomes your story, it gives meaning in the midst of meaninglessness and value in the midst of worthlessness. Yoru personal story will find grounding in creation, guidance in crises, re-formation in redemption, and direction in its destination. People become Christians when their own stories merge with, and are understood in the light of, God’s story.
~ Preben Vang and Terry Carter, in Telling God’s Story: The Biblical Narrative from Beginning to End
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This Sunday, many preachers will stand in the pulpit and proclaim the virtue of honesty and the primacy of Truth. And, then the church will run an ad in the local paper that seems to ignore that message. Consider the following account shared by Larry Osborne in his book Sticky Church.
“When I first came to North Coast, we were a small church meeting in an old high school cafeteria. I hadn’t been there long when someone showed me an adveertisement we were putting in the local newspaper each weekend. You know the drill: We weere supposedly the friendliest church in town, with great preaching, great worship, and a world-class children’s program.
“The truth was, we had none of those things. Not even close. I’m not sure I would have kept coming if I hadn’t been the pastor.
“The cafeteria was old and smelly. Remnants of food fights hung from the wall. One whole side of the room was a large Plexiglas window, which was cool–except when skateboarders started showing off in the middle of a sermon. That was hard to compete with. Most of the time they’d win. They were a lot more interesting than my early sermons. They’d probably still be more interesting. That’s one reason we moved.
“So I did the only reasonable thing. I canceled the ad. I had enought issues on my hands. I didn’t need the Federal Communications Commission hassling me for false advertising.”
When was the last time you checked your promotional literature for accuracy?
I hasten to say that I think one of the most critical skills of leadership is storytelling. We tell the stories of who we are and in the process we become what we say we are. In this instance, ontology recapitulates philology.
However, leaders need to be circumspect to avoid dishonest misrepresentation. It may not be true that your church is the most loving church in your town, but a similar message can be sent by saying, “We want to be the most loving church in town.” With this alteration you are still casting a transformative vision, you are still painting a picture with which people can identify and an ideal to which people can aspire, but you are not misrepresenting yourself.
So, tell your church’s story, cast your churches vision, but please, please, please be honest about it.
