The power of story
I had a great comment a while back on one of my posts:
Maybe the good old fashion preaching of God’s word (2 Tim 4) will solve
the issues you’ve described after all isn’t that sort of how the church
was built. Wasn’t built on movie clips, comedy and watered down truth
(which isn’t truth) . The youth will have His word planted and the old
will be edified and continue to grow. End of problem.
I truly wish it were that easy. In fact, there was a time in our country when it was. There was a time when we could assume most people had a basic understanding of Christian tenants; a time when confrontational evangelism worked well. But this is not the world we live in today. As we strive to share the good news with those who need it most, we are most often met with indifference.
This is very similar to the culture Jesus shared the good news with. The people of his day were steeped in legalism and condemnation. Jesus had a message that was radical to his audience. So, how did He go about sharing the good news? Did He just recite the scriptures? Did He simply read from the books of the law and interpret as the scribes and teachers of his day did?
No. Jesus told stories. Stories that engaged the culture. Stories that stirred the emotions and the imagination. He used stories of relevant issue. He inspired and convicted through teaching that was easily understood by those who he was addressing and he used the medium of the day. He drew in the dirt, He used fish and bread, He used money, demons, fishing, farming and disease to share his message.
This is our goal as well. To use the medium that our culture can readily relate to and communicate messages in a way they can hear and understand. We want to inspire, stir the imagination, touch the emotions and capture the hearts of those who most need the good news. We want to do what it takes to convey the good news, because that’s what Jesus did and he’s our role model.
I totally agree. Stories are so vital! Although I teach in a public school, there are stories that are so rich with lessons. For the last two years, I’ve read a short novel to my sixth graders entitled THE BIG WAVE by Pearl S. Buck. The theme that is woven throughout the story is that “Life is stronger than Death.” (after a young Japanese boy loses his family in a tsunami ~ he regains his joy, inner strength and faces life again with courage).
The testimonies that were video taped and shown earlier this year were very powerful. I know from experience, one minute of creative video can equal hours of work. Thank you so much for all the time it took to create those videos. I still think about the messages within and the courage of those that participated. ~Maria
“The devil has seldom done a cleverer thing than hinting to the church that part of their mission is to provide entertainment for the people, with a view to winning them…providing amusement for the people is nowhere spoken of in the Scriptures as a function of the church…the need is for Biblical doctrine, so understood and felt that it sets men aflame.”
this is funny.
Which post is funny?
OMGoodness, I can’t believe that the internet reaches all the way to Heaven and Charles Spurgeon reads your blog.
Ahh, I get it now.
Jesus’ stories certainly communicated in a way that would have at least been interesting to his audience. Preaching that is unintelligible to the hearer is not good preaching. BUT…Jesus did interpret the OT like the Scribes and Pharisees. His Stories more often than not confused, not illuminated. And the goal was not entertainment, but radical alteration. The “good news” wasn’t an addendum on an already comfortable life, it was a drastic and radical change that talked about loving enemies, sacrificial living, and death on a cross. The interpretation that Jesus gave was different from other Rabbi’s for one other significant reason..He WAS the interpretation. Creativity is fine and good–but if it is just reworking culture to make it more acceptable, if it replacing the proclamation of God’s word as the catalyst of change, or if it is simply making life manageable, then it’s in the way. Like Christ, our message is death–death to this life in hopes for another–and in that we find unimaginable freedom. And the testimony of Jesus and of all of Scripture is that this comes about as the result of the Holy Spirit working on people’s hearts as the Gospel is faithfully preached.
If i grabbed an Database user manual and started reading to another from the center of the book, with out telling them why i was reading to them or how what i am reading applies to them or why they needed to knwo this or explaining some of the background of databases and what they are good for, i would not be helping the person i was reading to. In fact i would probably only be confusing and frustrating them. They lack the context to absorb what i am telling them.
Why would one do this?
Because the hearer should already know what a database is and why we need them to exist in our culture? So – to bad to them if they don’t already get it? In fact, database manuals are accessible to everyone, so they should have picked it up and read it for themselves, then if they were worth anything they could ask me questions about what they read? Its not my responsibility to take the time to explain it?
I don’t believe anyone reading this would take that view point. In fact, i think we care about those around us and want them all to know there is hope. Hope which we can share. The stories we use should be salt and light. Salt which brings out the God flavor in our world – makes it easy to see that God is good and wants to have a relationship with us. Light which illuminates that which is written, which has already been taught by the master – but makes it so we can see it. I am not talking about entertaining people, or telling stories that have nothing to do with biblical truths. I am talking about intentionally and deliberately identifying the truths of the bible and sharing them in a way that cause people to go “ahh, i get it now!”
This will still confuse many people, because they will fail to believe the truth. They will see what we call truth as nonsense. They will fail to believe in God and reject his way. BUT, there are those who will hear and believe, if they could just understand what we are saying! i know this is true, i’ve taken the time one on one with people to explain the good news and answer their questions and i have watched them come to faith and grow. How can anyone argue with this?
Blogs within a blog!
Nice
Right on, Frank. It’s not an argument–it’s a balancing act.
Two sentences sum it up:
“Light which illuminates that which is written, which has already been taught by the master – but makes it so we can see it.”
“I am talking about intentionally and deliberately identifying the truths of the bible and sharing them in a way that cause people to go “ahh, i get it now!”"
The reason this is a balancing act is because there is a means–creativity, story, etc.–and there is an end–truth. The trouble comes when people make the means the end, and, whether intentionally or not, invest far more time, energy, and resources into the creativity than they do into figuring out what it is that God is trying to communicate. On the other hand, it’s also very possible to spend a ton of time figuring out what it is that God has said and yet fail to contextualize that truth and therefore end up functionally with the same result: confused hearers. If the end result isn’t people coming into contact with the risen Savior and God being glorified, it’s a waste of time.
just thought i might point this out Jeremy said
“His Stories more often than not confused, not illuminated.”
then said
“therefore end up functionally with the same result: confused hearers”
sweet now all i have to do is walk around confusing people! this should be easy …. ha ha
Count me in as confused ;-P