The Art of Storytelling

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The Art of Storytelling

• Connecting Gods Story to the context of your
  audience

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People of all cultures learn first thru
story-telling!

• The oral stories of our ancestors an family
  history
• Bedtime stories we loved our parents to tell us

• We learned our language thru story-telling
• The context of our culture was transmitted thru
  storytelling

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Informal learning is primary to all cultures

• You learned your language from your family in
  your home
• You learned your culture from your family in your
  home
• You listened to your ancestral stories in your
  home

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Stories give meaning to our communication

• The stories of our culture give meaning to
  metaphors, stereotypes, relationships, slang,
  assumptions, humour, prejudices, and our ideas
  of who God is.
• Conclusion Narrative theology is more
  significant in understanding God than
  propositional theology.

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Ancient oral cultures have proven their ability
to accurately pass their stories from generation
to generation.
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Is the concept of eternity in their hearts?

• Missiologist Don Richardson
• thinks so. His book Eternity in their hearts
  based on Ecclesiastes 3 verses 11-14, gives us
  evidence of so many cultures having creation, sin
  and flood stories.
• Scholars have puzzled over why stories in
  extemely diverse times and places on the earth
  are so alike

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Our stories reveal our common humanity

• The stories of our race show a common interest
  and inquisitiveness about
• - creation
• - good and evil
• - the origin of mankind
• - eternity and our future destiny
• - God, gods, angels and demons

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Stories activate our right brain imagination..

• They help us think with our hearts rather than
  our heads
• They create a tenderness in our spirits
• They lead us to view the world holistically and
  therefore to healing and wholeness
• They help us remember what God has done
• We would be an ungrateful, hard-hearted people
  without the stories of Gods provision for His
  people

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Stories provide hope for humanity

• Every human faces death
• This is a paradox we are given life only to one
  day face death
• The best stories help us understand the paradoxes
  of life
• They can give hope and teach morality and social
  responsibility
• They provide a basis for grace, compassion and
  Christian ministry

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The paradoxes of life can be learned thru
stories

• Spirituality is rooted in our earthly experience
• Suffering produces godly character
• Freedom is discovered in obedience
• The greatest leader is the servant of all

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Factors in story telling

• Anthropology the cultural setting of our race
  or tribe
• Pedagogical the context of the informal
  learning of the generations in the home and
  community

• Theological Our stories develop our
  understanding of God, eg O.T.
• Communication commonness creates mutual
  understanding and provides a basis for new
  understanding

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Storytellers must create context-specific stories.

• That appeal to the culture of the listeners
• That are best delivered in an informal setting of
  the listeners
• That shape the listeners understanding of God
• That communicate with the listeners in a language
  and medium they understand

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The contexts a storyteller must consider

• The contexts of the Bible, Hebrew, Roman and
  Greek
• The messengers context
• The listeners context

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The process of contextualization

• Understand the contexts of Biblical stories and
  their meaning
• Decode the filters created by the storytellers
  context. Try to eliminate cultural bias and
  prejudice.
• Encode the story into the listeners context

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Story telling as a means of conveying truth

• Narrative theology enables truth to be presented
  in an informal way
• An informal setting allows greater reflection on
  the truth
• The setting should reflect the context of the
  listener
• Subliminal (hidden) meaning is inoffensively
  communicated
• Transformation of mind, heart, emotions, and
  action is the goal

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A modern version of the Good Samaritan story.

• The people of Aceh experienced a great disaster
  from a tsunami
• They lay dying in disease infested swamps created
  by the tsunami
• Their own countrymen did not help them
• Their Muslim clerics did not help them
• The Americans who they despised came in their
  helicopters and helped them with food, medical
  supplies and shelter.
• Who were the brothers and sisters of the people
  of Aceh?
• Truth God loves all people regardless of their
  race or religion

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The storytellers kit bag

• Collect the proverbs of the listeners. They
  reveal the values of the culture
• Collect the life-stories of the listeners.
• Observe the pastimes of the listeners.
• Participate in their social gatherings.

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Respond to the social environment

• Decide which of the five ways of life are
  practiced by the listeners
• - Individualistic, collectivist,
• corporate, bureaucratic, hermit
• Determine the method of storytelling appropriate
  to the group or individual.

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The Indonesian example

• Storytelling has been practiced for generations
  in village groups of men, women and children
  together.
• The Ramayana story has been told over and over
  again in a shadow puppet play for generations. A
  light behind a sheet with stick figures as
  puppets.
• People say they love this story the most, even
  though they have heard it hundreds of times, and
  it conveys life as full of tragedy.
• The story matches their fatalistic view of God.
  Allah wills. You cannot change things Allah
  doesnt want changed.

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Developing the storyline of truth..

• The storyteller will want to
• develop a curriculum of truth
• so the listeners will grow in their
  relationship with God
• Jesus commanded us the make disciples.
  Storytellers take their listeners from enemies of
  God, to babes in the faith, to maturity.

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Jesus developed his storyline in three years
with his disciples

• They changed their religious mindset
• They came to know God in a new way
• They experienced the presence and the power of
  God
• They became strong in character and faith
• They remembered his stories

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Jesus revealed his storyline on the road to
Emmaus

• Read Luke 24 verses 25-32
• Jesus summarised the whole storyline in one
  meeting
• They now understood the truth of the curriculum
  behind all the stories he had told them

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Jesus used parables

• Parables are stories with
• hidden meanings that make
• people want to come back for more
• Parables are stories that make the listeners want
  to come back for more.
• They created more questions than they answered.

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Follow the pattern of story-telling Jesus used

• Dont expect to reveal the whole storyline in one
  story
• Court the listener as in a love story
• Create a paradox central to lifes experiences
• Leave several questions unanswered so the
  listener or listeners will want to come back for
  more

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How to help listeners respond

• Study how the listeners
• make decisions
• Evaluate what the listener understands about the
  truths of the storyline thru questions
• Help the listeners affirm the truths they
  understand by a response appropriate to their
  context

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Make arrangements for ongoing storytelling.

• Assure the listeners that this
• is one of many stories you
• have that will interest them
• Arrange a venue and time for another storytelling
  session
• Ask them what stories they are interested in?

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Deal with your own ethnocentrism.

• Dont despise the way the
• listeners culture responds or
• makes decisions
• Always take responsibility for the inadequate
  response as a result of your poor communication
• Acts 1034-35 reminds us that God accepts people
  from every nation who fear Him and do what is
  right.

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The power of the Story

• Stories connect with our imagination
• Listeners enjoy having their imaginations
  activated
• The art of storytelling is the pictures that the
  mind invents while listening

• Imagination activates our emotions
• Listeners see themselves in the scenes with the
  characters and feel their life experiences

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People appreciate stories because they

• Mirror their lives of fact and feeling
• Interweave reason, mystery, and reactions
• Cause listeners to reflect on deep issues in life
• Make learning exciting and holistic

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Every major religion uses stories

• To socialize its young
• To convert potential followers
• To indoctrinate followers
• To develop values appropriate to the religions
  teachings
• To differentiate true members from false
• To formulate right behaviours

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Select a story from your culture?

• Tell the person sitting next to you the story?
  (Allow 3minutes maximum)
• Take the sheet of paper provided for this
  workshop and write down an outline of the story
• What is the goal of your story?

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Evaluate your selected story from your culture?

• Does it convey a truth?
• What is the truth?
• How can you make the story exciting for the
  listeners?
• Will the listeners imagination and emotions be
  activated?
• What values will be conveyed by this story?
• Where does the story fit in the continuum of your
  storyline?

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How do people in your culture make decisions?

• What decision can your listeners make as a result
  of your story?
• Is the decision making mechanism appropriate or
  foreign to your people?
• Did you create one, two, or three unanswered
  questions in the minds of your audience?

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What do you think?

• Would your story help people
• in your culture know God?
• Would people in your culture be interested in
  this story?
• What else would they need to know about God to be
  able to pray to him in a personal way?

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Do you know people of another culture? Yes!

• Think of a story that you could tell them?
• Tell the person sitting next to you the culture
  and the story (allow 10 minutes)
• Take the piece of paper provided and summarise
  the story. Please write down the target culture
  as well!
• What is the goal of your story?

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Evaluate your story for another culture?

• Does it convey a truth?
• What is the truth?
• How can you make the story exciting for the
  listeners?
• Will the listeners imagination and emotions be
  activated?
• What values will be conveyed by this story?
• Where does the story fit in the continuum of your
  storyline?

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How do people in this culture make decisions?

• What decision can your listeners make as a result
  of your story?
• Is the decision making mechanism appropriate or
  foreign to the people of this culture?
• Did you create one, two, or three unanswered
  questions in the minds of your audience?

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Acknowledgements

• The producer of this presentation is
• indebted to the following authors and their
  publishers
• William J Bausch 23rd Publications
• Dr Paul Hiebert Baker Books
• Karen Lee-Thorp Navpress
• Dr Louis Luzebetak -
• John Pilch and Bruce Malina Hendrickson
• Don Richardson Regal Books
• Tom A Steffen Biola University
• Walter Wink Galilee Books