Can you tell stories of things that happened in your life? “I can remember when I was sixteen…” Can you tell your life’s story? Particularly, if your life was saved by Jesus!
People love stories, whether in movies, on television, or at the theatre. Everyone loves a story. Little children endlessly say, “Tell me a story.”
One finds the scriptures endlessly laced with stories. Embedded in them are profound theological truths and lessons and very often directly the evangelistic content of the gospel.
The story has appeal because it is like real life. Most people do not experience life as a set of ideas or abstractions, but live out the lives they have to, having experiences, and then thinking about them. Our listeners will identify with such stories and say, “Yes, that’s just like me.” Cliff’s story helped me!
Cliff helped me understand my deep relationship with Jesus. Being able to tell stories is important because our communication theories demand new ways of breaking through to the minds of young people who are over-stuffed and glutted with information.
People in our times have become accustomed through the media to a world of story rather than educational or moralistic teaching. Whether a soap opera is on video, television, film, movie, or radio drama, they all come to us through story and their messages are brought through story.
All this reminds us that we have to look at our communication methodologies to ensure that we are not dull, predictable, or plain irrelevant. Even more important, it calls upon us to be stoytellers so that the impact of the gospel will be experienced by those who don’t know Jesus.
Thanks to Leighton Ford…
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