Capturing the Big Picture
Adapted from a paper by Tara Rye
Submitted to Dr. Octavio Esqueda at SWBTS on Jan. 4, 2009

In high school, I had a driver’s education instructor that told us that the most dangerous drivers were the ones that did not take in the big picture. He said that if a driver focused only ahead and never looked back that he places those behind him at risk as well as himself. Likewise, if a driver is only looking behind then the driver might run into someone in the front. Recently, my teenage daughter has taken to the habit of hitting me in the car when she sees a VW Bug. I never see the VW Bugs because I scan the roads for the bigger picture, not the details of car types. As I pondered these two ‘situations, it occurred to me that when someone takes the time to tell the Bible passage in their own words it provides an opportunity to portray the big picture view for the study. A Bible teller is not as likely to focus in on the details, but will help the learner capture the big picture view. Where as a leader that uses an inductive study method will use questions to help a learner dig into the passage to better understand the details.

The number one choice for teachers and Christian leaders is the inductive method. Are we using these methods with excellence when we rule out other teaching methods? I heard a statistic that made me wonder if we might be missing out by not providing the bigger picture view more often. George Hunter, Beeson Distinguished Professor of Evangelism at Asbury Theological Seminary's School of World Mission and Evangelism, states that America is moving into the third or fourth generation of Biblical illiteracy. Could this be because we no longer teach the big picture?

In a phone interview, with author and Strategic Planning and People Groups Church Planting Coordinator of NAMB, Mark Snowden passionately explained that storying the Biblical narrative provides the Bible in the heart language of the person listening. He said, “Internationally, 70% of all people have an oral learning preference. This combined with the college/postmodern millennia’s and the following generation known as the Gaming Generation that choose not to read, we may not have a Bible in their given language. Are we really teaching in a way that people can understand?

There is a “new wave sweeping across America” steeped in tradition that promises to create the next spiritual awakening. The method is simple and the message is the Truth. Yet, most leading pastors, teachers, and leaders confess the practice of this method is most difficult. The literate trained leader struggles with its application, yet 70% of the hearers receiving the message of the gospel prefer this method. Simply stating the name, “Storying,” invites a passionate response that either leads to ridicule or indignation. In fact, there is almost a palpable arrogance against it until one sits under the power of Truth cloaked in story.

What is Storying? Why do some shoot it down while others sing its praise? International author and storying advocate, Avery Willis, calls it the “next wave.” Why is the art of Biblical storying resurging? For well over a thousand years, storying passed the Biblical Narrative from generation to generation, only to lose its prominent position in communicating Biblical text to the more literate style following Martin Luther’s Reformation. Is it possible that chronological storying is the method of choice for the postmodern and gaming generations? If so, how does one cultivate the Biblical art of storying in a literate group of people to reach the oral hearer of today without losing theological integrity in the telling? Asbury Seminary Professor George Hunter states, “When someone uses storying he or she is on solid and useful ground. The Bible, after all, is not a series of theological abstractions or even a treasure of texts to be memorized. It's framework is the Grand Narrative of God's redemptive involvement with the human race, and most of the episodes in that Narrative are micro-narratives—from the story of Abraham to the parables of Jesus. When we learn and tell the Story and the stories, we more vividly recall the texts, truth-claims, and teachings.” Because Storying allows the hearer to experience the Story for him or herself; the hearer will remember and reproduce the Story of the gospel from their own “heart language.” In order to reach the postmodern generation, Biblical teachers need to incorporate aspects of Storying into the presentation of God’s Word, which creates an atmosphere for spiritual transformation in the individual, as well as the community.

The passion with which our biblical ancestors communicated God’s Story connected souls from generation to generation. Historical tradition reveals that Storying provides the essential building blocks necessary to lay Biblical truth on the most basic level while establishing community through the hearing and telling of God’s truth. The echo of truth becomes a ripple effect reaching far beyond the voice of the initial telling. According to Ann Spangler and Lois Tverberg, authors of Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus, at the age of 10 Jewish boys began their study of the Oral Torah and by the age of thirteen, they began their formal study of the scriptures. Oral stories easily remembered spread. Before one establishes depth of insight on the whole counsel, of the Word of God, one must understand the purpose behind the message. This is the bigger picture! Oral Storying made this possible as communities changed by the telling of God’s presence among His people. Even today, the youngest of Biblical learners learn first through stories. It is no wonder that Jesus used oral tradition to communicate the Word of God to the people. Mark 4:33-34 reminds believers that Jesus did not speak without using a parable. What is a parable? A story! Why stop using this method with adults simply because they are older?

According to Jackson Day, a retired missionary of Brazil, it is no coincidence that a quick glance through the Bible unfolds the truth that 70+% of the Bible is in narrative form. Day states that out of the 39 Old Testament books, 34 contain stories for teaching and all of the New Testament books contain stories. The LORD leaves no detail undone. The very lay-out of His scriptures reveals that He created man to learn through story. Both the Old and New Testament reveal the power of Storying’s influence on community. After all, didn’t the whole nation of Israel stop eating the hip joint after the telling of how Jacobs’s hip was knocked out of socket, as he wrestled all night with the Angel of the LORD at the Jabbok River? Or what about the fear that fell upon the early church after hearing the thud of Ananias and Sapphira’s bodies upon telling a lie to the young impressionable church? Even modern storytellers grasp the value of the bond between stories and community. The Network of Biblical Storytellers International points out that “the sacred act of Biblical Storytelling binds the teller and listeners in community.” Stories not only change individuals and churches, they change nations, too!

Mark Snowden highly recommends that potential storyers follow the Ten Steps to Storying set up by Avery Willis in the Following Jesus Series. Willis’s ten basic steps for storying recommends: 1) Establish the Biblical truth the teller seeks to communicate. 2) Know the worldview issues. 3) Discern the bridges, barriers and gaps. 4) Select the Bible story. 5) Craft the story and session. 6) Story the story. 7) Facilitate the dialog. 8) Obey the Bible truth. 9) Establish accountability. 10) Reproduce and model. These methods have been tested and proven effective on the mission field for years in evangelism, discipleship, and in church planting. Moreover, small group settings are starting to use this method within North America.

Do we really want to miss out on the bigger picture? How can we reach the third and fourth generation of Biblically illiterate? How might we use Bible storying in our own community groups? It is simple as telling the Bible passage in your own words. “Our measure for success is when our people can pass God’s Word on to others, accurately.” Everyone can remember a story! Why not let it be a Bible story!