A strategy for disciple-making
Chronological Bible Storying is a strategic plan to share the panorama of God’s Great Redemptive Story through telling key stories of the Bible in chronological order. In the process of telling these stories there is a strategy to evangelize, make disciples and plant churches in each people group we enter with the Gospel. In this intentional process workers and leaders will be equipped who will be capable of continuing in this work of bringing the Gospel to their own people as well as reaching out to others in evangelism and church planting.
Since oral communicators depend upon their memory to hold what they have learned, they do this primarily through remembered life experiences or stories that they have heard. If we are going to effectively bring the Gospel to those in oral cultures we must become effective storytellers and enter their culture in a relational way which requires dialog and listening to their stories as well. Coming to understand their worldview as we walk relationally with them will help us in selecting certain stories that best bring the Gospel across to them.
Telling the stories of the Bible chronologically linked together forming one big story, rather than in isolated or unconnected ways, helps the hearers begin to understand each individual story in the context of God’s Big Story. This is very important in helping avoid the blending of individual biblical stories or truths with conflicting worldview assumptions they hold within their own cultural stories and experience.
Turkey Apostolic Training - Chronological Bible Storying and Narrative Preaching
Hosted by Sam Poe, with contributions from Mbonisi Malaba, Carl Herrington and David Devenish. One of the things Sam and our friends in Zimbabwe have been working on recently is how to develop for oral cultures a form of oral Bible, to enable them to hold in their memory and apply the necessary Bible stories to lead people to Christ and to the baptism in the Holy Spirit, and then to make disciples and plant churches. Sam and the US team have also found this very effective in reaching post-moderns in the US. This seminar therefore will be applied both in relation to classic oral cultures but also to the high proportion of those who have been educated but still learn orally. Sam and his team have piloted this project in Zimbabwe but we now want to see it rolled out across our movement in all sorts of contexts.
Book Recommendations - from Sam Poe
My wife, Marlene and I are passionate about sharing God’s Great Salvation Story with others. The Bible is not just a collection of isolated stories. It is a purposeful, flowing narrative of God’s workings in human history. It really is an amazing story that comes from many human authors writing under Divine guidance from different times and places in history. To understand well the individual stories of Scripture it is important to catch something of the panorama of the whole story. That is best done by carefully reading the Bible through chronologically, paying attention to the threads that stitch the whole story together.
The strategy for evangelism, church planting and training others to be followers of Jesus is rooted in telling God’s Big Salvation Story from Genesis to Revelation. Not only do we need to know the story we must seek to excel in telling the stories that make up this Great Story so others will hear and come to know the Lord God who is the author and central character of the story.
I would like to recommend some books which I have found very helpful in recognizing the threads that run through the Bible and weave together God’s Big Story.
‘Telling God’s Story’ by Preban Vang & Terry Carter
‘The Story Of Israel, A Biblical Theology’ by C Marvin Pate, J. Scott Duvall, J. Daniel Hays, E. Randolph Richards, W. Dennis Tucker Jr. and Preben Vang
‘God’s Big Picture, Tracing the Storyline of the Bible’ by Vaughan Roberts
‘A Passion For God’s Story’ by Philip Greenslade
Here are some books that speak of the great value of biblical storytelling as we go out on mission and church planting:
‘Reconnecting God’s Story to Mission’ by Tom A. Steffen
‘Bible Storying For Church Planting’ by Daniel R. Sanchez, J.O. Terry, Lanette W. Thompson.
Learning to be a good storyteller is very important on this mission. Here are some books on that subject:
‘Story Journey, An invitation to the Gospel as Storytelling’ by Thomas E. Boomershine
‘Thinking In Story’ By Richard A. Jensen
‘The Art of Storytelling, Easy Steps to Presenting An Unforgettable Story’ by John Walsh
Extra resources
Making Disciples of Oral Learners (PDF)
Bringing the Good News to Oral Cultures (PDF)
The Value of Storytelling (PDF)
The Call of Abraham - Sample Audio
Jesus and the Mad Man - Sample Audio
Jesus and Lazarus - Sample Audio
