While perusing through my local Borders Bookstore on Sunday evening, I ran across and purchased a book I heard about but haven't seen: Experiential Storytelling: (Re)Discovering Narrative to Communicate God's Message by Mark Miller.
I read through about a third of the book last night. I find it intriguing and compelling as well as scandalous and disturbing all at the same time. Some, just by the title alone, will judge the book as postmodernism's destructive work in the church. Others will think these ideas are the key to speaking to a world changed by postmodernism. I want to deliver some quotes for discussion here.
Miller defines "experiential storytelling"...
- creating an environment that allows others to participate in the telling of a story through sensory interaction (p. 7)
On Experience...
What if we were to take our message and begin speaking the language of the natives? Instead of telling people Jesus is the light of the world, what if we showed them the stark difference between light and darkness?
What if we removed all of the argumentative language, replaced it with beautiful narratives, and let people feel the power of the story? Instead of trying to convince people to accept a list of spiritual laws, how about placing individuals in the story, allowing them to learn and interact with God's character? (p. 26)
A Jewish Teaching Story...
Truth, naked and cold, had been turned away from every door in the village. Her nakedness frightened the people. When Parable found her, she was huddled in a corner, shivering and hungry. Taking pity on her, Parable gathered her up and took her home. There, she dressed Truth in story, warmed her and sent her out again. Clothed in story, Truth knocked again at the villagers' doors and was readily welcomed into the people's houses. They invited her to eat at their table and warm herself by their fire. (p. 29)
On Story...
Stories address us on every level. They speak to the mind, the body, the emotions, the spirit, and the will. In a story a person can identify with situations he or she has never been in. The individual's imagination is unlocked to dream what was previously unimaginable. (p. 33)
Quoting Annette Simmons...
Stories are "more true" than facts because stories are multi-dimensional. Truth with a capital "T" has many layers. Truths like justice or integrity are too complex to be expressed in a law, a statistic, or a fact. Facts need the context of when, who, and where to become Truths. (p. 36)
Sermon vs. Story...
A sermon tells people what to think. A story forces people to do the thinking for themselves. It can feel dangerous because it allows for interpretation. But on of the adjectives used to describe the Holy Spirit is "counselor." Do we trust our people and the Holy Spirit enough to allow them to think for themselves? Can we leave something open-ended, knowing the conclusion might not come until later that day, week, month, or year? Can we allows people to own the stories? Or do we do all of the interpreting and leave nothing to the imagination?
My believe is that when a story becomes personal and people begin to become unsettled and challenged by it, then they have been touched in a place where facts fear to tread. It is a place so personal that it can spark and inner transformation. (p. 41)
Quoting Dieter Zander...
When you put your face next to an "A" string and begin to hum and "A"--that string will begin to vibrate. The "D" won't, the "G" won't, but the "A" will. Because it was created to vibrate with that tone. The thing about the story--God's story--is that when it is told and applied well, and when it is supported in a sensorial way, something inside our heart starts to vibrate, regardless of whether we are a Christian or not, because we were created for our hearts to vibrate with that story. (pp. 42-43)
Buy it at Amazon. Also, read my follow-up post on this book along with my take after finishing it.