I was recently asked to respond to the following note . . .

Hi, I was wondering if [X] had any book recommendations for me on the subject of storytelling and incorporating stories into writing. What I’m looking for is very similar to what pastors would read and study as they prepare for their sermons. . .and exactly what [X] does. . .telling a story at the beginning of sermons and then using that story to illustrate a biblical principle applied to life. I do quite a bit of writing and would like to hone that skill and thought of [X]. Any recommendations?

And here is my response . . .

Hi [Y],

I am a poor second to [X], but hope that my suggestions may be of assistance to you.

I love the way you are thinking about this and have several recommendations.

1. Christian Essayists — You are probably not surprised to know that I think the best resources for developing this portion of our art is to read the works of some of those who are true masters at weaving important truth and narrative. It is interesting to note that some of the best Christian essayists have been writers that are best known not for their essays but for their fiction; C.S. Lewis, Madeleine L’Engle, Dorothy Sayers, etc. L’Engle has actually written a book on this very topic, The Rock That Is Higher: Story as Truth
However, I must warn you to beware of some of their theology (L’Engle was a universalist among other things).

2. Journal / Record Observations – Like you, I am amazed by the manner in which [X] weaves stories into his sermons. Many people are great storytellers, but [X] has the ability to use illustrations that truly illustrate. If you go back through some of his sermons and analyze his illustrations you will soon discover that many of them include him as a participant. In order to effectively employ this he first has to engage life in such a way that he really “Experiences Life”. He seems to have developed the ability to do as Brother Lawrence wrote about in his book The Practice of the Presence of God. This is both a spiritual discipline and an artistic one. I firmly believe that one of the best ways to develop this disciple is to faithfully journal; not as a sequence of events (who, what, when, where, how), but as a record of the sensory experience (hearing, smelling, touching, tasting, seeing) and emotional description. When we are able to adequately describe our experience, and only when we are able to do so, then we are capable of inviting in other vicarious participants. There are lots of books out there on journaling, most of which are garbage. I can’t think of any that I would recommend off-hand. But I do strongly recommend the practice.

3. Learning From the Master – I love the book Teaching as Jesus Taught, by Roy Zuck. No one, not even our [X], ever came close to the storyweaving ability of Jesus. In this book Zuck explores Jesus’ teaching in all its fullness.

4. What You Really Asked For – There are many books out there on developing homiletic skills. In an interesting twist of irony, most of them are pretty boring. Four that might interest you include

a. Preaching and Teaching with Imagination: The Quest for Biblical Ministry, by Warren Wiersbe
b. Between Two Worlds: The Challenge of Preaching Today, by John Stott
c. Biblical Preaching: The Development and Delivery of Expository Messages, by Haddon Robinson
d. Supremacy of God in Preaching, The, by John Piper

Recently there has been a flurry of books on narrative preaching. Some of these might be useful to you, but I haven’t been overly impressed with any of them.

5. Cultural Geography – Although we wouldn’t ordinarily think of cultural geography when addressing the topic of creative religious writing, there is some very interesting material being published in the field of “landscape interpretation.” I wouldn’t run out and buy a bunch of these books if I were you, but you might check out a few titles using interlibrary loan. For starters you might check out Mapping the Invisible Landscape: Folklore, Writing, and the Sense of Place by Kent Ryden (isbn. 0877454140) and maybe one by a father of this discipline such as Yi-Fu Tuan like Space and Place: The Perspective of Experience (isbn. 0816638772) or perhaps one from my old teacher Richard Francaviglia like Believing In Place: A Spiritual Geography Of The Great Basin.

6. Youth Specialties Recommendations – The following link will connect you to books that were recently recommended at a Youth Specialties conference for youth ministers to use in developing storytelling. I have not read these books myself, so I cannot comment on their usefulness, but I thought you might like to see the list : http://www.buildingatheologicallibrary.com/storying-resources/ .

Well, [Y], I hope this helps. And, I commend you for seeking to become a more able communicator of truth. May God help us all to do so.

Blessings and peace,

Kevin

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