Choosing to Preach Discussion

re: #21 - Can Stories Proclaim?

Posted by Kallie Hutton on Aug. 26, 2010 at 00:03

Telling stories is one of the greatest ways to teach a truth. Story telling is very different from proclamation sermons but it plays to different strengths as well. Telling a story will engage the mind and imagination in ways that a proclamation sermon simply will not. Stories bring the listeners in- they relate to the characters, have empathy with the situations. Stories involve the listeners. although this form of teaching may not overtly "proclaim" as other sermons do, there is no doubt the truth is being communicated. As many have already commented, story telling was one of Jesus’ primary forms of teaching. There may be risk involved, but there is also great reward.

re: #21 - Can Stories Proclaim?

Posted by Irene Yeung on Dec. 01, 2009 at 02:27

The question has a misconception on the effects of a narrative sermon. Though the structure of a narrative sermon is mainly story-telling, it does not mean that there is no proclamation of truth in the preaching. As a matter of fact, the proclamation of biblical truth is embedded in the story-telling of a narrative sermon.

Similar to the inductive or deductive sermons, a narrative sermon also has a sermon focus/theme which is the biblical truth to be proclaimed by the preacher. The proposition is embodied in the story plots and characters. It will surface as the preacher leads the listeners to move from the beginning of the story to the end of the sermon. The proclaimed truth will have great impact on the listeners because story-telling appeals to the affection and intellect of listeners.

Story-telling can easily engage the listeners in the sermon process. It speaks to the heart of listeners with the story movement and characters with whom they can identify. It involves them intellectually since a biblical truth is surfaced as it unfolds the plots of the story. Though some argue that since narrative sermon employs an inductive approach, it may leave the listeners with the interpretation of the story. Yet, I think if the preacher can make himself clear in proclaiming the truth in the story plots, the listeners will not be able to make a conclusion which deviates far from the intended message. Conversely, I think a narrative sermon can induce the sermon theme more easily into the mind of listeners, since their defense-mechanism is not triggered in listening to stories. They are guided by the preacher to follow through the story plots, and the messages will subtly creep into their mind without defense. The messages will stay in their mind, as the listeners are impressed with the scenes and characters. Consequently, story-telling (narrative sermon) is a powerful approach in preaching.

re: #21 - Can Stories Proclaim?

Posted by Greg Dick on Oct. 29, 2009 at 11:00

When I used to act in church, I hated when the pastor felt the need to get up on the pulpit after the performance and expound on the meaning of the play. It felt as though he was sucking the meaning right out of the play. I always felt as though the performance, and the words of the script should speak for themselves.

To me it seems as though the words and performance of a story do stand on their own. It may be scary for the preacher to let go of those words without expositionally pointing them in the listener’s head; but there is a certain freedom given to the listener in story that can be exilarating. Story is the gift of process, the story plants the thoughts and ideas and the listener then goes down the path of discovery that the story inspires them on.

Whether we notice it or not, a story we create is crafted by the thoughts that we have in our head. If we properly form a story the right thoughts/questions/ideas and inspirations will be passed on to the listener and they will in turn go on the same path that we took as we began to prepare for preaching.

re: #21 - Can Stories Proclaim?

Posted by Sydney Bergsma on Feb. 25, 2009 at 00:57

I love a good story better then that I can remember them too. I have sat under 100’s of sermons great teaching from an gifted teacher. However, I have a hard time remembering one of those , although over time they have helped in shaping my journey. That is another reminder that it’s not just the message but the faithfulness and integrity of the messenger that shapes our spiritual lives. However I can remember stories. When our Prof came to teach our class I told him in detail the sermon he had preached 7 years before, why, because he tied it to a great story. and I still remember the passage and his points as well. So for me Stories make it stick ( could that be a theme statement? or maybe it’s bed time)

re: #21 - Can Stories Proclaim?

Posted by John Moerman on Feb. 22, 2009 at 18:20

Stories are a must in preaching. I disagree that they lend themselves to interpretation for the listener. The preacher employs story as a medium to match, illustrate and ground the message. It brings the message from "their town" (the context of the scripture) to "our town" (the listener’s context). Stories from the preacher will make the message relevant to the life of the listener. The preacher will explain how the story relates to the Word of God, why it is relevant and what response is required. Stories are powerful, relevant and important in preaching. Jesus told them – we can do no better than to emulate the teacher!

re: #21 - Can Stories Proclaim?

Posted by Yong Wang on Feb. 20, 2009 at 17:45

In my church’s mission conference last year, the preacher used two different stories to conclude his sermons. I have to admit that those two stories are very powerful and serve well for the two sermons. The preacher has been a missionary to North Thailand for many years, this experience shapes his preaching style and works good for him and people there.

I used a story to help myself to illustrate my point. The story can proclaim if the context is well established, i.e., the listeners will not have many other rooms to interpret the stories different than what the preacher intends. I think this should be the guideline for us to use stories, it has to be clear, it also has to be well structured with good intention being communicated to the listeners.

re: #21 - Can Stories Proclaim?

Posted by Chris Payne on Dec. 06, 2008 at 17:56

I think stories have a great power to engage people into idea, and they also have the ability to draw the fringe person into an interesting tale that maybe just maybe they catch the gospel.
Just look at how Jesus taught. Jesus taught using stories that engaged peoples minds but also had a entertainment value. The cool thing that happens with Jesus’ stories the people that were interested and wanted to peruse deeper would approach him and dig. Stories almost force people to get in or get out.

re: #21 - Can Stories Proclaim?

Posted by Jason Harder on Nov. 07, 2008 at 12:29

One does not have to read too much of the New Testament to see Jesus using stories to teach. He used them to teach his disciples and other who did not know him. It even seems that he made them purposely vague at times to get his listeners to think about what he was trying to teach them. Having a vague story in a sermon does have it’s pros and cons but do we not have to trust that the Holy Spirit will use the words spoken to speak into the hearts of the listener? This is not saying we are to be flippant and not care about the stories we use. The beauty of some off the stories Jesus told is that they are vague and have multiple meanings even today. Why is it so wrong not to expect the Holy Spirit to work the same with our words?

re: #21 - Can Stories Proclaim?

Posted by Johnny Lo on Feb. 22, 2007 at 02:46

I think a story is a viable medium for proclamation, as long as there is some sort of explanation or commentary at the end which would prevent people from misinterpreting the story and create their own versions of the truth.

If no explanation is provided for the story, then the story would need to have been written out really well that it would be hard for one to misinterpret it. However, there is still a degree of danger there.

re: #21 - Can Stories Proclaim?

Posted by HeeJin Kim on Feb. 14, 2007 at 21:07

It seems to be true that stories, to some extent, are placed at a disadvantageous position in proclamation, comparing to ‘proclamatory preaching.’ It also cannot be denied that stories offer much room for the listener to create his or her own version of the truth. On the other hand, proclamation does not necessarily have to be blunt or outspoken. As Jesus used parables when He intended to let people understand a hidden meaning of what he was saying, and as we often give familiar examples in order to reason people into or from doing something, stories can be a very helpful and useful way of proclamation even though it may be indirect at times.