Exploring the Art of Bible Storying
By Michael Novelli Posted on February 06 2010
After 10 years in youth ministry, I felt as though I’d tried everything to help my students connect with the Bible. Then when an American missionary to Africa taught me the art of Bible Storying, I realized it was more than just a new way to teach. It was a complete shift in how I could help students with their spiritual formation. It was about helping students become learners and observers of the Bible and life.
My experience with Bible Storying over the past several years has changed everything about the way I look at my faith and ministry. Storying made such an impact on me that I know invest much of my time helping others discover this amazing new (yet ancient) way of experiencing the Bible.
What Is Bible Storying?
Short for Chronological Bible Storying, Storying is a sequential telling of Bible stories followed by a time of review and dialogue. This method is founded in the ancient Hebrews approached the scriptures–energetic storytelling, imaginative observation and lively dialogue.
Storying was introduced a few decades ago by missionaries who felt that understanding and teaching the Bible should not hinge on literacy. Recently, storying is also proving to be effective with youth and adults in media-literate, story-oriented western contexts.
The purpose of storying is to create an environment for us to discover and join in God’s Story. How do we create that environment? It is not easy...it requires us to cultivate an entirely new culture of learning, one where the expectations and responsibility of depth and discovery move onto the shoulders of the students. As leaders, our role is to foster an imaginative and inviting space for students to engage in a storytelling experience, creative retelling opportunities, and guided discussion.
What is the Bible Storying Process?
Here is one approach to Bible Storying that I have found effective with my students:
1. REVIEW of previous stories
This is a fast-paced and fun look back at stories you’ve already told. Use art and media– whatever medums you can to help students reconnect. Review helps get everyone on up to speed and allows another opportunity for students to see connections between the stories.
2. PREPARE for imaginative listening
We live in a culture of distraction. It is essential to the storying process that you set a relfective tone and challenge your group toward imaginative listening. Slow down, light a candle, and help your group concentrate so they can see the story unfolding in their minds.
3. NARRATE the new story
This is where we tell the Bible story in a way that sparks imagination and brings it to life. I stitch together my own narratives from the Bible text in order to smooth out the language and make them more readble.
4. REPLAY the new story
The key to replaying is variety and fun. Use lots of different activities that will connect with different types of learners. Use art, drama, music–play and laugh together!
5. DIALOGUE about the story
Dialogue is where key truths emerge and the story starts to becomes “our” story. Questions are used to direct students to discover insights from the stories. The goal is not for everyone to give the same answer–it is to spark wonder and careful observation of the story. In the midst of curiousity, connections and applications surface naturally. I use these kinds of questions to help spark thoughtful responses:
Wondering Questions to spark imaginative responses: “When you listened to this story, what did you see in your mind?”
Remembering Questions to recount the details: “How did this story describe God’s relationship with Adam and Eve?”
6. CONNECTION groups
Often I will break my students into smaller groups to process how the story is connecting with their own stories. This time will center on discussion and prayer focused by a question like: “You were created in God’s Image. How should this change the way you live?”
Bible Storying is just one method to engage with the scriptures. Like any other, it has it strengths and weaknesses. Where it stands apart is that is gives students great opportunities to think for themselves, wonder, engage through multiple learning styles, and use reason and imagination congruently to enter the Biblical Story.
Bible Storying is an adventure...it’s a call to explore creative means, embarking on a new path of learning that asks a lot from our students and us. The reward of this adventure is great...a community of people transformed by God, ready to change the world. Together, may we find ourselves in the most amazing story ever told – God’s Story.
For further resources, training, and ideas about storying, go to www.echothestory.com.
Excerpted from the book, Shaped by the Story: Helping Students Encounter God in a New Way by Michael Novelli, Zondervan/YS 2008
Comments
From Dennis Beckner on February 07, 2010
I love the idea of students experiencing the Bible and interacting with it. While that’s always my goal, I like how these techniques get my mind thinking of new ways to make it happen. I think our students are often under-challenged considering their amazing potential. There are students with 4.5 GPA’s (thanks to AP classes) in our churches who are biblically illiterate. The ideas in this article can move us in the right direction. Thanks!
From Phil S. on March 07, 2012
I used this for an adult small group and have tailored it to our youth and we are halfway through with the 10 week storytelling of the Bible and has gone great so far, especially with understanding the key themes from the OT, sin and rebellion, God’s justness AND mercy, and so on.
http://tacoma.somacommunities.org/learners/story-of-god/
