Reading stories to grandchildren over Christmas reminded me again of how powerful they can be.
They are so compact and simple in presentation, and yet so clever in construction. There are just so many features at work in an effective story. It is some years since I taught narrative preaching, but when I did I’d linger first with a couple of childrens’ stories and ask students, “What makes them work?”
Goodness me. It is a fascinating discussion—always.
In the early years I tended to use Quack, Quack, Quack (introduced and read here by Joy Cowley, the author) and Love You Forever. I’d put students in pairs to respond to the question and then we’d collect everyone’s ideas onto the whiteboard. It was astonishing what would emerge, even from as simple a story as Quack, Quack, Quack—which is told in just 126 words. Here is one whiteboard from this exercise which I have on file:
I tend to define narrative preaching a bit more narrowly than most people in that my focus is on ‘retelling the stories of the Bible as stories‘. All these whiteboard features emerge in the stories of the Bible—oh, yes they do—and they need to feature in the retelling of these stories as well.
Unfortunately, the more expository approach can suffocate these features. Furthermore I don’t know many expositors who are also good narrators. There is a tendency to polarize a bit, with the staunch defender of one approach comparing their own best examples with the worst examples of the other. That cannot be the best way forward. Both skills are needed in the preaching tool bag. An exceptional exception is John Tucker, the outgoing principal of Carey Baptist College (Auckland), who can preach in both ways at a high level. For the record, I consider the best in ‘retelling the stories of the Bible as stories’ to be part of the more spacious understanding of exposition which I like to use…
Anyhow, if I ever teach narrative preaching again, I’ll be making a bee-line for Handa and two gorgeous stories from Kenya: Handa’s Surprise and Handa’s Hen. I read the first one to our eldest grandson, Micah, dozens of times which, I like to tell myself, set him on the course to acquiring his prodigious knowledge of animals from an unbelievably young age.
Enjoy.
nice chatting
Paul
About Me
the art of unpacking
After a childhood in India, a theological training in the USA and a pastoral ministry in Southland (New Zealand), I spent twenty years in theological education in New Zealand — first at Laidlaw College and then at Carey Baptist College, where I served as principal. In 2009 I began working with Langham Partnership and since 2013 I have been the Programme Director (Langham Preaching). Through it all I've cherished the experience of the 'gracious hand of God upon me' and I've relished the opportunity to 'unpack', or exegete, all that I encounter in my walk through life with Jesus.
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Nice! I agree that finding a preacher that can do both is rare. I’d like to hear John Tucker preach again some time.
Good to hear from you, Boz.
I am sure John Harvey will send you some links to his sermons, if you speak to him nicely … … especially some of his narrative ones.
Hope you are both doing well.
Paul
Those two children’s books were so sweet – I loved the surprise at the end of the first one 🙂