Hearing stories told in a vivid and culturally appropriate way made it easy for the people of Jesus’ day to remember what he said and have his words continue to speak to their hearts long after the stories were told. Because stories are memorable they stay with us and can continue to speak to us long after the story is told.But others, when they heard the parables of Jesus and saw his works, believed. Some listeners, like the rich young ruler, went away disappointed because they found the teaching too costly.
The stories in the Gospels and Acts tell about the followers of Jesus as well as those who came to hear Jesus and see his miracles. Stories, especially Bible stories, give an opportunity to “try on” truths mentally as we hear them.Simon Peter mentioned this in his second epistle when he said, “We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty…when the voice came to him from the majestic glory, saying, ‘This is my Son, whom I love with him I am well pleased.’ We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the mountain.” (2 Peter 1:16-18). Often in stories we are telling what happened to us or what we saw or heard happen, so they have an eyewitness authenticity as we tell them. Stories, whether Bible stories or personal stories, interest us because they are about people.What is the role of Bible stories in evangelism today? Why bother to tell these stories when we could easily give a tract or make a conventional presentation of the gospel? What is it about telling stories that makes their influence different from just giving evangelistic information? Following are three of the early answers to these questions that we have learned in the oral learner world, increasingly in the secondary orality world and even in the often indifferent world of postmoderns.
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