Download pdf - module #9 become a better storyteller - Amazon S3-+Become+a+Better+Storyteller.pdf · 4 become a better storyteller stories > Facts Many seminary trained pastors have a biased against

module #9

become a better

storyteller

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become a better storyteller

Once upon a time.

It was a dark and stormy night.

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.

These opening lines invoke emotion and draw you into something interesting. We pay attention, because we know a story is coming.

Today, it’s common for presenters to communicate with facts and figures, points and principles. We arm ourselves with the three point sermons and fill-in-the-blank handouts because that’s the way we learned to communicate information.

But before there were books and PowerPoint, there were stories. Passed down from generation to generation, stories told us where we came from and who we are. They were educational. They were inspirational. And they captured our attention.

Throughout history, stories have been used to teach. Parents and teachers alike relied on them, intrinsically knowing that information communicated in the form of a story would make a much greater impact.

In our rush to communicate life-changing information in the form of a sermon, we must not forget this simple truth. Stories work.

And the pastor should be the chief storyteller.

If you want your congregation to remember the

concepts you’re preaching, tell a story. If you want your congregation to apply the Biblical principles you’re teaching, tell a story. If you want your congregation to be impacted with the message, tell a story.

As you’ll see in the pages ahead, stories were the favorite teaching medium of Jesus. And though it’s far more common to build a message full of information and points, it’s often more effective to teach a sermon through story.

But don’t take my word for it. Listen to Antonio Damasio, a professor of Neuroscience at the University of Southern California. He says,

“The problem of how to make all this wisdom understandable, transmissible, persuasive, enforceable – in a word, of how to make it stick – was faced and a solution was found. Storytelling was the solution – storytelling is something brains do, naturally and implicitly…It should be no surprise that it pervades the entire fabric of human societies and cultures.”

If you want to make wisdom understandable, he says, tell a story. If you want your communication to connect like never before - tell a story.

stories > Points

“Unless you are just an amazing communicator, your points probably won’t hold me. So sprinkle in some great stories, good analogies, personal connections, and current events,” writes Brad

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Lomenick, the director of Catalyst.

As a preacher, you may be programed to think that there is power in the points. And while you’re not going to abandon communicating information in your sermons, we want you to find a way to make that information stick. Stories are simply a more powerful tool to impart information.

Even a poorly told story is usually more interesting than a set of bullet points. You might push back on this, but you’ve felt it. During your information heavy sermons, you’ve intentionally shifted gears with a story or an illustration People playing with their phones leaned in. People dozing off perked up. Introducing a story often changes the dynamic of the entire room. Preschool teachers and seasoned preachers both know this.

While facts may inform, good stories inspire.

stories > statistics

“Stories are the most powerful delivery tool for information, more powerful and enduring than any other art form,” writes Nancy Duarte, the founder of Duarte Designs and a communications expert.

Many preachers rely on statistics and figures to make their points. Yet when communicating important information, stories that make an emotional connection are far more effective than points derived from statistics. Many people automatically tune out when they hear stats.

Again, this isn’t opinion; it’s based on science.In 2009, Carnegie Mellon University conducted a generosity experiment. They gathered a group of people and read them a stat-filled letter about a girl with cancer. On average, the group that heard the statistics gave $1.14.

The next group of people didn’t hear the stats. Instead, they heard her story. Those people gave $2.38 – more than double! When it comes to motivating people to action, stories work greater than stats.

If you watch a little TV, you might know about Jared Fogle from Subway. Subway first aired commercials featuring Jared on January 1, 2000 and the campaign was a massive success. Since using the campaign, sales have doubled, so Jared sold a lot of sandwiches.

What you might not know is that before 2000, Subway had a different advertising campaign touting their healthy fast food options. It was called “Seven Under Six,” meaning they had seven sandwiches that contained less than six grams of fat. That particular ad campaign did little to grow the company.

The stats didn’t sell many sandwiches, but Jared sure did. America connected with the story of a guy who got healthy eating Subway sandwiches.

In selling sandwiches and preaching sermons, stories perform better than stats.

when jesus wanted to make a point, he told a story.

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stories > FactsMany seminary trained pastors have a biased against storytelling, somehow believing it’s a weaker form of communication. But good storytelling isn’t mere entertainment, it’s a powerful teaching tool.

You don’t have to tell a story instead of teaching the truth. You can teach the truth by telling a great story.

When it comes to communication, stories make a greater impact than simply stating facts.Annette Simmons explains: “Facts are not neutral…People make their decisions based on what the facts mean to them, not on the facts themselves….facts are not terribly useful to influencing others.”

Sermons filled with facts might be theologically accurate, but without stories and illustrations, they will be intellectually dry. Before you write off storytelling as a Biblical mode of communication, consider this important fact.Jesus told stories.

When Jesus wanted to make a point, he didn’t give a lecture. He told a story.

In fact, Mark reports, “He did not say anything to them without using a parable.” (Mark 4:34). It seems storytelling was the primary method for communicating truth. The stories Jesus told are rich with theological training and instruction for life. In fact, the stories Jesus told are some of the most famous stories in the world.

Think of the story of the prodigal son. A son goes to his father asking for his inheritance early, then travels to a far away land before wasting it all on wanton living. After he hits rock bottom, he comes to his senses and returns to the father, who doesn’t respond in anger but in love.

How many listeners could identify with the younger son, or perhaps the older brother? How many people have come to understand our Heavenly Father’s love through the story of a fictional father who kills the fatted calf?

Consider the story of the Good Samaritan, as recorded by Luke. Hospitals have been named after this story. Here we learn of a traveler who is beaten and left for dead on the side of the road. Neither the priest or the Levite provide aid. Only the Samaritan, generally despised by the Jews, stops to help the injured man. Jesus didn’t just give us the Great Commandment – he told a story to illustrate this great truth.

Or think about the story Jesus told of the wise and foolish builder. In just three verses, Jesus illustrates a powerful truth. Sure, Jesus could have said, “Build your life on me.” But instead, he told the story of a man who built his house on a rock and another who built his house on the sand. Both faced the same storm, yet only one stood firm.

The stories of Jesus don’t just set up truth – they contain truth. Carefully constructed, and masterfully told, the stories of Jesus have impacted audiences throughout history.

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the beneFit oF telling stories in sermons

We’ve talked a little bit about how stories work, but lets shift gears and talk about why you should work to weave them into your messages. With all the content, commentaries and principles at your disposal, why should you take valuable time in the pulpit to tell stories.

1. YOU CAN PrESENT EASY TO DIGEST INFOrMATION. The truth is we’re drowning in information. Many studies show how information doubles every 18 to 24 months. Whether it’s because of all the cat videos on YouTube or food pictures on Instagram, the fact of the matter remains – we’ve got a TON of information at our fingertips.

Good stories cut through the noise and help people pay attention what really matters. All of the information in your sermon won’t be remembered. Stories help you present the important information in a way that’s easy to digest.

Beautiful storytelling trumps overwhelming content every time.

2. YOU CAN PrESENT EASY TO rEMEMBEr INFOrMATION. rudyard Kipling said if history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten. And that’s not just true of history; it’s true for most things.

When it comes to Stories make things easier to remember. People don’t just pay attention to

stories…they remember them.

3. STOrIES HELP PEOPLE UNDErSTAND INFOrMATION. During Abraham Lincoln’s second presidential campaign, he told the story of a farmer who refused to change horses in the middle of a stream. That little story became a metaphor for an election, and the nation sent him back to the White House. An abstract principle goes in one ear and out the other – a story finds a home in the mind.

You’ve had the experience where you’re trying to explain a complicated principle only to come up short. Just when you’ve reached the end of your explanation, you think of the story to help it all make sense. “It’s kind of like when…” you begin. And then it clicks.

Those who don’t illustrate are saying, in essence, “I don’t care if you don’t understand; that’s your problem.” If your congregation doesn’t understand, that’s not always their problem. As a communicator, you have a responsibility to help them understand God’s Word. Your job isn’t to cover content, it’s to communicate truth in a way that people can apply. Stories will help you do that.

4. STOrIES CrEATE EMOTIONAL CONNECTIONS. Maya Angelou once said, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” The best way to get people to feel is to tell a story.

People relate to stories, because they see themselves

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in the story. They identify with the prodigal son. They relate to the man abandoned on the side of the road. They know people just like the foolish builder.

“Be brave” isn’t as inspiring of the story of Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz. “Be honest” isn’t nearly as memorable as the story of Pinocchio. Stories are ways to connect with your congregation.

Neurologists tell us that when stories are told, a chemical called dopamine is released in the brain, letting us know interesting information is on the way. That’s why people lean in when you leave behind point number six in favor of the story of a man you met at Wal-Mart. We are literally hardwired to process stories.

A Stanford Graduate School of Business case study from 2009 reports, “Learning how to tell a story cannot guarantee the reaching of Truth, but it can help you connect with your audience, move your audience, and make your material more memorable.”

5. STOrIES LEAD PEOPLE TO THINK. “The essence of dramatic form is to let an idea come over people without its being plainly stated. When you say something directly, it is simply not as potent as it is when you allow people to discover it for themselves.” – Stanley Kubrick, as quoted in Biblical Preaching, 130-131.

the elements oF a story

At the risk of being too technical, it’s worth a quick moment to discuss the elements of a story.

1. CharaCters. Every good story has characters. 2. Context. Stories don’t exist in a vacuum, there’s a time and a place.3. Plot. Whether it’s an adventure, romance, tragedy, melodrama, irony, or comedy, something happens. 4. Climax. The pinnacle of the action is the climax. 5. resolution. It all works out in the end. Or sometimes it doesn’t. 6. moral. Some morals are implied, while others are clearly stated. The moral is the teaching.

You can see all of these elements in the story of the house built on the rock and the house built on the sand in Matthew 7:24-27. • There are two characters – the wise and the

foolish builder. • The story happens on a construction site during

some bad weather. It was literally a dark and stormy night.

• A storm comes knocking on the door of both houses.

• The house built on the stand falls down. That’s the climax of the action.

• The house built on the rock stands. That’s the resolution.

• The moral is: build your life on a solid foundation.

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Jesus told this simple story to illustrate a great truth. The stories you tell in your sermons can also illustrate great truth. If you’re not naturally creative or don’t think of yourself as a good storyteller, you might have to work harder at this, but it’s worth it.

Where to Find stories

Now that you’re convinced about the need to tell great stories in your sermons, let’s talk about where you can find them. One common place to go is a book or database of sermon illustrations, but you can do better than that. We’re going to leave those preacher stories to someone else and tell better stories that really make an impact.

Let’s take a quick look at where Jesus, the master storyteller, found his stories. Brad H. Young, author of Jesus and His Jewish Parables: Rediscovering the Roots of Jesus’ Teaching says the stories of Jesus came from three primary sources:

1. Fictitious tales and fables circulating in the first century. 2. Actual events adapted to illustrate a theme3. Proverbs or wisdom verses that could be developed into a story.

Look around the world today and you’ll see those categories still exist, though in different forms. The most popular fictitious tales and fables circulating in our culture today are often the plot lines in popular movies or the subjects of best selling books.

Actual events are all around us – in the news and on the Internet. And we still have access to a wealth of

proverbs or wisdom verses that could be developed into our own stories.

Just the other day, I was attending a children’s Christmas party. The host gathered all of the children together to tell them the story of Christmas. Although, it didn’t start out like any Christmas story I’d heard.

He told the story of a boy who loved ants so much he found a way to become an ant so he could lead them to a better ant home. Halfway through the engaging story, I realized the story was a metaphor for Jesus coming to earth. Though the story was for children, even I was engaged. That’s because stories are powerful.

TEN PLACES TO FIND STOrIES

1. YOUr PAST. You may not realize it, but your life is full of wonderful stories that can illustrate great Biblical truth. Even if you don’t think you’ve lived a book-worthy life, there are events and tales to be told.

Here is a great exercise to help you remember great stories from your past. Just take out a sheet of paper and start writing down your oldest memories. Go back to grade school and begin mind-mapping. Write down things you remember from your room, your elementary school, your friends, Christmas, family vacations.

Even now, as I write this in my home office, I think about the time two of my college friends and I traveled the state of Florida during the summer for the Florida Baptist Convention. Our mission

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was to travel to small churches and help with VBS, work projects and other things unqualified college students were qualified to do. Our leaders actually gave us a conversion van to make travel easy. College students in a conversion van – that was a sight.

During one break, we went to fill up the dual-gas tanks and I wanted to take advantage of the “free car wash with fill up” special. Ignoring the maximum height signs, I encouraged the driver to give the van some gas and we proceeded to lodge it into the automatic car wash opening. The metal arm that washed the cars was embedded into the side of the van. A few hours, a couple of tow trucks and a floor jack later, we were back on the road.

If I were telling that story in a sermon, I’d add information about the characters and context, and point people to a spiritual truth, perhaps about warning signs in life.

In one hour of thinking, remembering and brainstorming, you could jot down a wealth of information from your life that could make their way into future sermons.

2. YOUr JOB. Your current job is a wealth of sermon stories. Like your past, all you have to do is look around and note all the interesting things. Your co-workers are a wealth of story information as well.

3. YOUr FAMILY. If you have kids, you have living breathing sermon illustrations. But be careful! As they get older, they may resent being sermon content. You might need to get the permission

before telling a story about them in church.

4. BOOKS. Books are tremendous sources of sermon stories. John Maxwell says leaders are readers. But good storytellers are also readers. read books from all walks of life. recently, I read a book about the financial collapse of countries around the world. There were two or three great stories that I pulled from that book, including one about the fall of the Icelandic economy. That may sound like a bore to you, but put in context, it can illustrate a powerful truth about inflated values of temporary things.

5. MOVIES. Movies are modern day parables. Not only could you use the actual events of a movie to make points in your messages, you could learn how stories are told.

6. CUrrENT EVENTS. The theologian Karl Barth is known to have frequently commented that people should hold the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other. These days, fewer and fewer people stay updated on current events via the newspaper. But no matter your source, it’s wise to stay current. Interesting and powerful stories happen all around us every day. Make sure you have a few trusted sources to stay current on world events.

7. HISTOrY. reading history is traveling through time, and you can tell great stories if you’re familiar with historical events. Consider this story.

Toward the end of the nineteenth century, a Swedish businessman sat down to a traditional Swedish breakfast

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of kippers, eggs and bacon. As he sipped his coffee, he began to look through the morning newspaper. There he was...on the front page. Of course, he was surprised, but he was even more surprised to realize that it was obituary.

The newspaper had confused him with his brother, who died in the East Indies. As he read the article, his surprise turned to disgust. He read phrases like “Merchant of munitions,” “Dealer of Destruction,” and “Peddler of Death” – all about him!

That very day, he made a decision. He got in his carriage, traveled to an office, and wrote a brand new will – a document that established the Nobel Peace Foundation.

Today, the Nobel Peace Foundation gives out the Nobel Peace Prize, widely regarded as the most prestigious award available in the fields of literature, medicine, physics, chemistry, peace and economics.

8. SPOrTS. Characters, plot, conflict, resolution – all the elements of story are present in sporting events. Consider the story of the kicker who couldn’t see.

Duffy Daugherty was the head football coach of the Michigan State Spartans from 1954 to 1972. During a road game

against UCLA, the score was tied at 14 with just a few seconds left. The Spartans had driven the ball into scoring range and were poised for the win. Daugherty sent in his kicker, a guy by the name of Dave Kaiser to make the kick and win the game.

The ball was snapped and it was kicked toward the end zone, but instead of watching the ball sail through the uprights, the kicker immediately looked to the referee.

This was strange, since most kickers watch the ball, not the ref, to see if the kick is good. The kick was good and Michigan State won the game. A little later, Coach Daugherty asked Kaiser why he didn’t watch the kick. Check out the kicker’s response: “I couldn’t see it. I forgot my contact lenses at the hotel, so I had to watch the officials to know if the kick was good or not. Coach, I couldn’t even see the goalposts.”

At first, Daugherty was mad. If he had known this information, he wouldn’t have sent the kicker into the game. But the more he thought about it, the less \ angry he became. And the more impressed.

Kaiser kicked the ball perfectly because

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he was a supremely disciplined kicker. He knew the distance and the angle He didn’t need to see the ball. Hours and hours in practice, and careful discipline, allowed him to kick the winning field goal, even if he couldn’t see the ball.

9. SCIENCE AND NATUrE. I love the story of Chinese bamboo. For the first four years of it’s life, this little tree produces little growth. But even though not much is happening above the ground, significant growth is happening under the dirt. By the fifth year, after the roots are strong the tree shoots up as much as eighty feet. Eighty feet in one year. That impressive story from nature is a great illustration of how God must work in us before He works through us. When you read about science and nature and even technology, you’ll find many parallels to truths in God’s Word.

10. CHILDrEN’S BOOKS. One of my favorite sermon illustrations comes from The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, one of the books in the Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis. In one section, the main character is turned into a dragon because he put on an enchanted gold bracelet. No matter how much he scratches and claws at his arm, he can’t get the bracelet off. Aslan the Lion, who symbolizes Jesus throughout the series, appears and tears away layers of scales with his sharp claws. Only Aslan could return Eustice to a boy. That story beautifully illustrates sanctification, a change process that can only truly come from Jesus.

Sources of sermon stories are all around us. Let’s let

Chuck Swindoll have the final word here:

“To keep in touch with the world of those we hope to reach, we must leave our personal monasteries and learn how to live and walk among those to whom we want to communicate. read literature from the current best seller list. Be aware of what your audience watches. Pursue interests outside your realm of expertise. Don’t let your vocation make your world smaller; branch out. Then, take that knowledge of your audience and let it shape your message”. – Chuck Swindoll, from Saying it Well.

You might find it helpful to create a system for saving and clipping potential sermon illustrations. You could write them in a notebook or save them to a document on your computer.

Many people use a free tool called Evernote to save sermon illustrations. In fact, this is the tool we recommend. Evernote allows you to quickly save text, images and documents and sync your notes across multiple devices. When you see a story you want to save, you can simply clip it into Evernote.

Evernote let’s you create folders and add tags to notes, so it’s really easy to save and archive potential illustrations. The search feature is very powerful.

Learn more about Evernote at Evernote.com.

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tiPs For good storytelling

Here are a few things to keep in mind when telling stories in your sermons.

• TELL LONGEr STOrIES. Instead of five or six shorter illustrations, devote a significant amount of time to a fully developed story. Don’t be afraid to take five or ten minutes of your sermon to tell a story well. Again, look to Jesus as an example.

• TELL STOrIES ABOUT PEOPLE, NOT OrGANIzATIONS. People connect with people, not with faceless companies or organizations.

• LET THE CHArACTErS SPEAK. Work dialogue into your sermon, because it gives the characters a voice. Practice telling your stories so this seems natural.

• HAVE A POINT. Make sure your story has a point. Don’t just insert a story because you need a relief from a section of heavy content. Work hard to make your story fit. Like sermons, stories should be more clear than they are cute.

• BE AUTHENTIC. People simply trust authenticity.

• TELL rEAL STOrIES. Don’t play games with your congregation by intentionally misleading them. An amazing “true” story followed by, “Actually, that’ never happened” is more harmful than it is helpful.

• DON’T BE AFrAID TO BE DrAMATIC.

As we come to the conclusion of this module, let me give you two cautions about storytelling.

CAUTION #1: DON’T CAMP OUT IN ONE GENrE.

Sherlock Holmes, the famous yet fictitious resident of Baker Street, told Dr. Watson to widen his gaze.

Preachers need to widen their gaze when it comes to telling stories. Despite your hobbies and interests, there are other stories that need to be told.

Don’t let your personal preferences drive all of your storytelling. Widen your gaze. Calvin Miller explains:

“I have a lay friend who loves to teach. He is very big on the Civil War and often takes part in Civil War battle reenactments. He’s a fair Bible teacher, but he is an indefatigable historian because this is his passion. So no matter what he is teaching, it all ends up at Manassas. He amazes me that with a bit of gyration can snuggle Gettysburg into Philemon. When it is all over, I can’t remember exactly how he did it, but I know he did.

Most of us who preach pursue some kind of hobby or field of learning and without realizing it can make our pursuit part of our sermon. I like prophecy in general, but I am suspicious of it when it becomes too specific. I have known prophecy-loving preachers who feel compelled to help me understand Gog and Magog, even when they are preaching the Book of ruth. They just can’t help it. ruth and Boaz are fairly easy to write into prophecy; after all, the pair lived in Bethlehem, directly south of Moscow from whence shall come the hordes of

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invaders in the last days.” - Calvin Miller, inPulpit Abuse, Preaching Magazine, July/August 2012

CAUTION #2: STAY AWAY FrOM PrEACHEr STOrIES.

Do you know what a “preacher story” is?

These are the kind of semi-true stories that rely on a cornball punch line to generate a small chuckle. Sometimes they are drenched in reader’s Digest emotional language. Listeners always wonder if they are really true.

A preacher story sometimes starts with “There was a guy who...” or “One time back in the sixties...”

You tell a preacher story when you need to tell a story but don’t have anything better. It’s sermon filler, the preacher version of a comedians cheap laugh. They come from illustration books or are forwarded around the Internet.

Work hard to create your own stories. Find substantial, true or powerful stories in your searches, and leave behind the joke books.

Storytelling is the most powerful communication tool at your disposal. Throughout history, stories have been used to inspire, encourage, and teach. Jesus didn’t rely solely on points and principles; He peppered his preaching with great stories.

Practice and work hard and you can become a master story teller.

• “If you keep tryin your sales will be risin!” “Glory!”

The people at an Amway rally would love the first guy. But not people who are cynical about Amway. And the same is true for us.

Now I realize that many of the pastors we look to and listen to today are very bold, and that many of their churches are growing, but are they growing through reaching non-Christians or through bringing in Christians from all the other churches in town? I don’t think there are many unchurched people who are drawn in through boldness.

The tone you want, by the way, is love. The best thing you can do in preaching to the unchurched is let them know that God loves

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them and that you love them. One of the best things I have going for me, that’s allowed us over the years to reach hundreds and hundreds of truly unchurched non-Christians – the cynical, skeptical, atheists – is that I don’t make people feel judged, they feel loved. Love is the most powerful force in the universe. See,

I don’t think you have to dumb down or water down your sermons for the unchurched. They want substance, they’re open to truth – they just don’t want to hear it from a jerk. So watch your tone.

PrinciPle number six: tell stories, stories, stories.

How do you teach the Bible to people who don’t believe the Bible and may not be very interested in what the Bible has to say? You tell stories. Stories are powerful. It’s why we love to watch movies and TV, and read novels.

When you teach propositional truth, you set me up to debate with you. I am going to have objections. When you tell me a story, you set me up to find myself in the story. I can’t help it. Jesus knew this. It’s why He always taught with a story. Matthew 13:34, “Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable.”

So tell stories. When you tell stories, put in lots of detail, it makes the story come alive. Practice your stories before you tell them. Each time you tell the story you’ll better feel the flow of it and find the humor in it.

The difficult part, as someone who speaks every week, is having enough stories to always have a story. Two things I’ve found help me.

• First, I watch my life. As things happen I’m always thinking, “Would this be an interesting story? Would this be funny to other people? What truth does this illustrate?” If I didn’t actively think this way, I think I’d miss a lot of good material.

• Second, I watch movies and TV shows, listen to other sermons, and read books and magazines. And as I do, again, I’m looking for interesting or funny or beautiful or compelling stories that can illustrate truth.

Other people probably have better systems for filing stories, but one thing that has worked for me is to have documents created in my computer for future messages, and when I have a story I’ll type it into the document for that future message. Then, later, when I open the file up to write the sermon, it’s like I’ve left myself a present. And then I’m so happy with myself I usually tip me a couple bucks. You might try using Evernote, that’s a great tool to save and file stories.