thinking in story
at present, i’m in the throes of reading 4 books at once. (not always a good idea, but this is my natural approach to many things is suppose.)
anyway…
today, the following from richard jensen’s ‘thinking in story’ leapt off the page. not because it’s necessarily new thinking, but because he has articulated or at least given permission for teachers/preachers to not have to explain things away. in regards to preaching, it affirms the thinking of not feeling the compulsion to connect all the dots for people or reduce Kingdom mysteries into systematic theology (which is kind of funny because he is a professor of systematic theology). jensen says:
“In an oral-aural culture stories were stitched together in an episodic manner. The goal of the story was not to move the listener along from point a to point z. The goal was that the listener participate in the inner life of the story: ‘the ancient listener or reader encountered the text not by having it explained but by entering its world’ (Wardlaw) The goal of the storyteller is that the listener participates in the world of the story. This is one of the fundamental reasons that I believe that a return to the world of story in our preaching is so vital today. The gospel message told in story form invites people to participate in the very reality of its life.”
Absolutely smashing.
Filed by Joe at April 19th, 2007 under Quotes