Frequently Asked Questions About Bible Storying
Q. Where can I get Bible stories and whatever lessons that go with the stories already prepared?
A. I have a growing number of story sets with suggested learning and teaching activities. I get many requests for stories for use with particular listening audiences. Many of these are available as downloads. If interested write me at [email protected]. I also have some suggested lists of stories that are not written out. I always encourage Bible storyers to take the time to plan a story list for your listeners and take into consideration worldview and culture issues that might affect reception and understanding of the stories. Take time to read the articles on story selection and worldview. Write me at the above address if there are questions.
Q. I first heard about Chronological Bible Storying called CBS. Then I notice that many are now speaking about Bible Storying. Some websites I visited talk about Bible Telling and others Biblical Storytelling. A friend attended a Simply the Story training. The question is: Are all these talking about the same thing?
A. In essence there is a relationship between all these different descriptions for telling Bible stories. There can be a distinction related to whether only Bible stories are being told and whether there is any related learning/teaching activities. Some call these activities "Dialogue" to emphasize participation by the listeners, others may describe this as Discovering or Unpacking the Spiritual Truths in the stories. Some variations prefer to tell only verbatim stories (word for word as in the Bible) while others allow for crafting stories to simplify stories for listeners, or to account for listener characteristics like age.
Q. When I finish telling all the Bible stories and there are no decisions, what should I do? Have I failed?
A. There are several reasons why listeners may not immediately respond to the call for decisions at the conclusion of a set of Bible stories. One is that the stories and their accompanying lessons were too much to take in by the oral learner listeners. They may need some time to continue processing what they have heard. So a delayed response may come in time. Threat of persecution may hinder initial response. Among some women’s groups we have found it helpful to have “silent” decisions in listeners’ hearts until they feel secure to share their decision with others. In a few cases we found that listeners did enjoy the stories and participated in the dialogs, but the choice of stories may not have really addressed their worldview issues or spiritual openness. Related to this is a story set strategy that is too short to touch listeners’ spiritual issues or to lead them from where there were spiritually to the Gospel. A repeat of the stories may be needed so that those who are interested can hear them again. If one or two listeners show interest, teach them a basic set of stories so they can on their own continue sharing the stories. A last resort might be to leave a digital player with a responsible person so that listening to the stories can continue in your absence. PRAY!
Q. How many Bible stories do I need?
A. Those new to Bible Storying often ask how many stories they need to tell? Others ask why they need to tell so many stories. The number of Bible stories is related to how much information or interaction with Scripture that listeners need to make a decision or develop the desired spiritual response. So this is related to the objective for telling the stories. It is related to the window of opportunity for telling the stories--whether a long or wide window, a brief mission trip or even a personal encounter of only a few minutes. The choice of stories may dictate needing to tell several related stories for a proper perspective. And the need to address any significant worldview issues. This sounds complicated but after you do it a few times it really becomes intuitive.
Q. Why the change from Crafting Bible Stories to Oralizing Bible Stories?
A. Many years ago when the concept of Bible Storying was still new, some of us referred to story preparation as editing Bible stories for telling. While this is descriptive of the process of preparing the stories for telling, many did not like the implication of "editing" the Bible. Soon we had begun using the term Crafting Bible Stories as the thought was to preserve as much of the original content and format, but to shape the stories as needed for clarity in telling. A model for this was to tell a verbatim story to typical listeners and then have them retell the story to see what details they kept, or dropped, or confused in the retelling. To reduce the amount of story changing that listeners might do, it was thought best to make these changes first from a better understanding of what details were key and how best to express them.
The name change still preserved the several different formats that are found helpful in organizing and telling Bible stories. The suggested changes reflect some changes in the English wording, especially if working through an interpreter. The suggestions are all based on personal experience and are not binding. The final intent is to preserve the story theme and as much of the original wording as possible. The intent of the book is to answer the common question of "How do I tell the stories?"
Q. The most frequently asked question is: Where can I get a copy of the Bible stories to tell?
A. I enjoy replying that I get mine from the Bible! Of course, what a person is really asking is whether there is a pre-selected set of stories that have already been prepared (oralized) for telling along with any teaching dialog.
While I hesitate just to send a set of generic Bible stories, I realize that many who are new to Bible Storying are anxious to get started and, if they could get a set of prepared stories, then they could begin.
In the beginning this is what I did and soon I met with problems as the story sets I had from the Philippines were not really suitable for the people I was trying to reach. It took me awhile to realize that each people's spiritual and cultural worldviews influence the better choice of stories and how to tell them and teach from them.
Over time this led me to prepare many different Bible story sets that were appropriate for the people I was teaching, and then to refine these story sets as I worked with the listeners and became aware of their questions and any worldview issues I had overlooked.
I still share story sets and refer people to the story sets of others, but I prefer to tell how to prepare the best story set for one's own listeners as it is a wonderful learning experience for the new Bible storyer.
Q. Another common question many ask is: How do you tell a certain story?
A. This question really has two parts. One is how do you prepare a story for telling, and the second part is how do you then actually tell a story?
Many of the Bible stories are good to go "as is" and need little or no adapting. This is particularly true of the parables and ministry stories of Jesus. Some of the OT stories are a bit long and need to be condensed or shortened to make them manageable. Another option is to break long complex stories like that of Joseph into several smaller stories.
A few stories may need a bridging or entry story to set up the main story, then the main story, and possibly a follow-through story to bring closure. This is discussed in more detail in Basic Bible Storying.
There are a few other items that may need attention such as replacing pronouns with nouns or proper names so that listeners can better follow the dialog. Also it generally helps to consider whether to replace numbers with expressions of quantity and to decide whether to keep many of the geographical place names if not key to the storyline.
Then the "oralized" Bible story must be told as a story and not as description of what was said or happened. In other words, preserve the "storyness." It is very important to think about how or where to begin a Bible story and how it will end. In telling the stories keep as much of the character dialog as possible as this generally makes the stories far more interesting to listeners.
Tell the story from memory, or at least from a familiarity, so that it appears that you know the story even if having to refer to your Bible or a script. If this is modeling for oral learners, then it is best to tell the story without the open book or other helps as everything you do models for listeners what they must do to tell a story.
Q. I am confused by all the different ways that people say that Bible stories must be told. What is the best way?
A. There is no best way as a method. The best way is always the way that helps the listeners to accurately hear the stories and understand the stories, remember the stories, and hopefully be able to retell the stories to others.
There is always a tension between telling a story verbatim with all words and content intact, and telling a story that has been shaped (oralized) as needed for telling to oral learners in a manner that helps them to hear the story correctly and understand it. Many of these considerations are covered in the book Oralizing Bible Stories for Telling. These have been gleaned from personal experience. However, let me say that the verbatim account is always the default version.
In addition to the many ways to prepare a story there are also different ways to tell a story ranging from a formal proclamation to a very informal conversational manner. For sharing an Oral Bible we like to stay as close to verbatim as possible. With literates we can often take some liberty in telling the stories as they can read the verbatim account.
I use simple paraphrasing to summarize a connecting story, but avoid inserting comment or teaching into stories.
Generally we retell the stories in a style our listeners are comfortable with, perhaps as they would tell a story. In addition there are several different ways to dialog or discuss a story to encourage listener participation and their internalizing (relating to and acting upon) the stories.
Q. Why is there so much insistence on learning the Bible Storying method? Isn’t it possible just to tell the Bible stories to listeners?
A. What some call the “Bible Storying Method” is really a review of practices and considerations that have worked in many different witness and church planting situations and ministry opportunities. Which stories will one tell—their favorite stories, or a list of stories that someone else has used, or just go through the Bible and tell all the stories as you come to them?
Bible stories are primarily chosen for each teaching or ministry task. So there are some stories that are key for evangelism, others that are effective for discipleship, and still others that have been used in one-on-one ministry with good effect.
Knowing the listeners’ worldview helps to select the best story to tell so the listeners can relate to the story, or to challenge spiritual beliefs listeners have that are not biblical. And it is helpful to know how best to tell Bible stories so that listeners who cannot read and do not know the Bible can hear the stories and understand them and be able to remember the stories so they can retell the stories to others.
Last is that Bible Storying training seeks to equip those who want to use Bible stories to meet any of the different circumstances and needs, and to be able to select an effective list of stories, prepare them for telling, and lead the listeners in learning activities so they can apply the teaching to their lives.
Q. I have heard that it is better to memorize the Bible stories and tell the stories exactly like they are written in the Bible. Is this the best way?
A. Many people do memorize Bible stories and retell them just like they are written in the Bible. This works fine for the shorter stories and those that are less complicated. It is more difficult for longer stories and the stories that have many geographical names and names of characters that are not central to the story itself. There are certain additional things like slightly revising the way the character dialog is used to more clearly express who is talking to whom. We call these minor changes “oralizing” the Bible stories for telling so that listeners will more clearly hear and understand the told story. For those who work through interpreters these minor changes can greatly benefit the interpretation.
Many oral peoples can learn and retell a story pretty much like they hear it, especially if repeated often enough or heard from a recording. But most oral learners will retell a story by recreating the story with all the pieces they hear and retain in their memory, sometimes dropping out parts they do not understand or that are confusing to them.
Where there is suspicion that the stories are being changed from the Bible, it is sometimes helpful to first read (recite) the story verbatim from the Bible and then put the Bible down and say, “Now let me tell you the story” in an oralized form.
Q. When I teach Bible stories to people I can’t seem to get them to talk about the stories. If I ask questions the listeners may just sit there without answering. I am afraid the listeners are not getting all the Bible truths in the stories but are just being entertained by hearing a story.
A. Your first responsibility is to tell the stories well, and if needed, to introduce the stories or provide any background or perspective that your listeners need to properly receive and understand the Bible stories. First, you are in a partnership with the Holy Spirit when you tell the stories from the Bible. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to stir listeners’ hearts to understanding and response. Surely you have prayed for your listeners and for your preparation and telling of each story.
Second is that you need to be patient because listeners may need some time to think about a story and feel motivated to respond. In Central America some of the Mayan people do not want to talk about a story until they have heard all the stories. Since stories fade with time this means that all the stories must be told in a relative brief period of time. So the storyer waits until the last story to open the discussion.
Among some Native Americans stories are sacred, to be heard and treasured, but not discussed. For discussing a story “dishonors” it. Some are trying “pre-discussing” a story before telling it to raise awareness and create curiosity and points of interest.
Among some Asian peoples I have encountered there is a reluctance to answer a question as one might give the wrong answer and become shamed in doing so. It may take some time with the listeners to build a relationship so there is less fear in answering wrongly. In one Asian country there was reluctance to respond because if the wrong answer were given it would bring shame on the storyteller for not properly teaching or preparing the listeners.
In other Asian cultures the proper etiquette is to ask the oldest (and therefore most honored person) the questions. Often they cannot answer because of poor hearing. So the polite storyer would ask someone to help “grandfather.”
In some West African cultures there may be a delegué or spokesperson that will answer for the listeners. If that person is not present, then others may respond. In several South Asian countries where older children are present they may eagerly desire to respond. This is good to know they are listening and understanding, but it may hinder older adults from responding so that over time the session becomes a children’s session.
Q. Where can I get Bible stories and whatever lessons that go with the stories already prepared?
A. I have a growing number of story sets with suggested learning and teaching activities. I get many requests for stories for use with particular listening audiences. Many of these are available as downloads. If interested write me at [email protected]. I also have some suggested lists of stories that are not written out. I always encourage Bible storyers to take the time to plan a story list for your listeners and take into consideration worldview and culture issues that might affect reception and understanding of the stories. Take time to read the articles on story selection and worldview. Write me at the above address if there are questions.
Q. I first heard about Chronological Bible Storying called CBS. Then I notice that many are now speaking about Bible Storying. Some websites I visited talk about Bible Telling and others Biblical Storytelling. A friend attended a Simply the Story training. The question is: Are all these talking about the same thing?
A. In essence there is a relationship between all these different descriptions for telling Bible stories. There can be a distinction related to whether only Bible stories are being told and whether there is any related learning/teaching activities. Some call these activities "Dialogue" to emphasize participation by the listeners, others may describe this as Discovering or Unpacking the Spiritual Truths in the stories. Some variations prefer to tell only verbatim stories (word for word as in the Bible) while others allow for crafting stories to simplify stories for listeners, or to account for listener characteristics like age.
Q. When I finish telling all the Bible stories and there are no decisions, what should I do? Have I failed?
A. There are several reasons why listeners may not immediately respond to the call for decisions at the conclusion of a set of Bible stories. One is that the stories and their accompanying lessons were too much to take in by the oral learner listeners. They may need some time to continue processing what they have heard. So a delayed response may come in time. Threat of persecution may hinder initial response. Among some women’s groups we have found it helpful to have “silent” decisions in listeners’ hearts until they feel secure to share their decision with others. In a few cases we found that listeners did enjoy the stories and participated in the dialogs, but the choice of stories may not have really addressed their worldview issues or spiritual openness. Related to this is a story set strategy that is too short to touch listeners’ spiritual issues or to lead them from where there were spiritually to the Gospel. A repeat of the stories may be needed so that those who are interested can hear them again. If one or two listeners show interest, teach them a basic set of stories so they can on their own continue sharing the stories. A last resort might be to leave a digital player with a responsible person so that listening to the stories can continue in your absence. PRAY!
Q. How many Bible stories do I need?
A. Those new to Bible Storying often ask how many stories they need to tell? Others ask why they need to tell so many stories. The number of Bible stories is related to how much information or interaction with Scripture that listeners need to make a decision or develop the desired spiritual response. So this is related to the objective for telling the stories. It is related to the window of opportunity for telling the stories--whether a long or wide window, a brief mission trip or even a personal encounter of only a few minutes. The choice of stories may dictate needing to tell several related stories for a proper perspective. And the need to address any significant worldview issues. This sounds complicated but after you do it a few times it really becomes intuitive.
Q. Why the change from Crafting Bible Stories to Oralizing Bible Stories?
A. Many years ago when the concept of Bible Storying was still new, some of us referred to story preparation as editing Bible stories for telling. While this is descriptive of the process of preparing the stories for telling, many did not like the implication of "editing" the Bible. Soon we had begun using the term Crafting Bible Stories as the thought was to preserve as much of the original content and format, but to shape the stories as needed for clarity in telling. A model for this was to tell a verbatim story to typical listeners and then have them retell the story to see what details they kept, or dropped, or confused in the retelling. To reduce the amount of story changing that listeners might do, it was thought best to make these changes first from a better understanding of what details were key and how best to express them.
The name change still preserved the several different formats that are found helpful in organizing and telling Bible stories. The suggested changes reflect some changes in the English wording, especially if working through an interpreter. The suggestions are all based on personal experience and are not binding. The final intent is to preserve the story theme and as much of the original wording as possible. The intent of the book is to answer the common question of "How do I tell the stories?"
Q. The most frequently asked question is: Where can I get a copy of the Bible stories to tell?
A. I enjoy replying that I get mine from the Bible! Of course, what a person is really asking is whether there is a pre-selected set of stories that have already been prepared (oralized) for telling along with any teaching dialog.
While I hesitate just to send a set of generic Bible stories, I realize that many who are new to Bible Storying are anxious to get started and, if they could get a set of prepared stories, then they could begin.
In the beginning this is what I did and soon I met with problems as the story sets I had from the Philippines were not really suitable for the people I was trying to reach. It took me awhile to realize that each people's spiritual and cultural worldviews influence the better choice of stories and how to tell them and teach from them.
Over time this led me to prepare many different Bible story sets that were appropriate for the people I was teaching, and then to refine these story sets as I worked with the listeners and became aware of their questions and any worldview issues I had overlooked.
I still share story sets and refer people to the story sets of others, but I prefer to tell how to prepare the best story set for one's own listeners as it is a wonderful learning experience for the new Bible storyer.
Q. Another common question many ask is: How do you tell a certain story?
A. This question really has two parts. One is how do you prepare a story for telling, and the second part is how do you then actually tell a story?
Many of the Bible stories are good to go "as is" and need little or no adapting. This is particularly true of the parables and ministry stories of Jesus. Some of the OT stories are a bit long and need to be condensed or shortened to make them manageable. Another option is to break long complex stories like that of Joseph into several smaller stories.
A few stories may need a bridging or entry story to set up the main story, then the main story, and possibly a follow-through story to bring closure. This is discussed in more detail in Basic Bible Storying.
There are a few other items that may need attention such as replacing pronouns with nouns or proper names so that listeners can better follow the dialog. Also it generally helps to consider whether to replace numbers with expressions of quantity and to decide whether to keep many of the geographical place names if not key to the storyline.
Then the "oralized" Bible story must be told as a story and not as description of what was said or happened. In other words, preserve the "storyness." It is very important to think about how or where to begin a Bible story and how it will end. In telling the stories keep as much of the character dialog as possible as this generally makes the stories far more interesting to listeners.
Tell the story from memory, or at least from a familiarity, so that it appears that you know the story even if having to refer to your Bible or a script. If this is modeling for oral learners, then it is best to tell the story without the open book or other helps as everything you do models for listeners what they must do to tell a story.
Q. I am confused by all the different ways that people say that Bible stories must be told. What is the best way?
A. There is no best way as a method. The best way is always the way that helps the listeners to accurately hear the stories and understand the stories, remember the stories, and hopefully be able to retell the stories to others.
There is always a tension between telling a story verbatim with all words and content intact, and telling a story that has been shaped (oralized) as needed for telling to oral learners in a manner that helps them to hear the story correctly and understand it. Many of these considerations are covered in the book Oralizing Bible Stories for Telling. These have been gleaned from personal experience. However, let me say that the verbatim account is always the default version.
In addition to the many ways to prepare a story there are also different ways to tell a story ranging from a formal proclamation to a very informal conversational manner. For sharing an Oral Bible we like to stay as close to verbatim as possible. With literates we can often take some liberty in telling the stories as they can read the verbatim account.
I use simple paraphrasing to summarize a connecting story, but avoid inserting comment or teaching into stories.
Generally we retell the stories in a style our listeners are comfortable with, perhaps as they would tell a story. In addition there are several different ways to dialog or discuss a story to encourage listener participation and their internalizing (relating to and acting upon) the stories.
Q. Why is there so much insistence on learning the Bible Storying method? Isn’t it possible just to tell the Bible stories to listeners?
A. What some call the “Bible Storying Method” is really a review of practices and considerations that have worked in many different witness and church planting situations and ministry opportunities. Which stories will one tell—their favorite stories, or a list of stories that someone else has used, or just go through the Bible and tell all the stories as you come to them?
Bible stories are primarily chosen for each teaching or ministry task. So there are some stories that are key for evangelism, others that are effective for discipleship, and still others that have been used in one-on-one ministry with good effect.
Knowing the listeners’ worldview helps to select the best story to tell so the listeners can relate to the story, or to challenge spiritual beliefs listeners have that are not biblical. And it is helpful to know how best to tell Bible stories so that listeners who cannot read and do not know the Bible can hear the stories and understand them and be able to remember the stories so they can retell the stories to others.
Last is that Bible Storying training seeks to equip those who want to use Bible stories to meet any of the different circumstances and needs, and to be able to select an effective list of stories, prepare them for telling, and lead the listeners in learning activities so they can apply the teaching to their lives.
Q. I have heard that it is better to memorize the Bible stories and tell the stories exactly like they are written in the Bible. Is this the best way?
A. Many people do memorize Bible stories and retell them just like they are written in the Bible. This works fine for the shorter stories and those that are less complicated. It is more difficult for longer stories and the stories that have many geographical names and names of characters that are not central to the story itself. There are certain additional things like slightly revising the way the character dialog is used to more clearly express who is talking to whom. We call these minor changes “oralizing” the Bible stories for telling so that listeners will more clearly hear and understand the told story. For those who work through interpreters these minor changes can greatly benefit the interpretation.
Many oral peoples can learn and retell a story pretty much like they hear it, especially if repeated often enough or heard from a recording. But most oral learners will retell a story by recreating the story with all the pieces they hear and retain in their memory, sometimes dropping out parts they do not understand or that are confusing to them.
Where there is suspicion that the stories are being changed from the Bible, it is sometimes helpful to first read (recite) the story verbatim from the Bible and then put the Bible down and say, “Now let me tell you the story” in an oralized form.
Q. When I teach Bible stories to people I can’t seem to get them to talk about the stories. If I ask questions the listeners may just sit there without answering. I am afraid the listeners are not getting all the Bible truths in the stories but are just being entertained by hearing a story.
A. Your first responsibility is to tell the stories well, and if needed, to introduce the stories or provide any background or perspective that your listeners need to properly receive and understand the Bible stories. First, you are in a partnership with the Holy Spirit when you tell the stories from the Bible. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to stir listeners’ hearts to understanding and response. Surely you have prayed for your listeners and for your preparation and telling of each story.
Second is that you need to be patient because listeners may need some time to think about a story and feel motivated to respond. In Central America some of the Mayan people do not want to talk about a story until they have heard all the stories. Since stories fade with time this means that all the stories must be told in a relative brief period of time. So the storyer waits until the last story to open the discussion.
Among some Native Americans stories are sacred, to be heard and treasured, but not discussed. For discussing a story “dishonors” it. Some are trying “pre-discussing” a story before telling it to raise awareness and create curiosity and points of interest.
Among some Asian peoples I have encountered there is a reluctance to answer a question as one might give the wrong answer and become shamed in doing so. It may take some time with the listeners to build a relationship so there is less fear in answering wrongly. In one Asian country there was reluctance to respond because if the wrong answer were given it would bring shame on the storyteller for not properly teaching or preparing the listeners.
In other Asian cultures the proper etiquette is to ask the oldest (and therefore most honored person) the questions. Often they cannot answer because of poor hearing. So the polite storyer would ask someone to help “grandfather.”
In some West African cultures there may be a delegué or spokesperson that will answer for the listeners. If that person is not present, then others may respond. In several South Asian countries where older children are present they may eagerly desire to respond. This is good to know they are listening and understanding, but it may hinder older adults from responding so that over time the session becomes a children’s session.