The Storyteller’s Craft
Written by Rev. Dr. Scott Paczkowski
(Pick your own Biblical story to read.)
To this day, I am beyond terrible at mathematics; I can no longer run miles at a time, but I can spin a yarn. Storytelling as always been an important aspect of my preaching. I learned to tell stories in my childhood home. We spent our summers at my grandmother’s lake cabin in Minnesota. We didn’t have television, or indoor plumbing, for that matter. Thankfully, it was long before internet access. This gave us plenty of time to sit and play cards, and tell stories. My grandmother was particularly good at telling stories about her childhood in North Dakota. We learned so much about the challenges of the upper prairie during the late 1800’s and the early 1900’s. We learned to appreciate the family who had gone before us.
Lia Hills, in “Return to the Heart,” says, “We tell stories to make sense of things. It’s in our blood.” This was certainly true of our family. It is also true of the Bible. People who are unfamiliar with the Bible think it is either a book of platitudes, or a book of laws. In reality, the vast majority of the Bible is the story of God’s relationship to our world and its inhabitants. Even the laws and platitudes have a story behind them. It is our task to be like my grandmother and become a storyteller. Instead of telling stories of those in Alice and Buffalo, North Dakota, we tell the familial stories of Abraham, Moses, Rachel, Esther, David, the prophets, Jesus, and the Apostles. In many ways, their stories become our stories as we learn from their example.
Today, consider your own stories. Where did you hear the stories of your family, as you were growing up? What are some of the meaningful stories in your own life? What stories of faith do you have that you could feel comfortable sharing? Practice telling your stories with your family and/or friends. As you become more comfortable sharing your faith stories, the more you will be able to share your Christian faith with those who need to hear it. Your stories might be the difference, as someone makes their own commitment to God.
