Sharing God’s Story
Using His Example
The First International Congress on World Evangelization,
organized by Billy Graham met in Lausanne, Switzerland July 1974.
This gave birth to The Lausanne Movement.
A conversation that continues today to address global issues of the church.
Congress on World Evangelism*
•
•
•
•
HIV
Terrorism
Poverty
Persecution of
Christians
• Post-modernism
• Oppression of
children
• Urbanization
• Neglect of the
Disabled
• Orality
* Recent topics of concern that were discussed at the gathering.
“…a need exists…”
“We acknowledge the reality that much of the world is made up of oral learners who
understand best when information comes to them by means of stories. A large
proportion of the world’s populations are either unable to or unwilling to absorb
information through written communications. Therefore, a need exists to share the
“Good News” and to disciple new Christians in story form and parables.”2
Current World Population
Literate Learner
Oral Learner
An Oral Learner …
CANNOT READ… or
CAN READ, but CANNOT UNDERSTAND…or
CAN READ, CAN UNDERSTAND, but PREFERS
NOT TO READ…
Simply said, There are “There are 4 billion oral learners in the world,” roughly two
thirds of the world’s population. They either cannot or chooses not to read – this
makes them Primary, or Secondary oral learners.
(Oralbible.com)
The Literate Learner…
• Is the Minority…
• CAN READ, CAN UNDERSTAND, PREFERS TO
READ…
• The majority of current material and methods
are designed to teach this group..
If you are among this last group, you love a good book,
whether, paperback, hardback, digital.
There’s something encouraging and pleasurable about
reading a good book and knowing that there are so
many more out there, just waiting to be read.
However, even among this group, not all
like to read
“The Good Book”
Which ironically includes a command that
we are to share its message of with those
who:
Do like to Read – but not the Bible
Do Not Read
Do Not Understand
Do Not Like to Read
So with roughly four billion oral
learners in the world’s
population…
How do we address this great responsibility to make
sure that the message of God’s Word is shared in a
way that it is actually received?
What are we to do about the
command to share the message of
“The Good Book” with those who
CANNOT, DO NOT, or DON’T WANT
TO read it?
Literacy Programs?
• Literacy
• Translation
• Education
You might be thinking, why don’t we focus our efforts on these things. But it is not
just about knowing how to read. An oral society functions differently.
Bible Story Telling will indeed create a desire for literacy- because as the power of
scripture is realized in the human heart- it creates a hunger for more. But there are
many living RIGHT NOW that need the Gospel’s message. And even with solid
initiatives in place to address literacy, translation and education… research has shown
us that it will take time.
Did you know?
“Research shows it can take 120 years
to move an ORAL society from
0% to 30% Literate – making them an
Oral Preference Society with literates
among them at best.”
Percentage of LITERACY
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
110
Years invested in moving a culture from ORALITY to LITERACY
120
Psalm 119:130 “The unfolding of Your Word
bring light, it gives understanding to the
simple.”
If this promise is true, then how does it work in a world
where so few actually read?
Does the “The Good Book” offer any
clues as to how to share the message of
God with the people on the planet?
How did God choose to communicate in the
Old Testament?
•God SPOKE to Adam and Eve
•God SPOKE to Abraham
•God SPOKE to Moses, who wrote what God said, then read it to the
people.
•God SPOKE through dreams (visions and words)
•God SPOKE through Angels
•God WROTE the 10 Commandments IN STONE! (No take-home copies)
•God WROTE on a Wall – ON STONE (Personal message for one man)
•God SPOKE to the Prophets…who then Spoke, Wrote and Read to the
people
How did God choose to communicate in the
New Testament?
•Gospels – WRITTEN
•Epistles – 1 copy sent, then Read to the people
•Ethiopian Eunuch – READING Isaiah, Not Understanding!
•Revelation – WRITTEN (Of course, John was exiled on an
island)
Back to the Gospels, who were
these written about?
John 1:14 “The Word became flesh
and blood, and moved into the
neighborhood…”
THE MESSENGER
With THE MESSAGE…
How did He choose to communicate?
Hand our scrolls, printing press, literacy classes?
THE MESSENGER With THE MESSAGE…
Told Stories…
Mark 4:33-34 “With many parables
Jesus SPOKE the Word to them, as
much as they could understand. He did
not say anything to them without
using a parable. But when He was
alone with His disciples, He explained
everything.
What will you learn to do with Bible Story Telling?
You will learn to:
teach like Jesus taught
learn to ask questions that will lead others
to find truth
open people’s minds and hearts to
• receive
• remember
• retell God’s stories
empower a vast overlooked army to
become story tellers
participate in the harvest fields…
So how does this method of
interactive, oral learning work?
The same four steps are used to :
–prepare to launch a story
–Tell (launch) the story
–Guide the group in observation and
application
Timothy the Bible Story Teller
HEAD:
–
–
–
–
EYES-What do we/they See?
EARS-What do we/they Hear?
MOUTH-What is being Said?
HEAD-What do we/they Know? (Context)
HANDS
– What actions are happening?
– Who is doing what? (General-big picture)
HEART
– What choices are being made?
– Can you tell for what reason? (Specific-personal)
FEET
– Where does choice take each person?
– How does it affect others? Results?
Overview of the teaching method
Preparation
–SELECT A STORY TO TELL
• Select a story that you enjoy.
• Shorter is better until you learn more.
• Longer stories can be split into parts.
–STUDY THE STORY
• Do your own study first.
• Making observations…
• Making applications…
Preparation
– PREPARE YOUR QUESTIONS
• From your study, develop questions that could
lead someone else to discover what you found.
• Leave plenty of room for their discoveries.
• Remember, you will only ask questions.
• Avoid questions that offer ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ answers.
– MEMORIZE THE STORY
• Memorize the story as you will NOT read it.
• Read the story OUT LOUD to yourself.
• Close your Bible & repeat what you remember.
• Repeat this process until memorized!
When Launching the Story
• TELL IT FROM MEMORY
– Do NOT read the story.
– Think through the setting, the people, the likely attitudes,
everything you can imagine.
– Use your imagination & SEE the story.
– Deliver the story with excitement!
• MAKE IT LIVE!
– Capture your audience by being lively.
– Match your delivery to the story.
– Make eye contact with your hearers.
• ENGAGE PARTICIPATION
– Ask a volunteer to repeat what they can.
– Complement their accomplishment.
– Repeat the story for everyone.
When Launching the Story
• ONLY ASK QUESTIONS
– Do NOT lecture!!!
– ONLY ask questions to lead to treasures.
• ASK MORE QUESTIONS
– Listen to their answers.
– Ask follow-up questions to their finds.
– Allow the Spirit to lead the process.
• STICK TO THE STORY
– Do NOT go to other stories.
– Do NOT go to Application too early.
– Recall treasures from the Observations during the
Application time.
After Launching the Story
• HELP PEOPLE CAPTURE THEIR TREASURES
– Repeat Key Treasures.
– Verbally Reward the group on their efforts.
• REINFORCE THE JOY OF DISCOVERY
– Embrace the thrill of discovery with them.
– Encourage them that they taught the lesson.
• EMPOWER OTHERS TO PARTICIPATE
– Explain the power of the group process.
– Explain the power of the sown seed! ISA 55
• REPEAT…
Why Bible Story Telling
• It meets the need on the mission field where
the culture is based on Oral Learning
• It meets the needs of the Secondary Oral
learners in our North American Culture
• It creates a hunger for more scripture
• It is interactive (relational), receivable,
remember-able, and most importantly,
reproducible.
Interestingly, “five hundred years after the
invention of the printing press, only 33% of the
world are truly literate.”1
Most of us still desire to learn, and learn best, by
interactive discovery and oral means.
How many people do you know who would
rather watch the movie than read the book?
1http://www.lausanneworldpulse.com/themedarticles.php/507/10-2006?pg=all
Bibliography
Bible ,The Holy : New International Version, electronic ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996,
c1984).
Lausanne Occasional Paper No. 54 MAKING DISCIPLES OF ORAL LEARNERS Produced by the Issue
Group on this topic at the 2004 Forum for World Evangelization hosted by the Lausanne
Committee for World Evangelization . In Pattaya, Thailand, September 29 to October 5, 2004
“A New Vision, a New Heart, a Renewed Call”2
Oralbible.com (Slide 9) “Four Billion Oral Learners” International Orality Network
The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language. Created by Eugene H. Peterson . Published
1993 to 2002
“What is Orality?” http://www.oralitystrategies.org/about.cfm
Willis, Avery and James Greenelsh. What Do You Think, Mr. Guttenberg? The Challenges Print
Evangelism Ministries Face in Meeting the Needs of Oral Cultures. October 2006
http://www.lausanneworldpulse.com/themedarticles.php/507/10-2006?pg=all
“Timothy the Bible Story Teller” .jpg and the Bible Story Method are a collaborative project in
process with Rev. Ray Neu , 2012,and Leadership Audio Bible and may not be reproduced or
distributed without consent.