Progress Note 10/25/2007

I got an email today from my Bible Story Telling trainer Rev. H. Jackson Day

He asked me this question:

Tomorrow Doris and I start leading a Bible Storytelling workshop at the Georgia Baptist Literacy Conference.

I've been wondering about your experiences in using Bible storytelling in your ministry. How is it going? What plans do you have?

Here is the answer I emailed. May the Lord bless the Georgia Baptist Literacy Conference.

Dear Rev. Day,

I am still working on reviews of your books. Hopefully they will be done soon and thank you for your email which reminds me to GET TO WORK finishing that up!

Since the training...

1. I have used bible story telling as either the "text" of my sermon or as an illustration within the sermon no less than every other week since you came. Usually it's weekly.

2. I have been writing about my experiences on a blog I've found it so fascinating. http://biblestorytelling.blogspot.com

3. I do not find the bible story telling in my setting to be as "viral" is in some settings I've heard about where people seem to share the stories with others. One of my church members is however telling bible stories at the community thrift store every other Saturday. I have not been effective getting others involved in Bible Story Telling because, in part, I am bi-vocational and of expectations about what I'm supposed to do during worship and teaching times.

4. Your help in identifying one (of many!) of my preaching weaknesses (not telling enough illustrations) has greatly improved my preaching. Every message now is usually a couple of life lessons each in E -I -A format even if it's not a "bible story" per se.

Several people have told me my preaching is much more effective because I have much greater eye contact and am more "free" in my delivery.

5. I have adopted an overall strategy that makes information available in a variety of formats to allow people of every literacy level to learn and be trained while allowing them to go "as deep" as they want to go while mastering the basics together. That is why I am working to implement the Train and Multiply system used in conjunction with Bible Story Telling here. This program was developed on the mission field for low literacy people with reading ability who, nevertheless, are not going to spend all day reading deep theology books. The creators of the program purposely designed it to be used with Bible Story Telling.

6. I have developed a greater appreciation of the Bible as a narrative and how the various Bible Stories connect with THE STORY of the Bible.

So I pray the Georgia Baptist Literacy Conference will be as blessed by your training as I was and hope they will be able to promote it as a viable method of evangelism and discipleship that will encourage people to enter more traditional literacy programs.

May the Lord bless your time there.

Rev. Chuck Huckaby