A GARDEN OF STORIES

[A Monday / Wednesday / Friday Devotional Feature of the First Road Blog]

I delight in professional flower gardens and professionally landscaped homes. They are beautiful and informative. However, when it comes to my own plant beds, my tastes are more intentionally amateurish. Of course it helps that I am not financially able to be “professional.” But, I’m not sure I would be if I could. I like my own garden to be more than beauty and information. I want it to be a collection of stories.

For example, we bought our red powder puff in a plant show at Bok Tower gardens in October of 2012. It and a fire bush, a beauty berry bush and a couple plumbagos were our first ventures into Florida-friendly plants. They started out small and unimpressive; but we nurtured them through some difficult times and watched them grow into prosperous bushes. There is nothing like a thriving plant with a story of obstacles overcome. I don't have space here to tell of plants brought back from near-death experiences! 

Then there are those plants born in our house. Last February I found some cardboard palm pods spilling their brilliant red seeds. I garnered some and planted them in a box. Weeks later, Judy and I were excited to find the first leafy spear had emerged like a coiled fern frond. Already I have a vision for their future.

If you ever stop by, be warned. I may tell you stories. And I may mention Jesus’ parable of the unfruitful fig tree. The owner was prepared to cut it down; but the caretaker intervened. The various plants on whose behalf I have labored remind me that every local church is a garden of individual plants each with a story of God's intervention. I suppose he could have been content with an angelic landscape; but he chose to make a garden of redeemed sinners with stories to tell. Some people think that’s a little strange, but I think I understand...at least a little.  

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Think Your Way Through

The thirteenth and last in a series on restoring the drama to the study of the Word of God.

Years ago I was introduced to the expression, “pray through.” I never found out through to what: The answer I wanted? The assurance I would get what I wanted eventually? Or, was it just achieving the assurance God heard me? It seemed very subjective and elusive. On the other hand, I did learn a “through” principle which is both biblical and definable.

Learn to think through the Bible.

Much that passes for Bible study is an accumulation of dislocated quotes about particular themes. This collecting and collating of “verses on a subject” can be misleading. Easily missed are the different contexts and episodes which nestle the text into the bigger picture; and it is that bigger picture which explains, for example, why prohibitions against pork which are “found in the bible” are no longer in force, but Old Testament prohibitions against fornication are precisely maintained in the New Testament.

Categorized and systematized truth is valuable. He who has a system has the advantage over anyone who does not. However, he who knows the narrative from which his system is drawn trumps the person with a system void of narrative.

This series of studies has sought to urge a return to memorable telling of the story. Every forest has its trails. One does not know the forest by a study of trees; but by knowing the forest he is able to study its trees without getting lost. The better we can “think through the Bible,” the better we can properly distinguish its trails. Thinking through the Bible corrects the error of treating it as a “source book” of polemic proof texts. It is a living narrative which searches hearts while answering the questions – Who am I? Where am I? Where’s it all going? And, how can I make the journey with purpose? 

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It's Not About Morals

May Be Found At

The twelfth in a series on restoring the drama to the study of the Word of God.

You probably heard of the Sunday School teacher who ended every lesson with, “And the moral of this story is…” One Sunday she couldn’t make it to class. On the way home the father of one of her students asked, “How’d you like your new teacher today?” The boy replied with vigor. “She was GREAT! She didn’t have any morals.”

We chuckle at the equivocation, and quickly affirm the need for a Sunday School teacher to be of high moral character. However, Jack Klumpenhower, in his 2014 book, Show Them Jesus, argues that a good Sunday School lesson is not primarily about a “moral” to the story which teaches hearers something they need to do or be. Following Jesus’ life-lessons (teachings) is not the same as knowing him.

In the previous devotional I said. “exposition should aim at motivation for living to the glory of God.”  However, the key terms motivation and to the glory of God speak of something more significant than plugging in a set of “morals.”

Look once more at the story of the woman beset with hemorrhaging. Notice the wrap up that I suggested. It focused on Jesus and his character as one who notices the overlooked. To teach that as “We should do better at noticing others,” is to settle for a secondary lesson.

This is Klumpenhower’s point. Turn every story into a spotlight on Jesus Christ himself. Jesus as Savior and “role model” ought never to remain Jesus the stranger. As we tell them the STORY of Jesus, we must tell Them the story of JESUS. If our hearers do not know him whom they trust they will not see his footprint in every act of the unfolding narrative and they will not become awed by his character which is the bedrock of his promises and his saving work.  

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Meaning and Motivation

The tenth in a series on restoring the drama to the study of the Word of God.

Am I advocating eisegesis? Am I reading meaning into the text instead of drawing out the real, single meaning of the text?

Consider the story line of the woman with chronic hemorrhaging.

I did not tell you: “The woman is the United States; the issue of blood is abortion; the need is for revival; and when that happens the bloodshed will stop.” However, I did try to recount the incident in a way that could prompt life-directive motivation (aka "application").

Unless a teacher is simply giving a running commentary, exposition should aim at motivation for living to the glory of God; and living requires visual points of reference. Such a lesson from the woman in the crowd could unfold this way.

• A reminder of Luke’s heartbeat for the overlooked and disenfranchised.
• An explanation of Jesus’ identification as Messiah, by means of authoritative words and actions, before the show down in Jerusalem. 
• A sketched overview of how those things come into play in chapter eight.
• Women in Jesus’ entourage.
• Purpose of parables.
• Jesus’ role as elder brother and first-born son to all believers.
• Jesus’ authority over two major categories of nature.
• Jesus’ care for a Gentile demoniac.
• This brings us to our central text.
• The main event - the plea of a Jewish religious official
• The interruption – an ordinary woman with no official resources.
• The support cast – a clueless crowd and pessimistic naysayers.
• The action – the woman’s desperate approach.
• The result – healing, recognition, commendation of faith.

All of these unfold the “meaning” of the text. Now, Scripture invites us to find personal applications. This may be one of the most obvious:

Jesus’ attention is not based on how much of a support group you have. He was fully responsive to the woman’s desperate, solitary, faith while everyone else was preoccupied with the father’s urgent and publicly known need. And this point is enhanced by other Scripture. 

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Don't Throw Away the Study Books !!!

The ninth in a series on restoring the drama to the study of the Word of God.

Fleshing out the story of a text is not in opposition to expounding the text. Good exposition (telling what the text says) rises from good exegesis (the careful study of the text). And good exegesis is essential in developing the meaning. However, a poor telling of what that meaning looks like can abort the process. Although Scripture is alive, it is possible to “kill” it in the ears of our hearers. Alas! The aftermath of many of my messages sent folks away with an autopsy report unrelated to godly living. A well studied hammer is of no use unless it becomes a hammer well used. 

Ponder this text: A woman …came from behind and touched the border of Jesus’ garment.

Meaning: “This woman was desperate." Have you ever been desperate?

Meaning Visualized: “Imagine her, wide-eyed, elbowing her way through the sweaty mass of rude rubberneckers. Almost…almost she can reach him. She lunges. She shoves her hand between jostling shoulders. Her arm strains and her fingers…yes! Her fingers! She feels her fingers touch the tassel!" Have you ever wanted anything from Jesus so desperately?

I have just given you a memory. To do so requires an understanding of desperation, the dynamics of a crowd, and the thrill of a moment of success.

In Scripture God gives the basic plot line with rich vocabulary to stimulate our imagination. He has told us enough to keep us on track but has left the possibility of different scenarios. That’s why we are never told precisely the nature of Paul’s “thorn in the flesh.”

In a class I told a possible version of the Cain-and-Abel narrative, building around the meaning of Abel’s name - “worthless.” When I finished, one of the men suggested a different story line.

My response?

“Gotchya!”

I rarely defend the details of my story lines. As, in this case, I used this one to make people think about the text, and apply it and, maybe, remember.

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Jesus' Job Description for Storytellers

The eighth in a series on restoring the drama to the study of the Word of God.

If a course on storytelling could help our teaching; then a course on story writing could help our storytelling. I don’t mean writing something to publish, unless you want to. I mean thinking on paper how to describe an event. This can sharpen your awareness of what biblical scenes could have looked like.

I have on my desk a list of “Writing Tips,” and a “Word Usage Chart.” Rules and ideas I have accumulated and arranged for my benefit. Here are four “Word Usage” recommendations.

Use clear, simple words.

This does not mean you never use a “big” word. It does mean you can say: “His breathing became rapid and shallow.  He wobbled back and forth, took one step, and sunk to the floor.” Reserve hyperventilated” for more professional contexts.

Use show and tell words.

“He passed out,” also would have worked; but active words help the listener draw his own conclusion. As the song from My Fair Lady says, “Don’t tell me. Show me.”

Use original words and phrases; and use strong, active, direct words

One of the most difficult and rewarding aspects of putting a thought into a story is the discipline of “avoiding clichés like the plague.” This is especially true in relating biblical concepts. For example: “Erford was a godly man,” is not as meaningful to people as we wish. Consider this as one facet of godliness: “You talked with Erford only a few minutes before you felt his awe for God and his love for God’s people.” Or, “There was no doubt. Erford’s passion for God meant he could be trusted. He would not lead you down a wrong path.”

You must respect words enough to ferret out more than sterile dictionary definitions. After all, God chose "Word" as a name for his Son. Explore what they look like in action. Jesus summarized the job description of a storyteller in his first invitation: "Come and see."  

For those who are subscribed to receive these devotionals by e-mail, I will send a copy of my “Word Usage Chart” and “List of Writing Tips.” If you are not subscribed, I invite you to join the list. There is a place at the top of this page. New subscribers between now and the end of June will receive a copy of the Chart and the Tips as my way of saying,“Thank You.”

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The Second Rail

The seventh in a series on restoring the drama to the study of the Word of God.

The plot of a story moves forward on a track of two rails: the Act - made up of a Set Up, Complications, and Climax; and the Sequence of events. Without Sequence the story goes nowhere. 






Complication involves a Conflict which causes the listener to worry, wonder, and want resolution. In the process a significant character or group either develops and grows or declines and unravels. 

After David’s victory over Goliath, the plot moves into a full length story line made up of Acts through which David the courageous shepherd grows into David the benevolent King. If you think of it as one huge Act it looks like this:

• Set Up - David brought into Saul's court as a celebrity.  
• Complications and Conflict - Public popularity, Saul's paranoia, Jonathan's friendship, David's marriage to Saul's daughter, and the need to flee for his life.  
• Climax - the Battle at Gilboa where Saul and his family are killed.

By the time the dust settles we discover several things about David which can be trace to events in the Complications and Conflicts. 

• He is a patient man - although anointed by God, he waits for Israel to acknowledge him as king.
• He inspires loyalty.
• He has traded his sling for the serious weapons of leadership.
• His romantic/literary heart has been deepened.
• He has integrity - remaining loyal to Saul even in death.
• He is compassionate - looking for a way to show kindness to Jonathan's family.
• He is organized - through the time of conflict he developed his knights of the round table.

We also discover the beginnings of the Set Up for the next Act, including the emergence of a sinister character within his ranks. 

Please! Take time to read the stories as more than records of events. You may find them becoming more deeply etched into your memory.

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Think of a Train

The sixth in a series on restoring the drama to the study of the Word of God.

I’m trying to examine the role of storytelling in the study and teaching of Scripture. By storytelling I don’t mean anecdotes from “real life.” I mean embracing the living storyline of Scripture. Even the purely teaching texts, such as the epistles, have as their background the narrative of the Old Testament, the Gospels, and the book of Acts. And a narrative has a plot which incorporates certain features. That's the way God designed it. These devotionals have noticed the characters, the questions, the knowledge gaps, and the crises which drive a listener forward into the story.

Consider with me, now, that any plot is like a train traveling on a track of two rails. This is true whether it's the plot of the overarching story line or one of the sub plots which contribute to that overarching story, 

The first rail of the track is a series of acts. Each act is made up of a sequence of three movements.

• The set up.
• The complication (crisis)
• The climax.

For example, when David arrived at the Valley of Elah where Goliath taunted the army of Israel, the inspired writer already prepared us with the set up. In this case the set-up and the complication occur together; but there is more complication to be added. In this act no one knows what is going to happen next. The first-time listener may have some suspicions, but he would not know, and additional complications may tear down some of those suspicions. Additional complications include the ridicule of David’s brothers, the hesitancy of the King, the rejection of bona fide weapons, and the scorn of the giant. These make for a very bad situation. Then comes the climax which creates a new act.

• The new setup? David’s popularity and the listener’s knowledge that he has been anointed to be the future king.
• The new complications: public praise, Saul’s jealousy and the intrigue of David's friendship with the heir apparent.

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What Makes a Crisis a Crisis?

The fifth in a series on restoring the drama to the study of the Word of God.

David Baboulene, in The Story  Book, develops Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. I believe this Hierarchy is worth considering when following plot lines in Scripture. The needs are, in ascending order:

• Physical survival needs.
• Safety and Security needs.
• Social needs.
• Self respect needs.
• Personal fulfillment needs.

These needs make up the stuff of crisis episodes. Unless the book is simply about survival in the wilderness, it is in the last two categories where we look for growth or failure in the career of the “good guy.” In Scripture those two categories are key issues in the new creature passion of born-again characters to glorify God.

Once these areas are understood the storyteller is ready to help the listener feel the crises. In our study we need to objectively analyze Jesus’ struggle in Gethsemane, but we have no business letting our hearer get away without subjectively wrestling with the pathos of the event. Jesus was tempted in all points like we are. On the strictly human level every category in that hierarchy of needs crumbled around him. The difference between the crises Jesus faced and those faced by other characters in the narrative is that, for him, the result was revelatory. He does not grow better; He displays himself as best. In the events the listener is confronted with the demonstration of his actual Lordship, Messiah-hood, and his sinless qualification to be our Redeemer and Mediator. In lesser characters the listener discovers improvement or disintegration, and he observes the impact on the character himself as well as those around him. 

Over the years I have found it helpful to put the listener behind a nearby bush or door where he can observe the crisis in order to know the seriousness of the moment but suspend knowledge of how it unfolds. In so doing I provide an opportunity for him to appreciate its implications.  

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Granny the Spoiler

Awww! I know. It ain't much.
Mostly Junk

The fourth in a series on restoring the drama to the study of the Word of God.

Related to following a plot line and reminding ourselves of questions which a first-time reader might experience, there is the matter of who knows what and who does not know what at the time of the episode. Some writers call this a knowledge gap.

In an episode with two characters there are three potential places where knowledge gaps may occur. The third is the reader. For example: person A may not know something that person B and the Reader know; or, the Reader may not know something that A and B know, and so forth.

Consider the episode of Abraham and Isaac on Mount Moriah. Isaac does not know what Abraham and the first-time reader know. On the other hand, Abraham and the first-time reader do not know if or how this is going to be resolved. Even when the problem is resolved, the reader is left wondering, What was that all about? regarding how the action fits in the bigger story.

We who are in-the-know need to suspend our knowledge and try to re-enter the drama of the moment. If nothing else doing so can prevent a blasé attitude toward a very tense and offensive situation.

As a youngster, I looked forward to seeing the movie, Bambi, but some kid’s grandmother spoiled it for me. Sitting right behind us, granny kept the youngster about five steps ahead of the action. “Oh, watch, honey. He’s going to slip on the ice.” “This is sad, dear. His mommy’s going to be killed.”

Like her running commentary, the professorial, “And-of-course-we-know…,” wreaks havoc with the flow of many a biblical account. Let the reader/listener wonder for awhile. Give him time to be puzzled and ask questions. Guide him to the thrill of discovery. If we answer questions before they are asked they may never be asked and a truth may be missed.

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The Plot Thickens

The third in a series on restoring the drama to the study of the Word of God.

Let us simplify some terms.

• Protagonist: the good guy.
• Antagonist: the bad guy.
• Plot: the unfolding of the story through conflict.

Now, let us complicate matters again. But don’t panic. It is the complications which make the story.

First – keep in mind you do not always get the good guy and the bad guy right at the beginning. An unexpected twist can change your mind.
Saul the Pharisee is an example of this. Yet, with words like, “Of- course- we- know-that-he-will…,” many a preacher and teacher kills the drama of this man’s arrival on the scene as a villain. The Scripture briefly plays up his dastardliness. Therefore, why should not we? Even though our audience may know the rest of the story, it could do them and us good to suspend that knowledge, re-enter the plot line, and remember the "Whoa!-I-didn't-see-that-coming!" moment on the Damascus road. 

Second – a plot gets under way with a thought provoking incident. At the very beginning of the Bible, once the stage is set, the two primary characters encounter a stranger and disaster follows. This raises questions which we have forgotten because we have known the story for so long. It would be interesting to do a Bible study with people who have no background in the Scripture, and to do so without answering their questions until the narrative does.

What’s going to happen to Adam? I thought he was the hero but he’s just a chump. And, who or what is this serpent? And, what is God going to do about all this?

I call this return to the drama of the narrative a hermeneutic of story. I see others have used that moniker as well. I cannot be responsible for whatever they may have in mind. My meaning is a return to the drama of the narrative in our study, teaching, and preaching. I believe we miss some understanding because we are inoculated against the questions and emotions the text is designed to arouse.

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Don't Forget Plot Lines When You Read the Bible

The second in a series on restoring the drama to the study of the Word of God. 

I suppose the first two facets of storytelling which come to everyone's mind are plot and people. Yet, we may let them slip when we read Scripture. 
God has designed us to think that something is moving toward a conclusion and that it has something to do with the characters we meet. Our problem in bringing the hermeneutic of story into our study of Scripture is summarized in the lyrics, “I’ve read the back of the book, and we win.” This means we must consciously refresh our interest in the action even though we already know where it is going.

That is not an unreasonable requirement. We do it when we re-read our favorite novel or re-visit our favorite movie. Even though we “know how it comes out” we experience the thrill of adventure as we look more carefully into things we passed over quickly when we were not in-the-know. It is the failure to do this which reduces the biblical narrative to an encyclopedic collection of “subjects.” To systematize topics is also a characteristic of our creaturehood, but to anesthetize the story line is the devil’s tool.

Consider the people. A good story has a protagonist. Epics have minor protagonists with their own story who contribute to the overarching story.

Consider the plot. It emerges as we meet and follow a protagonist and watch him confront an antagonist and make his way through conflicts which change his character. If the change is growth we call it a “comedy,” not because it is funny but because it makes us happy. If, however, the change results in failure, we come away saddened by the “tragedy.”

Here is an idea. Select a protagonist. I would suggest Joash. Identify his antagonists and follow him through his conflicts. What change do you find? Is his story a comedy or a tragedy? What role might his story play in the Bible's mega-story?  

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Story Telling Is An Embedded Part of Our Creaturehood

The first in a series on restoring the drama to the study of the Word of God. 

People are storytellers. Their tales are heard around campfires, read in libraries, watched in the media, and imagined beside a giggling forest brook. Modern technology builds stories around spoken words framed in elaborate settings and underscored with vibrant action. Students of holograms speak of a day when stories will “live” three-dimensionally on the equivalent of a living room coffee table. Internet gamers race to create “stories” where people can forget their real-life selves and become a virtually-real self in a narrative where they start out on terms of their own choosing and pretend to have more control of their fate. We long for a discernible plot, for resolved questions, and for dots that connect into a meaningful whole.

All of this is the result of being in a story – the story of the Author of the cosmos and the Author and Finisher of the epic which is the mother of all other epics be they real or imagined. It also rises from being made in the image of that Author. 

I have said before that any college course on bible study, especially any course teaching the science and art of biblical interpretation (hermeneutics), should include a serious unit on the art of storytelling. To repeat: we live in a story. The Prequel which gives meaning to the sequel has been published in narrative form.

To ignore the elements involved in a story is to deny that those factors are God-created, God-driven, and clearly God-sanctified by the very ministry of Jesus himself. They are an embedded part of our creaturehood. No matter how well we exposit the outlines of the texts we teach, it is a robust grasp of the overall Story line which connects the dots of Truth into a meaningful whole. 

For a few devotionals, permit me to consider some of the elements of storytelling as a part of God’s creative work and, therefore, an important discipline in the study of his inspired, inerrant Word.  

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