Developing The Art Of Storytelling

Storytelling is an art that needs to be developed in today's churches. Storytellers succeed through using dialogue, developing action and plot, opening up the imagination, and learning how to tell the story well. The following entry is one pastor's account of the transforming power of story in his own preaching. Its original title,"Spinning Yarns," suggests the necessity of retaining the first-person perspective because the best stories are our stories-stories told from personal experience. Spinning Yarns Throughout his conquests, Alexander the Great read the Iliad, a book that kindles martial zeal. He often placed his copy, annotated by Aristotle, under his pillow at night alongside his dagger. It's not stretching it to say this one story's effect on Alexander may have changed the course of history. I confess I had been preaching for years before I realized that well-told stories wield this kind of power, that they can actually change people's lives. I happened onto that realizat…