Mark Miller, in his book, Experiential Storytelling: (Re)Discovering Narrative to Communicate God’s Message, draws upon his experience as a youth pastor in Ohio to share ideas about how to communicate the timeless stories of the Bible in ways that they touch us on a deeper level than just printed words on a page or spoken words in a sermon. Miller believes that the most remarkable reason why the church in America is declining is because people are “no longer connecting with the redemptive story of the Bible†(p. 6).
The church is in a state of self-evaluation. The post-modern culture is forcing the church to take a penetrating look inside itself to see how it can connect with people today. Truth is questioned everywhere by everyone. People do not simply accept something as a fact because someone says it is true. Out of this self-investigation has come the Emerging Church movement. Church leaders are rethinking their methods, and Experiential Storytelling is part of that process.
In this book, the author tries to get the reader to rethink the way that we tell the stories of the Bible. His focus is on telling the stories of the Bible the way they were told before the Reformation and the invention of the printing press. This new way is one that he thinks will resonate more with the culture of today, and it is one that allows the listener to discover for himself the truth behind the story. Miller believes that the church must change its methods of sharing God’s Word in order to have an audience in the world today.
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I don’t own a ton of youth ministry books and the ones that are on my shelf right now are a bit old. This Christmas I got a new book that I have just loved. Shaping the Spiritual Lives of Students by Richard Dunn is a well written book that includes Biblical principles for spiritual caregivers, relevance to youth culture and tangible application points that most youthworkers would appreciate.
Pastor Dunn includes chapters on topics such as A Theology of Pacing and Leading (pacing meaning actively, engaged listening), the Postmodern Youth Culture of Today, Nurturing the Adolescent Moral Self, and three chapters on Early, Middle and Late Adolescence.
I particularly found the chapter on nurturing the adolescent moral self very intriguing, knowing that being a spiritual caregiver for students is not easy or simple. I also appreciated the sections on the three stages of adolescence, as they outlined some of the specific challenges as students and children transition from kids to young adults.
The book is easy to read and includes a good combination of the authors anecdotes from his youth ministry days; snippets from research about adolescent evelopment and youth culture; and tangible guidelines and principles. The end of each chapter also includes two sets of follow up questions, one set for quick thought and the other set suitable for further reflection or discussion starters with other youth workers.
Throughout the book, Dunn stresses this idea of students needing, longing for, and seeking out spiritual caregivers. The youthworkers that will sacrifice, pace and lead, and go out of their way to care for, challenge and implore students - these are the ones that will make a difference. These youth workers will not only shape the spiritual lives of students today, but they will erupt a movement of leaders and disciples that will mold the future -a generation that will launch into the world around us and love it for Jesus sake. If seeing students grow spiritually to impact the world around them gets your heart racing, you would love this book as well.
Review written by: Tony Sheng
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