Looking Ahead In Christian Ed
edited by, Margaret Jacobsen , M .Ä .
Associate professor of Christian Education; Biola Bible College
On How to Tell a Story
browsing in a Bible book store I found the stories I used to hear and many more. Stories I Love to Tell was published five years ago by Moody Press. Gladys Mary Talbot, who compiled the stories, is Dr. Louis Talbot’s sister. She teaches the story telling class at Moody Bible Institute. She introduces her collection of stor ies, ' some old and some new, with very helpful suggestions in the tell ing of any story. The collection is planned for spe cial days and special topics—Christ mas, Easter, Thanksgiving, Mother’s Day, stories for inspiration in the Christian life, service and growth. For the person who takes Christian story-telling seriously, not the least valuable feature of the book is the section of acknowledgments which gives leads to more stories. “God in His mercy and justice does all things well,” said the godly man, yet with sorrow. And he lay down and slept. In the morning, the light awakened him. He gathered his book to his heart and walked back to the un friendly village. To his horror, he saw that the rob bers had come in the night. The vil lage had been plundered and burned. The villagers had been murdered. The man of God remembered. Had he been granted hospitality, he too would have died, had his light shone or his cock crowed, the robbers would have been led to him. “ God in His mercy and justice does all things well,” said the godly man. And in the light of day, he read his scroll and praised God. Have you tried a Romans 8:28 meeting for your young people’s so ciety? Invite several parents and members to tell specific instances in their lives when God was working all things together for good, even though at first it did not seem so.
Sometimes we shared the poignant dreams of a little bit of unattractive blue glass, lost in a pile of rhbbish in the stained glass studio of the master artist. When the little blue bit was needed and searched for, found and used to complete the beau tiful window which told the world how much the artist loved Christ, it was content and so were we. We got to know these stories and love them. We asked for them over and over, year after year. They be came a part of us. Now such story-tellers as this are grown from patience and work and the careful, enthusiastic making a story one’s own. Where can we find them? Only you can answer that. Where shall we find the stories that paint a picture and carry a message and inspire the imagination. While T he story is told of a medieval man of God on a journey, whose sole possessions were a scroll, a candle and a cock. The scroll he read and loved, the candle provided him light, the cock crowed to awaken him in the morning. One evening he arrived in a small town. He asked hospitality from home after home but was rudely re fused both food and lodging. “God in His mercy and justice does all things well,” said the believing man. He found protection from the wind in a clump of high bushes, tethered his cock nearby and, with praise in his heart, began to read his book. A sudden gust of wind blew out his light, and the good man found himself without the means to relight his candle. “God in His mercy and justice does all things well,” said the trusting man. And he prepared to lie down to sleep. Suddenly a fox snapped out of the darkness, and the life of his cock was gone.
here, oh, where has the story gone? And where is the story teller? In my childhood, I lived in the shadow of a fine church-related south ern college. In the summertime, for one or two weeks, the college campus became a part of the Chautauqua cir cuit program. From cities and towns and country all around, the church members came for culture and lead ership-training. What the daytime program consisted of I do not know, and what happened after eight in the evening, I cannot tell, but seven o’clock was a magic time. It was the story hour. Of course, the registered delegates were there. The neighborhood fath ers and mothers had strolled over to the college in the summer evening air and all the games of cops and robbers were stilled, for the boys and girls, little and big, had joined the group that gathered in the natural amphitheater fo r that wonderful “Once upon a time.” Now, as an adult trying to appraise childhood memories I have wondered whether the story hour came under culture or leadership-training. And I presume it was planned for some of both. Certainly, here was a wonder ful demonstration of what can be taught through the sheer witchery of a good tale. There were no pictures, nor slides, nor film nor flannelgraph but the deft use of the story-teller’s art made us see the people and places of the story. There was no moralization, no preaching, yet the message was there. Sometimes it was a story of a strug gle of the soul, and how glad we were and relieved when our hero chose the hard thing that was right. We had already made that choice for him. Sometimes — through the eyes and heart of a young boy, we saw Paul bound at Jerusalem. We heard 40 men plotting against his life, we told the magistrate, and Paul was sent guarded to Caesarea. Why, it was just as though the Apostle Paul were our own uncle.
A Rom ans 8:28 M eeting
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A U G U S T 1 9 5 4
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