Christine Dillon - Telling the Gospel Through Story: Evangelism That Keeps Hearers Wanting More

T ELLING THE G OSPEL T HROUGH S TORY

Evangelism That Keeps Hearers Wanting More

Christine Dillon

www.IVPress.com/books

InterVarsity Press
P.O. Box 1400
Downers Grove, IL 60515-1426
World Wide Web: www.ivpress.com
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2012 by Christine Dillon

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from InterVarsity Press.

InterVarsity Press is the book-publishing division of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA, a movement of students and faculty active on campus at hundreds of universities, colleges and schools of nursing in the United States of America, and a member movement of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. For information about local and regional activities, write Public Relations Dept. InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA, 6400 Schroeder Rd., P.O. Box 7895, Madison, WI 53707-7895, or visit the IVCF website at www.intervarsity.org.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

While all stories in this book are true, some names and identifying information in this book have been changed to protect the privacy of the individuals involved.

Cover design: Cindy Kiple
Images: Stocktrek Images/Getty Images

ISBN 978-0-3808-6692-2 (digital)
ISBN 978-0-8308-3794-6 (print)

With all my thanks and praise to him who is the originator, subject and endpoint of the whole of the greatest story of them all. The Holy Spirit has led me, taught me and given me the resources, and Im so grateful to have been allowed to be a coworker.

For my parents, Bryan and Judy, who first introduced me to the greatest story of them all. I wanted to join you as part of it. Thank you for encouraging me to be all that God made me to be.

And for the staff of Chefoo School in Malaysia, who also taught me the story from when I was five years old. You were indeed some of the hundred parents I was promised in Matthew 19:29 as we left our families for the sake of the gospel. Thank you for introducing me to good stories but most of all for loving me enough to tell me the story I most needed to hear.

C ONTENTS

I NTRODUCTION

The Power of Story

S teve was a house painter from England vacationing at a beach in the Philippines with his family. I happened to be staying at the same resort. One day during a conversation that began to turn toward spiritual things, Steve said, Ive talked to numerous religious leaders but theyve never been able to answer my questions satisfactorily. So Ive given up on religion and am trying to live a good life.

What were your questions? I asked.

The main one is, why the world is so unfair? Why is there pain and suffering and why doesnt God, if there is a God, do something about it?

Could I have a go at sharing something Ive learned about these things using a story from the Bible? I asked.

I dont believe the Bible.

Thats no problem. I hope youll find the story helpful anyway.

We started with Genesis 1 and Gods intentions for his world. The story concluded,... Then God said, Let us make people in our image. He made a man out of the dust of the earth and God breathed his spirit into the man. So Adam became a living being. Later God put Adam to sleep and took one of his ribs and made a wife, Eve, for him. God said, Rule over the animals,... multiply and fill the earth. Finally God looked at everything he had made and blessed it. He said, It is very good. On the seventh day God rested from his work because he had completed the work of creation.

Soon Steves two children and his sons girlfriend casually drifted over to listen. I filled them in on the story so far and continued by explaining the beginning of pain and trouble in the world from Genesis 3. I mentioned the storys strange hint of hope when God says to Adam and Eve, The snake and the descendants of the woman will be at war. The snake will strike her descendants heel, but one day a descendent will crush the head of the snake.

During the discussion one of my listeners said, I know youre going to say that Jesus is the one coming to crush the snakes head, but how will he do it?

Can I tell you a few more stories before Jesus? I replied. That will make everything clearer.

So we continued on through the stories of Abraham, the exodus and the rest of the Old Testament. Each story set up the one that followed it so my audience would understand the nature of the human problem and how desperately we needed a Savior. My listeners peppered me with questions, and we discussed them one by one. Most often I asked them a question in return, and they found themselves answering their own questions based on what theyd already learned. Sometimes I said, That will be answered in an upcoming story.

Finally, after about an hour, we reached the end of the Old Testament. Come on, they begged. Dont leave us in suspense. Tell us how Jesus saves!

Outside our open-air dining room, the beach beckoned. It was a perfect day for snorkeling, and this family had come from winter-bound England to play in the sun. Their holiday was almost finishedbut today the beach might as well not have existed.

We continued through Jesus birth and ministry. Finally we reached his death and resurrection. Do you remember what the temple curtain in the Old Testament symbolized? I asked.

The separation between God and people, said one.

What was the only way people could be forgiven and continue to be friends with God?

A representative had to prepare himself carefully and then kill a perfect sacrifice and take its blood through the curtain, another responded.

So what did it mean when the temple curtain split from top to bottom just when Jesus died?

They started hesitantly, saying, I guess it means... that because Jesus died... the barrier between us and God has been dealt with. Then they concluded in a rush, So we can once again be friends with God.

So Jesus was like that perfect sacrifice, one said.

Yes, but he was also the representative, chimed in another.

At last I called an end to the storying before wed exhausted ourselves and lost the joy of discovery. Two days later as the family was departing, Steve said, Im going home to find my Bible. If those religious experts had told me such relevant stories, I would have happily gone to their church and wouldnt have given up searching.

How did I get involved with Bible storying? I was a reluctant starter. As a teenager, the child of missionaries, I had heard about chronological Bible storying. My impression was that it was best suited for illiterate tribal peoples. When I became a missionary myself, my context was different. I did church Nearly everyone could read, although a large portion of the population chose to learn in ways other than via the printed word.

I taught the Bible in a wide range of situations, from one-to-one evangelism and discipling to Bible study groups, training seminars and public teaching. I used many stories to illustrate my teaching. Constant feedback and self-evaluation helped improve my teaching, but I never thought to change my basic communication building blocks.

God obviously had a different plan! In 2004 I observed a six-hour OMF training seminar in which the leader told stories from Genesis to the ascension. I enjoyed the stories personally, but I still didnt think they suited my style. I was already a reasonable communicator and believed it would be a huge challenge to adapt my teaching style. Simply put, change of this magnitude seemed like too much work.