Cape Town 2010 Advance Paper

That All May Hear

Author: Grant Lovejoy
Date: 03.06.2010
Category: Orality

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Editor’s Note: This Cape Town 2010 Advance Paper has been written by Grant Lovejoy as an overview of the topic to be discussed at the Multiplex session on “How To Communicate the Truth to Four Billion Oral Learners.” Responses to this paper through the Lausanne Global Conversation will be fed back to the author and others to help shape their final presentations at the Congress.

With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand. Mk. 4:33 NIV

Jesus knew the value of parables. Mark says Jesus used parables deliberately, in light of his audience and their ability to understand. Jesus also used other kinds of stories, object lessons, miracles, and his own example to teach. In these and other ways Jesus demonstrated himself to be an audience-sensitive communicator. The very fact that Jesus became human shows God’s willingness to meet humanity on our level. Jesus spoke the common language; he used familiar objects, concepts, and communication forms to reveal God and his message. Jesus taught as his listeners were able to understand.

After Jesus returned to heaven, ordinary people spread his teachings and the stories of his life. Followers of Jesus are still telling his story (and his stories) to those who need the gospel. We show ourselves to be like Jesus when we seek to present God’s truth in the ways that ordinary people can understand it. By this approach, we demonstrate Christian love, humility, and service.

The most understandable ways to present God’s message are the ones that people already know, the methods that they have used for generations. In many places around the world, these favorite methods are traditional oral art forms. Oral arts include storytelling, music and singing, poetry, proverbs, drama and ceremonies. They can be extraordinarily effective.

Oral Methods Increase Effectiveness

Recent research 1. found that oral forms of communication were closely correlated with effective church planting among Muslims. Questionnaires and interviews documented the combined impact of (1) using the local language instead of a regional language, (2) having at least one team member fluent in the local language, and (3) using appropriate oral or literate communication strategies, depending on whether the host group is oral or literate in its learning preference. Oral strategies were singled out for emphasis: “. . . teams who understand the learning preferences (whether oral or literate) of their people group and incorporate this into team strategy were more fruitful (in terms of numbers of fellowships planted) by 340 percent!” 2.

Other Christian workers have reported similar achievements using oral methods with non-Muslim groups as well. Using appropriate oral strategies with oral learners leads to better understanding and acceptance of the gospel. It contributes to better discipleship. Oral methods are essential in equipping oral learners as leaders in their culture. Because of this growing awareness of the importance of oral strategies, The Missions Exchange, representing about 100 mission organizations that support over 20,000 missionaries, gave its 2009 Innovation in Missions award to the orality movement.

Orality Is Reliance on the Spoken Word

These reports raise questions: What is this thing called orality? What oral methods contribute to more fruitfulness?

“Orality” is an unfamiliar term. When I use it people often look quizzically at me as they say, “Morality?” “No,” I reply, “orality.” A simple dictionary definition says, “Orality is reliance upon spoken rather than written communication.” Before writing was invented, everyone lived by spoken communication, thus by orality. They read nothing, took no notes, and never looked anything up.

A few small, remote cultures still know nothing about reading and writing. The scholar Walter Ong called such groups “primary oral cultures” and called their way of communicating “primary orality.” Today, however, most of the world’s population knows that reading and writing exist, even if they themselves cannot read and write.

People who cannot read almost always rely on the spoken word. 3. They have to rely on the spoken word because they cannot use print. They are oral communicators by necessity. Oral communicators get their information from talking with friends and family, not from reading newspapers or magazines. They may listen to radio or watch television. Oral communicators learn by watching someone else do a task and performing it alongside him or her. They do not refer to written users’ guides. Communities where people live primarily by the spoken word are called “oral cultures.”

Many people who learn to read and write in school do not find reading pleasurable. They much prefer swapping stories, singing with their friends, using proverbs to comment on current events, reciting poetry, and discussing their experiences. They gravitate toward oral communication whenever possible. Many people do not use their reading skills regularly once they leave school; as a result their orality reasserts itself. Such people are oral communicators because of their cultural tradition and personal preference even though they have learned to read. Tex Sample has called people like this “traditional oral communicators.” 4. Ong uses the term “residual orality” to refer to this phenomenon. 5. This is a very common situation.

I talked about this phenomenon in a university class that included an African graduate student. A day or two later she went to a midweek gathering of her church. Nearly 30 Africans attended the meeting; all of them were university students or graduates. When she surveyed them, all of them said that they prefer oral forms of communication. Their response is understandable: African culture is strongly oral. Its oral forms of communication are aesthetically and relationally rewarding. So these Africans strongly prefer oral forms of communication to print-based communication, even though they are university students and university graduates.

The Bible Anticipates Oral Presentation

The Bible arose in an oral environment. Both the Old and New Testaments were written during times when the vast majority of people could not read. “The literacy rate in those biblical cultures seems to have ranged from about 5% to 20% depending on the culture and which sub-group within the culture we are discussing. Not surprisingly, then, all ancient peoples, whether literate or not, preferred the living word, which is to say the spoken word.” 6. Scripture shows clear evidence of its oral origins. For example, narratives make up almost half of the Bible, and poetry makes up about another third. 7.

This is not surprising, because both stories and poetry are traditional oral art forms. Proverbs and songs are also traditional oral art forms, and we find them in the Bible too.

Both the Old and New Testaments indicate that it was typical for one person to read Scripture aloud to a group. Moses instructed the priests to read the law to all the people at the end of every seven years (Deut. 31:10-13; cf. Josh. 8:33-35). Ezra read the law to the assembled people of Israel (Neh. 8:1-3). Paul instructed that his letters be read among the churches. 8. Several of his letters seem to have been dictated orally to a scribe. 9. Thus, even the letters of the New Testament have more oral character than casual readers recognize.

Rev. 1:3 pronounces a blessing on “he [singular] who reads and those [plural] who hear the words of the prophecy and heed the things which are written in it.” This reference and the others remind us that most people in the New Testament era encountered God’s word by hearing it rather than by reading it. The only copies of the Old Testament and New Testament writings were hand-written ones. They were expensive and beyond the reach of common people. The practice of reading a printed Bible silently to oneself developed 1500 years later when the Gutenberg press made printed books cheap and thus widely available.

This historical review reminds us that God expected many people to hear his word proclaimed live––audibly. The Bible was inspired and written with that oral/aural encounter in view. When printed Scriptures are available, then of course Christians should also be encouraged to learn to read them regularly for themselves. Where Scriptures are not available, we need to make them available. In that process, Bible translation teams should keep in mind that the Bible is a book that God intended to be heard as well as read silently for one’s own benefit. His word is for the ear as well as the eye.

The stories of Jesus’ life and teachings circulated in oral form for a generation before the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were written. During that time eyewitnesses told what they had seen and heard. Christianity grew dramatically during that period; the church spread from Judea and Galilee around the Mediterranean Sea and into the interiors of Asia, Africa and Europe. These new followers of Jesus came from a wide range of ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds. The gospel spread rapidly and vigorously during a period when the primary available means was oral transmission. Certainly the public reading of the Old Testament played an important role in the early church. Perhaps some eyewitnesses made written notes about Jesus’ deeds and words. But oral transmission was critically important in getting God’s truth out.

Ordinary believers were able to tell the stories that they knew. They used them to explain who Jesus was, why they were his followers and why as Jesus’ followers they lived differently. Though the Jewish leaders viewed Jesus’ followers as “uneducated and untrained men” (Acts 4:13), his followers were remarkably effective. Led by God’s Spirit, transformed by having “been with Jesus” they went everywhere telling the stories they had heard and the experiences that they had had with God. Celsus, a second-century critic of Christianity, described the early Christians as “workers in wool and leather, and fullers [launderers], and persons of the most uninstructed and rustic character.” He complained that such common people were so effective in leading people to follow Christ. 10. These examples remind us of the potential for ordinary Christians to learn, internalize, and tell biblical stories and other selections as a means of proclaiming their faith. They can be tremendously effective. Those who have not been formally educated can and must still take an active role in proclaiming the gospel. Jesus did not exclude them.

As the Lausanne movement rallies around a vision of “the whole church taking the whole gospel to the whole world,” there are several implications about orality for it to consider.

Implications of Orality for the Whole Church

Much of Christianity’s growth in the last several decades has been among oral cultural groups in Central and South America, sub-Saharan Africa, and Asia. Their familiarity with oral traditions can be an advantage in making Christ known among those who have yet to hear the gospel, for most of those who have not heard the gospel also live in oral cultures. Christians from strong oral cultures already understand the value of communicating in story, song, proverb and dance. They can share their expertise with those who are steeped in other ways of communication. Christians from oral cultures can advocate for the value of learning via apprenticeship in ministry, especially for oral learners. They can lovingly insist that the equipping processes for church leaders give full consideration to the needs of oral learners.

On the other hand, Christians from print-oriented cultures and church traditions need to develop a greater appreciation for and skill in the use of various oral communication approaches. Part of this shift is attitudinal; it involves valuing oral arts in Scripture and in cultures. This shift will frequently mean learning from people who are skilled in their culture’s traditional oral arts. In partnership with oral artists, print-oriented Christians can discover what oral arts the culture itself uses and which ones are best for biblical truth. Most importantly, Christians from print cultures need to resolve that they will do their utmost to see no one is excluded from full participation in Christ and his church for lack of literacy.

Implications of Orality for the Whole Gospel

Our desire to communicate Scripture’s message among oral peoples can give us a fresh appreciation for parts of the Bible that we may have neglected. If we have focused much of our time on the New Testament letters, it can give us a new appreciation for Old Testament narrative, the Gospels and Acts. We may learn to fit the teachings of the New Testament epistles into the story line of Acts in a way that benefits our understanding of both of them while making them more accessible to oral learners. Serving among traditional oral communicators may heighten our appreciation for Psalms, Proverbs and the poetic portions of the Bible. If we develop a broader and more intimate acquaintance with the whole of Scripture, we cannot but improve our grasp of the whole gospel.

Our concern for the whole gospel has practical implications for making the gospel available to those who have never heard. It means that any initial panorama of Bible stories needs to be selected carefully so that the collected stories include the essential theological themes. It also means that we must seek to understand every culture where we proclaim Christ. The more fully we want the whole gospel to influence a culture, the more fully we must seek to understand the culture. Otherwise we may proclaim the gospel based on misunderstandings of the culture’s beliefs and values.

Our commitment to proclaiming the whole gospel has implications for Bible translation and Scripture engagement strategies. People groups without the Bible in almost every case are also oral learners whose mother tongue is not written. In each language community, the believers within the group and their partners in Bible translation organizations need to determine the best way to make the whole gospel accessible to them. Recent efforts to think more precisely about what it means to make Scripture “accessible” have led some groups to helpful reconsiderations of their strategies. Just completing and printing translations does not make them accessible to non-readers. Well-considered Scripture engagement strategy makes provision for non-readers and their media utilization preferences. Advances in technology have brought many new opportunities to present biblical truth via radio, audio and video recordings. Many of these have already proven tremendously effective in reaching oral learners. It is impossible to predict all the possibilities for wedding technology and oral strategies in the years ahead, but who can doubt that they will make a huge impact?

Bible translation organizations have begun giving additional attention to the orality of communities that have no Bible. They have begun using Bible storying methods to introduce mother tongue translators to Scripture and ground them in the sweep of Scripture before they translate individual portions. They have found it very helpful to use oral drafting of whole narrative units of Scripture. This process strengthens the naturalness of the resulting translations (both oral and print) and makes them more understandable and appealing. Testing these oral versions by using them in small groups has also shown promise in several ways. 11. Getting more and more of Scripture available in accessible formats that serve oral communities well is a key step in proclaiming the whole gospel to those who have not heard it.

Implications of Orality for the Whole World

Taking the gospel to “the whole world” means presenting it in an understandable way to every man, woman, boy, and girl. At least a billion men, women and children are oral learners by necessity because of illiteracy or functional illiteracy. Approximately three times that number are oral learners by preference.

By UNESCO’s conservative estimates, 12. one adult in six, 759 million men and women, are illiterate. Two thirds of those are women (95). An estimated 72 million school-age children are not enrolled in primary school. Additionally, 71 million adolescents are not enrolled in secondary school. (Note that “the out-of-school problem is twice as large as it is typically reported to be” [73]). All 902 million of these people who lack literacy require God’s truth in oral form if they are to understand it.

Many people who complete primary school or more are still highly oral by necessity even though their government will count them as literate. Completing a primary or secondary education does not guarantee that students have functional literacy skills.

Millions of children emerge from primary school each year without having acquired basic literacy and numeracy skills. Unable to formulate or read a simple sentence, these children are ill equipped to make the transition to secondary school – let alone enter employment markets. The problems extend to secondary schools, where many children – sometimes a majority – do not reach even a minimal level of competence (104).

This is not limited to a handful of the most economically impoverished nations. “Absolute levels of learning achievement are exceptionally low in many countries” (104). The educational performance of ethnic and linguistic minorities is often worse than the national averages. Christians reaching out to ethnic and linguistic minorities should take note of this.

Low literacy is not just an issue in the developing world. The affluent industrialized countries also have sizable populations with limited literacy skills. In the United States, for example, “14% of the [adult] population lacks the literacy skills to perform simple, everyday tasks like understanding newspaper articles and instruction manuals” (96).

Similar situations exist in other developed countries. The International Adult Literacy Survey conducted in 22 nations and regions, most of them in the developed world, directly tested participants’ literacy skills. 13. IALS research discovered that on average almost half of adults in those countries had limited literacy skills. These adults, who can read but who do not read proficiently, comprise a sizable portion of the estimated three billion people who have a preference for oral communication.

We cannot count on sustained improvements in global literacy levels. Despite an unprecedented global effort since 2000, experts warn that, “There is an imminent danger that, after a decade of encouraging advances, progress towards the Education for All goals will stall, or even be thrown into reverse, in the face of rising poverty, slower economic growth and mounting pressure on government budgets.” 14. Improving a country’s literacy level by several percentage points each decade is a major challenge. Embracing oral strategies now is wiser than hoping the world will soon become literate enough to benefit from existing print-based strategies.

Conclusion

We seek to communicate God’s message so that ordinary people can understand it, respond to it, share it with others and live it out fully. To the extent that our audience learns best by oral means, we must adjust our communication to meet them. Faithfulness to Jesus’ example compels us to this, as does the possibility of increased fruitfulness in his service. Churches and mission organizations worldwide have seen increased effectiveness for the past two decades as they have experimented with, and then embraced ever more fully, the use of oral strategies. People who had been marginalized in Christianity because they lacked literacy can now be once again full participants in Christ’s body.

“For the Fruitful Practices Track, 280 practitioners of thirty-seven nationalities and from fifty-seven different organizations gathered. They were from teams that had planted 738 fellowships, and they evaluated ninety-four practices that had been gathered from surveys of 5,800 field workers.” J. Dudley Woodberry, ed., From Seed to Fruit: Global Trends, Fruitful Practices, and Emerging Issues among Muslims (Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library, 2008), viii.
Woodberry, Fruitful Practices, 221. Over 70% of the respondents said that they worked with oral cultures. See also the technical report on the supplemental CD included with the book.
Deaf people are a notable exception. They also rely on non-print communication, but their choice is sign language, not speech. As non-print communicators, deaf people have many of the same cultural characteristics that oral people do: preference for face-to-face communication, concrete-relational thinking, strong group identity, etc.
Tex Sample, Ministry in Oral Cultures, (Louisville: Westminster/John Knox, 1994), ch. 1.
Walter J. Ong, Orality and Literacy (London and New York: Routledge, 1982).
Ben Witherington, III, New Testament Rhetoric: An Introductory Guide to the Art of Persuasion in and of the New Testament, (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2009), 1.
Old Testament scholar Douglas Stuart says that more than 40% of the OT is narrative, and that the OT constitutes 75% of the Bible. Thus OT narrative is more than 30% of the total Bible. If we count Matthew through Acts as narrative, then more than half of the NT is narrative. Because the NT is approximately 25% of the whole Bible, then about 13% of the total Bible is NT narrative. Based on these rough estimates, then, OT narratives and NT narratives amount to almost half of Scripture. If we consider Revelation as narrative, the percentage would be higher.
Col. 4:16; 1 Thess. 5:27; cf. 1 Tim. 4:13.
Rom. 16:22; 1 Cor. 16:21; Col. 4:18; 2 Thess. 3:17; cf. 1 Pet. 5:12.
Origen, Origen Against Celsus, III, 55, in Ante-Nicene Fathers.
These shifts are described in more detail in Grant Lovejoy, “Orality, Bible Translation, and Scripture Engagement,” Beekman Lecture presented Oct. 17, 2009 at the Bible Translation Conference 2009, Dallas, TX.
See UNESCO, Reaching the Marginalised, Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2010 (Oxford University Press, 2010) for the statistical information in this section unless indicated otherwise. The authors acknowledge that many government-provided statistics tend to over-estimate adult literacy rates (96-97), primary school enrollment (57-58), and educational achievement (105-107). For more information about the difficulties in measuring literacy accurately and for rough estimates of the extent of orality, see Grant Lovejoy, “The Extent of Orality,” Dharma Deepika: A South Asian Journal of Missiological Research 25 (June 2007): 24-34; republished online in the Journal of Baptist Theology and Ministry 5 (Spring 2008): 121-33.
Literacy in the Information Age: Final Report of the International Adult Literacy Survey, (Paris: OECD, 2000), 17.
Reaching the Marginalised, 3.

Keywords: orality, parables, story, implications, non-readers, technology, illiteracy, familiarity, inclusion, ordinary language, effectiveness, hearing, strategy, understanding, Scripture, discipleship, communication, culture

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: Reply Flag 0 Thumbs Up Thumbs Down michelleH (0)
United States

I enjoyed reading this article and learning about the importance of orally sharing the gospel. I’m encouraged to hear about the storytelling movement and how so many are coming to Christ.

I am currently taking a course on storytelling and I’ve come to realize how effective this method can be. Coming from America I never realized how many people communicated orally or that so many had a learning style different from my own. I am currently a student and volunteer in Asia and I can see that the Western style 3 point sermons used in the churches here aren’t reaching the hearts of the people and not many are coming to Christ. I’m excited to tell these stories I’m learning to my friends and see how they respond.

Overall, I think there is a great lack of awareness in America on this issue. And I would love to see more people hear the things you are writing about. I would be great if all Western missionaries had training on this before they left for overseas. Once we start reaching people in a way they understand, through stories, songs, poems, and drama we will see many more come to Christ!

03.07.2010

: Reply Flag 0 Thumbs Up Thumbs Down careymeawayy (0)
United States
@ michelleH:
I love what you have to say about this. It is very true that Americans are not trained on the importance of orality to some people. We are a very vistual country and most people sit infront of a computer screen all day.

I think there is some kind of training on orality, but not as in detailed as one would need.

05.12.2012

: Reply Flag 0 Thumbs Up Thumbs Down Phil9759 (0)
United States

I stand in full agreement with the effectiness of orality. I find myself thinking about the "Griot" and his teling of stories to the village community. My grandmother did the same. She shareed stories of our family members who were slaves and she encourged the family never to let these stories die. Orality not only is effective, if feel it is a lost art of communication that drew family closer together bulding strenght and chracter within the family.

20.06.2011

: Reply Flag 0 Thumbs Up Thumbs Down careymeawayy (0)
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@ Phil9759:
This is my exact image of orality. Taking life back to the simple ways of life where building relationships and family time are way more important than getting a "to do" list accomplished. Sometimes i wish i lived in a place exactly how you described.

05.12.2012

: Reply Flag 0 Thumbs Up Thumbs Down careymeawayy (0)
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According to the Author the Bible is intended to be heard, not read. There are so many disputes about what the bible says on different topics including abortion, homosexuality, etc. This could be because of our reliance on analyzing the written word instead of hearing and knowing the word and then allowing God to move accordingly. When something has been written down, people tend to lean on the literally saying than how God speaks to us internally. On the opposite side of that, passing the word on orally can leave a huge margin of error. People can forget or change important details or just purposefully change the facts to make it appeal to a different audience.

03.12.2012

: Reply Flag 0 Thumbs Up Thumbs Down GIL10 (0)
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@ careymeawayy:
In your enthusiasm for orality, you’ve gone further in a couple of your assertions than I would. Because you attribute the first assertion to the author of the article (me), I’m speaking up.

First, it’s true that in the biblical era almost certainly more people listened to the Bible being read aloud than read it for themselves. But it goes too far to say that “the Bible is intended to be heard, not read.” It was (and is) intended to be read by those who could (and can) read it.

Second, I don’t think disputes about controversial topics should be blamed on “reliance on analyzing the written word instead of hearing and knowing the word and then allowing God to move accordingly.” That problem could somehow happen, I suppose, but in my opinion the disputes more often arise from the lack of careful study of Scripture. I am pro-orality but I do not want to minimize the value of reading and studying written Scripture.

04.12.2012

: Reply Flag 0 Thumbs Up Thumbs Down careymeawayy (0)
United States
@ GIL10:
Thanks so much for providing feedback. my intentions were never to promote not reading the bible, for those who are able. My mindset was thinking about the extreme situations where reading and writing does not exist. Your points are very valid and I think you again for taking time to respond.

05.12.2012

: Reply Flag 0 Thumbs Up Thumbs Down brucec (0)
United States

Orality is very important throughout the world as you guys have shared. It is a way to get the gospel to people where Bibles are banned. It is a way to share in native languages, but to me it also adds that personal sense that comes when someone who is familiar with the local "slang" for lack of a better word, or phrases can share the gospel. Most people who would know the language would know the culture. I had the scriptures growing up, but I probably remember more of the stories I was told by parents and grandparents. We need to teach orality -not just for evangelism worldwide, but for local churches as well.

20.11.2011

: Reply Flag 0 Thumbs Up Thumbs Down gwu_stevens (1)
United States
@ brucec:
You make a good point about the importance of stories. As important as the rhetoric of Paul is to the formation of Christian doctrine, it is the stories of Jesus and the prophets and the patriarchs that people remember and relate to. This is what the orality movement is based around.

21.11.2011

: Reply Flag 0 Thumbs Up Thumbs Down brucec (0)
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@ gwu_stevens:
I minister (or should I say "try to minister") to a group of children who come from a background where there is no church involvement. I agree about the importance of doctrinal issues, but for now I am trying to get them to simply learn about God’s love through Jesus Christ. For me, being a creative story-teller is important to help them have a relationship with Christ. As I read more abouth the orality movement, I realize it is not just for other groups, but for kids right here at home.

22.11.2011

: Reply Flag 0 Thumbs Up Thumbs Down GIL10 (0)
United States
@ gwu_stevens:
New Testament scholar N. T. Wright has pointed out that even Paul’s most technical theological language points back to the biblical story. Paul’s term "the cross," for instance, is his shorthand way of referring to the whole saving activity of God that is narrated throughout the Bible. Professor Ben Witherington III has made the same point at length in his book titled "Paul’s Narrative Thought World." Doctrinal discussions in the NT presuppose and depend on the underlying biblical narrative.

22.11.2011

: Reply Flag 0 Thumbs Up Thumbs Down brucec (0)
United States
@ GIL10:
One of my questions about orality is how to share the stories and make sure the hearers get the message without pushing them away with much "preaching." Everyone loves a good story - and the whole story from the Bible is a really good story, but what stategies can we develop as leaders to train poeple to tell the important stories and not "ruin" them with commentary. I guess I struggle to find a balance as to what to share and how much to explain.

22.11.2011

: Reply Flag 0 Thumbs Up Thumbs Down GIL10 (0)
United States
@ brucec:
We use different strategies depending on the situation. In a traditional church setting, the congregation often expects a sermon to explain the Scripture and "correct, exhort, [and] rebuke," so in that case it’s often necessary to do those things to meet biblical and cultural expectations. There are some books on narrative preaching, however, that tell how to handle narrative in a sermon context.

In small and medium size groups, up to about 70 people, I focus on telling the story simply--without commentary or explanation--and then facilitating a dialog about the story. Before I tell the story, I provide any essential historical or cultural background that they need in order to understand the story well. After telling it, I use discussion questions to help the group make their own discoveries about the nature of God, his will and his ways, theological insights, lessons for living the Christian life, and so forth.

In this method, I ask stimulating discussion questions, keep pointing them back to the biblical story for answers to their questions, encourage them to respond to what one another says, and resist the temptation to explain it for them. For this to work, you have to be prepared to let the group struggle its way to insight, to process competing interpretations among themselves even if you could have given the right answer more quickly. You have to believe that there is real value in the discovery process.

22.11.2011

: Reply Flag 0 Thumbs Up Thumbs Down willie_williams (0)
United States
@ brucec:
I understand what you are saying because I too work with kids, I find that when I can use a story about myself or my own kids they seem to respond and open up to their own experiences.

29.04.2012

: Reply Flag 0 Thumbs Up Thumbs Down willie_williams (0)
United States
@ brucec:
Brucec this is a gift that some have and others do not, that is the ability to take a story from the bible and paralell it to today in a way that people can relate, Jesus was the best at this

29.04.2012

: Reply Flag 0 Thumbs Up Thumbs Down careymeawayy (0)
United States
@ brucec:
I think not "over-preaching" to a person is hard to overcome. Also, in places where orality is their main source of communication, the people are pro’s at story-telling, listening, and getting a point accross verbally. I feel like it is a learned behavior. So if people (who are not native to orality) want to become better at orality, then we need to practice. Practice our story telling and more importantly our listening.

04.12.2012

: Reply Flag 0 Thumbs Up Thumbs Down careymeawayy (0)
United States

Signs of orality runs rampant in the Bible. One obvious reason is that technology was in its beginning stages and reading and writing was not a priority, nor was there was a Wal-Mart to pick up books, pens and paper. The easiest way to pass on information was by mouth. People adapted to this lifestyle because it is what is familiar. A printed Bible was a rarity and almost not even thought about. Everything that people wanted to know what in their head. This is such a shift from todays society where Bibles are printed by in mass quantity. With western culture being such a visual learning community, it makes sense as to why orality is such a new word brought into society. We as westerners fail to remember that there are other nations that still rely on oral learning.

03.12.2012

: Reply Flag 0 Thumbs Up Thumbs Down careymeawayy (0)
United States

Orality is something that we use every day and is a great tool for sharing the gospel. This helps us to be more aware of our audience and allows us to meet people where they are. I love how this article relates it back to how Jesus used parables to tell stories to his people. Jesus didnt write down the stories because people during that time didnt learn from writings, but orality.

03.12.2012

: Reply Flag 0 Thumbs Up Thumbs Down Ernesto (3)
United States

good point GIL10,

adapting to the needs of the people is a great way to share the gospel. Jesus left us a perfect example when He shared the good news in many settings and to different people as well. I think that the more we adapt to people’s needs, the more effective we are without changing the purpose of the gospel.

28.11.2011

: Reply Flag 0 Thumbs Up Thumbs Down willie_williams (0)
United States
@ Ernesto:
I think that meeting the needs os others is what the gospel of Christ is about, Jesus said he came to release the captive and set them free.

29.04.2012

: Reply Flag 0 Thumbs Up Thumbs Down Ernesto (3)
United States

I also believe that Orality was very important since the Old Testament. As we remember that Jehova told Moses to teach the Israilites to make sure that they passed along the commandments that He had given to him and to the people. I think that repetition of Scripture back in those times was important in order to continue having generations who feared the Lord.

04.11.2011

: Reply Flag 0 Thumbs Up Thumbs Down willie_williams (0)
United States
@ Ernesto:
using all the senses God gave is important when we try to reach people because everybody will not learn or respond in the same way.

29.04.2012

: Reply Flag 0 Thumbs Up Thumbs Down Ernesto (3)
United States

good point GIL10,

adapting to the needs of the people is a great way to share the gospel. Jesus left us a perfect example when He shared the good news in many settings and to different people as well. I think that the more we adapt to people’s needs, the more effective we are without changing the purpose of the gospel.

28.11.2011

: Reply Flag 0 Thumbs Up Thumbs Down willie_williams (0)
United States
@ Ernesto:
Good point, I have seen people who thought they had to change the story in order to get people to listen.

29.04.2012

: Reply Flag 0 Thumbs Up Thumbs Down Ernesto (3)
United States

You are correct GWU stevens,

Oral learning is very special for the fact that it has been and it will be the most effective method of learning. I also believe that our ancestors played an importal role communicating the stories about their relatives. And even today, we are blessed with some of our ancestors who are still alive and share with us some of thier values and experiences so that we can pass it on to the next generations.

28.11.2011

: Reply Flag 0 Thumbs Up Thumbs Down willie_williams (0)
United States
@ Ernesto:
Yes Ernesto we all need to keep the tradition that was used by the early church, the use of telling a story to our young so that they can pass it on.

29.04.2012

: Reply Flag 0 Thumbs Up Thumbs Down ChristineDillon (11)
Taiwan (ROC)

I thought this community of people interested in storying might like to know that as a result of Lausanne and the dialogue session I led (Evangelism everyones enjoys -especially the unbeliever!) , I have written a book. It will come out in July from Intervarsity Press (IVP) and is called "Telling the Gospel through Story: Evangelism that Keeps Hearers Wanting More."

The table of contents and the first endorsements (from reading the manuscript) are already on the IVP website. Please feel free to ask me any further questions.

YSIC,

Christine

05.03.2012

: Reply Flag 0 Thumbs Up Thumbs Down willie_williams (0)
United States
@ ChristineDillon:
Good for you Christine I pray you will continue to be inspired spread the gospel in every way possible.

29.04.2012

: Reply Flag 0 Thumbs Up Thumbs Down Ernesto (3)
United States

You are correct GWU stevens,

Oral learning is very special for the fact that it has been and it will be the most effective method of learning. I also believe that our ancestors played an importal role communicating the stories about their relatives. And even today, we are blessed with some of our ancestors who are still alive and share with us some of thier values and experiences so that we can pass it on to the next generations.

28.11.2011

: Reply Flag 0 Thumbs Up Thumbs Down ChristineDillon (11)
Taiwan (ROC)

I posted this comment on another of Grant’s blogs but thought that those reading this thread might miss it. Sorry about the length but most of this is from a chapter in a new book to be released by IVP in July, 2012 called "Telling the Gospel through story: Evangelism that Keeps Hearers Wanting More." This book was inspired by the seminar I was asked to give at Lausanne and so is a direct result of LC.

This is part of the last two chapters and moves away from evangelism to show that there are wider implications for Bible study groups, preaching ...theological education ...

Sam, is a medical doctor and theological lecturer at Sydney Missionary and Bible College (Australia) with a PhD in the theology of preaching. He lectures in Preaching, Theology, Evangelism and Ethics. At his local church he leads a Bible study group with professionals who have been part of groups for years. He found that many of these group members in their 30’s and 40’s were bored, although trying not to admit it. Sam had a storying Bible study approach modeled to him and decided it was worth a try. He knew that stories appealed to post-modern thinkers. He tackled a seldom studied narrative portion in the middle of Isaiah (chapters 36-39) about King Hezekiah and Sennacherib of Babylon. He is currently using five questions which they first discuss in pairs before sharing their thoughts with the whole group. ...

What impresses you most in this story?

What don’t you understand in this story?

What do you learn about people?

What do you learn about God?

How will this change your life this week?

Sam reports that the change in the group was immediately obvious. They loved the story and the place was buzzing with discussion. In the past, people often immediately forgot what they’d discussed. Now they are not only remembering longer but are noticeably more alert and participating. Group members demonstrated an avid interest in reading Isaiah for themselves.

The next question Sam asked himself was whether this approach only worked with that particular group. As part of the Bible College program, all lecturers lead a mission team to churches around the state, interstate or overseas. Sam’s team were sent to a town in another state, one hour from the state capital. He selected a group of 40 to 60 year olds to experiment with . How would they respond to such a different style of Bible study? Never one to choose the easy option, Sam chose to try non-narrative in Isaiah 55. It’s a prophetic oracle. Sam first told the whole section twice. Everyone was given one verse to prepare. They had to ’story board’ it (use cartoons/drawings as memory prompts). Then they told it to each other in pairs. Then the whole group told the chapter in sequence from verse 1. Discussion followed the five basic questions. They discussed animatedly for 90 minutes and Sam had to remind them to go home because they wanted to keep talking. Many reported understanding that portion of Isaiah for the first time.

I find doing storying with those who’ve been in the church a long time a real struggle because I doubt they’ll want to listen. I was once asked to lead a ladies group in Australia. I decided to do Genesis 1-3 with them in order to allow them to catch a glimpse of my work in Taiwan, as well as teach the Bible. Just before I opened my mouth and for the first few minutes of the story my mind was bombarded with the thoughts, “These people have grown up in the church. This is a story they’ve been hearing for 40-80 years. It’s too simple. How ridiculous you’ll sound…!” I knew I must immediately “take these thoughts captive” (2 Cor 10:5) or I’d be immobilized by my fear of seeming ridiculous. Concurrently with telling the story I was reminding myself of specific scriptural verses and principles. For example, all the Bible is “God breathed …and useful…” (2 Tim 3:16). The mental battle must be fought immediately.

That day the power of storying was again revealed. Those women were hanging on every word and buzzing with excitement as we discussed it afterwards. No special audio visual was used, it was just the biblical story.

3) Adapting for use with preaching

Once Sam had used storying in Bible study groups he began to think how the approach could be applied to preaching. He had followed the expository method that had been modeled to him. To most people he was ’successful’ as he did lots of guest preaching in churches and conferences. His style was interesting to listen to and each point was well-illustrated. However he felt that the models he’d received didn’t work so well with narrative. He also wasn’t convinced that he was really connecting with teenagers, non-native English speakers and those without a university background. But could a storying style make people engage with the biblical text and apply it better in to their lives rather than simply saying, “Good sermon” and then being vague about what they liked about it and what difference it made to their lives?

He tried this approach. He spent most of the preparation time learning the story and meditating on it. At the same time he was thinking about his audience and pondering what questions they might have when they heard the story. He chose the most relevant of these questions and arranged them as his sermon points. His sermon became a retelling of the story and then a discussion answering the questions he’d thought they’d be curious about.

So for example, his sermon on the Rich Man and Lazarus (Lk 16:19-31) had this outline:

a) Why is the rich man in hell?

b) Why is there suffering in hell?

c) How do I avoid going to hell?

An evangelistic youth talk on the Parable of the Workers (Mt 20:1-16) asked,

a) Why isn’t this unfair?

b) Why does everyone get the same pay?

c) What is God trying to teach me?

Some of the Bible study questions could also form the basic of sermon points. That is, you could use these three.

a) What do we learn about people?

b) What do we learn about God?

c) How does this apply to our lives this week? Then think of all the different groups listening and ask, “How would this story apply to retirees, business people, housewives, children, university students, the discouraged …?”

Sam has mentioned that before he spent most of his 20 hour sermon preparation time shared between understanding the Bible (great) and how to present it. Afterwards people might say, "Great sermon" (i.e. praised him but could seldom really tell him what they’d learned ...

Now with his new approach he spends most of his time (and it takes much less time than previously but he learns the text much more thoroughly) learning the story, meditating on it, praying and the organizing how he’ll share it is relatively easy. Almost no one compliments him on his sermon but they are talking about the Bible and puzzling over it and applying it in their lives. Over the next weeks they come back to it over and over again. What is remembered is the story not how good the preacher is!

22.11.2011

: Reply Flag 0 Thumbs Up Thumbs Down brucec (0)
United States
@ ChristineDillon:
This is an awesome approach to telling stories. Not only are the listeners hearing the story, they are participating. By answering questions, a conversation occurs. I tend to think a conversation between people is a whole lot better than one person doing all the talking. If this approach is used regularly, the listeners will learn to listen closer and beging to think about the answers while the story is being told. Thanks for the chapter -look forward to seeing the book!

24.11.2011

: Reply Flag 0 Thumbs Up Thumbs Down Ernesto (3)
United States

I also believe that Orality was very important since the Old Testament. As we remember that Jehova told Moses to teach the Israilites to make sure that they passed along the commandments that He had given to him and to the people. I think that repetition of Scripture back in those times was important in order to continue having generations who feared the Lord.

04.11.2011

: Reply Flag 0 Thumbs Up Thumbs Down gwu_stevens (1)
United States
@ Ernesto:
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (the Shema) is a powerful testament to the orality of the Hebrew people. These words have been recited twice daily by orthodox Jews for centuries:

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

Scripture is important, but if we don’t write the words on our hearts, impress them on our children, talk about them at home and in the community and make them central to our lives, we haven’t really heard the Word. Central to following Christ is speaking Christ.

21.11.2011

: Reply Flag 0 Thumbs Up Thumbs Down GIL10 (0)
United States
@ gwu_stevens:
Ps. 78:1-8 is likewise full of references to hearing and telling as Israel’s means of perpetuating knowledge of and faith in God.

1 My people, hear my teaching;
   listen to the words of my mouth.
2 I will open my mouth with a parable;
   I will utter hidden things, things from of old—
3 things we have heard and known,
   things our ancestors have told us.
4 We will not hide them from their descendants;
   we will tell the next generation
the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD,
   his power, and the wonders he has done.
5 He decreed statutes for Jacob
   and established the law in Israel,
which he commanded our ancestors
   to teach their children,
6 so the next generation would know them,
   even the children yet to be born,
   and they in turn would tell their children.
7 Then they would put their trust in God
   and would not forget his deeds
   but would keep his commands.
8 They would not be like their ancestors—
   a stubborn and rebellious generation,
whose hearts were not loyal to God,
   whose spirits were not faithful to him. (NIV)

22.11.2011

: Reply Flag 0 Thumbs Up Thumbs Down Phil9759 (0)
United States

I stand in full agreement with the effectiness of orality. I find myself thinking about the "Griot" and his teling of stories to the village community. My grandmother did the same. She shareed stories of our family members who were slaves and she encourged the family never to let these stories die. Orality not only is effective, if feel it is a lost art of communication that drew family closer together bulding strenght and chracter within the family.

20.06.2011

: Reply Flag 0 Thumbs Up Thumbs Down gwu_stevens (1)
United States
@ Phil9759:
Its interesting how integral oral learning really is even in the western world. It seems that aside from formal education and scripture, most of our education (personal/family history, culture, morals, etc) is from oral learning. We ought to develop these natural skills in order to better spread the Gospel to the majority world that does not use written language like we do.

21.11.2011

: Reply Flag 0 Thumbs Up Thumbs Down Ernesto (3)
United States

great point Grant,

I also agree with the fact that orality has been an effective method of communication. For example, in the Old Testament God constantly reminded the Israelites to teach their children His commandment what is known as oral tradition. Back in those days, the head of the household would sit and talk to his children by sharing what the Lord had done to their ancestors when he took them out of the Egyptian bondage.

31.10.2011

: Reply Flag 0 Thumbs Up Thumbs Down GIL10 (0)
United States
@ Ernesto:
Yes, you are right. Deut. 6 and Ps. 78 are two passages where the OT commands Israelites to pass along the stories of God’s mighty deeds and the teachings of God’s law. This was done orally, as an integral part of life. Their goal was to see that truth passed down, so that each succeeding generation would know and reverence God, live holy lives, and avoid falling into sin.

01.11.2011

: Reply Flag 0 Thumbs Up Thumbs Down gwu_stevens (1)
United States
@ Ernesto:
Even more to that point, in the days before Bible was written down, all the Hebrews had was the spoken word with which to tell the old, old story. Our scripture today is based on how well those people remembered and passed on those stories. If we are to continue to spread the word into the majority world, we’re going to have to reclaim some of that. I applaud the work being done so far.

04.11.2011

: Reply Flag 0 Thumbs Up Thumbs Down gwu_stevens (1)
United States

I would be curious to know if there is any work being done with the illiterate deaf anywhere in the world. Sign language is the most obvious answer, but the deaf respond well to images and drawings as well. The old stained glass windows depicting the stories of the Bible come to mind.

23.09.2011

: Reply Flag 0 Thumbs Up Thumbs Down GIL10 (0)
United States
@ gwu_stevens:
Yes, there is quite a lot of interest in putting the Bible into the sign languages of the world. Several organizations are working in a variety of sign languages currently.

Deaf people respond favorably to people who use their heart language (sign language) to convey Bible stories to them. Appropriate visuals can also be useful. By using sign language and storytelling, we empower Deaf people to trust Christ and share him with others using their own familiar forms of communication.

26.09.2011

: Reply Flag 0 Thumbs Up Thumbs Down gwu_stevens (1)
United States
@ GIL10:
I spent some time in Ukraine back in 2000 as an undergrad student working with a summer camp for deaf kids. I was amazed that under the communist regime, blocs were setup where "invalids" (the actual Ukranian word!) were sent to live together. The deaf were sent to a region in the west near L’viv where they worked in furniture manufacturing plants. Our multi-cultural, melting pot society would rightly be appalled at this, but it does make for a convenient way to do deaf missions within a society.

04.11.2011

: Reply Flag 0 Thumbs Up Thumbs Down Ernesto (3)
United States

great point Grant,

I also agree with the fact that orality has been an effective method of communication. For example, in the Old Testament God constantly reminded the Israelites to teach their children His commandment what is known as oral tradition. Back in those days, the head of the household would sit and talk to his children by sharing what the Lord had done to their ancestors when he took them out of the Egyptian bondage.

31.10.2011

: Reply Flag 0 Thumbs Up Thumbs Down Ernesto (3)
United States

Great job Grant,

I like your statement when you said that "Jesus demonstrated to be a sensitive-audience communicator. That is the truth because during His earthly ministry, Jesus was always sentive to human needs whether, physical, spiritual, emotional or social. The truth of the matter is that ony Him could take time to listen to those who were hurting and did something about it instead of ignoring them like other religious leaders. Thus, the relgious leaders were amazed at Him as he minster to them with a passionate love and made a difference in thier lives.

17.10.2011

: Reply Flag 0 Thumbs Up Thumbs Down Phil9759 (0)
United States

I stand in full agreement with the effectiness of orality. I find myself thinking about the "Griot" and his teling of stories to the village community. My grandmother did the same. She shareed stories of our family members who were slaves and she encourged the family never to let these stories die. Orality not only is effective, if feel it is a lost art of communication that drew family closer together bulding strenght and chracter within the family.

20.06.2011