storytelling – OralityTalks

Transformative Storytelling Strategies

Havilah Dharamraj — Thu, 15 May 2025 02:56:25 +0000

Using the story of Jacob and Laban as an example, Havilah demonstrates how engage people with Biblical stories—ultimately leading to personal transformation.

She emphasized four key points that are important when using a story for preaching, Bible study, or discussion groups:

Let the story speak for itself. Allow the story to make its own point. There is no need to break it up into sections or points.
Build a bridge to the world of the story. Help listeners understand the original context and culture.
Bridge the story to the listener’s world. Make meaningful connections to the audience’s own experiences and challenges.
Place the story within the Bible’s metanarrative and show how it fits into the overarching narrative of God’s redemptive plan.

Havilah’s approach reminds us that the power of biblical storytelling lies not in dissecting the text, but in inviting people to encounter God through the story as a whole.

Oral Ethics: How can Oral Hermeneutics Build a Christian Ethic?

Caroline Reel — Fri, 28 Mar 2025 18:27:24 +0000

Few lay Christians routinely practice the disciplines of ethics and hermeneutics confidently and appropriately. Many who have learned to practice these disciplines often leave that knowledge to gather dust between the covers of a textbook. This paper discusses how the various folklore or literary genres in the Bible are particularly suited for the study and practice of the three branches of Christian ethics. Lessons built on spiral logic or pedagogy patterns can use the genres of myth to teach meta-ethics, prescriptive narrative, and others for normative ethics, as well as descriptive narrative to teach and enact applied ethics. The practice of oral hermeneutics may pair with this course of study to deliver that ethical material from Scripture effectively to the oral majority or anyone who desires not only to learn ethics but to live them.

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Listen to Caroline talk about her article.

Orality and the Impact of Media

William Snider — Wed, 13 Nov 2024 01:36:55 +0000

Orality and media intersect as digital media reshapes oral traditions and communication practices, extending reach and creating new forms of engagement. Drawing from 30 years in Asia and experience in digital ministry, this article highlights how media amplifies the Gospel by addressing orality, particularly among audiences resistant to text-based methods. Using Paul’s strategy of cultural adaptation, digital platforms emerge as “common ground” for evangelism. Media allows preservation and contextualization, enhancing storytelling and connecting to cultural practices. Practical approaches, such as local leadership training, empower communities and create lasting digital ministries adaptable to diverse cultural needs.

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Watch the related webinar presentation.

The Transformative Power of Storytelling

Nerimil Ella Saguin — Wed, 13 Nov 2024 01:36:09 +0000

Discover how a coach with Spoken Worldwide uses storytelling to share the Bible in a way that engages listeners deeply. Through the “Spoken methodology,” she asks questions that invite people to explore God’s Word themselves, connecting with it personally. “I’m not the ‘teacher’ but a storyteller and facilitator,” she explains, emphasizing that storytelling fosters discovery and transformation. By using questions, images, and role-playing, Ella empowers her audiences to experience and share the Gospel naturally.

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Character Theology: Engaging God through His Cast of Characters

Maria Angelica de Vera — Thu, 04 Jul 2024 08:19:31 +0000

Steffen, T. A., & Neu, R. (2024). Character theology: Engaging God through his cast of characters. Pickwick Publications. ISBN 978-1-6667-7857-1.

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Check out Tom Steffen going through some of this book’s content in this webinar recording.