Experiential Storytelling: (Re) Discovering Narrative to Communicate God's Message (emergentYS) [Paperback]

Mark Miller (Author)

Book Description

Series: emergentYS | Publication Date: February 3, 2004

The 'Been there, done that' culture is starving for reality. Hardly satisfied with the modern conventions of citing facts and figures and pushing propositions, emerging churches are jumping into the narrative form of communication with both feet. But not all emerging church leaders have an inherent handle on the craft and skill of using narrative as a sermon form. Experiential Storytelling zeros in on the hows and whys of narrative, as well as the importance of sharing personal experience to double your storytelling ammunition. In addition, author Mark Miller goes several steps further, giving examples of real-time, hands-on experiences for church members as innovative extensions of traditional teaching and preaching that offer them greater scriptural understanding and ownership of the gospel story. Chapters include: * The Dawning of the Age of Experience * Once Upon a Story * Awakening the Sleeping Giant in the Church---C*R*E*A*T*I*V*T*Y * Reimagining the 'Sermon' * Elements of Experiential Storytelling * Killer Apps

Editorial Reviews

Review

'John Lennon's memorial in Central Park is inscribed with the single word, Imagine. This little book has more big ideas and does more to get the church to 'imagine' than most books 5 or 6 times its size. A real gem.' -- Leonard Sweet, Associate Professor of Historical Theology, Drew Theological School, George Fox University PreachingPlus.com

From the Back Cover

The "Been there, done that" culture is starving for reality. Hardly satisfied with the modern conventions of citing facts and figures and pushing propositions, emerging churches are jumping into the narrative form of communication with both feet. But not all emerging church leaders have an inherent handle on the craft and skill of using narrative as a sermon form. Experiential Storytelling zeros in on the hows and whys of narrative, as well as the importance of sharing personal experience to double your storytelling ammunition. In addition, author Mark Miller goes several steps further, giving examples of real-time, hands-on experiences for church members as innovative extensions of traditional teaching and preaching that offer them greater scriptural understanding and ownership of the gospel story. Chapters include: • The Dawning of the Age of Experience • Once Upon a Story • Awakening the Sleeping Giant in the Church—C*R*E*A*T*I*V*T*Y • Reimagining the "Sermon" • Elements of Experiential Storytelling • Killer Apps

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan/Youth Specialties (February 3, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310255147
• ISBN-13: 978-0310255147
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #788,046 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Creativity for everyone, February 20, 2004

By 

lisa m boehne (fort thomas, ky United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Experiential Storytelling: (Re) Discovering Narrative to Communicate God's Message (emergentYS) (Paperback)

I ordered this because I am a youth worker and mother of two teenagers, but after reading it, I want every teaching I am in to be as alive as Mark Miller proposes. It is not about some desperate attempt to reach the next generation. It is about putting creativity in the church where it should be and that applies to all ages. Miller does a wonderful job of helping his readers make a discovery, instead of just handing them to a conclusion. He has great personal examples as well as input from other experts from whom he has learned. It is an enjoyable and inspiring read!

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Communicating through experiencing the message, October 10, 2004

By 

Harold McFarland (Florida) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Experiential Storytelling: (Re) Discovering Narrative to Communicate God's Message (emergentYS) (Paperback)

Frustrated with the overall decline of church membership today, author Mark Miller examines the speaking techniques used in most churches and how people respond. After teaching a Sunday School class which started large and declined until it had almost no attendees, he found that experiential storytelling techniques brought people back in droves and allowed him to share the message of Christ in new and innovative ways.

Experiential Storytelling methods allow people to experience the story of Christ instead of sermonizing. This in turn makes the Bible more real to others. While many churches are stuck in a pattern that is hard to change and people in general tend to be resistant, youth groups are generally more open and the techniques in this book could easily be used there or in the Sunday School setting. Then, who knows, perhaps it will move into the primary service. Experiential Storytelling is highly recommended and church leaders should at least be aware of the techniques and potential.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not for everybody..., November 4, 2005

By 

C. Burgett "preacher man" (Red Oak, IA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Experiential Storytelling: (Re) Discovering Narrative to Communicate God's Message (emergentYS) (Paperback)

As a senior pastor, I must say that I really enjoyed this book. It really made me stop and think about the way I preach a sermon. In fact, now, because of this book, my entire style of preaching has changed. Shockingly enough, I am actually keeping the interest of the teens for the entire sermon...which is a huge feat, let me tell you! Because of this book, I have started using more stories in my sermons and look for more ways to draw the listeners into the sermon through things they can experience.

That said, this book is not for everybody. It would probably be best used in the hands of a Youth Pastor, but could also be of some benefit to a pastor looking to make his/her sermons more interesting to the younger crowd. It does have an "Emergent" tone to the book that traditional pastors might not relate to. It also has a whole chapter on the "Jesus Journey" that would only be useful to somebody wanting to actually stage the "Journey" in their church. Also, his writing style is a bit in-experienced which might turn off some readers.

However, there was only one thing I was disapointed about. The book says that you can go to the author's website and look at stories other readers have left that tell about their experiments with "Experiental Storytelling." I went to the site, but there weren't any stories there. Now, I guess it isn't the author's fault if his readers don't want to share stories of things they've tried in their churches. I keep going back to the site hoping that maybe somebody, some day might share one of their own stories there.

All in all, I felt that this book was worth the price and was worth reading. My prayer is that more pastors will read this book and reconsider the way they present their sermons.