Fred Craddock, one of the greatest preachers of our time was recently featured on CNN. Considered one of the top twelve preachers in the English speaking world, Craddock has been known for his narrative style of preaching. My preaching class in seminary used his excellent text book on the art of preaching. Thanks to Fred Craddock, preachers have been able to reclaim the importance of storytelling in the crafting of sermons.
Reading this article on Craddock has reminded me of one of the basic aspects of the Christian faith. We are called to share our faith story. And yet, sharing our faith story is something that has largely gone by the wayside especially in the mainline church.
A pastor friend of mine recently told me how his congregation loves it when he weaves in real life and personal stories in his preaching. Another preacher claims that people in the pews view the sermon time as an opportunity to eavesdrop on hearing how God is active in the day to day life of the preacher. I like that thought. People who are curious about faith want to know how God is at work in your life.
And this focus on the importance of sharing your story is a very biblical concept since the bible is largely in story form. This narrative approach lends itself for us to find where we are located in God's story. I've been reading the book, "The King Jesus Gospel" by Scott McKnight who makes the point that the word, "gospel" refers to the story of how Jesus is the completion of the Israel story. His critique is with Christians who have reduced the bible to a set of propositions setting aside the bigger story picture of the scriptures. McKnight reminds us that the bible is the story of God's salvation and it invites us to see ourselves in this story.
A lot of people shy away from the word, "evangelism" because it has been used in negative ways. At its heart, evangelism is simply God's people sharing their story of how God is at work in their lives. It's when we share our faith stories with others that people are able to hear the good news of Jesus Christ and see that God is real.
Just think what a difference it would make if we find more ways to share our faith story/stories with people inside and outside the church. People would be able to see how God's story is being lived out in the day to day living of ordinary people.
Thank you, Fred Craddock for how you have helped the church to share our story.
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