Saturday, April 11, 2015

Simply The Story

This week, I want to show you a dilemma that missionaries face… God has communicated to us primarily through the Scriptures. Most missionaries attend Bible school or seminary where they spend 3 years studying to understand the Bible. After learning the Biblical languages, reading bucket-loads of books, writing tons of papers, they are released into the world to share the good news of Jesus Christ. They learn the local language, translate the Bible, write lessons and even books to help communicate the gospel to people who haven’t heard.

The dilemma is that over 80% of the world’s population do not learn by reading. According to statistics, 25% of the world’s population are totally illiterate (can read nothing), 35% are functionally illiterate (can read a little, but learn by hearing/watching), 19% are oral-preference learners (can read some, but still prefer to learn by hearing/watching), and 3% are blind/visually impaired. In third world countries, like the Philippines, these percentages are significantly higher.

Another dilemma… Studies show that we only retain about 20% of what we hear. Think about your pastor’s sermon last week, or the week before. See what I mean! Retention doubles to 40% when we add visual images to what we hear. But here is something interesting – retention doubles again to 80% if we discover the fact or information ourselves, whether through hearing, watching, or reading. This is why teachers remember so much more of the lessons than students.

One way we have overcome these dilemmas is through a learning process we call Simply The Story (STS). A group gathers to hear a Bible story. The leader, having already learned the story, tells the story either from memory or, if he can, by reading it from the Bible. He then closes his Bible and retells the story in his own words, leaving nothing out nor adding anything. The group then pair off and practice telling the story until everyone has learned it.

The leader will then guide the group using a set of questions: Who is in the story and what are they doing? What did they decide to do, what other things could they have done instead, and what were the consequences? What possible feelings might they have experienced (or you might have experienced if you were in the story)? What surprises you about the story? What is God teaching us through the story? What is God saying to you through the story?

Because the story is now hidden in their mind, the learner is free to focus on the message of the story rather than the text. By asking questions instead of preaching, the learner discovers for himself the truths of God’s Word. And the story can continue to play in the learner’s heart long after the Bible study is over. The leader is free from the burden of having to teach a lesson. Instead, participants listen to each other to hear what the Holy Spirit is saying, knowing that God has more to say than any one person can hear.

Of course, this process is nothing new. Jesus frequently used stories and questions. Amazingly, STS works equally well with professionals. Here’s a link if you are curious to learn more: www.simiplythestory.org. In the past, we have relied upon literate means to reach the illiterate. Sometimes it’s us seminary-educated ones who have a hard time putting away the books, papers, pens, and lessons. Sometimes it’s us who are slow to learn.

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