Teaching Through the Art of Storytelling: Creating Fictional Stories that Illuminate the Message of Jesus

As communicators in a culture saturated with storylines, we have the profound opportunity to invite our students into the masterful Story of God. There are a variety of ways to invite our students into this Story, but this book discusses and explores how to teach through one of Jesus' most powerful modes of communication–fictional storytelling. Rabbinical storytelling (otherwise known as Jewish Agada) embraces the narrative of Scripture and invites its listeners into understanding and participation. Our Rabbi, Jesus, employed this mode of communication through his parables. Approaching the topic as a theologian, philosopher and artist, Jon invites and teaches how to create modern-day parables that illuminate the message of Jesus. These stories do not simply illustrate the message; they are, in fact, the message. Whether hoping to articulate deep theological concepts or relevant topics, teaching through the art of fictional storytelling has the potential to engage and invite our students into The Story. In this book: •You will learn how to create your own fictional stories (modern day parables) that use a realistic setting, engaging characters and a thought provoking plot to communicate a specific topic. •You are given practical worksheets that offer guidance in developing such stories •Jon includes a variety of stories he has developed over his years of youth ministry and offers them as a resource to any youth pastor/communicator. "I found myself wrapped up in its pages and receiving personal learning. It's a rarity in youth ministry as it has the potential of impacting not only youth but also their youth leaders." –Dan Kimball – author of They Like Jesus but Not the Church