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SHARING THE MESSAGE THROUGH STORYING… A BIBLE TEACHING METHOD FOR EVERYONE Revised Edition LaNette W. Thompson Acknowledgments To Dr. Jim Slack and J.O. Terry, who at the invitation of Dr. Bill Bullington introduced storying to West Africa, thank you. I thank Dr. Barbara Whittington, who proposed the writing of this book, for her foresight and support. For Pat Bellinger’s editing skills and encouragement, I am also thankful. I appreciate Dr. Grant Lovejoy’s assistance in reviewing the biblical truths and Cathy Curtis’ help in reviewing the text. My special thanks to my husband Marvin whose encouragement and computer skills made publication possible. Copyright 1996 LaNette W. Thompson Burkina Faso Baptist Mission International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention Second Printing 1997 Third Printing 1999 Revised Edition 2003 Revised Edition, Copyright 2003 LaNette W. Thompson All rights reserved. Distributed by: LaNette W. Thompson B.P. 2017 Bamako, Mali Email: [email protected] Words marked with an asterisk (*) are defined in the glossary. All Scripture quotations are from the Holy Scriptures, New International Version, copyright 1973, 1978, 1984. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. To my African brothers and sisters in Christ: May this book help you as you share the Message with those who have never heard and with those who have heard but have never understood. Special Note If you wish to translate or adapt this material, or if an electronic copy would be helpful, please contact me at the e-mail address listed on this page. Also, please send me your comments, suggestions and storying experiences so that I might better equip others. LaNette W. Thompson Preface The old woman threaded her way through the crowd of women huddled around me. I watched from the corner of my eye as someone offered her a stool. She pulled it over to sit close beside me. I had just finished the lesson and was preparing to leave. Because many of the women had arrived late, I had already repeated the Bible story eight times. The old woman sat on the stool and stared at me. I greeted her as I continued to gather my things. Then, one of the other women touched my arm gently. "You'll have to tell it again," she said. "She's never heard." As I travel through West Africa, through the countless villages, the bustling cities, I hear these words again and again in my mind. "Tell it again.... She's never heard." In one tiny village, I watched a group of village elders as they sat discussing a well project, their lined faces alight with welcome for the white people in their midst. As they sat beneath a huge mango tree, gesturing and laughing, I asked myself how I could share the gospel with these men. They are not of the ethnic group I work with, so I cannot speak their language. But even if I could, if I told them they were lost, they would look at me in wonder. They had lived in the same village all their lives. How could they be lost? I could give them a Bible. But none of them can read. I could move to their village, learn their language, and teach them to read. But that would take a very long time. And what about their neighbors just a few kilometers to the west who speak a different language? Who will go to them? The Bible says in 2 Peter 3:9 that, "The Lord...is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." God cares about those elderly men in that obscure village. He knows that they, too, need to hear the gospel message in a way that they can understand. He has given us a teaching method uniquely suited for sharing the message in West Africa. It is a method that Jesus used, telling stories to teach truth. Bible stories to teach biblical truth. This book will help you learn about this Bible teaching method. But who will go and tell these Bible stories? The number of people in West Africa who have never heard the gospel is overwhelming. We must add to that figure the number of those who have heard and may even frequent our churches but have not become new creatures in Christ because they have never really understood the gospel. We, as strangers, come to your land with a calling and a great vision but limited human resources. We struggle with learning the language, becoming acceptable in your culture, and maintaining long- distance family relationships. How can we go to every village, to every neighborhood to share the message of Christ? We cannot. But West Africa can be reached. It must be reached. God's call to Isaiah still rings through the centuries. "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" God is calling more and more African Christians to become pastors and missionaries...missionaries to the cities...missionaries to the villages...missionaries to Muslims and to ethnic groups that have never heard. As God shares his vision, you are responding. How will West Africa be reached and the message of salvation shared? African reaching African. Heart reaching heart. May we all, hand in hand, look to God for his direction. CONTENTS Preface Chapter One: Communicating the Message................................. 1 Chapter Two: Determining the Message..................................... 13 Chapter Three: Preparing the Message.......................................... 21 Chapter Four: Telling the Message............................................... 33 Chapter Five: Sharing the Message............................................. 38 Appendix Glossary...................................................................................... 46 Suggested Stories for the Evangelism Track........................... 48 Bible Lessons.............................................................................. 51 God's Word, the Bible Moses' Death; The Israelites Enter The Spirit World and Satan the Promised Land The Creation The Israelites Want a King Adam and Eve David and Saul The Fall of Humankind Saul and the Witch (Medium) Cain and Abel of Endor The Flood David and Solomon The Tower of Babel Elijah and the Prophets of Baal God's Covenant with Abraham Prophecies of Isaiah and Micah Ishmael and the Sign John's Birth; The Announcement of the Covenant of Jesus' Birth Abraham Welcomes Three Visitors The Birth of Jesus Sodom and Gomorrah Jesus in the Temple Birth of Isaac; Hagar and The Baptism of Jesus Ishmael Sent Away The Temptation of Jesus Abraham Tested Jesus and his Disciples Jacob, Esau, and the The Parable of the Sower Blessings of Isaac Jesus Heals a Demon-possessed Man Jacob's Dream Jesus Calms the Storm and Feeds Joseph Sold by his Brothers the Five Thousand Joseph in Egypt Jesus and Nicodemus Joseph Forgives his Brothers John the Baptist Questions Jesus The Israelites Become Jesus, the Bread of Life Slaves; Moses' Birth Jesus and the Religious Leaders God Calls Moses What Makes Someone Unclean? Moses Before Pharaoh Jesus Heals a Blind Man The Exodus; Crossing the Red Sea Jesus Raises Lazarus from the Dead God Provides Water and Food Jesus Announces his Death The Ten Commandments The Last Supper and Jesus' Arrest The Tabernacle; The Golden Calf The Crucifixion The Israelites Explore Canaan The Resurrection The Water of Meriba; The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost The Poisonous Snakes Invitation to Accept Christ Chapter 1 Communicating the Message "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I will be with you always, to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:18-20 Issiaka watched as the members of his congregation began to move to the front of the small mud-block church in response to the words of the evangelist. Each evening it had been the same. "Do you want peace? Do you want joy? Then follow Jesus!" the evangelist had cried. And the people had come. All of them. Every night. Even those who had been Christians for years. Even those who tomorrow would go to the diviner to ask him to consult the ancestors to see if it were time to plant the corn. The evangelist, Reverend Jenkins, was a good man. He meant well. Issiaka didn't dare say anything to him. But something was wrong. Terribly wrong. The people just didn't understand. The evangelist had a message he wanted to give to the people. He spoke, and the people listened. But it is not enough for people to listen. They must also understand. The process of giving and understanding a message is called communication*. Communication involves three things: (1) someone with a message, (2) the message itself, and (3) someone who receives the message. Even when these three things are present, it does not mean that communication takes place. For communication to occur, the person hearing the message must understand the information in the same way the message giver intended. For example, Boukary's teacher tells him that Boukary is first in his class. Boukary runs home from school to tell his father. He wants to share some news. The fact that he is first in his class is the message, and Boukary's father is the one with whom he wants to share the news. But what if Boukary speaks French when he talks to his father? Since his father does not speak French, communication will not take place. Communication will be blocked because the father cannot understand his son's message. The three things necessary for communication were present. There was a person with a message. There was a message. There was someone to hear the message. But communication did not take place because the person hearing the message could not understand it.

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