story4all

Signed up for Merge?

2010-01-12T14:06:00.006Z

If you are interested in chronological Bible storying for postmodern Americans and/or young adults, this is a conference worth looking into. Students will "experience key Bible narratives in chronological order" through "creative storytelling, arts and media, lively dialogue, and hands-on learning."

27th June to 2nd July in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA

More details here

Avery Willis - please pray!

2010-01-08T12:26:00.003Z

If you know him, or if you don't, please pray for Avery Willis right now. If you are a friend of story4all you will know Avery from our podcasts and from various resources linked to this site.

Avery is former senior vice-president of the (Southern Baptist) International Mission Board and executive director of the International Orality Network, and has been a champion for and authority on the unreached and unengaged, unreached, as well as for the orality movement for a number of years.

This week he was diagnosed with leukemia after a 6-month struggle with health issues. The Baptist Press released the following article about Avery: please check it out and pray with us for Avery now.

The connection between life and stories ...

2009-11-18T10:02:00.003Z

Rob Campbell, pastor at Cypress Creek Church, writes about the power of stories in everyday life and the link with every day living itself. Check out the post here.

Concerned at the lack of Bible in today's schools?

2009-10-20T15:37:00.005+01:00

If you live in the United Kingdom, there is a marvellous opportunity to be part of a team of Bible storytellers to chronologically tell major Bible stories in school assemblies to young children and help them become familiar with characters and stories of Adam & Eve, Noah, Abraham, David, etc.

Open the Book is a website that explains the opportunity, vision and need for volunteers. You can discover there too how YOU can be a part of spreading the story of Jesus in schools and turning the tide of biblical illiteracy in the UK!

If you live or minister in the UK ... don't miss this opportunity!

Modern woman at the well

2009-10-13T13:16:00.001+01:00

Tangle is an online community for Christians that enables its users to connect with other Christians, share the Gospel, and grow in their relationships - ALL for the glory of Jesus Christ.

Also, if you have not heard of it ... it is also like a wholesome YouTube site for believers!

One video posted just recently is a modern rendition of Jesus meeting a certain woman by a well ... Check it out!

Piper on orality and missions

2009-10-12T14:49:00.002+01:00

A recent blog post by John Piper you may find interesting on the subject of "Missions, Orality and the Bible".

New site coming

2009-09-10T04:28:00.001+01:00

A new web site for the International Orality Network is in the wings. Any time now. Watch this space.

John Walsh video podcasting stories

2009-09-01T13:27:00.003+01:00

We've been silent due to travel and ministry up the Amazon over the summer. Story about that should go out on next week's podcast.

Meantime some good things happening in the world of storytelling ... John Walsh has now got a WEEKLY story on video podcast - available via free subscription on iTunes. Click here to begin downloading any of the eighteen stories he has up there already! Each story is about 10 minutes long.

New on the web

2009-06-25T12:50:00.003+01:00

A new site, authored by J.O. Terry and Daniel Sanchez, has been set up here.

Please check it out for articles, resources and books about the use of Bible stories for making disciples.

In the site's own words:

Bible-Storying.com focuses on the following purposes:

To develop and provide practical books and other helps to those who seek to proclaim the Message of Christ through Bible Storying

To equip people and groups to become involved in the ministries of Bible Storying

To provide on-going training for persons and groups who are engaged in the ministries of Bible Storying

To maintain a body of basic resources for those who practice Bible Storying

Do you care?

2009-06-09T16:26:00.003+01:00

Just 639 left ... what are YOU doing?

Cool videos in Gulf Arabic on You Tube!

2009-05-18T15:15:00.004+01:00

A follower of Jesus in the Gulf has released some great resources he is eager to get passed round to those living in the Gulf. You can check out these "Stories of Life" clips on You Tube here:

Stories of Life 1

Stories of Life 2

Stories of Life 3

Stories of Life 4

Know anyone who speaks Gulf Arabic to whom you could pass along these links?

Winsome way to gossip the Gospel

2009-04-13T17:28:00.003+01:00

Larry Dinkins PhD, veteran missionary of 22 years in Thailand, who in his own words is "educated past his intelligence", just finished his 6th storytelling training, humbly shares in this video clip, a testimony of his struggles to just simply tell the story but then of the fruit as he did so in his old stomping ground on the field (in Thailand).

Select your format and watch it here!

Bottom line!

2009-04-08T17:43:00.000+01:00

When I preached, often people didn't understand what I was saying. I would tell them,
"Go and tell this gospel to others."

But they didn't know how to share the word of God because they couldn't understand it very well.

But then I started to share the word of God through the stories. I told the stories about how God created a human and how he fell into sin. They listened to those stories very carefully and started understanding very well.

Stories like these can be received weekly by email by requesting them here.
[Source: Stories from Storytellers]

Cool video overview on storytelling!

2009-02-11T18:45:00.001Z

Avery Willis has just posted an excellent 10-minute video clip on the call2all site. It is a very concise presentation on why Bible storytelling is so important and needed right now.

Are you hitting the target?!?

Who can you share this video clip link with? Know any pastors or youth leaders or missionaries whom you could send the link to this clip?

Pictures from Asia

2009-01-28T11:24:00.002Z

The Oral Bible Project from Asia have produced a slideshow of picture from their training ministry showing how, through dramatization or group interactive storytelling, participants have effectively learned Bible stories.

Apart from greatly amplifying the emotional understanding of the stories, improvised drama helps the participants get inside the skins of Bible characters and walk in their shoes through their experiences. Also humour, quite often present in the original stories, can be rediscovered and help bring the message home. Drama comes naturally to these Indian men, for whom Hindu epics are a common occurrence.

Check out the slideshow here

ION has a new home!

2009-01-08T14:36:00.002Z

The International Orality Network has a new home on the web which is interactive and highly intuitive and easy to use. Check out their new site now: http://ion2008.ning.com/

The old page address still works and will lead you to the new page, so no problems if you have a bookmark somewhere for ION's page!

Please note too: The next gathering for the International Orality Conference has also just been announced for 9-12th September 2009 in Minneapolis, Minnesota (USA). More details shall be forthcoming on the ION site soon.

Happy New Year!

2008-12-31T17:04:00.002Z

story4all would like to wish all our podcast listeners and site visitors a VERY HAPPY and BLESSED 2009!

The Word by text message

2008-12-23T18:00:00.002Z

Faith Comes By Hearing has launched a marvellous project in the USA called "You've got the time!"

Based on the understanding that lots of people say they haven't time to get into God's Word and yet spend a lot of time listening to audio devices in their cars or out walking, running, etc., Faith Comes By Hearing has designed this 21st Century discipling tool to help people get into the Word of God.

All you need to do is send a text from your mobile/cell phone and you will receive a chapter a day from the Audio Drama Bible sent to your cell phone.

Check out the site linked to the graphic above to discover more information and to subscribe on your phone!

Hollywood worried about the death of storytelling!

2008-11-25T13:18:00.002Z

In an interesting read in Britain's The Daily Telegraph some of Hollywood's top movie stars have become concerned that storytelling is a dying art!

They are so concerned about it that they are investing $25 million into a "laboratory" to "help shepherd story into the digital age".

Read more here!

Echo-ing the Story

2008-11-19T09:32:00.003Z

[Scuse silence recently. Been away on two long trips and just out of bed after a week's killer flu!]

Yesterday evening's posted podcast featured Michael Novelli of Echo the Story. We have mentioned his marvellous ministry before. He blogged about us yesterday. If you missed the plug on his site before, please check it out now starting here.

Purchase link for Great Story CD

2008-10-07T18:33:00.002+01:00

You may obtain the aforementioned CD here: Great Story of the Sacred Book

The Great Story

2008-10-07T10:19:00.004+01:00

... from the Sacred Book is the title of the new resource produced by Rain Song!

In Podcast #124 we interviewed Terry Wildman about his work and this ministry. This is the Bible storytelling project in Native American English that he mentioned in that episode. It is now completed!

Their website says this about the new CD release, available now: "This is a condensed version of the narrative of the Bible told in First Nations Storytelling style. Terry tells the story while (his wife) Darlene adds the cedar flutes to the background".

As Terry says on the CD: "This project is an effort to tell the story of the Bible in a way that relates the message of Jesus to First Nations People".

Do you understand "Dublin"?

2008-10-01T17:34:00.003+01:00

Some may find this wacky. Some may find it unhelpful. Some may find the Dublin accents hard to understand.

One thing is for certain it is quite something to hear young 1960s Irish Catholic school children telling their school teacher (and the national TV station!) the stories of Jesus in their own words!

You may find the cartoon "overdub" uncomfortable. Then again maybe not. If the visuals bother you, shut your eyes and listen and enjoy little children tell what they know about stories of Jesus' life.

Here are some links to the "Give Up Yer Aul Sins" film made at the time, and, appearing for our enjoyment on YouTube. The following are some of my favourites:

The Birth of Jesus

Give Up Yer Aul Sins

The Easter Story

The voices are real 'live' recordings of young children, and the stories were not told in jest. Pretty amazing, eh?

Disclaimer: These links are for your personal viewing/listening pleasure only, and not recommended as resources by story4all!

New video out!

2008-09-07T09:12:00.002+01:00

Simply the Story (STS) have just released a cool new promotional video explaining about their training programme in Bible storytelling.

See it on their website now!

There is still time to sign up for their next USA training in Dallas between 19th and 24th September! Come learn Jesus model of storytelling ... telling the story and then asking questions!

Click here to email the STS office for more details on their training or to register for this month's Dallas training.

Impacting youth in N America

2008-09-01T12:00:00.002+01:00

Echo the Story is a marvellous site on the web about a great ministry that is impacting today's youth in N America.

On their site they say they "use a process called Storying (short for Chronological Bible Storying) - a sequential telling of Bible stories followed by a time of review and dialogue. Derived from the ancient Hebrew way of learning, Storying was rediscovered a few decades ago by missionaries who are now using this method extensively around the world. Recently, storying is also proving to be effective with youth and adults in our media-literate, story-oriented North American context."

They have a blog too.