Teaching with Story
Every time Tyler DeWitt mentions “science” in the following TEDTalk, think “Bible” or “theology.” Because the problem he’s describing – the incomprehensible and jargon-laden nature of science textbooks that make science so incredibly boring that no middle schooler wants to learn about – is all too often an apt description for a lot of the education and preaching that is happening in our churches.
Believe me, it’s not that pastors and Sunday School teachers set out to be confusing – anymore than the writers of science textbooks do!- it’s just that we all too often get trapped by our own jargon.
Don’t get me wrong: jargon is important. It’s a way of taking long and rich conversations and compressing them into meaningful shorthand. So rather than detail Martin Luther’s struggle with the pattern of indulgences and larger sacramental system of the medieval church, we talk about “justification” instead. The trouble is that, absent some familiarity with the larger conversations, the shorthand – the jargon – ends up not meaning very much and making folks feel like outsiders.
Trained professionals – in any discipline – grow so used to employing these helpful catch-phrases and shorthand words that we sometimes forget that there was a time we didn’t understand them. So we need to take less for granted, avoid jargon, and take more time to explain the concepts and beliefs that matter to us in terms that our audience can understand.
But Tyler offers another piece of advice that I think is helpful to bear in mind as well. As often as possible, shift from explaining concepts to narrating them. That is, whenever possible, tell a story. Words like “justification,” “salvation,” “grace,” “law and gospel,” etc. aren’t, ultimately, concepts at all; they’re experiences. And experiences are best shared through story. And if stories in general work well, personal stories often work even better. Share what it felt like to be forgiven rather than just talk about forgiveness and you’ll have a lot more people wanting to learn more.
Why don’t we do that more? I think Tyler is onto something when he names the concern that educators have about being taken seriously. If we narrate our ideas, if we use simple language, if we avoid technical jargon, will we be accused of “dumbing things down”? Maybe. Or maybe we’ll just find a lot more folks a whole heck of a lot more interested in what we say.
Part of our job as leaders – whether in churches, families, or communities – is to develop the theological imagination and vocabulary of the people we lead. And I think the insights Tyler – formerly a middle school science teacher and current PhD candidate – shares are well worth considering.
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Post image quotation: “There are 2 ways to share knowledge: You can push information out. You can pull them in with story.”
I watched this TED talk last week and had the same thoughts about the way we ‘upscale’ topics like theology, faith, and Bible. I think that is why books that lay out those concepts in such ‘plain speak’ are so attractive, needed, and valued by those who engage them.
Wasn’t there an article a few years back that talked about Lutheranism needing one of (if not the highest) IQ to grasp some of the doctrine? I mean, concepts of heaven and hell, being saved and damning yourself when based morally and legalistically are easier to understand then some of the tensions that Lutherans are called to not only live in, but live differently out of a response to God’s gifts of grace and mercy.
There is that fear of ‘dumbing down’, and yet, I agree with Tyler- telling a story is far more engaging and in many ways more ‘primal’. So for me, I’ve wondered if we are sniffing around at a way of returning back to a sense of primal faith rather than conceptualized doctrine and systems… uncomplicating all the ways we’ve attached explanations to “Love God, Love Neighbor”.
Brings to mind Rolf Jacobson’s helpful, humorous book CRAZY TALK, A Not-So-Stuffy Dictionary of Theological Terms.
I am seduced by the idea. The Trinity as Ice, Steam and Water, redeemed sinners are the Butcher, the Baker and the Candlestick Maker. Thanks to David and TED for breaking new ground.
Niels,
Could you please say more about the Butcher, Baker, and Candlestick Maker? I’d like to follow what you’re saying.
As for the Trinitarian “water cycle,” remember that this metaphor, while it can be helpful, is modalistic (pretend I didn’t just employ theologispeak…).
Thanks!