Another View of “the Story”

The value of seeing the theological big picture is well illustrated at the practical level in James Choung’s evangelistic presentation, True Story: A Christianity Worth Believing In. In my theology classes I have often assigned students to write their own view of Christian story in 200 words or less (which generally elicits a few frustrated responses). In a second stage, I have them revise the story in a smaller collaborative group (still keeping it at the 200 word limit); this helps to illustrate some aspects of the communal nature of theology. Finally, in a third stage I ask them to rework their narrative in some kind of creative and practical way (e.g., with a PowerPoint presentation, art work, or by converting thei narrative into some type of specific application). While one might quibble about details, James Choung’s napkin sketch would have earned an A+.  The book is published by InterVarsity Press, and was recently reviewed in Christianity Today.