Preaching the story by William Lowries
/William shares how he began using narrative storytelling in his preaching. If you value storytelling inspired by Scripture and guided by the Holy Spirit, have you tried weaving it into your own preaching?
by William Lowries
Preaching the story
When our children were little, like many parents we read to them at bed time. Then I tried making up stories to tell them instead. The hero was Charles Edward Turnbull Blogsworth Rasputin, although what inspired this ridiculous name, I have no idea. The stories were highly improbable adventures with two essential ingredients. Every night had to end on a cliff hanger, and then the next day I had to extricate Charles from his predicament. Our children loved these stories, partly because they never knew what was going to happen next. The trouble was, neither did I, as I was making them up as I went along.
This is not a good preaching strategy! However I believe storytelling, or narrative preaching has great potential and can enrich our preaching and our congregations.
Why try narrative preaching?
My mother’s parents were missionaries in Zambia and one day, aged about seven she fell overboard from a small boat into a crocodile infested river. Fortunately the outboard motor had kept the crocs away, and the son of the local chief dived in from the bank to rescue her. Unsurprisingly, she mistrusted boats for the rest of her life. Reading this, we see the boat, the little girl struggling in the murky water and the hero saving her. We feel the lurking menace, her parents’ growing panic, and the eventual joy and relief. Stories do a lot of heavy lifting in terms of pictures and emotional connection.
Most people love stories. Stories draw us in, help us engage and feel something of the tensions, loves and joys of the people involved. And people remember stories. Research by Dr. Jennifer Aaker in the Stanford Graduate School of business found “a story is up to twenty-two times more memorable than facts alone.” 1
C S Lewis wrote about stories stealing past the watchful dragons of the heart, as his Narnia books do brilliantly. Think of Nathan confronting King David about his adultery with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 12). His parable certainly stole past David’s watchful defences where a direct accusation may have failed.
The bible is full of stories; vivid, memorable, uncensored, sometimes violent and always brilliantly told. As a child, they fired my imagination. Some of them are universally known, at least on a generic moral level, like David and Goliath, or the Good Samaritan. Jesus was a master storyteller; the Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18:9-14) is just 143 words yet poses a serious challenge, and a startling freedom. Jesus knows that stories work!
My career was in banking, and I trained for lay ministry after my escape (or retirement). Initially I would reduce the passage to points, preferably three, and if they all began with the same letter of the alphabet, so much the better. I suspect this was dull! Gradually I began to realise that less is often more, and one single point is usually enough for most listeners to remember. Later on I rediscovered my love of story and started weaving stories into sermons. A few people seemed bemused but overall the response was encouraging. Comments like, “I felt I was there,” and “You made me think” helped me to keep experimenting.
Preparation
Prayerful immersion in the biblical passage and thorough exegetical work is required just as for any sermon. What key theme or truth is the Holy Spirit highlighting? Numerous ideas and thoughts come into my mind and I write them all down, although most will not make the cut, this time. What sort of structure will work best for this sermon? Will a narrative approach work with this passage, this congregation at this time? I am part of a preaching team, so the overall shape and aims of the series will also inform this process.
If the Holy Spirit leads me down a narrative path, this is when the fun begins, but also the hard work. I start reading commentaries, and research more widely on the passage and the background. Asking questions of the text stimulates my imagination. “Who was there? Who might have been there? What would it have been like? How might these people have been feeling?” Finding evocative images, words which convey an atmosphere, a reaction, can bring considerable power to the story. Who are the characters and will people empathise, or identify with them? Where is the tension, the hinge on which the plot turns? How is that problem resolved? Or should it be left unresolved?
Finding your voice
Using a different voice can restore some texture to a passage worn smooth in our minds by over familiarity. “The passage came alive,” is about the most encouraging feedback one can receive.
Richard Littledale very helpfully outlines various voices and styles of narrative preaching.2 Speaking in the first person, as an eye witness can have great power. But it has limitations. It is demanding both to write and deliver, and one cannot make propositional statements or use modern day allusions without risking confusion and damaging the credibility of the narrative.
Another option is to use a narrator’s voice. While this may lack the immediacy of a first-hand account, it is more flexible and allows one to comment on the action and on the feelings of those involved. It is also possible to combine either of these approaches with a more conventional application. However, great care is needed to ensure that listeners are not confused. The shift needs to be made clear, either by a pause, a change in tone or a gesture.
Dialogue can also be a very effective narrative tool, because two voices can effectively tease out the truths God has given you for this sermon. Voices which disagree, or have different viewpoints, can be used to explore tensions in the passage. But how does one create dialogue without it becoming a sketch? There are many devices which, while contrived, can work well. Letters, or even a text message exchange, or a diary. Framing a story as a news report allows interviews, and multiple voices.
In Jon Russell’s excellent book “A Preacher’s Tale,”3 Luke argues with Theophilus, his publisher, about his gospel. It’s a striking and very thought provoking way of bringing the conflicting stories and motives to life. As well as being funny and engaging, it reframes the passage in a way we can relate to.
Delivery
First I read the script aloud to get an idea of timing. I find it is only when I actually speak it out that I get any sense of its quality. Much editing takes place during this process. If the story flows, then, with much practise I can remember it; not word for word, but enough to preach without notes. Usually! This is initially terrifying, but I have found ultimately liberating. There is clearly a risk of losing one’s thread, but this seldom happens for more than a few seconds, which people don’t notice. And even if you deviate, the listeners don’t have the script! So, on balance, I feel the upsides of better eye contact, immediacy, and freedom outweigh the downside risk of potentially going blank.
Enthusiasm is required, especially with first voice narratives. If you aren’t excited about the story, the listeners won’t be either! As with all preaching, one needs to vary the pace, and embrace pauses.
Conclusion
People’s attitude and response to narrative preaching varies greatly. For some it just doesn’t work, and they prefer a more analytical approach. We all learn and receive in different ways. Others are gripped and engage deeply.
Storytelling can have a wider application than just traditional narrative passages. One could preach the epistles – but from the viewpoint of those receiving the letter. Or the “prison letters,” through the voice of the jailor, who overhears Paul dictating and is intrigued. John 3 could be imagined as Nicodemus and Mrs Nicodemus argue about where he went in the middle of the night. Here, Peter’s mother-in-law is writing to her sister (Luke 4.31-44).
Dear Rachel, I know you think I’ve gone mad…but listen to this. Last night, as the sun went down on the Sabbath, dozens of people came round to the house, wanting to see Jesus. People who were ill, couldn’t walk, the blind, people with demons, even lepers. And Jesus put his hands on them and healed them! All of them! Every one. They were shouting out “You are the son of God”. Could they be right? What do you think? I know they tried to kill him in Nazareth, but I tell you Rachel, here in Capernaum they are begging him to stay. Love Abi xx
ps: Who is this man?
Pps: come and see for yourself
Stories can stimulate curiosity about Jesus. Try, and see how the Holy Spirit sets your imagination free.
Notes:
Millen, john. “4 Reasons Stories Are so Memorable.” Www.johnmillen.com, 31 May 2025.
Littledale, Richard. Stale Bread? St Andrew Press, 19 Oct. 2007.
Russell, Jon. A Preacher’s Tale. SCM Press, 23 Feb. 2018, p. 63.
For further reading:
Cooling, Margaret. Preaching That Shows. (SCM Press, 2022)
Elms, Mike. Parables: Rewired (CPO, 2021)
Hartman, Bob. Anyone Can Tell a Bible Story. (Oxford, UK, Grand Rapids, Michgan, 2011)
Gooder, Paula. Phoebe: A Story (John Murray Press, 2018)
Gooder, Paula. Lydia (John Murray Press, 2022)
Author:
William Lowries: After a career in banking, I studied theology for three years and was licensed as a Lay Minister (in the C of E) in 2019. Living in Guildford, I'm treasurer of a fledgling social inclusion charity, and part of a medium sized suburban church where I lead, preach, and fix things.