Method from “Simply the Story” (http://www.simplythestory.org) via Larry Dinkins, OMF missionary to Thailand 1

Simply the Story

Six Step Process

1. Introduction – The story should be thoroughly studied in its context noting the setting, characters, plot

and structure. The introduction should be fairly brief. The goal is to orient the listener to the historic

and geographic setting and where it falls in the biblical timeline. Certain aspects of the story may need

to be clarified. The goal is to prepare the listener so that he will not be distracted by any new

information but instead will be able to concentrate on the story itself.

2. Telling the Story – The Bible is closed during the introduction. The actual story begins when you open

the Bible in your hands and begin with “Now this is the Bible story…” Tell the story with passion and

drama, using plenty of gestures and adjusting your voice to reflect the mood of the passage and

characters. You may briefly lay the Bible down in order to make a point, but at the end of the story you

should close the Bible and set it down. The listener will understand that as long as the Bible is open

you are not making your own comments but are communicating the sacred Word.

3. Retelling the Story – Ask a volunteer to retell the story for the whole group. Make sure you set them at

ease by promising to help them and affirming them. Let them know that you do not expect them to

remember it all, but to simply retell what they do remember. Sometimes you may want more than one

person to retell the story. The group will help correct any errors in the telling by hearing the story over

and over the story will begin to become fixed in their minds. It may be difficult to find volunteers at

first, but as they understand the method they will find it easier to participate.

4. Step through the Story – This is the observation step in which the answers to Who What Where When

and How are sought. As the storyteller thinks through the story, he asks basic questions to make sure

the listeners are grasping the basic facts of the story. In this step you simply “fill in the blanks” by

asking, “Jesus and his disciples were traveling through which town?”, “What did Martha ask Jesus?’

“How did Jesus make the blind man see?” etc. There is no need to analyze at this step, simply make

sure the group is understanding the key facts. You may need to help the group out by giving hints and

key words to trigger their memory.

5. Finding the Treasures=Spiritual Observations – “Therefore every scribe which is instructed in the

kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure

things new and old.” (Matt. 13:52). If you stumbled on a treasure in a field you would have great joy

and take your neighbors to see it. But their joy would not compare to the one who discovered the

treasure themselves. We need to honor the adult learner by allowing him to gain insight into the Bible

without being told directly by the teacher. The goal is to design questions that help the listener

discover biblical truth or draw a conclusion for themselves. We remember only 20% of what we hear,

40% of what we hear and see, but 80% of what we discover for ourselves. These questions will

highlight how God is working behind the scenes in people’s lives. Our stress is on “what” happened,

more than “why” it happened. Why questions tend to result in too much speculation. During this step

we will gain insight into the character and actions of both God and people. An example would be,

“What attribute of God is shown by the feeding of the 5,000?”

Example: What does each one in the story do or say? Then ask yourself: What does this show me

about that person? Can I know from the story if the person is a believer, a seeker, a doubter or a

Method from “Simply the Story” (http://www.simplythestory.org) via Larry Dinkins, OMF missionary to Thailand 2

rejecter? Is faith or doubt being shown? How does God use circumstances to warn, teach or

encourage?

6. Spiritual Applications – In step 5 the emphasis is on how God is working in the lives of people in the

biblical story. In step 6 the goal is to discover spiritual truths that apply to our lives and ministry today.

Step 6 is based on what has been highlighted in steps 4 and 5.

a. Example: Is there anything in the story that surprised me: actions of God, or people or the results of

people’s behavior?

b. Are the people in the story, believers, sincere seekers, skeptics or hardened rejecters of God?

c. What are the results of disobedience in this story?

d. Does anyone change their beliefs, attitudes or behavior? What causes them to change? What might

that teach us today?

e. How does God respond to people’s beliefs, feelings, words or actions?

f. How does my understanding of God’s attributes (Justice for instance) affect my life today?

g. How does this truth affect my life in my marriage, home, parenting, job, church, community, society?

Note: Many in the group will not be used to discovering or discussing spiritual truths for themselves. The

leader must be very patient and fight the urge to preach, use cross references, or exegete the meaning of the

story. As people get used to the method and you create a safe environment in which to dialogue, people will

be more open and participate more. The leader must be very humble and refuse the urge to share his

knowledge and answer the questions himself. Above all, the leader must be careful not to preach at the

group. The group needs to see that this method is reproducible and that any among them could lead a session

(not just a pastor or ajarn). You may write out the questions you want to ask in steps 4-6, but when you

actually lead the session do not look at your notes. Familiarize yourself with the story so that you can mentally

walk through the story and ask questions without notes as an aid.

Summary of the Six Step Storying Method

1. Introduction

2. Tell the Story

3. Retell the Story

4. Step through the Story

5. Finding the Treasures

6. Spiritual Applications

Example from Nathan and David 2, Samuel 12:1-14

Introduction…step 1: David had committed adultery with Bathsheba and God had told his prophet Nathan to

confront King David with his sin. Nathan could have spoken directly but instead he used a story:

Frame…step 2-4: (v. 1-4) Like a painting Nathan framed his message in a story about a rich man (David) who

stole a lamb (Bathsheba) from a poor man (Uriah). This is the observation step where the facts are laid out.

Mirror…step 5: (v. 5-6) David sees the spiritual principles and implications of the story and demands that

justice be done. The rich man deserves to die for stealing another’s property. David unconsciously discovers

Method from “Simply the Story” (http://www.simplythestory.org) via Larry Dinkins, OMF missionary to Thailand 3

the “treasure” in the story. David as the rich man had taken Uriah’s property and as a result deserved to die.

The rich man mirrored the attitude and actions of David.

Window…step 6: (v. 7-14) The spiritual application directly to David is clear when Nathan says, “Thou art the

man!” The sword of the Word is driven into his heart as David sees through this window of his soul to the sin

that lies beneath.

Sample Story from Luke 10:38-42 - Martha and Mary

1. Introduction – As Jesus and His disciples passed by the village of Bethany, they stopped to enjoy the

hospitality of some close friends named Martha and Mary. Receiving a visiting Rabbi with honor was

very important in the Jewish culture and Martha took it on herself to prepare an elaborate meal

for her guests while her sister, Mary, chose to sit quietly at the feet of Jesus and listen to His teaching.

Martha becomes distracted and upset in her preparations and Jesus has to remind her of His true

priorities.

2. Tell the Story

3. Retell the Story

4. Step through the Story

5. Finding the Treasures

a. Do not choose to take on so much work that you lose the vital time you need to learn

from God’s Word.

b. Don’t accuse God of not caring, He always cares for his children.

c. Should we be TELLING “God” how to solve our problems?

d. Martha is actually criticizing Jesus and then demanding that Jesus do as she tells Him,

Jesus responds by speaking kindly to her.

e. Despite Martha’s demands, Jesus shows genuine concern for Martha by calling her

personally by her name.

f. Working in the kitchen or in ministry is not wrong, but if our work takes us away from the

Word we are not choosing the good thing.

g. One can continue to worship and communicate with God even when they are working.

h. Mary’s good choice cannot be taken away, but Martha’s poor choice can be taken away.

When God looks back on our life we may realize that some things were poor choices because our

priorities in our service for Him were wrong.

i. Often God’s priorities must win over cultural expectations

6. Spiritual Applications

a. Why is Jesus happy with Mary and not happy with Martha? Isn’t preparing a meal and

showing hospitality a good thing to do? Does this story teach that it is always better to do a

Bible study than to cook a meal?

b. What does the description of “sitting at his feet mean to you”? In what ways today can we

sit at Jesus’ feet and learn?

c. With what title did Martha address Jesus? What does Lord mean? Does it make sense to call

someone “master” and then not listen or obey Him?

d. Is Martha preparing a very elaborate meal or simple meal? What two people does Martha

complain against? What is Martha’s complaints? Is Martha complaining to Jesus about

something she brought upon herself?

Method from “Simply the Story” (http://www.simplythestory.org) via Larry Dinkins, OMF missionary to Thailand 4

e. Do we ever take on too many responsibilities (even good responsibilities)? How does taking

on too much work affect us?

f. How does Martha indicate her distrust of Jesus? (Don’t you care?) Have you ever said

something similar to God?

g. How is Martha treating Jesus when she says, “Jesus, you tell Mary to help me!”

h. Martha blames Mary for not helping her. Do we ever blame others when problem lies with

us?

i. Jesus says, “Only one thing is vital and Mary has chosen that which is good.” “Only one

thing…” refers to what? How is the choice that Mary made different than Martha’s choice?

j. How did Jesus respond to Martha. What does the repetition of her name show?

k. Is there anything in the story that indicates whether or not Martha was worrying about

something new, or a long term habit she had?

l. Did Martha have other options to deal with the need of her guests for food? Could Martha

have asked Jesus for advice on what to do?

m. Is it possible to be doing physical work, like Martha, and at the same time learn to worship

God?

n. Between Martha and Mary, which woman was giving to Jesus and which one was receiving?

Which attitude does Jesus value?