lifeasmission

Narrative Preaching for Christian Formation

October 17, 2007

Prompted by my friend Billy, I picked up a new book by John W. Wright, Telling God’s Story: Narrative Preaching for Christian Formation. A student of Hauerwas and with commendations from Ray Anderson, Marva Dawn, and James K.A. Smith, I knew I’d like the book before I even cracked it open. I am almost finished and it has not disappointed. For now, I offer just a few quotations for the sake of discussion…

Preaching has largely ceased to incorporate individuals into the concerns created by the Christian Scriptures. Instead, preaching has become the application of individualistic, theraputic biblical language to contemporary concerns of disembodied calls to social justice. The church in North America has become adept at translating the Scriptures into the narratives that already shape the lives of believers and non-believers alike, By providing a private, theraputic, individualistic biblical discourse, such preaching maintains the presence of the church as a voluntary grouping of individuals living in a society that looks to the church for personal fulfillment rather than public guidance… The question is not, How can we make the Scriptures relevant to individuals in need of therapy? but, How do we translate human lives into the biblical narrative to live as a part of the body of Christ in the world? (19)

And a quote from Hauerwas…

The enemy, who is often enough ourselves, does not like to be reminded that the narratives that constitute our lives are false. Moreover, you had better be ready for a fierce encounter-offensive as well as be prepared to take some casualties. God has not promised us safety, but rather participation in an adventure called the Kingdom (44, from “No Enemy, No Christianity: Preaching Between ‘Worlds’).

This shift from trying to get individuals to incorporate Scripture into their lives to trying to cultivate community seeking to live out a biblical reality is not an easy one. The implications are vast and deep. Wright’s book is helpful for beginning to understand how the practice of preaching can be transformed so that people and communities are able to have their lives re-narrated by Scripture.

Posted in: books, church, community, narrative theology, preaching/teaching, spiritual formation