A church without imagination

I have had many positive and affirming responses to my messages since they have taken on the form of storytelling rather than preaching. Sure there have been those one or two folks who consistently ask me after my message “You didn’t tell me what I’m supposed to do,” and for those folks it may become harder to pay attention to my messages without me spoon-feeding them. But I sense that this is a direction worth moving toward… no longer a preacher rather a storyteller. And let me tell you it is an art form that takes some practicing.

One of the books that I’ve read recently really spurred me into this mentality. Mark Miller’s book, "Experiential Storytelling" highlighted some interesting points such as:

"A sermon tells people what to think. A story forces people to do the thinking for themselves. It can feel dangerous because it allows for interpretation… can we leave something open–ended knowing the conclusion might not come until later that day, week, month, or even year? Can we allow people to own the stories? Or do we do all the interpreting and leave nothing to the imagination?"

Maybe these are the times that we live in. Most people in our congregations (in my experience) don’t know how to use their imagination when it comes to faith and the church. They would much more opt for the lecture, so we pastors have had to become “Answer Men/Women.” Man, how much easier school would have been if my teacher gave me the answers! I might have actually had fun. Well I suppose if that is all the church is… fun or a social club then I guess giving answers only fits the mold.

I am witnessing a revival of sorts for the use of the arts in worship and communication and I am elated! I think that what happened around the time of the Reformation, a shift occurred in which the reading, preaching and hearing of the Word of God sub sequentially annihilated all art, image, and anything else that dared to take attention away from the former. Check out what the 18th Century theologian Jonathan Edwards had to say about the imagination.

It is quite clear that we need to rethink our manner in which we bear the Gospel message. The emerging generation will not stand for an institution (albeit the church) in which art/image/story is seen as a distraction to the Word of God. It only enhances it, if we are only willing to use our imaginations (see Luke 18:17)!