Some of you know that on Wednesday nights, I sit with ten guys and talk about the Bible. We wrestle with the words and the interpretations and the implications and the applications. We have a great time.

I usually provide the direction to the conversations. The other night I sat in a different chair. I was coming back from a brief vacation and decided to let someone else facilitate the conversation.

John did a great job. I stayed pretty quiet, letting the text and the conversation wash over me. It was wonderful. I saw things I had never seen in a very familiar text. I found a bit of freedom from an attitude that has plagued me for a long time.

Last weekend, I was part of a workshop on story-telling. It wasn’t about making up stories. It was about telling stories from the Bible, sticking close to the text but telling them as stories. (Here’s a sample of John 1:35-51). We learned a way of using stories to teach.

• You tell the story.
• You have someone else from the group tell it as well as they remember.
• You walk the group through the story by asking questions (What did this character say? What was the response?).

After reviewing the story three times this way, you move on to talking about it.  But you know the story well. You begin to see the way the people move, the relationships between the characters. You hear, rather than just read, the words.

Since last weekend, I’ve heard some stories new ways. I’ve stopped to think about the interactions between the characters.

During the past week, by changing chairs, by letting someone else lead, by hearing and speaking rather than reading, I’ve heard the Bible in fresh ways. I should move around more often.