Storytelling from within God’s Story.

Hi Messy Friends! My name is Andrew McDonough. I live in Australia, draw sheep and tell stories. It began long long ago when, as a first year Bible college student, I was asked to give the dreaded ‘Children’s Talk’ at an enormous church. So I summoned all my biblical knowledge – I knew that somewhere in the Bible was a story where a shepherd was nice to a sheep. I drew on my one spiritual gift – I could draw a sheep marginally better than your average 7 year old. And clutching five sheets of clear plastic on which I’d scrawled pictures, I walked onto that darkened stage lit by a single overhead projector. If you do not know what an overhead projector is, snuffle about in the church storeroom, you’re bound to find one rusting away behind a box of hymn books. I stood on that stage, looked left at row upon row of congregants disappearing into the distance, looked right at the unending expectant faces, I gazed upon the amassed crowd, took a deep breath, raised a plastic sheet in my trembling hand and dropped it onto the overhead projector.

“Errr . . . once there was a . . . a shepherd.”

The congregation burst into laughter – I was not expecting that! I whipped the shepherd off the overhead projector replacing him with a sheep.

“And the shepherd had a sheep.”

The room erupted! Men in the front row holding their stomachs and wiping tears from their eyes. Men! “Interesting,” I thought, “men aren’t usually that into church. Maybe I’m onto something.”

I was onto something. I’d experience the power of live storytelling. It wasn’t just that people laughed, but in my conversations after church I sensed that things, small easy to miss things, pulsed with life. A green shoot of joy, filamental cracks in a hardened view of God, a half spoken wondering. I’d rocked up at church hoping to communicate some God information in a non-boring manner but found myself participating in God’s Story as I shared a God story. Everyone of us in that church, at that moment, were in God’s living story. I played my role as the storyteller but could not, and didn’t need to, fathom or engineer all that resulted as my story flowed into each person’s story and the Story of God.

Getting into God’s Story:

Reading the Bible with your Whole Body.

Sharing a God’s story is one of the best bits of Messy Church. I suspect that at some stage you’ll find yourself up the front at story time, looking at those expectant faces wishing you had a handful of sheep pictures and an overhead projector to hide behind. At this point I intended to give you three nifty tips to transform you into a storytelling sensation. But instead, let me share how I get into a Bible story. If you can get into a Bible story your most of the way to retelling that story in a manner that will draw others in.

I’ve developed the habit of reading Gospel stories with my whole body. Not just reading silently in my head, or out aloud, or meditating on Scripture with my imagination, but reading the Bible with my arms, legs, face, eyes, feet, nose, hands – my whole physical body. It’s a private form of reading and prayer that I’ve found profoundly helpful in my communion with God. A secondary benefit is it assists with storytelling.

I choose a Gospel story and find a private place. If it’s an outside story, I head to the paddocks, hills or beach near my studio. If it’s an inside story, like Mark 3:1-6 where Jesus enters the synagogue and heals the man with a withered hand, I find an inside spot at home or down the church.

Then I read the Scripture aloud, yes aloud. And as I read, I play out the story with my whole body.

“he entered the synagogue”

I don’t just imagine I am entering the synagogue, I physically walk through the door into the room as if I am entering the synagogue.

“he entered the synagogue and a man was there who had a withered hand.”

I walk through the door again and imagine where the man is sitting with the withered hand.

Next, I sit in that place as if I am the man with the withered hand – and try different ways of holding my hand. Then I read aloud again, “he entered the synagogue and a man was there who had a withered hand.” 

I imagine Jesus entering through the door and I play out different physical responses, maybe I stare at Jesus, or just glance up. Maybe I cover my withered hand or stand to offer Jesus my seat. I physically do these actions with my body.

I play, I pray, at times I’ll spend a few minutes, at other times half a day. Some stories I return to again and again. There’s no rules, it’s not hard, it can be emotional. But I find the practice deeply plants the Jesus stories in my body and my bones. Then when the time comes to share the story, it’s there, alive in me ready to go.

Try it. Play. Choose your favourite Jesus story and read it with your whole body. You’ll find yourself in God’s story and God’s story in you. I suspect that whether it’s up the front or round the meal table, you’ll find yourself sharing the story at Messy Church.

Andrew McDonough is the Australian author and illustrator of the Lost Sheep stories and resources that are used by churches, schools and families around the world. You’ll find his stories at lostsheep.com.au Lost Sheep children’s books are published in the UK by Malcolm Down / Sarah Grace and can be delivered to your door. Find the books here.