Word of Mouth

Using the remembered Bible for building community

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• Publisher: Wild Goose Publications
• Year: 2007
• Print ISBN: 9781905010332
• eBook ISBN: 9781849520645
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Studies

Presents a method of using remembered (oral, not written) versions of the Bible with people of all ages and abilities, in which telling and interpreting the stories in light of the participants' own lives become inextricably linked.

Part one

Bible studies without Bibles

Chapter one

Bible studies without Bibles

It is quite nonsensical, unrealistic, impractical and brainless – in other words wacky – to suggest we can do Bible studies without Bibles. Well, without written Bibles anyway. To make links between lived experience and the Bible in order to develop a more chaotic spirituality that is like the real world, we shall use not a written Bible but a remembered one. When Lorraine says:

If I was going to preach a sermon it would be about ‘the Good Samaritan’ or what’s that other one [pause], yeah, the one about ‘whoever has not sinned should cast the first stone’; that one¹

she is using a remembered Bible, not a written one. Between August 1998 and January 2004 we used remembered versions of the Bible together in some small churches in north-east Sheffield. The methods we have developed to do this and some of the consequences of such wacky ways will be described and discussed in these first two chapters. To begin, a group of people from those churches introduce themselves and the context:

We are a group of small churches in the north of Sheffield at the heart of deprivation, poverty and unemployment, with a wide diversity of races and cultures in our area. Struggle is what we are used to as churches and communities.²

Using remembered versions of the Bible here has developed into a pedagogy: a way of teaching and learning (see more about this on pages 48–50). It is a particular kind of teaching and learning: one in which both teachers and students take an equal responsibility, one in which the central task is to empower the powerless to emerge from the passivity and dependency that currently seems characteristic of life in many UK churches. A critical pedagogy

is created in collaboration with others;

aims to liberate, make whole, challenge and change the oppressive status quo;

is carried out on the edge, in the borderlands, at the frontier.

Clearly there are some advantages and disadvantages in using remembered versions of Bible stories in worship, study groups and community work. Amongst the obvious advantages are that most people join in. But there is more to it than that. Evaluating the process of using remembered versions of the Bible with some users revealed the following points:³

1. We can think of stories we like. This advantage was first suggested by some young people aged 8–11 years and suggests that they had found it a good way to get into the Bible. When exploring what is in your remembered Bible, begin with the stories you like. See what you remember of those and ask yourselves why. A favourite story of the group was ‘The Good Samaritan’, because ‘we can relate to it. It helps us understand how to make a better world’. So a strategy suggested by children developed into one embraced by adults and that brings us neatly to the next point.

2. It is a good technique to use with all ages, because all can contribute to it equally.

3. However, to begin with it can seem intimidating. Various people admitted to initial feelings of panic, although most also agreed that their fears were not eventually borne out, or gave way to other more positive feelings as we went along. There was agreement that the process helped the group to realise how much there is in the Bible and that was considered comforting. It was also said that there were ‘stories inside you influencing your life’. So you might start off with panic but you soon ‘realise you do know it’.

4. Using this method the Bible becomes an everyday book. The more informal language of storytelling that is involved means that people can easily tell the stories again in other situations. It helps to make connections between the Bible stories and daily life and demonstrates that there are issues of daily life in each Bible story.

5. Compared with a passive listening approach in worship, this method stopped people switching off. Moreover, it was a sign that we are here to learn and was a way of moving the church on in learning. It indicated a belief that learning was for everyone, not just children. However, it is important to note that even in a group that has used this approach for some time, not everyone – for whatever reasons – seems comfortable with this, affirms this view or joins in.

6. It exposes you to other people’s opinions about the Bible. Discussing the remembered versions with other people is a way of sharing knowledge and understanding. This helped people who started out hesitantly to gain more confidence.

7. Remembering the Bible is an example of learning by doing. It is generally agreed that we learn more easily by doing rather than just listening. Repetition has a part in this process. As we get more familiar with stories, we become more confident in telling and interpreting them. Although at first it might seem that repetition can lead to increased boredom as in ‘I’ve heard that before’, participants actually found that each repetition was different, coloured by various people’s interpretations. Being exposed to the varied views of different people was a good thing that made the group think more about familiar pieces.

8. It fires the imagination. There are many other creative activities that can develop from remembering the Bible together (see pages 23 & 24), using a range of media like art, sewing, and drama.

9. It is fun and interactive. This may be unusual in some churches, or may be confined to certain times and places rather than breaking out unpredictably any time. The group might find it needs to give itself permission to enjoy the process. What we are used to may influence how we behave or respond in church.

10. It is like being back at school. A small number of adults have been known to respond with this kind of comment, even if not when with the whole group. However, it has been said often enough to confirm that it is sometimes an issue and something the facilitator needs to bear in mind. The proportion of people with this view in the congregation may heavily influence the success of the process. Clearly it is difficult to remember what you have not heard, although frequent repetition can help to overcome some of this. The facilitator needs to be careful not to ‘put people on the spot’ or seem threatening or patronising in other ways. The educational experiences of individuals in the group may influence whether or not they come to activities like this in a positive or negative frame of mind.

Therefore there are strategies that have been found to help people to join in the remembering process. These include:

begin by sharing what people remember informally in a small group;

choose a story which has repetitive bits so that people can join in gradually;

ask a small group to prepare the remembering in advance;

use an informal setting rather than a formal one;

suggest clues from picture Bibles, films, musicals, plays, a cartoon, a painting;

provide an outline of the story to fill in the details;

try it more than once, even if it does not seem easy the first time.

If you use these methods, try not to worry that people will remember the wrong thing, or get it wrong in some other way. It is true that sometimes details get mixed up or missed out in the remembering. Everyone remembers things differently and the way memories are stored in our brains will differ. One person’s version of a remembered text is likely to be different from another’s, but that does not make it wrong. Where people draw in parts of other episodes, it can be helpful to explore together why they remember these things. The process is trying to give people confidence to use the Bible as they have remembered it. Therefore the facilitator and the group members should try to encourage rather than discourage participants.

It is possible that on occasions an important bit gets forgotten. Of course, that begs the question of how an important bit is defined. But if something does seem to have been left out there are several approaches the facilitator might take:

wait for a while, as silence is not a waste of time;

prompt the group gently, as in a big group there is ofte...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Preface
• Part One: Bible studies without Bibles
• Part Two: From the edge of the Bible
• Part Three: Words for worship
• References/Bibliography
• About the author