Activity: The Big Story on the Big Screen

Objective(s): summarize the gospel story

Time: 15 minutes of planning, 5 minutes to present per group, 15 minutes to debrief

Materials: none, unless you have a costume box at hand. Students often can invent their own props with what they have available.

Most students these days are familiar with the genre of “big movie”: the epic story, the miniseries. The point here is to instill in students the idea of the Bible and the Christian message as the Big Story. I divide the class into groups of 4–7 people (sometimes assigning a facilitator, depending on the group or class). Then I tell them that they are going to write, produce, and perform the gospel story in five minutes or less. First, each group is to outline what this story involves (the storyboard): Who are the main characters? What is the basic plotline? Then they are to assign characters and other “staff” for the project (prop manager, camera operator [who films the drama on their phone], special effects, etc.). This way those who are shy can contribute through other means.

After the groups have prepared their dramas, each group presents their story before the whole. Then we debrief, asking how each group saw the story, what it was like to write the entire gospel as a brief play, how they chose the characters and presented them, why this or that scene was included or deleted from the script, and what the story as presented might mean for our understanding of what Christian spiritual formation is all about. This kind of discussion presents a tangible and engaged way of opening up the issues related to the subject of formation as story.

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Assignments

1. Academic—Theology and the Big Story

A number of theologians over this past century have viewed the Bible as a developing narrative. Biblical theologians such as Walter Brueggemann, George Eldon Ladd, and N. T. Wright; narrative theologians such as Michael Lodahl and Stanley Hauerwas; and other scholars (those in canon criticism, Chris Wright and his approach to the mission of God, and so on) all approach the sacred text of Scripture as a single, overarching story. Here is your opportunity to take two of your favorite Big Story theologians and compare their ideas. Describe and then analyze the narrative summaries of two representatives, comparing their methods and conclusions. Then evaluate the implications of each of their viewpoints for the practice of Christian spiritual formation. How might Christian spiritual formation be practiced distinctively when guided by the perspectives of one or another of your representatives? How might you affirm or critique or revise their summaries and the consequent implications for spiritual formation?

2. Personal—My Stories of the Story

Those of us who grew up in the context of some contact with the Christian faith often grew up hearing “a story of the Story,” or perhaps more than one version. The story of Christianity told in the eighth century was both similar and dissimilar to the story we hear even in Roman Catholic churches today. In the chapter I briefly described a couple of examples: one from the fifth century (a fall and return to Spirit) and one more contemporary (rebellion and forgiveness). See if you can recall the story (or stories) of the Story you were raised with. Who were the important characters in this story? How did the plot develop? What were the big tension points in the story? How does the story end? And most importantly for our topic, how did (or does) the story of the Story you learned influence the way you approach your own formation in Christ?

3. Spiritual Practice—Journaling Formation

At the end of the “Going Deeper” section of the chapter, I mentioned the value of the practice of journaling. Some people find it very helpful to record aspects of their own formation and to reflect periodically on what they have written. Helen Cepero’s Journaling as a Spiritual Practice provides a simple introduction to this practice. The first steps of this practice are to (1) find a time to be present with your journal and with God; (2) find a place to journal (a welcome time and place will keep us in the practice and will nurture our relationship with God in the midst of the practice); (3) choose a journal to use for this practice (small or large, lined or unlined, depending on the purpose), and (4) begin to write. Talk about what is forming you. You must feel free to abandon yourself freely in the writing. Don’t think of anyone reading it (you won’t hand in the journal itself, only your reflections on the exercise). Don’t try to be “literary.” Just “let go” on paper. Write of formation and let yourself be formed through the process of writing.

When you have done this for a week, write up a brief reflection on the process of journaling itself. Describe what you did, how it felt, what you learned from the practice, how you might revise the practice in the future, and finally, how this practice contributed or might contribute to your own formation in Christ.

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