Stetzer: There's truth to that. I grew up un-churched, so for me coming to Christ…I went to a few classes to go through basic rituals in the church I grew up with. I knew nothing. For people like me—an increasing number of people, particularly among the younger un-churched—telling the story of the Scripture is key.
I would say one of the dangers is using the term "stories" because how is "story" different than Aesop's Fables or something of that sort? But I like the idea of telling the narrative, telling the narrative of Scripture and asking people to join in the narrative of Scripture. If we want them to create a new worldview, worldviews are shaped by stories. All worldviews have stories that undergird them, and we need to tell them the narrative of Scripture so they might build a biblical worldview that includes propositional truth and the truth expressed in the narrative of Scripture.
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Preaching: Ed, you're involved in so many different projects, including research, writing and speaking. Out of all the things you're learning, if you had to give preachers one word of counsel, what would it be?
Stetzer: That's a great question, and I will tell you I have a bad answer. The answer is when I'm with different groups of people I bring a different message. There are churches, and they love the Lord, and they're preaching the Gospel, and they understand the Gospel; but what they've not done is engage culture. Some of those are in my own denomination. So, when I'm speaking to my own denomination, often I'm telling them to engage the culture in context.
Then I go to other settings, and I'm speaking where they get the cultural engagement. They're excited and passionate about it, but I don't hear them talking about the gospel. I talk about a rediscovery of the gospel. So, if you come with me when I'm preaching at a denominational meeting compared to when I'm preaching at a young gathering of urban, hip whatever, I have a very different message because I think they need a very different nudging.
I straddle these worlds in a weird way. I'll talk to probably 10 different denominations in the next year. and I'll just be different depending on where I am. When I'm with the contemporary church crowd, I'll tell them, "Don't forget the gospel, and stay true to the Scriptures," but when I'm with the traditional church crowd, I'll tell them, "Don't forget the culture and engage the context."
