"He taught them many things by parables ..." (Mark 4:2 NIV).

I've never watched them but I must admit understanding the fascination they hold for millions of viewers. Daytime television programs or "soaps" have captured a permanent place in America's heart. Avid fans have VCRs permanently set to record "their" show.

I used to condemn "soap" watchers with more than a little self-righteous indignation. "There's nothing but trash on those programs! You shouldn't watch that kind of stuff! Give it up! It's just a television show!" I didn't see the attraction they held for people.

But when speaking with Senior Adults about daytime television the language changed and so did my understanding. They didn't call them "soaps" or "daytime dramas." They called them "stories. On more than one occasion on a weekday morning I've heard an older adult lady say, "I have to be home by 1:00 to see my stories."

That hasn't changed my opinion about the lack of morality or the sleaziness of most of what comes on television but it did provide me with insight into why these "soaps" so captivate the world. The reason is simple: using engaging plot twists and character development, they tell a good story.

Several years ago when I preached for the first time using a story as the entire message I did so with much anxiety. What would people think? Would they understand that the message was a message nonetheless? Would they understand that "Biblical" preaching could take a form other than expository or three points and a poem? And, as a pastor, perhaps my biggest worry was, "Will people feel like they'd been to church if someone wasn't preaching at them?"

That was several years ago and, I admit, I still carry a bit more nervousness into the pulpit when preaching parabolically than when preaching a "normal" sermon. Yet, for a change of pace, it's become a risk I am willing to take increasingly more often. There are two reasons for this new boldness. First, I realized that a good story holds an audience's attention very well. Second and more importantly, Jesus preached that way much of the time.

I. A Good Story Holds Attention

Something about a good plot, with unexpectedness and believable yet inspiring characters holds a congregation's attention better than almost any rhetorical device I know. Even when its expression isn't as picturesque as something Fred Craddock might create, a story still moves.

Every Sunday we speak to four or five generations of television watchers, and most of what is on television (even what is poorly done) is in story form. If the recent research on the development of the brain is accurate, our minds are television-tuned, hard-wired to seize onto story form. The day of sitting around the fire or the porch swapping folk tales may be gone. But a burgeoning industry known as "Books On Tape" should be an indicator to us that listening to stories is still something people will do. In fact, I believe a congregation's ears may hear story more readily than other forms of preaching.