Then the disciples came and asked him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?”
Matthew 13:10
STORY
August 5, 1966. Captain Robert Foley was the commanding officer of Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry, known as the Wolfhounds, whose motto Nec aspera terrent, meaning “No fear on earth,” was engaged in Operation Attleboro in Vietnam.
Foley was ordered to break into an enemy bunker system to create a corridor through which trapped comrades could escape back to friendly lines. He and his men were facing North Vietnamese Regulars (NVA). Because the surrounded Americans were so close to enemy bunkers, he couldn’t employ artillery and air support. As his group got stalled in dense underbrush and his men fell down shot all around him, and with limited options, accompanied by Private First-Class Charles Dean, who carried ammunition belts for him plus a grenade launcher, Foley swooped up an M-60 machine gun and led a charge against the NVA. The enemy combatants fled the battlefield taking heavy losses, and Foley succeeded in rescuing the hemmed-in troops. He was wounded by shrapnel from a grenade. Foley was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions.
Robert Foley continued with his military career, retiring as a Lieutenant General, serving as West Point commandant of cadets, and was the commanding general of the Fifth U.S. Army.
In his autobiographical book Standing Tall: Leadership Lessons in the Life of a Soldier, is a very personal book. Foley offers us an in-depth view of his life and military career. The book contains a detailed account of his life, including his family background, career milestones, interactions with comrades, his marriage, Christian faith, experiences with mentors, overall observations about the Vietnam War, and most significantly lessons on leadership.
One prominent lesson that attracted my attention is when he wrote: “Good leaders make it a habit to get out of the command bunker, walk around the unit area, and be accessible – in the chow line, on the rifle range, in the mess hall, or in the barracks.”
DEVOTION
If we are to be an effective witness for Jesus we must “walk around the unit area” of the people whom we associate with. This means that we understand their trials and tribulations, their joys and ecstasies. We don’t speak to them from afar, but up close and personal. We don’t offer esoteric advice; as we share words that reside in the reality of their situation.
We speak in parables.
The Cambridge Dictionary defines a parable “as a short, simple story that teaches or explains an idea, especially a moral or religious idea.” Our most influential witness is to share the story of our journey with Jesus. There may be a time or two when we instruct, this might even border on lecturing, though most frequently we just need to tell the story of what Jesus means to me.
We are all qualified to be storytellers. We tell stories regarding everything in our lives, from sharing what our children have done this day to what happened at work today, from an interesting experience that was witnessed this week to relating a fond memory; just the same, we can share our story of Jesus who has accompanied us this day, this year, well, since we were converted.
We do not need to be a biblical and theological scholar; we only need to an accomplished storyteller.
Fred B. Craddock was the Professor of Preaching in the Candler School of Theology at Emory University. He is one of the most influential theologians in the field of homiletics. His instructions for composing a sermon are equally viable for witnessing.
He notes that a problem in preaching is that the congregation thinks that preachers have nothing new to say. Craddock wrote, “those who hear me have been sitting before the pulpit for two thousand years. Even for the casual listeners there is a fairly high degree of predictability in the sermon, and surrounding the whole occasion is the dead air of familiarity: we been here before, and here we go again.” The congregation does not listen for they have heard the same biblical message so many times before that they have become numb and resistant. The people do not listen for they think there is nothing new to be heard.
In fact, many who claim they have heard it all before have never heard it in the first place, as Craddock wrote, “Many who say ‘Here we go again’ have not ever gone before.” The challenge to the clergy is to get those who are not listening, for whatever reason, to listen again, and for some to listen for the first time.
Since people think that they have heard it all before, the biblical message, according to Craddock, must be presented in a new way of listening if people are going to hear the gospel message today. He indicated that people need to “overhear” the biblical message. Craddock observed, “Overhearing scripture, as with music or drama or a good book, owes most of its power to these two factors: distance (I am an anonymous listener, reader, viewer, unrelated to the event) and participation (I am drawn in by identification with persons and conditions within the event.)” Overhearing will evoke the feelings of a listener and create a need for the listener to respond to the spoken message.
Craddock discusses that one ought to notice the difference in writing styles between the Gospel of John and the Synoptics. In the Gospel of John, the reader has the feeling of being preached at. Conversations between Jesus and another individual, such as Nathaniel or Nicodemus, are really sermons directed straight at the reader. In the Gospel of John individuals do not converse about Jesus, instead they speak directly to the reader concerning him. Jesus thunders forth with “I am” declarations. The Gospel of John is a lecturing approach to preaching.
The Synoptics are much different than the Gospel of John in writing style. The Synoptics tell the story of Jesus. Though the Synoptic gospels preserve a strong conviction about Jesus, the reader does not feel if he is being coerced. In the Synoptics the reader is invited to follow Jesus. The Synoptics are talking about Jesus and the reader is permitted to overhear the conversation. By overhearing the conversation, the reader is drawn into the story and quickly becomes a part of the story. The Synoptic gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke – allow the gospel message to be overheard.
Craddock stated that one of the more obvious forms of overhearing was the preaching of Jesus and his use of parables. He wrote, “By means of a brief narrative containing vivid and arresting metaphors, Jesus lured his followers into listening and then caught them in a new vision, a new perspective, an alternate way of seeing life and the kingdom.”
The professor shared this insight in his book Overhearing the Gospel, that was published in 1978.
Tell your story – share a parable from your life – allowing the individual to whom you are witnessing the opportunity to “overhear” the gospel message.