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Truth That Sticks: How to Communicate Velcro Truth in a Teflon World
Today in America, half of the people won’t or don’t read that much. Begin creatively transforming the lives of this generation by using first-century methods of teaching―storytelling, drama, and dialog. The “TruthSticks” strategy is a revolutionary approach using the DNA of the first century disciplemaking that will A creative tool to use in leadership, evangelism, or missionary work.
240 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1989
25 people are currently reading
86 people want to read
About the author
Avery T. Willis Jr.
26 books10 followersThe retired senior vice president of the International Mission Board was known for his passion for missions, discipleship and making the Gospel known to "oral learners."
Willis was born on Feb. 21, 1934, in Lepanto, Ark. He received a bachelor of arts degree from Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee and master of divinity and doctor of theology degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.
Willis served as pastor of Center Point Baptist Church in Wilburton, Okla., from 1954-56; Sunset Heights Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas, from 1957-60; and Inglewood Baptist Church in Grand Prairie, Texas, from 1960-64.
Following his years as a pastor, he and his wife were appointed as missionaries by the Foreign Mission Board, serving with their children in Indonesia from 1964-78.
Willis devoted the first six years of his mission service to evangelism and church planting. He spent the next eight years with the Indonesia Baptist Theological Seminary. He was a professor at the seminary for two years and its president for six years, during which time he wrote the MasterLife series of discipleship handbooks that eventually were translated into more than 50 languages and used in more than 100 countries.
After missionary service in Indonesia, Willis served for 15 years with the Baptist Sunday School Board (now LifeWay Christian Resources) in the adult discipleship department.
Willis was born on Feb. 21, 1934, in Lepanto, Ark. He received a bachelor of arts degree from Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee and master of divinity and doctor of theology degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas.
Willis served as pastor of Center Point Baptist Church in Wilburton, Okla., from 1954-56; Sunset Heights Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas, from 1957-60; and Inglewood Baptist Church in Grand Prairie, Texas, from 1960-64.
Following his years as a pastor, he and his wife were appointed as missionaries by the Foreign Mission Board, serving with their children in Indonesia from 1964-78.
Willis devoted the first six years of his mission service to evangelism and church planting. He spent the next eight years with the Indonesia Baptist Theological Seminary. He was a professor at the seminary for two years and its president for six years, during which time he wrote the MasterLife series of discipleship handbooks that eventually were translated into more than 50 languages and used in more than 100 countries.
After missionary service in Indonesia, Willis served for 15 years with the Baptist Sunday School Board (now LifeWay Christian Resources) in the adult discipleship department.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
March 25, 2015
Have you ever read a book that makes a convincing argument against your core convictions? Truth That Sticks is that book for me.
As a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I whole-heartedly affirm the truthfulness of the Bible. I believe it is truth without any mixture of error. But I would make a statement going beyond my affirmation of the Bible's inerrancy; I believe the Bible is sufficient. By that, I mean that Word of God has its effect and stands on its own. It does not require my clever or creative presentation to somehow make it relevant. The truthfulness and spirituality of the Bible surpass the concept of cultural relevance!
Avery Willis and Mark Snowden are men that would presumably affirm the inerrancy of Scripture as well. They may also affirm the sufficiency of Scripture, but in Truth That Sticks, they make a case for orality that would cause me to question that affirmation.
Willis and Snowden make an iron-clad case for orality as the primary or preferred learning style of most people. By contrast, most churches teach from a more literary style, which does not appeal to the oral-preferenced masses. As such, they propose a system of transferring Biblical truth through "storying." This methodology requires a leader who will faithfully present the truth of a biblical narrative in a conversational way. They stress the importance of the story being faithful to the text of Scripture. They answer objections (by citing anecdotes mostly) to those who would question if this waters down trust in the Bible or if stories get distorted in the telling.
As you probably can tell, I'm not fully convinced. Though, I must admit that I am still mulling over the concepts and am willing to try them. (I am currently testing this in my church's small groups as well teach through 1 Samuel. They early results are positive.)
Here are my concerns about Willis and Snowden's arguments:
1. Their arguments sometimes seem to undermine a view of the sufficiency of Scripture. They write, "God's truth is in the story, but you have to gently open it up with questions to make it come alive for the group. When we use good questions, ordinary participants often come up with insights that even the commentaries leave out" (69). What do they mean by God's truth is "in the story"? While I believe the authors to be theologically conservative, this statement frightens me. It sounds a lot like the early liberal theologians that said Scripture contained truth and that we must remove the husk and get to the kernel. If their argument is that we can help draw out discussion and insight among group members by asking good questions, I whole-heartedly agree. If they are arguing that sharing the Scripture via a story somehow makes it have a life that it would otherwise lack, I fiercely object. At best, this is a poorly worded statement.
2. Is orality the prescribed Biblical methodology? They argue that Scripture was transmitted orally early on in the Old Testament period. They write, "Yet I can find only three times in the Bible when God or Jesus wrote anything: the Ten Commandments, the handwriting on the wall in Daniel, and when Jesus wrote in the sand in fro of the woman caught in adultery" (37). While they don't fully flesh out this train of thought, the implication seems to be that because God didn't write more often, He preferred orality over literary communication. This argument does not give enough weight to the fact that God inspired the writing of His Word. Galatians 4:4 tells us, "Yet in the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son." God sovereignly knew that He was sending forth Jesus in a time when the events could not be captured on film or with audio recording equipment - the best ways to tell story! He sent forth Christ when it would be recorded by hand, in written form. Since God sent Christ in that time, it seems best to teach from His Word. In fairness to the authors, they do affirm that people who can read should read Scripture. "Should you use Bible storying exclusively? Probably not with people who read well. in fact, the storying process causes people to want to study the Bible more. For most of us in America, these two approaches are more like the two blades of scissors: One is more effective when used with the other" (177).
3. Do they inadvertently undermine preaching? First Corinthians 1:21 tells us that God has ordained preaching as the means to save souls. They seem to think that preaching is methodologically inferior.
4. How do you story prophecy or an epistle? While huge chunks of Scripture are narrative and lend themselves easily to the storying methodology, other books are letters and prophetic writings that don't seem to naturally lend themselves to the storying methodology? Should those sections be ignored? They do cite one church that storied Galatians, but they did so by appealing to the book of Acts (narrative). I think this is the glaring deficiency of using only this methodology. The epistles are there to build up the body of Christ. No part of Scripture should be ignored!
While these questions are not the only ones Truth That Sticks raises in my mind, they do help the reader see some of the issues I am working through. In fairness, this book has some incredibly redeeming qualities (thus the 4 star rating). These include the emphasis on multiplication, the strong argument about the American culture being oral-preference learners, the emphasis on training leaders, their understanding of how to shape worldviews, and the many helpful nuggets on how to facilitate a small group through good questions.
In my mind, the jury is still out on the storying approach. I am cautiously optimistic, but for now, I'll wait and see. The authors write, "One very inuring phenomenon occurs among people who can read but prefer not to. When they hear a Bible story told and engage the truth in dialogue, they study their Bibles more" (109). To my thinking, this would be ultimate success! If I see this happen in our LifeGroups, I will be sold 100% on the storying methodology as part of how we disciple people at Crossroads.
In the mean time, I think you should read Truth That Sticks. Don't miss the inherent irony of two noted authors and authorities on orality writing a book! If nothing else, reading Truth That Sticks made me think. I like to read books that articulately challenge my presuppositions. If my core convictions can't withstand articulate challenges, then they aren't very sturdy! Thanks to Avery Willis and Mark Snowden for their excellent work and their commitment to missions!
As a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I whole-heartedly affirm the truthfulness of the Bible. I believe it is truth without any mixture of error. But I would make a statement going beyond my affirmation of the Bible's inerrancy; I believe the Bible is sufficient. By that, I mean that Word of God has its effect and stands on its own. It does not require my clever or creative presentation to somehow make it relevant. The truthfulness and spirituality of the Bible surpass the concept of cultural relevance!
Avery Willis and Mark Snowden are men that would presumably affirm the inerrancy of Scripture as well. They may also affirm the sufficiency of Scripture, but in Truth That Sticks, they make a case for orality that would cause me to question that affirmation.
Willis and Snowden make an iron-clad case for orality as the primary or preferred learning style of most people. By contrast, most churches teach from a more literary style, which does not appeal to the oral-preferenced masses. As such, they propose a system of transferring Biblical truth through "storying." This methodology requires a leader who will faithfully present the truth of a biblical narrative in a conversational way. They stress the importance of the story being faithful to the text of Scripture. They answer objections (by citing anecdotes mostly) to those who would question if this waters down trust in the Bible or if stories get distorted in the telling.
As you probably can tell, I'm not fully convinced. Though, I must admit that I am still mulling over the concepts and am willing to try them. (I am currently testing this in my church's small groups as well teach through 1 Samuel. They early results are positive.)
Here are my concerns about Willis and Snowden's arguments:
1. Their arguments sometimes seem to undermine a view of the sufficiency of Scripture. They write, "God's truth is in the story, but you have to gently open it up with questions to make it come alive for the group. When we use good questions, ordinary participants often come up with insights that even the commentaries leave out" (69). What do they mean by God's truth is "in the story"? While I believe the authors to be theologically conservative, this statement frightens me. It sounds a lot like the early liberal theologians that said Scripture contained truth and that we must remove the husk and get to the kernel. If their argument is that we can help draw out discussion and insight among group members by asking good questions, I whole-heartedly agree. If they are arguing that sharing the Scripture via a story somehow makes it have a life that it would otherwise lack, I fiercely object. At best, this is a poorly worded statement.
2. Is orality the prescribed Biblical methodology? They argue that Scripture was transmitted orally early on in the Old Testament period. They write, "Yet I can find only three times in the Bible when God or Jesus wrote anything: the Ten Commandments, the handwriting on the wall in Daniel, and when Jesus wrote in the sand in fro of the woman caught in adultery" (37). While they don't fully flesh out this train of thought, the implication seems to be that because God didn't write more often, He preferred orality over literary communication. This argument does not give enough weight to the fact that God inspired the writing of His Word. Galatians 4:4 tells us, "Yet in the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son." God sovereignly knew that He was sending forth Jesus in a time when the events could not be captured on film or with audio recording equipment - the best ways to tell story! He sent forth Christ when it would be recorded by hand, in written form. Since God sent Christ in that time, it seems best to teach from His Word. In fairness to the authors, they do affirm that people who can read should read Scripture. "Should you use Bible storying exclusively? Probably not with people who read well. in fact, the storying process causes people to want to study the Bible more. For most of us in America, these two approaches are more like the two blades of scissors: One is more effective when used with the other" (177).
3. Do they inadvertently undermine preaching? First Corinthians 1:21 tells us that God has ordained preaching as the means to save souls. They seem to think that preaching is methodologically inferior.
4. How do you story prophecy or an epistle? While huge chunks of Scripture are narrative and lend themselves easily to the storying methodology, other books are letters and prophetic writings that don't seem to naturally lend themselves to the storying methodology? Should those sections be ignored? They do cite one church that storied Galatians, but they did so by appealing to the book of Acts (narrative). I think this is the glaring deficiency of using only this methodology. The epistles are there to build up the body of Christ. No part of Scripture should be ignored!
While these questions are not the only ones Truth That Sticks raises in my mind, they do help the reader see some of the issues I am working through. In fairness, this book has some incredibly redeeming qualities (thus the 4 star rating). These include the emphasis on multiplication, the strong argument about the American culture being oral-preference learners, the emphasis on training leaders, their understanding of how to shape worldviews, and the many helpful nuggets on how to facilitate a small group through good questions.
In my mind, the jury is still out on the storying approach. I am cautiously optimistic, but for now, I'll wait and see. The authors write, "One very inuring phenomenon occurs among people who can read but prefer not to. When they hear a Bible story told and engage the truth in dialogue, they study their Bibles more" (109). To my thinking, this would be ultimate success! If I see this happen in our LifeGroups, I will be sold 100% on the storying methodology as part of how we disciple people at Crossroads.
In the mean time, I think you should read Truth That Sticks. Don't miss the inherent irony of two noted authors and authorities on orality writing a book! If nothing else, reading Truth That Sticks made me think. I like to read books that articulately challenge my presuppositions. If my core convictions can't withstand articulate challenges, then they aren't very sturdy! Thanks to Avery Willis and Mark Snowden for their excellent work and their commitment to missions!
June 10, 2023
This book is about using Bible story telling in a western church context because of people learning orally and visually more than by literature more than ever. How it does not have to be just for kids ministry and overseas ministry but telling the Bible through story and discussing it through story can transform the effectiveness of adult ministry at church and will transform how small groups can be done and how we can raise up leaders for those groups with proper training that can be applied extremely easily. It was a thought provoking book and I think it is worth trying to see how different church leaders can bring storying the Bible into how they do ministry in different ways to help impact and teach their people better.
July 5, 2024
Even in literate societies, most people learn best orally.
This is the primary thesis around which this whole book is written. Avery Willis effectively argues that sharing God's truth in story form is an effective tool for both evangelism and discipleship. Then he goes about demonstrating exactly how that can be done.
This book was one of the assigned readings for my Orality class in my Masters in Global Studies. While I have always been convinced of the power of story, this book (and the class) takes that truth further than I previously dared. At the very least, it gave me a lot to think about and opened up ideas for how I can be more effective in ministry, even if I don't go the whole nine yards on the concept.
This is the primary thesis around which this whole book is written. Avery Willis effectively argues that sharing God's truth in story form is an effective tool for both evangelism and discipleship. Then he goes about demonstrating exactly how that can be done.
This book was one of the assigned readings for my Orality class in my Masters in Global Studies. While I have always been convinced of the power of story, this book (and the class) takes that truth further than I previously dared. At the very least, it gave me a lot to think about and opened up ideas for how I can be more effective in ministry, even if I don't go the whole nine yards on the concept.
February 1, 2019
This book had plenty to get you thinking about how to excite people for the stories us the Bible again but goes a little too far in shining for replacing preaching and basic church activities with storytelling. Apparently, they've had great success with it in a variety of contexts. I enjoyed the book.
June 16, 2017
I love the concept in this book! This is not a comprehensive treatise on the subject but it is a very valuable piece of the discussion of story and Storying. I wish I would have known this at a much younger age!
May 2, 2020
I agree wholeheartedly with the message of this book and found the author quite engaging, however too much of it read like an advert for other books and resources
June 25, 2012
This book is AWESOME! I really think everyone should read it. Particularly anyone interesting in teaching or ministry. There are a lot of really interesting points on how people learn and the way to get information to "stick" in people's heads. Normally I find informational books like this really boring but I read this one in a few days. It has a great combination of metaphors, story examples, case studies and statistics.
July 20, 2016
A good learning tool for dicipleship. This goes over effective ways to tell bible stories to mostly small groups and how to get others involved in leading small bible groups through oral teaching.
This is the style of dicipleship that my church has been using the last few years. As I read through this book, I recognized some of the methods that my pastor and others in my church use.
This is the style of dicipleship that my church has been using the last few years. As I read through this book, I recognized some of the methods that my pastor and others in my church use.
October 22, 2013
Pastors and other church leaders need to read this. It would be a ministry paradigm shift for most, but it is soundly Biblical and a key ministry strategy to get back to genuine Biblical discipleship in the church.
May 31, 2015
Necessary for Christian growth
Great overview of a time honored method that needs to become a part of every believers witness and testimony. This book gives a great picture of following Jesus and proclaiming God's word.
Great overview of a time honored method that needs to become a part of every believers witness and testimony. This book gives a great picture of following Jesus and proclaiming God's word.
February 28, 2011
Though many are literate in the USA, a majority learn better orally. Long time missionary Avery Willis provides insights to communicating truth via stories.
December 18, 2015
Telling stories is an art. This book encourages the development of communicating in stories vs. recitation of facts.
There are lot of helpful tips to communicating with a varied audience.
There are lot of helpful tips to communicating with a varied audience.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews