Story Time

The Story of God, the Story of Us by Sean Gladding was simply an excellent read. He wrote about major stories in the Bible, but in a friendly invitational tone. He set up the Old Testament storytelling with a Jewish elder in Babylonian captivity calling his people back to God and the lessons of their history. He wrote the New Testament stories in the midst of a house church facing growing persecution but sharing the story with one another and newcomers. I was drawn in by the stories from Scripture, even though I've read most of them more times than I can remember. Gladding's style and approach, the story he set the storytelling in, kept me coming back. I don't know if it's a useful book for starting conversations with non-believers - one of my staff friends, Bethany at Rice, tried handing out a ton of copies while Sean Gladding was visiting her campus, but I haven't heard how it went. I do know that as a believer I was refreshed and inspired to take another look at stories I've started glossing over, and to read some of the Old Testament I can never seem to get around to studying.