Storying

Until recently, Christian ministers and missionaries expected oral communicators to become literate and then be introduced to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In fact, until a few years ago, in most pioneer mission settings an illiterate who became a Christian convert would not be baptized until he or she learned to read and write. This approach illustrates how much a bias toward reading and writing can be developed within a highly literate individual. Literates assumed individuals could not hear and understand the Gospel rightly unless they became literate. Even today, among many literate ministers and theologians, it is almost unthinkable to suggest that an illiterate Christian could become a leader, shepherd a church and be ordained as a pastor.

Is it necessary to become literate to become a mature Christian?

The gospel of Jesus Christ is the most important message heard by man. It is His message to His creation. After nearly 2000 years, God's message has spread throughout the world. More than one third of the world has experienced god's message. Another third have heard but have yet to respond.

This leaves a third of who have never heard. Somewhere within these figures are more than 2.5 billion people who are oral communicators. They may be non-literate, functionally illiterate or simply part of a culture that does not extract information from print. These cultures value oral means of communication and learning. It has been said by a tribal man of West Africa, "When we hear something, we put it in our hearts, our hearts are our books."

This feeling is held by many oral cultures such as the Miao. The Miao have several oral traditions to explain why they didn't have a writing system as others such as the Han Chinese did. Some of these revolve around the myth that the Miao ate their books which resulted in their having a good memory.

In the past the Miao and Han were brothers who studied under the same teacher. Both invented a script. Once they had to cross a river and big brother Miao carried his younger brother Han on his back and therefore he put his script in his mouth. As he came to the middle of the river he slipped and happened to swallow the script. Therefore the Miao script is in his stomach and is recorded in his heart, whereas little brother, who sat on his back, held the script in his hand and preserved it. Thus the Han have a script which they write with their hands and see with their eyes (Li Tinggui, Shenghuo zai Leigong Shanlu de Miaozu (diaochao baogao) 1983, p. 14).

Research and experience indicates that non reading groups tend to learn best by example and through oral tradition. Our greatest challenge may be the process of overcoming a basic assumption that many church planters hold about the requirements of literacy to understand and obey God's message. God's people must ask the question: Is it necessary to become literate to become a mature Christian?

Differences Between Communication Styles

	Learning styles are not the same in oral cultures as in reading cultures
	Literate church planters need to "bridge the gap". They need to learn an oral style of presenting and teaching for greater effectiveness.
	Church planters from oral cultures need to be encouraged and affirmed using oral methods and storytelling rather than familiar analytical teaching/preaching styles.

A non-literate person has a greater chance of hearing the gospel if the communicator or carrier of the gospel is non-literate himself. Literate church planters have a great difficulty communicating appropriately in oral societies. They are not adequately aware of the life-styles of oral cultures and of the clear and deep distinctions between book cultures and oral cultures.

Literate church planters often believe that an analytical, expository style can be understood by everyone. It is their second nature to outline, summarize and divide information into steps and principles. Oral or non reading peoples seldom can learn this way. They hear, understand, believe and internalize information that comes as a narration or verbal event. Their learning style is to repeat what they have seen and heard.

Oral societies are often event oriented. Stories, drama, music and film showings are perfect communication tools because they become events. Literate societies can be taught through breaking down information into its parts, through study and preaching, through a Western educational model.

Oral teaching is still practiced in most traditional cultures. These oral traditions are often carried out by leaders who hand down truths their ancestors taught them. These truths are often taught through a story that teaches the truth.

The following chart will illustrate the major differences between oral and reading cultures:

Book Cultures	Oral Cultures
1. Learn by reading, studying, examining, classifying, comparing, and analyzing	1. Learn by observing, imitating, listening, repeating and memorizing. They learn through proverbs, saying, stories, songs and expressions.
2. Think and talk about concepts and principles.	2. Think and talk about events.
3. Mangage knowledge in abstract, complicated, scientific categories.	3. Use stories of human action to store, organize and communicate information.
4. Seek to discover new information.	4. Value and learn information handed down from the past.
5. Value innovative solutions.	5. Value traditional solutions.
6. Understand things abstractly like the pieces of a puzzle.	6. Understand things in their context and according to the people involved.
7. See things in parts.	7. See things as a whole, in their totality.
8. Ask and answer direct questions.	8. Avoid asking and answering direct questions.
9. Feel the need to define words and concepts.	9. Are uninterested in definitions since the context brings the meaning.
10. Do not like repetition since material missed can be reread.	10. Appreciate repetition in case something was missed the first time.
11. Like brevity (few words can say much)	11. Like to use lots of words (many words to say little).
12. Use charts, diagrams,and lists to explain the message.	12. Use symbols and stories to explain a message.
13. Learn and retain knowledge as general principles.	13. Learn and retain knowledge in relation to real and imagined events of life.
14. Make lists but recite few geneologies.	14. May recite geneologies but make few lists.
15. Speak and write about their own feelings.	15. Think and talk about people and events they know.
16. Arrive at conclusions by logic.	16. Make decisions base on experience.
17. Organize the sermon or oratory with a logical progression of thoughts.	17. Illustrate sermons, exhortations and oratory with events.
18. Tend to communicate one-to-one.	18. Tend to communicate in groups.
19. Learn mostly alone.	19. Learn mostly in interaction with other people.
20. Can think about something for a long time while making notes about it.	20. Cannot think about someting very long without dialogue.
21. Tend to use a subtle verbal style.	21. Have a verbal style that can be dramatic and exagerated.
22. Prefer realistic characters and the struggle to reach a goal.	22. Tend to use strong or heavy characters and tend to emphasize a struggle against an enemy.
23. Use their hands little since gestures are not written or read.	23. Express themselves with their hands.
24. Use informal, casual, or spontaneous verbal exchange.	24. Use ritual and formal verbal exchange.
25. Value style and clarity of reasoning.	25. Value the style of speech, clarity, and poetic forms of language.
26. Are affected by the content of what they read.	26. Are affected by the sound of what they hear.
27. Have talents in written forms of language and literature.	27. Are talented in oral art for example song and poetry.
28. Do not participate in verbal contests but perhaps write well-worded letters to the newspaper or a politician.	28. Participate in verbal contests excelling in praise, insults, riddles, jokes and flowery language.

For more information on how literacy affects how one learns, see Orality vs Literacy.