New Book: Stories of the Way by Henry E. Neufeld

Nov. 30, 2011 - PRLog -- Energion Publications announces the December 5, 2011 release of a new book, Stories of the Way.  Using the example of Jesus' teaching with parables, Henry Neufeld invites the reader to take a seat, open their Bibles, and learn. Twenty-five stories with subjects that include a look at family values, jury duty, the mission of the church, and hearing God. Several parables are from Mr. Neufeld's popular online series, The God-Talk Club. Related Scripture at the beginning of each story will provide a foundation and further investigation into the lesson while questions at the end of each story will prompt discussions.

Much of the text in the Bible is in the form of stories. From Old Testament tales of the patriarchs to the parables of Jesus, the reader is confronted with a variety of narratives. Even in those places where Bible writers are making and explaining statements of fact, there is a story in the background. What do these stories mean?

It's unfortunate that we spend a great deal of time trying to reduce Bible stories to a series of statements of fact, sucking the life out of them in the process. We don't understand one of the parables of Jesus better when we've come up with a moral for the story. In fact, we've lost some of the meaning.

Instead, we should learn think more in the form of stories. In fact, he even asks us to consider looking at the stories behind the various statements of fact in the Bible, finding similarities in our own stories, and even weaving new stories from our imaginations. This, he teaches, is the best way to learn to make scripture come alive and to live it.
This collection of short stories is not presented primarily as stories to read, but as a challenge to put your imagination to work as you study the Bible—to write your own stories. When you've let your imagination break the bounds of your life the Holy Spirit can then show you how to live new stories in your own life and in your relationships with family, friends, church, and the entire world.

All but two of the 25 stories in this book were originally published on the Jevlir Caravansary (http://jevlir.com) fiction blog. Two new stories, “The Magic Sword” and “The Juror’s Oath” were written just for this collection. Scripture references and thought questions have been provided for each story to help small groups use them in discussions.

Come join the story!

Stories of the Way will be available from major online retailers and from Energion Direct (http://energiondirect.com/products-page/energion-publicat...).

Henry Neufeld teacher, publisher, mentor, husband, father, and grandfather grew up on the mission field with his parents and siblings. He went on to receive a BA in Biblical Languages from Walla Walla University and his MA in Religion, concentrating in Biblical and Cognate languages from Andrews University.  Henry left both the church and church service following his graduate education. He served in the U. S. Air Force for 10 years as a linguist. He returned to the church in a United Methodist congregation and is an active serving member of a Methodist fellowship in his hometown of Pensacola, Florida, along with his wife, Jody.  They have three children and nine grandchildren.

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Energion Publications publishes challenging, educational, and spiritually uplifting material for the broad Christian center. We look for books that present strong views presented in such a way as to invite dialog.