I’m happy I get to introduce a personal friend for this interview. Nathaniel Brown is the author of The Christian Storyteller. We met at church and have gotten to know each other over the past 2 years. I thoroughly enjoyed his first book, Twelve Portraits of God, and learned quite a bit from it. So it is exciting to welcome his new book to the market.
Short Bio:
Nathaniel Brown is an assistant pastor at Good News Baptist Church in Chesapeake, Virginia. He is married to Rebekah and they have two sons, Aaron and Ezra, and a daughter, Ivy. Nathaniel loves God’s Word and wants to help others learn the Bible, apply it to their lives, and share it with others. He is also passionate about storytelling and the power it holds to communicate the truth. He graduated from Crown College of the Bible, where he earned both a Bachelor’s degree and a Master’s degree. He has written two books and he produces a Christian storytelling podcast called Exempla.
Please tell us about your current release.
The Christian Storyteller is a practical storytelling guide for Christians. It outlines the elements of a well-told story, then shows Christians how to use good stories to point others to the truth of God’s Word. It is easy to read and packed with stories, but it is also full of lessons that readers can apply immediately to their own communication.
What inspired you to write this book?
As an Assistant Pastor at a church, I often teach and preach the Bible and I am constantly trying to grow in my communication skills. Several years ago, as I was reading resources on good communication, I kept coming across the concept of storytelling as an important element of effective communication. I started to learn all I could about storytelling and started to realize how often storytelling is used in Scripture by God’s servants. This book is the fruit of my study and practice over the past three years as I have worked to become a better storyteller.
Excerpt:
God is a storyteller… and so are you. When God wrote a book, He filled it with stories. The Bible overflows with captivating and thought provoking stories—stories told by men like Jonah, Paul, Nathan, and Hosea. These men embraced the power of stories to communicate the truth of God, none more than the greatest storyteller of all time: Jesus Christ. These amazing storytellers of the Bible have much to teach us about the power of stories and the part they play in effectively pointing others to Christ.
Anyone who is trying to influence others with the Word of God can and should use stories to engagingly share God’s truth. Teachers, parents, mentors, and friends can use the power of stories to communicate. This book will teach you the elements of good storytelling and show you practical ways that you can share spiritually significant stories. Whether you consider yourself a great storyteller or a terrible storyteller, this book can help you become an engaging storyteller who uses stories for the greatest purpose—pointing others to God.
What’s next for your book or future plans you’d like to share?
I want to keep telling stories! I will continue to produce my podcast and incorporate stories into my Bible preaching and teaching. I would love to write again but I want to give it some time and see what direction the Lord might lead. I am interested in attempting a biography or doing some historical writing at some point, but I’m not sure!
What got you interested in writing things for others to read?
Back in 2021, I published a study on the Minor Prophets called Twelve Portraits of God. I wrote that book after several people encouraged me to take a series of sermons I had preached and turn that series into a book. As I wrote that book, I discovered that I love to write and I have a God-given gift for communicating ideas clearly and simply through writing. Since then, I can’t shake that desire to write.
What’s one challenge you had to overcome or still work through to write?
When I write, I want to share more than my opinions or experiences. To have depth, I want my writing to be well-researched. It’s hard work to find the right resources and put in the work to digest them so I can incorporate them well into my writing. It’s challenging, but it’s worth it in the long run. Another challenge is simply finding the time!
Do you write full-time? If so, what’s your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
Writing is definitely just a hobby! I’d love to have time to write more but that’s not what God has for me right now. Usually, I write on weekday evenings after we put the kids to bed. I try to set aside two nights every week for study. That time might be spent writing, working on my podcast, or preparing for a sermon or Sunday School lesson.
As a child, did you think you’d be writer? Or what did you want to be when you grew up?
I never envisioned myself writing when I was a kid. I didn’t have a really clear idea of what I wanted to be, though because my dad was in the Army I assumed during some of my childhood that I too would end up in the military. My passion for writing has been a much more recent development for me.
Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
I really want to encourage everyone to take the topic of storytelling seriously. Storytelling is not just something for people who work with children or teach the Bible on a regular basis. Storytelling is a central piece of human communication and we can all use it powerfully to impact the lives of the people we influence.
How can readers connect with you?
Website: https://www.christianstorytellerbook.com/
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Nathaniel-Brown/author/B09N6L8W5Z
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22048571.Nathaniel_Brown