I think you’d be hard pressed to find people who don’t like stories. All you have to do is look at the popularity of movies, fiction, the chicken soup for the soul series and the rising popularity of podcasts such as This American life and The Moth to see that there is something about stories that speak to the deepest parts of us. They can move us, inspire us, challenge us, spur us on and even convict us. We see this time and time again throughout the bible from David’s huge mess with Bathsheba - Nathan told him a story to reveal the truth to David’s own heart, something a direct confrontation would have failed at – to Jesus’ very own parables. Stories feed our souls.
Tony Campolo’s latest book “Stories that feed your Soul” does just that. It’s a collection of 137 stories centered on the themes found in Romans 8. It is quite similar to the Chicken soup series of books, though with more of a Pastoral focus with a connection with scripture. The majority of the stories are half a page to a page make them quick easy reads or simple illustrations for a sermon or bible study.
As a whole this book is quite enjoyable and inspiring. The stories cause you think and try to feed your soul to help tell the greatest story – the Good news of Christ. I found myself sharing some of the stories with my friends in conversation and took time to process them and allow them to sink in. That being said, it is hard to sit down and spend a chunk of time reading this book. With each story being so short reading a dozen at a time is akin to going to a buffet – you eat a lot but it all blends together and you don’t really remember much of what you enjoyed even if you know you enjoyed the experience. As such I feel this book is best read in small doses, a story or two to start your day or if you have an electronic copy reading a story while waiting for your bus or other small times throughout your day.
Tony Campolo’s “Stories that feed your soul” is an inspiring book, and a great resources for Pastors, allowing them to look up stories based on certain themes – but is more for valuable for picking up quickly here and there then sitting down and reading it in one sitting.
