This series, Telling Tales, represents my journey from being a well-honed theological student raised in a strictly evangelical paradigm of life and faith to being a more critical thinker and communicator of the story of my life and faith.

I wish to end this series in a way that does not impose the reality of my journey upon anyone else. It is not something to be universalised. I think the present intellectual climate tends to universalise too much, and often, unnecessarily. I seek to avoid that in the communication of this change that has taken place in my understanding.

I am not denying the benefits of my evangelical upbringing. Neither am I reacting with disdain towards the prevalence of the intellectual climate within the Christian tradition I have grown up in. I understand that it is precisely such an intellectual unbringing that has enabled me to critically examine and acknowledge its own limitations. Perhaps I am simply seeking a better way to view my faith. And my life.

Finally, I do not desire to engage in open challenges and debates with my friends who may have settled on the position of primacy in the role of expository preaching. I understand that there are wonderful and effective expository preachers out there, and they have blessed many Christians. Just not me. My life was radically changed when I discovered the power of the story.

But if you, like me, are wondering what is still missing in your passion for the word, then I wish to invite you to embark on a journey of unlearning what you have been comfortable with for years, and relearning the story of God. Your story. Eventually, you will no longer find a need to quote chapters and verses. You will simply tell the story as it is, knowing that the significance of your story has been found in the greater story of God. You will tell tales. You will be a storyteller.