Let’s face it. Our world has changed dramatically. A decent segment of the population has great trouble reading literature. They’ve cut their teeth on skimming tweets, digesting texts, and scanning blogs.
Reading literature is fast becoming an endangered skill. 
For this reason, many have trouble reading the Bible.
Enter a new kind of Bible for a text-skimming, tweet-digesting, blog-scanning generation.
The Story.
If you or someone you know has trouble reading the Bible, this is a great resource to start them out with.
While The Story doesn’t really replace the Bible, it’s a great transition from iPhone texts to Scripture.
The Story condenses the Bible into 31 highly readable chapters (based on the NIV version). It seeks to sweep the reader into the unfolding progression of biblical characters and events from Genesis to Revelation.
The Story attempts to put the biblical story in chronological order, arranging the text in a way that texters, blog-scanners, and tweeps can better digest.
It frames the biblical story in a way that reads similar to a novel. It also contains short transitions to connect the reader to the continuing drama.
Again, this isn’t a replacement for the Bible since it removes certain portions of it (in an effort to keep the storyline in sharp focus).
And it’s not perfect. For instance, I wish they had placed Galatians as Paul’s first letter instead of Thessalonians.
But aside from minor issues like that, if someone wants to get a feel for the overall drama that Scripture contains, and they’ve had trouble reading the Bible (no matter which version they’ve tried), this is a great tool.
The Story comes in an adult edition, a teen edition (which is excellent for adults too), a kid’s edition, and a children’s edition. You can order each version at a discount by clicking the links below.
It makes a great gift.
The Story: Adult version in hardcover
The Story: Teen edition in paperback (for adults also)
In Praise of Dry Spells
The DVD is really good to watch. You can find some of them on you tube. The songs aren’t just written about the person in the Bible, but possibly from their perspective. I especially like the ones with Christ. Moses,David and Daniel are really good as well.
I’ve been meaning to check this out and was a little skeptical to do so (can’t be too careful with new editions these days). But you really helped me see how it can be a great tool for this blog/tweet-happy generation. Let’s not forget how to read literature, though!
“Foreword by Max Lucado.” LOL!
I have been thinking of how to possibly use this book as a resource in campus ministry. 31 chapters in a 15 week semester? Maybe stretch it to half the book in fall and half in spring?
Anyway, thanks for this post.
An excellent way to go through this narrative is to listen to the audio book form. It is dramatized and listening actually is the way most in ancient world went through writing. Something is to be said for how oral moves you for YHWH speaks things into existence. I listen to The Story before going through From Here to Eternity and it enhanced Frank’s edifying writing of God’s Mission as you go through it throughout The Story even though it may have not been The Story’s actual intent, yet again it might. In all the Spirit of Christ works to His purpose. Tov Mahod
We business people prefer the scaled down version known as the “Elevator Pitch” or the “Executive Summary” 🙂
That seems pretty cool. Yet one more book to add to my wish list, as if it doesn’t have enough on it already!
Great post! I was planning on writing a blog post soon on this same book. Now I guess I can just direct others to this post. Thanks!
We’ve been going thru this in in my adult Sunday School class since the Fall. It’s a good way to get the big picture / overall story of scripture. We’re actually using the Teen Edition, since it is cheaper (with soft cover) and the content is identical.