Telling a Better Story is about... telling a better story. The author builds upon the assumption that all human beings are living out some kind of a story, some narrative about the big questions: Who are we? What’s the meaning of life? What’s wrong with the world and how can we fix it? What’s wrong with me and how can I fix myself? The task of the Christian is to listen for the story others are telling, and then to show how the Christian faith offers one that is more compelling. “This book,” he says, “is about engaging the deepest aspirations of our secular friends and asking them to consider how the story of the gospel, as strange as it may seem to them at first, just may lead them to what their heart has been looking for all along.”

The book is divided into three parts:

I. Background: where he shows what has changed in recent decades and why it matters to Christians as they share their faith with others.

II. The heart of the book where he offers some “trajectories” to follow when engaging with others. Here he introduces a framework he calls “inside out” which allows the apologist to show others the rival stories they are following while attempting to show them a better one. It is a means of addressing cultural assumptions such as “I don’t need God or religion,” or “you have to be true to yourself,” or “we have progressed beyond faith and myths to science and reason.”

III. Where he answers several common charges: The Christian story is oppressive, it is unloving, and it is false. Written for a general audience, the book moves quickly and makes for reading that is at once relatively simple and seriously thought-provoking.

In my assessment Telling a Better Story is an effective work that teaches what is perhaps more of a framework than a method for addressing contemporary skeptics. But it is just the kind of framework that might help the gospel make sense to those who have grown up in this post-Christian culture. I’m glad I read it and am glad to recommend it to you as well.

Somewhat helpful, but didn’t come across anything really new or originally insitefull at least to me

Chatraw cuts to the heart of the problem with so many apologetic approaches: they focus on raw data as modernist/enlightenment thinking was right and humans are just computers, needing only the facts. In fact, humans are designed to respond to good stories, ones which speak to their hearts and help them see how reality works. Thus, apologists need to emphasize that Christianity isn't just factually correct, it gives the best narrative framework for people to understand how the world works. Chatraw's "inside story, outside story" helps readers see apologetics in a new, more effective way.

An interesting read. In Telling a Better Story, Josh Chatraw sets evangelism as a consideration of competing narratives - the Gospel of Jesus as a story that can hold its own and surpass the various other stories we turn to in order to deal with the complexities of life. I appreciate this perspective, particularly his focus on the role imagination plays in this process. He speaks of "asking unbelievers to try on the Christian story to see how it actually makes sense of their experiences and how it speaks to their deepest aspirations and longings." This is a rich resource for anyone attempting faith conversations that keep getting stuck at the level of intellectual debate. Chatraw does a good job showing how one can shift the discussion to consider mystery, our universal leaning toward spiritual exploration, and God's care for our personal hopes and longings. Part of the good news is that Jesus meets not just our minds but also our hearts.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.