KATE NICHOLAS had just finished speaking at a church in Reading, when a woman in the audience stood up and spoke. She said, “It was wonderful to hear your story, but wouldn’t it be great if we could do as you have done, to look back over our lives, to see where God has been at work and be able to tell our own stories.”
A corporate communicator and journalist, Nicholas responded to that challenge by writing this 226-page guide to help Christians to “connect their story with God’s narrative” and to communicate their journey of faith in an authentic, engaging way.
She first explains how every believer has a “soul story” to tell, and then encourages readers to explore how they have experienced God in the “different chapters” of their lives. They are then given advice on how to tell others’ their story “in a way that honours God and opens up hearts to hear the truth of his great narrative”.
Nicholas has herself a compelling story to tell. She was diagnosed with advanced breast cancer in 2014, and wrote her previous book, Sea Changed (Authentic, 2018), for her children as an account of how she came to faith, and of her experience of cancer. When, “against all odds”, she survived, Nicholas began encouraging other people to tell their stories, as she told her own.
This book will be welcomed by anyone who has experienced those awkward moments, in Evangelical circles, when an enthusiastic service leader invites someone to “give their testimony”, and no one responds. Or someone does respond, and struggles to relate their story or know when to stop.
More importantly, it is a book to encourage Christians to understand their faith journey and talk about it with integrity and courage. Questions and exercises at the end of each chapter help readers to examine their lives and identify the key moments when God was at work.
The author explains: “This is a book about the kairos, the critical or opportune moments or seasons in our lives when we are called to make a decision or to act, those moments in our lives that are pregnant with meaning.”
Nicholas writes with passion and conviction, born out of her own life experiences. The book has the potential to help many believers review their lives and be able to explain their faith.
A section recognising the power of social media, video and web-based communications would have been a helpful addition. These are increasingly forming the arena where ideas and stories are being shared, and where personal experiences — expressed concisely, with flair, humour, and visuals — are reaching significant audiences.
In the internet age, the “personal testimony” or recommendation, delivered with authenticity, has arguably more potential than it has had for generations.
The Revd Peter Crumpler is a self-supporting minister in St Albans diocese, and a former Director of Communications at Church House, Westminster.
Soul’s Scribe: Connecting your story with God’s narrative
Kate Nicholas
Authentic Media £9.99
(978-1-78893-021-5)
Church Times Bookshop £8.99