Bible Review: The Story

The Story, NIV: The Bible as One Continuing Story of God and His People (Also available in NKJV). Zondervan, 2011. 513 pages.

Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12
Recommended for: ages 12-15 and up

Bottom Line: The Story is not a complete Scripture text, but a judicially edited collection of passages arranged to present the Bible as one grand narrative.

Not for study, not necessarily for devotional—but if you’re looking for a way to give a new Christian or a young teen a sense of God’s overall purpose in redemption, this might be helpful. It looks like a hefty adult novel: no pictures or diagrams and very little in the way of supplementary material. The narrative is drawn from all over the Bible and arranged in 31 chapters with added transition paragraphs—no traditional Bible references like chapter and verse. Obviously, this has many drawbacks if you’re preaching, teaching, or studying the Bible in a methodical way. But that’s not the purpose: with The Story, the reader is supposed to pick it up and start reading and mark his place when he’s out of time or at the end of a chapter. Later, he’ll pick it up and read some more until he eventually comes to the end of the book—just like a novel. It’s the same basic idea behind the HCSB Reading God’s Story Bible and The Story, ESV only without any “Bible” trappings beyond maps printed on the endpapers (OT world and NT world) and a list of references in the appendix. The appendix also includes discussion questions for each chapter, like a book club edition.

Max Lucado is the name most closely associated with The Story franchise (Bible storybooks, devotional guides, curriculum, etc.) and he co-wrote the two-paragraph foreword. Otherwise, he seems to have little involvement in this particular project, and there’s no indication who wrote the preface and the transition paragraphs (possibly Randy Frazee, the other foreword co-writer). For those who are allergic to trappings, either churchy or Bible-ish, or for teens who have been in church all their lives but could use some big-picture thinking, The Story might be worth the investment. Please note the NIV translation has had some “issues” with gender-inclusive language. For those who prefer a more traditional translation, The Story in the NKJV is also available.

Overall rating: 3.5
Categories: Young Adult, Bibles and Bible Storybooks, Christian