Rev. Charles Maynard has lived several lives. District
Superintendent, professional storyteller, best-selling
author, and executive director of the Friends of the
Smokies, among others.
He began developing his own storytelling skills while a
young pastor helping out at the United Methodist
Church’s Camp Lookout near Chattanooga,
Tennessee. Today, as well as serving as Traditional
pastor at Cokesbury UMC, Knoxville, Maynard is in
demand as a storyteller and does dozens of programs a
year in schools, churches, festivals and elsewhere.
He is a big believer in using stories to preach or teach,
pointing out that Jesus told stories much more than he
gave sermons.
“Narrative stories are such a much more effective way
of communicating,” he said. “Another thing I like about
stories is that they are multigenerational. Everybody
gets something out of them.”
