Church | Jesse Joyner

First Baptist Church of Woodbridge Show

A few weeks ago, I got to share my show with First Baptist Church in Woodbridge, VA. It was a cold Saturday in early Spring but over a thousand people still showed up! I did two shows – one in the large sanctuary before the egg hunt and a second in a small cafe-like setting for a smaller lunch crowd. It was a lot of fun. I got to share about the real meaning of Easter while having fun with audience volunteers and juggling a variety of objects. One of my favorite parts was calling up a young lady and juggling while I read from her address book on her smart phone (she gave me permission to do so). It’s amazing what you learn about people from their list of contacts! Thanks to Bill Bennett for the pics….

Where Do Kids Belong in Church?

I am fascinated by the variety of ways that churches integrate or segregate age groups for worship gatherings (the former is also known as “inter-generational worship”). Is there a right way or a wrong way to format this as a church? Do some churches have a better handle on how children and adults worship together than others? What do you think?

Some churches segregate the children from the adults for the entire worship time. You arrive at church as a family unit. You split up into your age-appropriate classes and worship services, and then come back together again at the end of the church day and drive home together. Supporters of this format will say that children learn best in their respective age-leveled worship environments and the adults can be free of the distraction of children during adult worship services.

Other churches have the kids with the adults for the entire worship time (usually smaller churches). Supporters of this model will say that the children need to learn about worship by watching the model of adults and also that adults can learn from the faith of children.

And then many churches tend to have some sort of hybrid plan that allows the children to worship with the adults for part of the service and then dismiss to age-appropriate teaching or sermon times. Churches that split the ages for the entire Sunday service may have other inter-generational worship opportunities throughout the calendar (such as an inter-generational service once a month or special mid-week worship gatherings).

A well-known church in the Atlanta area (North Point Community Church) has created a model called Kidstuf where the parents actually join the kids in the children’s church service. I like that model because it turns the tables on what is defined as the “main” worship service of a church. Why do we have to think that the adults are the “main” people and the kids are some sort of auxiliary group to the church community? Why not have the adults join the kids in church for once?

There are plenty of other ways to approach this issue. What does your worshiping community do? Do you think there is a right way or wrong way to approach this?

“What’s in the Bible?” Curriculum Review

I am somewhat of a bibliophile (one who loves books). And more particularly, I love to learn about and study the book of all books – the Bible. I guess that would be a more accurate use of the term “Biblio”-phile.

So it is with excitement and anticipation that I share with you a new curriculum from Phil Vischer, the creator of the well known Veggie Tales series (in fact, Phil is the famous scrappy voice of Bob the Tomato). This new curriculum, designed for use in Sunday School or other weekly church gatherings with elementary-aged kids, is called Buck Denver Asks…What’s in the Bible?

Here is the brief summary straight from the curriculum website:

“Buck Denver Asks … What’s in the Bible? is the 13-DVD series from VeggieTales® creator Phil Vischer. In his first new project since VeggieTales, Vischer has set out to teach kids (and parents!) the story of the Bible – God’s great rescue plan! We know the stories of Moses, Noah, David, and Jesus, but in this groundbreaking new Bible DVD series, we learn how they all fit together to tell one big, redemptive story. Vischer’s signature wit shines through with his all-new cast of characters, fast-paced flash animation, and catchy tunes. This is one journey through the Bible you won’t want to miss!”

I took a look at the info and some samples of the curriculum and I am impressed overall. I would certainly recommend it (and if you keep reading, you will see some special discounts on the curriculum that I can offer my readers).

Here are the things I like about What’s in the Bible?….

A scope and sequence guided by the overarching narrative of the Bible, rather than topics. I know a lot of curriculum out there follows a general chronological order of the Bible, but this one aims to cover the entire Bible while constantly keeping in mind the overall cohesion and interconnectedness of the Bible. And it uses the entire story of the Bible as the driving force of content rather than just teaching topics illustrated by a few popular Bible stories.
Use of a variety of learning methods. This curriculum is self-described as being “media-driven,” but that doesn’t mean “media-only.” There are plenty of interactive activities in small groups. There are hands-on activities as well as more cognitive activities (such as review through trivia questions). I like curriculum that keeps moving and draws on a variety of teaching methods and learning styles. I like how the videos use both puppets and Phil teaching (as himself). The puppets help the kids stay engaged (while teaching about the Bible) and Phil’s teaching brings a very real and pastoral aspect to the content. He is both deep and understandable at the same time. I like the combination of all those elements.
The commitment to Scripture. This might sound obvious, but it is important that a curriculum have a strong Biblical grounding in terms of how the writers view Scripture. Phil Vischer has a strong commitment to Scriptural inspiration, authority, reliability, and relevance. To him, the Bible is not just the world’s best selling book that teaches us about the religion of Christianity and how people wrote about it centuries ago. For Phil, the Bible is God’s inspired Word – a revelation from God to us as His message of love and story of redemption. And that changes everything.
It’s all right there. You basically have a curriculum in a box. From what I reviewed, it did not appear that the teachers (who are usually volunteers) need to bring much of anything with them except the videos and other handouts/materials provided by the curriculum itself. Any way to cut down on unnecessary clutter is helpful.

Here are the things I think can be improved….(which is not much, by the way)

There is a puppet named Michael who rides in the back of a car on the way to grandma’s house. I’ve seen him before in other Buck Denver videos. Maybe it is my personal preference, but his voice is hard for me to understand. It is very high-pitched and sounds extremely unnatural for whoever is providing the voice for him. I think it is important to have clear and legible communication if you want to convey such quality content.
Some of the puppets have no eyes (or, at least you can’t see the eyes due to over-furrowed brows or hats). I think the eyes bring life to a puppet (or any other creature for that matter). Again, it might be my personal preference, but I feel like I receive communication better when I can see some eyes in the puppet, person, or creature. Would you like a pastor to preach a sermon to you with a hat down over their eyes the whole time?
There is an extra DVD for a Christmas series (yay!). But it would also be nice to have a special DVD series for Lent (the weeks leading up to Easter). They cover the Gospel stories and the death and resurrection of Christ, but I think it would be nice to have a dedicated series that follows the weeks of Lent.

There is not much to criticize here, because Phil and his team have worked very hard to put out a great product that will help lots of churches communicate the truth of the Bible in a largely Biblically illiterate culture (and becoming more and more so, unfortunately). Many of us are familiar with the success of Veggie Tales and the way it has become “salt and light” by teaching Biblical truths in ways that are not preachy and are palatable to the masses – both Christian and secular. My hope is that this “What’s in the Bible” project will similarly penetrate into our culture and society in a way that can instruct young people about the most popular (and I believe) most important book in history.

So, here’s the discount I promised you (as well as a free sample):

Click on this link to get ALMOST 50% OFF retail price (good through the middle of November 2014) and an opportunity to get a free sample: http://promos.whatsinthebible.com/kidmin-2014/