I recently attended the Faith and Film Festival at Concordia Seminary here in St. Louis. It was a wonderful learning experience getting to watch five films and then discussing them with others from a Christian perspective.
In some movies, it was easy to find the Christian application; in others it was a little more subtle. But since that gathering, I have noticed myself viewing movies in a much different way. I catch myself looking at what is on the screen through the lens of my faith. What can I learn from these characters that tells me something about Jesus? What lessons can I glean from whatever movie it is that speak to my life as a Christian? It is a fascinating way to approach movies, and more often than not, I have been surprised by what I have found that relates to my relationship with God.
The next time you watch a movie, give it a try. Look through the lens of Christianity and let God speak to you through the words and images you hear and see. Then tell someone about what you discovered.
During the past year with more people staying home, the time people spent watching shows and movies on streaming services rose sharply. According to one news report I saw, one activity that increased the most was binge-watching. For those of you who don’t know, binge-watching means viewing a series of movies or episodes of a show one after the other at a single sitting or over several days in a row. There is a certain delight that people receive in finishing a set of movies or all the seasons of a show in a relatively short amount of time.
The whole idea of binge-watching got me to thinking about how we might apply the same principle to our reading of the Bible. Could we engage in Bible-binging, if you will, as part of our daily and weekly routines? There are many programs that offer a way to read the Bible every day for a year or two or three to complete the reading of the entire Old and New Testaments by the end. This can be a very rewarding and satisfying practice. But I am thinking more of just our general approach to Bible reading. Is it something that we set aside chunks of time for and that we are excited to take a deep dive into?
It should be, of course, but we can find a million and one reasons not to read our Bibles these days. But now is the time we need the Bible the most. The stories inside of God’s people through the ages are true life experiences of love, betrayal, reunion, suffering, triumph, learning, growing, and ultimately salvation in our Savior Jesus who provides us with a happy ending to our lives. Sounds a lot like the aspects of some shows we binge watch, doesn’t it? But the stories of the Bible can help us and guide us in our everyday lives more than any TV show can.
So why not try some Bible-binging this week and pick a book or a section of Scripture to read in blocks of time over a period of days? Let the Holy Spirit move you and inspire you to read the Bible with fresh eyes and with a new-found curiosity and joy in the words that our God is sharing with us and just waiting for us to read for the first time or again. Let the Bible-binging begin!
Packaging is the “in” buzzword in marketing these days. It means the presentation of a product to the public in a way designed to build up a favorable image. While it may seem strange to hear the term packaging as it relates at a church conference, Rev. Jeff Scheich in a session at Best Practices, explained that packaging is fundamental for churches to use to build interest in a worship series they are introducing.
Movie posters like these are an example of packaging.
Like with the launch of a movie, it is important to “get the word out” in various forms of media: posters, banners, videos, special events, even trinkets like cups, lanyards and little flashlights. Most every parish has a member who is a vendor for items like this and would be willing to provide them at a discount or free of charge. Continue reading →
In “Parable Preaching,” another session I attended at the Best Practices in Ministry conference in Phoenix in February, presenter Pastor Jeff Scheich of Lincoln, NE, talked about the power of parables that Jesus utilized in his time on earth, and the power of a good story we can still use in our day to preach the Gospel message.
In an interesting wary of looking at things, Scheich explained that the parables that Jesus taught in the first century were related to the things that the listeners were interesting in, talking about and involved with: planting, farming, shepherding, going to banquets, attending weddings, etc. And the points that Jesus made from stories about things that people were familiar with would stick with them.
