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RSSBuilding Community through the New Website
Have you had the chance to go through the newly revamped website for What’s in the Bible? I especially love the sections that are geared to parents and kids! I mean, yeah the blog is pretty awesome (ahem…) but it’s great to finally have all these additional resources at our fingertips!
If you’re anything like me, you may feel a little inadequate to teach your kids about what really IS in the Bible. You know, beyond the Sunday school stories you learned back in your own youth. In the past, my children have asked me some rather interesting questions, which I honestly didn’t know how to answer. Questions like, “Were there dinosaurs on Noah’s Ark?”
I’m admitting this to you because we are all in this parenting /ministry thing together, right?!
What I personally love about this new site is that it will facilitate a place where WE as well as our KIDS can come and glean some really fun and relevant information!
If you haven’t checked out some of the new features of the What’s in the Bible? site, I encourage you to take a look.
The Home Page is where Phil Vischer welcomes you and explains a bit about the concept of his series, What’s In the Bible?. This landing page will give you a snapshot to see what’s happening on the website, as well as on our Facebook page and on Twitter. If you use Facebook or Twitter, please follow us and suggest us to your friends, too!
Then there’s the Blog Page, which continues to grow in content each week! We have hugely popular posts by Phil and Liz, who bring us exciting news from inside the studio, which we ALL look forward to! We also have writers: Amy, Lori, Melanie and I who write on different subjects from a unique perspective, specifically with you and your kids in mind. This is a great area for you to have a voice, post a comment, or even share a link which complements the discussion.
The new Video Page has a place where you can watch those great clips that we’ve all enjoyed so much on the DVD’s. Yes, the highly acclaimed Bentley Brothers are there too! This week on our Facebook site there was a popular post asking us to name some of our favorite What’s in the Bible? songs … you know, the ones that get stuck in your head ALL the time! You’ll be happy to know that most of those favorite songs are in this section!
Moving on to the two new resource pages, there’s one for Parents and another for the Kids. On the Parent Page you’ll notice some activities that can be pulled up and printed out to be utilized in your home school, family Bible study/devotional time, or just as an addition to your family fun night! We have some great coloring pages, a crafts and game area (which I will surely be utilizing due to my lack of crafting ability), and some handy flashcards which can be printed out and used with the whole family. The team has also been working very hard on a study guide for this area that can be used in conjunction with each specific DVD. Right now, “Creation” (from DVD #1) is up and ready to be accessed!
The Kids’ Page has all the Jellyfish Labs’ character’s bios, some interesting polls that the kids can take part in, and COMING SOON—look for even more activities that the kids will love, while gaining more Bible knowledge!
Let’s not forget the Store section where you can order copies of the DVDs for yourself and friends. With Christmas around the corner, it’s a good link to keep handy and share!
Think of this web site as a place where we can build a community of like minded individuals, who all desire a place online where coming together and learning about What’s in the Bible? is interactive, educational and fun! As I mentioned before, most of us probably feel somewhat inadequate to teach our kids everything we’d like for them to know about the Bible. Our team sincerely hopes that as this site continues to grow, you can find the resources you’ve been looking for and maybe also, through the ongoing discussions and blogs, share some of your own expertise with others along the way!
Ok, I honestly don’t know if there were dinosaurs on the Ark! Do you?
A Sunday School Story: My Phone Saved the Day!
It was Sunday morning and we had overslept. A nightmare for any children’s ministry volunteer. In the shuffle of trying to get out the door as quickly as possible, I left my small group curriculum on the kitchen counter! Can you relate?
On the car ride to church I wondered if we turned back, would we make it on time? My husband turned to me and made the best suggestion, “Sandy, why don’t you just download today’s curriculum on your phone? That’s what I do.” That thought had never occurred to me! Earlier in the week, my leader had e-mailed the curriculum to me. I simply needed to open it as a PDF, and teach the lesson from my iPhone.
It was an instant hit with my small group! They loved taking turns reading the lesson from the phone, and I loved that it helped keep them engaged. After a few weeks of utilizing the curriculum on my phone rather than paper, I noticed that it was actually enhancing the small group time. I had a pretty squirrely group of second and third graders and was constantly looking for ways to help focus their attention. When playing a game, I would allow each girl to take a turn reading questions from the phone and they loved helping me “lead” the lesson. And, there was a girl in my group with special needs. There were a few weeks that her physical limitations would make it challenging for her to participate in what we were supposed to do that day. But she loved being able to hold my iPhone and either read part of that day’s story or lead us through part of the game.
I really was shocked that something as simple as using my phone to access the curriculum instead of a printed copy was making such a difference in my group. When I told my husband how much I enjoyed his suggestion, he told me he was experiencing a similar situation with the group of boys that he led. When we shared what we were doing with the other leaders at our church, they also found it to be a win! My friend Matt didn’t have a smart phone, but he realized that his iPod Touch worked the exact same way.
This is what led the What’s in the Bible? team to create a mobile website. No adjustments needed for you. The mobile website is just right for teachers, so you can access the What’s in the Bible? Leader’s Guides and teach the lesson right from your Android, smart phone, Blackberry, or iPhone I love not having to worry about printing out my curriculum each week. Plus, I love the ease of not having to shuffle through paperwork! If you haven’t tried using your phone, eBook reader, or iPod to access your churches curriculum, I definitely think you should give it a shot! Hopefully you’ll love it just as much as I do! Sandy Riggs currently works as a Lemon Lime Kids’ Intern, and loves working on the What’s in the Bible? curriculum!
Being “salt and light” in the world of entertainment
Aside from working with the “What’s in the Bible” team, I also administrate a online Christian movie site, promoting Christian films, filmmakers, writers and all things media related. On site we have some great (sometimes even heated) discussions, too! I’ve had numerous conversations with fans of Christian films, and much of what I hear is sort of reactionary in terms of our culture and the negative impact that Hollywood is having on that culture, as a whole.
This weekend I took my mom to see the newly released film Hereafter. Its previews made it sound like it was going to answer the big question, “What happens when we die?” Granted, I wasn’t expecting an overtly Biblical viewpoint about the afterlife, but I was interested in seeing their take on what most of us refer to as “Heaven”.
Bluntly, the story was weak. But besides that, it was written using a post-modern worldview. While the film started to address the idea that there may be more than just a black void which will be experienced after death; without taking a Biblical truth and expanding on it–well, Biblically– the audience was left confused, and had many really important unanswered questions.
Sadly, the story couldn’t answer the tough questions: What, where, and why?. Those who don’t share our worldview can’t go beyond what is physically tangible. Where there is no faith, there is no “hope for things unseen…”
The beauty of having a Biblical worldview is that we can answer these tough questions; not based on our complete understanding, but based on faith in God’s Word and His promises, fulfilled in Jesus! When our children ask us what happens when we die, we can direct them to scripture. We can truthfully tell them that, while we don’t know exactly what Heaven looks like, it DOES exist. We can explain that through the Resurrection of Jesus, we have an ultimate hope in an eternal life with God.
There’s that need for that “Bible literacy” thing again!
Here are two questions that many Christian filmmakers and fans of Christian films do a lot of talking about on my site, “Should we make films for only Christians? –OR should we make films for the rest of the world, with a needed message of redemption?
We needn’t look any further than the Biblical stories of Daniel and Joseph to see how God used these two simple, yet godly men to work amongst powerful idol worshippers to reach His greater purpose! Bringing about a transformation within their very societies, which ultimately helped God’s people!
Jesus instructs us to be “salt and light of the world”, (Matthew 5:13-16) and to do the work that God has sent us to do.
In John 17:18, Jesus says, “As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.” Jesus never asked God to take believers out of the world, but to instead USE THEM in it. Because Jesus is the one who sends us into the world, we should not try to escape from it, and avoid all relationships with non-Christians. Rather to impact the world with His light.
This makes me think that we must ask ourselves if we are truly helping to unify the body of Christ–AND how we are bringing His truth to those who don’t yet know Him. Both things are equally important.
Personally, I pray that I become less reactionary in my response to the world. I pray that God shows me how to help transform and impact culture–somehow, and that I can teach my children to do the same. It shouldn’t surprise me that those who are OF THE WORLD can only share a distorted message of questionable values, based on inner enlightenment and a belief structure based on a self fulfilled destiny. They don’t know any better. They lack His Word…the Truth…or perhaps a literacy of that Word.
Part of that truth is we are made in the image of a loving, relational God, who desires to be in a loving relationship WITH us. What a great starting point in any story, song, play, or movie. What a great beginning in transforming our society!
As a mom, I can see how vital it is for my kids to really know their Bible. Not just the sweet Sunday school stories, but the history–the time lines–the cultures– the story behind the story. That’s probably why I love the What’s In the Bible? series so much! It’s chalked full of so much more than what I was taught as a kid! I’m blessed to be able to give my kids that advantage. They are both creatives…so maybe one day they’ll feel inspired to make a movie or write a book that will make an impact on their generation for Jesus!
What is your opinion about the films of today? Do we Christians need to make a bigger impact on society through secular films / media projects? Or should we stay within the Christian film / Christian media genre, only? Would you support work by Christians who write, act, and produce films for an inclusive or cross-over audience? Do you let your kids watch secular films? What if your child wants to be an actor, director or filmmaker?
We all value your insights and comments!!
Meet Liz from Jellyfish Labs
Meet Liz, a Jellyfish Labs team member in our Chicago office. Liz writes, reads, researches, administrates, and does pretty much everything else we ask! She’s pretty fantastic and will be blogging fairly regularly about all the behind-the-scenes happenings at the studio. And all of those behind-the-scenes photos on Facebook? Yeah, that’s Liz too.
Here’s some of the Jellyfish Team in Denver. Phil’s on the far left, then Paul (Chief Creative), Liz, and Tim (Business Affairs).
There are only a few of us who occupy the Jellyfish Labs studio so my days are sometimes filled with the most miscellaneous of projects. But my absolute favorite task has been working on the 100+ scripts I’ve gotten to write for JellyTelly and Jellyfish Labs.
The first scripts I wrote were comedy segments like Pirate Etiquette and God’s Amazing Animals. Clive and Ian quickly became my favorite characters to write for–Getting to play both sides of a straight man/funny man duo is such a treat! Then a couple years ago came the assignment to write for Clive and Ian as they talked about faith and values. Not a big deal right? Well maybe not for a mom or an older sibling….but for me, well, I quickly hit a wall.
You see, I’ve almost always been the youngest one in the room. Youngest sibling, youngest student and now youngest coworker. And while being quite childlike myself, I haven’t had much experience with children and have limited experience talking to them, let alone teaching them! How exactly…was I supposed to explain the whys and hows of values and scripture to kids? I was a little befuddled but ever grateful for the opportunity to figure it out.
As I muddled my way through the first few scripts I would often pop into our business manager’s office to ask a question about how old a child would need to be to understand this or that theological concept. And I would often be reminded that I was making it too complicated. We have a funny way of doing that with God, don’t we? Not only was I making the scripts too complicated, but I quickly saw how I had made my application of theology and values too complicated in my own life.
Over the next 20-30 scripts, God simplified things. He slowly re-walked me through the hows and whys of values and the hows and whys of knowing Him more deeply. He reminded me over and over until it sunk in, that we don’t live out values because they always make our lives better—sometimes they make things tougher. He reminded me that we don’t pursue values because they’re nice but because they are characteristics of Christ and we are called to be transformed into His image. And most importantly He reminded me that it was not my job to transform myself and discipline myself to do these values but that it’s the work of the Holy Spirit IN me that transforms me.
I don’t have any children at the moment, but I am thankful to know that when the time comes for kids, that I won’t just have the information to teach them, but also the example to model for them. Not just because of what God is doing in my life personally, but because I am blessed to work in an office where we don’t just try to come up with the right answers—we desire to live out the truths we are sharing. And in the midst of work assignments and scheduling, we are given the grace and space to allow the Holy Spirit into what we do so we all end up transformed.
