Review: The Expanded Bible
Bible. Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2009.”]![The [Expanded] Bible. Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2009.](http://www.rvaym.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/200_1000_Book.75.cover.jpg "The [Expanded] Bible")
How do you review The Bible?
The [Expanded
Really, you can’t review the text itself. You can review how it was written and the style, but not the content.
Thomas Nelson released The [Expanded] Bible this summer with praise from John Ortberg. Based off the New Century Version [NCV], The [Expanded] Bible takes the original text of Scripture and fleshes out English words with multiple meanings and expanded descriptions in order to more fully understand the movement of the text. For instance, John 3:16 reads this way:
[For] God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only [only; unique; only begotten; 1:14, 18] Son so that whoever believes in him may not be lost [perish], but have eternal life.
Would I use this Bible on a regular basis? Really, I probably should. As I read through a passage, it would help me re-tell the story by knowing more of the true essence of the original text. I don’t use the NCV on a regular basis, though, so that makes it slightly more difficult. It does give a good glimpse into another way of reading Scripture, but I think I’ll wait until the full Bible is released in this style.
find your [remedy].
The David Crowder Band has a way with music and worship, a fusion of passionate energy, creative talent and an ever-apparent love for their God. Their work in the Remedy Club Tour Edition CD/DVD is no different.
After the Fall 2007 release of their latest album, Remedy, DC*B hit the road to some of America’s best-known clubs. In the DVD’s bonus material, David Crowder says the band believes God is at work all the time, everywhere, so why not bring people to a worship experience where they might least expect it?
The CD/DVD begins with “Trying To Make you Sing” and “The Glory Of It All,” a simple, yet powerful song that draws in the complete power and glory of God, from Creation to the end of time, and drawing on the whole Gospel story. It sets the stage for an experience of awe in worship that is incredibly powerful.
The rest of the CD? It continues on, almost as its own, complete worship experience. The band breaks for Crowder to explain bwack’s (DC*B drummer) technical prowess, including the radical transformation of a Guitar Hero controller into a stand-alone musical instrument. (His latest project built a sampler for the rock band Family Force 5).
Late in the show, Crowder explains the dual-purpose of the show. The evening was not pure entertainment for some faithful followers, but an opportunity to give back to the communities where each show took place. DC*B invited attendees to bring socks and towels to be donated to homeless shelters in each city. In one city, the patrons of the shelter came to pick up the goods and shed tears at the overwhelming generosity.
As usual, DC*B has innovated their use of music, they bring diverse styles to this album and yet remain so simple. The words are powerful, but not complex. They draw the listener in and share a hope for so much more. If you missed the tour, you can host your own concert experience. And while you’re at it, don’t let it be pure entertainment: find a shelter in your town that could use some socks and towels.
Published at HJ
the secret life.
Maybe I missed it, but ABC Family’s hit summer debut seems to have snuck past the realm of (most of) the youth ministry blogosphere. I don’t know how my wife heard about it, but I would have missed this.
Right on the heels of Juno and the Massachusetts “pregnancy pact” comes another tale of an untimely teen pregnancy in “The Secret Life of the American Teenager.”
Welcome to the dog days of summer, where the weather is hot and television is on repeat.
Over the past few years, cable has picked up where the networks fall off during the summer months. The networks have thrown in a few new sagas this summer, but cable still rules the summer.
ABC Family and veteran writer Brenda Hampton have joined elements of Hampton’s popular 7th Heaven series with a growing interest in teen issues to shock the summer TV lineup. Figuratively and literally.
Almost as surprising as the silence in the youth ministry blogosphere is the silence from Christian media in general. I found one obscure (and one-sided) blog from LT Nixon, and one from the Apologetic Youth Pastor (who notes that blog hits have spiked from search engine referrals on this subject — probably because he’s the only one writing about it!). Aside from those two blogs, no one seems to be writing on it.
This surprises me. This is the kind of show that big, southern denominations would have boycotted in the past. It portrays Christians. It portrays sex. In the same show.
Common problems with The Secret Life: too many references to, and too many people having, sex. Teen pregnancy is “glorified.” Too predictable. Derogatory toward Christians.
Amy Juergens (Shai Woodley) has a one-night fling at band camp with the bad-boy drummer, Ricky Underwood (Daren Kagasoff). She gets pregnant.
Grace Bowman (Megan Park) and her boyfriend, Jack Pappas (Greg Finley), take a trip to “splitsville” after Grace’s down syndrome brother catches Jack kissing the town bad girl, Adrian Lee (Francia Raisa). Her parents, the strong Christian leaders of the community, disallow Grace (ironic name?) from seeing Jack.
Adrian is also dating Ricky. Adrian gets jealous that Ricky starts hanging out with Grace, so she starts hanging out with Jack to make Ricky jealous.
And niceguy Ben Boykewich (Kenny Baumann) starts dating the (unbeknownst to him) pregnant Amy.
The Bowman’s are stereotypical, strict Christian parents, but the portrayal is not disrespectful. Every teenage problem is condensed into a half-dozen characters, which is not necessarily realistic.
But this secret life of teenagers is realistic, if not a bit cheesy. Christian teens are tempted by their significant others to “take it too far.” There are teenagers in our schools who are pregnant. There might be a lot of sex in the show, but statistics do show that a lot of our teenagers are engaged in sexual activity.
And maybe the scariest scenario of all: Adrian’s mother, in the midst of sneaking around with Amy’s dad herself, has no clue what her daughter is up to in her spare time. Sometimes this can be the biggest problem we face in student ministry.
We are only four weeks into The Secret Life saga, so my spin on the story may change at the end of the season. But for now, keep an eye out for this show. Missing it would be a shame.
The Secret Life of the American Teenager can be seen Tuesday nights at 8/7c on ABC Family.
Article originally published on The Journal of Student Ministries blog.