See also past Partners Video Reviews    

2008 Youth Ministry Kit — bluefish tv
Three two-DVD (color) video-driven Bible studies and three additional DVDs containing fourteen video illustrations, approx. three and one-half hours total, $215. A 60-page Leader’s Guide for each Bible study, including reproducible handout masters, is included plus 25 free download clips. 3304 Essex Dr., Richardson, TX 75082-9100. Phone: (972) 560-5600. www.bluefishtv.com

This series of DVD-based Bible studies addresses issues including:

• Teens vs. Parents (presenter: Mark Matlock)
• Sex and Dating (Michael and Hayley DiMarco)
• I AM: Getting to Know God (David Nasser)

In addition to high-interest topics with dynamic presenters, this ministry kit has several other features to recommend it.

The technical and production values are first-rate — a critical factor in establishing credibility with the audience. Parodies and sketches add some laughs before each part of the Bible study.

But what really connects with the audience are the real teens who tell their stories about struggling with parental infidelity or divorce, grappling for faith in the face of tragedy, or coping with the realities of 21st-century dating.

Nothing has been sugarcoated or prettied up in these young people’s stories. The pain, the confusion, the hope, and the trying to do the right thing are real. This is authentic stuff, and young viewers will pick up on that and connect with it in a heartbeat.

In many of the studies, the presenters stress communication issues, which are important. I would have liked to see them speak a bit more to the content of a particular story, especially as it relates to faith.

The study materials are well organized and visually appealing. The questions and discussion about the videos are well integrated with Scripture references.

But the real draw here is the young people in the videos talking honestly about their experiences. Viewers will feel as though they’ve been invited into someone’s life for a brief time. That alone will generate significant discussion and interest for youth leaders to work with and teach from.

In fact, this set is so well done that it could easily provide the framework for an intergenerational group of young people and parents, concerned adults, or mentors.

Understanding Fundamentalism, Mosaic Fall 2007 edition
ELCA Communication Services unit, www.elca.org/mosaic, (800) 638-3522, ext. 6009. DVD: color, Adults, 36 minutes (bonus material includes a User’s Guide and a second feature, Love Thy Neighbor), $19.95

“The religious right,” Fundamentalists, Pentecostals, Evangelicals. These terms are used to describe a diverse spectrum of conservative Christians. But do Lutherans really know what those labels mean?

In this election year, candidates’ religious affiliation as well as issues that involve denominational or other religious boundaries are important in the electorate’s making informed and faithful decisions.

Understanding Fundamentalism, a recent release from Mosaic television, helps viewers be clear about the labels. It also reveals opportunities and ways for breaking down barriers to effective Christian ministry regardless of theology, understanding of Scripture, or political leanings.

This DVD provides a clear, concise history of how the landscape of conservative American Christianity assumed its current configuration. It covers the Fundamentalist/Modernist controversy and the related issues of scriptural inerrancy and interpretation and doctrinal understandings in a way that lets the viewer begin to better see the realities of faith and practice to which these brothers and sisters in Christ hold.

Understanding Fundamentalism offers a solid beginning for helping those not on the religious right to avoid falling into the trap that Martin Marty warns about of — labeling someone what they are not.

Short Takes

Short Takes will appear periodically to alert readers to commercial feature films that may have a place in the congregation. Whether for youth groups, Bible studies, or sources of video clips for sermon illustrations, we hope to raise readers’ awareness of movies being made for faith-oriented and family-friendly audiences.

Here are short takes on three films originally released in theaters and now available on DVD.

Amazing Grace
The critically acclaimed film about William Wilberforce and John Newton, composer of the beloved hymn, and their struggle to end the British slave trade in the early 19th century. A stirring story of faith in Christ leading the fight against evil and injustice. (2007, 108 min., color, PG. Starring Michael Gambon and Albert Finney. $29.99)

The Wager
Country music star Randy Travis plays Michael Steel, a high-profile actor who is about to have it all when, Job-like, he becomes the object of a wager between God and Satan. As his world and his life crash around him, will he persevere in his faith? (2007, 82 min., color, not rated. Randy Travis, Candace Cameron Burke, Bronson Pinchot. $9.99)

The Last Sin Eater
The rugged beauty of early 19th-century Appalachia is the setting for director Michael Landon Jr.’s film about dark secrets hidden beneath religious rituals brought by Celtic immigrants to America. The film deals with a variety of themes including sin and atonement, forgiveness, baptism and communion, and domestic violence. It makes an excellent way to introduce and discuss the Lutheran understanding of the sacraments, grace, and faith. (2007, 118 min., color, PG-13. Louise Fletcher, Henry Thomas. $19.98)

Geoffrey Scott, Lutheran Partners’ video review editor, is pastor of Christ Lutheran Church, Menomonie, Wisconsin.