October 2005

Contents of this issue of the Joan K. Snipes e-newsletter:
- Bible Literacy Report;
- Ways we can promote Bible literacy;
- Didn't my Lord deliver Daniel?
- Comments from recent Bible workshop attendees;
- Upcoming Bible workshops.

Dear Readers,

Teaching the Bible to children is an activity that thrills me. Because I enjoy it so much, I devote much of my time to supporting Sunday School teachers, potential teachers, parents and grandparents. Promoting Bible literacy is one reason I write these e-newsletters and travel around the country giving Bible workshops.

Because the issue of Bible literacy among our youth is near and dear to my heart, I was very interested in recent news stories on the topic. (See, for example, a September 29 story from The Christian Science Monitor, A Bible course without the lawsuits? by Jane Lampman at www.csmonitor.com.) The Bible Literacy Project in April 2005 released a national report with George Gallup and Dr. John Templeton, Jr. entitled: "Bible Literacy Report: What do American teens need to know and what do they know?" The report had two parts: a study involving 41 high school English teachers and a nationally representative survey of 1002 teenagers between the ages of 13 and 18 by the Gallup Organization.

This report, which I read online at www.bibleliteracy.org, tackles the definition of Bible literacy. Based on input from high school teachers, the report concludes that the components of Bible literacy include: being familiar with common Bible stories and characters, being able to recognize common biblical phrases, knowing the Ten Commandments, and being able to connect biblical knowledge to references in literature.

The good news from the survey is that strong majorities of American teens recognize the basic meaning of widely used Judeo-Christian terms such as Easter, Adam and Eve, Moses, the Golden Rule, and the Good Samaritan.

The report concludes that unfortunately "substantial minorities lack even the most basic working knowledge of the Bible." Fewer than half of teens know what happened at the wedding at Cana (Jesus turned the water into wine.) Two- thirds of teens don't know that the road to Damascus is where Paul was blinded by a vision of Christ.

Given a choice of four quotations from the Bible, 63 percent could not identify "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven," as a quotation from the Sermon on the Mount.

The Bible Literacy Project website includes ideas on how the challenge of poor Bible literacy might be met. (One of their suggestions is to focus on teaching the books of Genesis and Matthew, which contain about 50% of the stories that teachers deem basic knowledge.)

Because most children and teens get a substantial amount of their Bible knowledge from churches, those of us who love the Bible have an obligation to do what we can to help those attending our Sunday Schools to learn not only the basics but the relevance of the truths to our lives. There are numerous ways to do this. Below are a few examples.

- Encourage young people to attend Sunday School regularly. This might include an offer to drive them.
- Read aloud Bible stories to your children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and neighbors.
- Give Bible-related gifts, such as books and CDs, at Christmas and for birthdays.
- Point children to high quality Bible sites on the Internet, such as www.BibleWise.com.
- Send homework assignments to your Sunday School students.
- Take a child to see a Bible-related musical, such as Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
- Help keep Sunday School teachers inspired by rotating the staff, having guest speakers on the Bible, and investing in helpful resource books and Bible reference books.
- Be sure your Sunday School has an adequate lending library, a good Bible time-line or two, and colorful maps of Bible lands.
- Take a child to see a performance of Handel's Messiah.
- Invite children to play Bibleopoly, a great board game, at your home.
- Let others in your church know of Bible-related books, music, games or teaching resources that you have found helpful.
- Volunteer to help with your community's vacation Bible school.
- Donate money to groups that promote Bible literacy, such as the American Bible Society or www.BibleWise.com.
- Encourage your own children to do their Sunday School assignments, perhaps by working with them.
- Enable the children you love to hear and sing Bible-related songs, including hymns, Christmas carols, Negro spirituals, camp songs, gospel music, and classical oratorios.
- Show a child Bible-related art that you like -- stain glass windows and paintings at an art museum.
- Consider checking with your teen's high school to see if they have an elective course that includes the Bible as literature.
- Keep up your own study of the Bible. Have you read the Bible straight through? Have you tried reading a favorite psalm or chapter in a different English translation than the one you usually read?

BIBLE SONG
Didn't my Lord deliver Daniel?, a traditional Negro spiritual, is a delightful example of a song you can teach a child to help reinforce a Bible story. Below are the words.

Didn't my Lord deliver Daniel,
Deliver Daniel, deliver Daniel?
Didn't my lord deliver Daniel,
Then why not a every man?
He delivered Daniel
From the lion's den,
And Jonah from the belly of the whale,
And the Hebrew children
From the fiery furnace,
Then why not every man?

Didn't my Lord deliver Daniel,
Deliver Daniel, deliver Daniel?
Didn't my lord deliver Daniel,
Then why not a every man?
I set my foot
On the gospel ship,
And the ship it begin to sail,
And it landed me over
On Canaan's shore,
And I'll never come back anymore.

Didn't my Lord deliver Daniel,
Deliver Daniel, deliver Daniel?
Didn't my lord deliver Daniel,
Then why not a every man?

To hear the melody, please see:

http://www.kididdles.com/mouseum/d039.html

BIBLE WORKSHOPS

I find it tremendously gratifying when I hear from people who enjoyed attending one of my Bible workshops. During 2005, I have given workshops in six states. Below are some of the comments folks have emailed me:

"Wonderful presentation....everyone felt as though they gained a lot."
Participant, New Orleans, Louisiana workshop, May 2005

"Thank you so very much for a most practical and productive three hours. I learned lots and have only just begun to dig into the wealth of info in your book."
Sunday School teacher, Fayetteville, Arkansas workshop, May 2005

"What an inspiring workshop! The Bible came alive..."
Organizer, East Lansing, Michigan workshop, June 2005

"Terrific....I enjoyed every minute."
Participant, South Bend, Indiana workshops, June 2005

"Thanks again for your presentation! It was so cheerful and infectious!!"
Participant, South Bend, Indiana workshops, June 2005

"I have a new confidence about teaching Sunday School thanks to your wonderful seminar."
Participant, Lake Bluff, Illinois workshop, September 2005

"Thank you for the inspiring afternoon...."
Participant, Lake Bluff, Illinois workshop, September 2005

UPCOMING BIBLE WORKSHOPS

On Saturday, October 8, 2005, I will conduct two Bible workshops in Lake Oswego, Oregon. The morning workshop is entitled "Women Prophets." The afternoon workshop will be "Teaching the Bible to Children." Please contact me or Nancy Falconer (jfalconer@prodigy.net) for details.

In January 2006, I will be giving workshops in Florida. In February 2006, I will be in Texas. If your church or organization is interested in scheduling a workshop, please email me for further information.

Yours truly,

Joan Koelle Snipes

Volume 5; No. 5
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BOOKLET AVAILABLE
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