Using Media
 | The Making of a dramatised audio Bible This inspiring "Making Of" video takes us behind the scenes of the recording of "The Bible Experience" audio Bible - a high quality dramatisation of the whole Bible by professional actors (including Samuel L Jackson, Denzel Washington, Blair Underwood). [more...] |
"The Bible" page on Facebook has over 8 million fans. The idea is simple: Scripture verses are posted every day and Facebook users have the opportunity to leave their comments - as they engage with God's Word and with each other. It is not unusual for posted verses to receive several hundred comments and to be 'liked' by several thousand users.
The Bible page was launched by Mark Brown, former CEO of the Bible Society New Zealand, as an experiment in presenting the Scriptures in the Digital Space. The page is now managed by the United Bible Societies. [more...]
So I offer the challenge: that we inhabit this digital space, become part of the culture and learn the language of what Marc Prensky calls the, 'Digital Natives'. Those of us who have adopted technology later in life he describes as, 'Digital Immigrants' and like anyone immigrating to a new country, there is a need to learn.
Mark Brown, CEO of Bible Society New Zealand, outlines some of the cultural shifts that need to be understood in order to encourage Scripture engagement among 'digital natives'.
At Bible Society New Zealand in response to the appalling Bible engagement rates amongst Christians we wanted to find out, 'Why don’t people read there Bible more often?' The overwhelming reason is that people are distracted, their attention drawn to other things as they scan their environment.
To stimulate conversation, the author presents some provocative predictions of how the web might influence the production, understanding and appreciation of the Bible.
The paper was presented at the symposium: Christianity in the Digital Space, at St. John's College, Durham, UK, July 2009. Notes on the subsequent discussion can be found here. [more...]
"The Bible has yet to beat the perception of being a dusty old rule book among millennials largely because to substantiate relevance and garner interest, the text first must be read... The message of the Bible is unchanging, but how we deliver that message not only can change, but must."
Lamar Vest discusses some of the strategies the American Bible Society is using to encourage the millennial generation to engage with the Scriptures, including creative delivery methods and "new tools that put the user in the driver's seat of their Bible experience". [more...]
Oral-Scripture in Africa is the highest potential medium of outreach for the salvation message on the continent today and into the 21st century. This is because it is capable of reaching both the literate and the teeming millions of non-literate people.
Dr. Gilbert Ansre (who served for 15 years as a UBS translation consultant) examines the literacy rates in countries in Africa, observing that:
1. Not all people who claim they can read actually can do so.
2. Not all who can read actually do read.
3. Not all who actually read do read well.
4. Not all who read well do actually read Scripture.
5. Not all who read the Scripture do so regularly.
Faced with these realities, Ansre outlines some of the responses made by the Bible Societies in Africa in the 1990s, including:
[more...]9. They confess that they have hitherto failed to emphasize Scripture use and call on all concerned to promote it vigorously.
10. Aware of the great potential in audio-media, they prayerfully dedicate themselves to support its promotion.
Need orientation is very important for audio-Scriptures and with that follows careful research of the intended audience. When the apostle Paul spoke in a synagogue, he could freely quote from the Old Testament, but when he taught the Gentiles in Athens he had to begin with the concept of God. Similarly, our audio-Scriptures need to be prepared for specific audiences and associated materials need to be made so that the audience can understand.
Viggo Søgaard describes how audio Scriptures saw a slow but steady acceptance from the 1970s onwards, as people saw the need for something more than printed Bibles. He charts the work of early pioneers like Dr. Harvey Hoekstra and of ministries to provide audio Scriptures for the blind.
The author offers a series of challenges to the church in the promotion of the Bible in audio. For example: [more...]
The Glory Story is the whole of the Bible Story from Genesis – Revelation in film on just two DVDs: the Old Testament & The New Testament.
Glory Picture Gallery: All the stills & text to tell the whole of the Bible story from Genesis – Revelation. You can download the pictures and text. These great bible pictures are an ideal resource for Sunday schools, home schooling, educational institutions and of course the family. [more...]
 | The Story of God's Promise for All People Created in co-operation with motion picture producers and distributors around the world, The HOPE is an 80 minute dramatic presentation of God’s epic story of redemption as revealed in the Bible. [more...] |
"I realised that no translation was worth anything if my children didn't read it on their own because they wanted to. The burning question for me as a parent was how do I get my children into the word of God so that the word of God would get into them? As a professional illustrator the answer became obvious."
The Illustrated Bible - containing the historical books of the Old and New Testaments - is available in two formats: as illustrated pages and as video. Each Bible story selection contains the full Bible text with accompanying images.
The videos are made from the still images, with the camera moving over the illustrations, zooming in and out, and panning across. The images are realistic rather than using a cartoon style.
There are several free Bible stories and video clips to view online or download, as well as others to purchase. Translation and dubbing is possible into other languages. [more...]
"What we had failed to notice was that these nomads already had media players—their mobile phones! They were using them to listen to music and poetry as well as view videos. This realization changed our strategy, so we now start out by sharing individual Scripture stories on our phone during a visit, and then transfer it by Bluetooth to those who are interested."
This inspiring article encourages us to take advantage of the revolution in mobile phone technology to bring the message of Scripture to peoples around the world. The authors provide lots of examples of how mobile phones can be used.
For example: "When I walk out the door these days I’m blessed to have short selections of the audio panoramic Bible in the language of my people, as well as 40+ videos of Bible stories from creation to the crucifixion. In addition, I have numerous spiritual poems and musical Psalms ready and waiting in my pocket should the right opportunity arise. The great thing is that viewing and sharing photos, music, and videos on mobile phone is now so common among the people group I live among that whipping out my phone and sharing one of these video or audio files with them is completely natural!" [more...]