Jan 22

Jan 22 Say "Hello" to THE BIBLE PROJECT

Curricula, Delight in the Word, Motivation, Reading the Bible

A couple of years ago I was introduced by a friend to THE BIBLE PROJECT, and I want you as my readers to be familiar with them too. The brainchild of Dr. Timothy Mackie and Jonathan Collins, THE BIBLE PROJECT communicates solid, engaging, biblical training in a beautifully done video format. These guys are passionate about people reading and knowing the story of the Bible, and I love what they are offering the church! You should check them out, support them, and use these free materials that are streamed on YouTube. The videos are excellent for personal study or for use by teachers in Bible Study classes. Here is their Story as told on their website (https://thebibleproject.com/):

The Bible Project is a Portland based non-profit that utilizes short-form, fully animated videos to make the biblical story accessible to everyone, everywhere. We create videos, podcasts, and study guides that explore the Bible’s unified story by focusing on its overarching themes and each book’s literary design. We are committed to understanding the Bible in its historical context and communicating its wisdom for the modern world.

At a backyard BBQ in 2011, Tim and Jon (long-time friends and one-time roommates at Multnomah Bible College) were tossing around ideas on how to help people read through Scripture. What would be a way to present the complex themes of the bible in way that was engaging, approachable, and transformative?

Combining Tim’s deep biblical understanding and Jon’s passion for visual story-telling, they created their first two videos in 2014 and put them online for free.

Today, The Bible Project is a full-time labor of love made up of artists, illustrators, designers, supporters and prayer warriors. This is a collaborative, community-oriented endeavor. We have relied on crowd-funding from the beginning up till today. We are honored by those who partner with us to make each video happen.

We want to change how people read and use the Bible. For some, the Bible is used as a devotional grab bag. For others it is a instructional manual that fell out of the sky. And for many, it is an oppressive book of out-dated rules used to control people. We believe that the Bible is a divine-human book that speaks God’s word to his people. We think it points people to Jesus, who has power to change individuals and whole communities. When we let the biblical story speak for itself, we believe it has immense wisdom to offer the modern world.

The Bible Project is not part of any specific Christian denomination or tradition. Our mission is to help people see the Bible as a unified story that leads to Jesus. We hope that people from all backgrounds will find value in this work, regardless of their religious or non-religious convictions.

You can see an introduction to the project here:

And here is a sample of their work:

This is very cool stuff! I hope you will take advantage of these resources.