Jul
16
Written by:
host
7/16/2009 7:00 AM
Living the Questions (LTQ) resources are fairly unique in the world of Christian curriculum. Almost no other publishers have produced resources for the progressive church as ambitiously as has LTQ. Their resources typically are filled with excellent content delivered by some of the top progressive theologians of our time, though until the publication of Dream, far less attention has been paid to presentation. Now, LTQ is trying to find a way to communicate the basics of progressive Christianity to a young adult audience.
Their first young adult resource is call DreamThinkBeDo, and it's actually made up of 4 separate DVDs. The first volume, Dream, is available now; the other three studies are due in late August. Each DVD contains 5 video segments, each 15-20 minutes in length, for use in a small group setting of roughly 45-60 minutes. A 2-page study guide for each session is available to those who register and download the materials (PDF format).
If you're familiar with the content of other LTQ resources, you're also very familiar with the content in Dream. In fact, you've mostly seen it before, as the video from other LTQ resources has been chopped up, edited, and combined with cool graphics, images, and music to make it more like something a young adult would see on TV. The content from these presenters is always illuminating and interesting, and the imagery is FAR more engaging and interesting to watch than was the case in previous LTQ releases. However, unfortunately the study as a whole is like an arrow that hits one of the outer circles on an archery target—close, but not spot on.
There are three main problems that cause me to qualify my recommendation of it:
- Most obviously, the resource doesn't consistently remember who it's targeting. While the graphics, music, and images are mostly terrific, the speakers look like the church leaders of old, both in age and in dress. Only the hosts and one or two of the speakers come from the targeted age group. I know there are dynamic and progressive young leaders in churches today, and I'd really like to see LTQ introduce us to them. Great content or not, I can imagine young adults in my own congregation feeling like the video doesn't really speak to them because they don't "see" themselves represented.
- Similarly, the way the material is presented is still very didactic, not relational, in nature. There are never conversations between the presenters, and the hosts (particularly Winnie Varghese) are stiff and scripted. (If you've ever seen any of the Nooma videos, you'll notice that Rob Bell's style feels more friendly and unscripted, whether or not it is.) Young adults are highly relational, often unpolished (they're part of the YouTube generation, where low production values often reign), and interested in community. This DVD often feels removed from the real lives of everyday people. (One very good exception to this is a clip in session 5 of Amy Jill-Levine talking about being in dialogue around the issue of interpreting the Bible's passages connected with homosexuality.)
- The study guide seems to have been an afterthought rather than an integral piece of the whole. All you get are 15 or so questions for each session to discuss together after or in the midst of the videos. There are no activity suggestions, no resources for further study, no websites to check out, no song recommendations, no worship suggestions (despite the website's suggestion that the videos would be good for worship settings) and—most remarkably—no scripture passages to read and discuss together.
I'm certainly a fan of Living the Questions and I embrace their vision of making progressive theology something that everyone can embrace. I've led groups using their material, and I would certainly use this DVD in my own congregation. The trouble is, when you pay $295 (list price for all 4 DVDs) for a resource, you're likely to have a higher-than-average expectation for the content. (A side note: I personally wish LTQ would move away from its subscription pricing model on their other products, as I think their high cost is already a barrier to many congregations considering the material.) Dream will certainly be used in many congregations because it targets young adults, but I'm still dreaming of the day when more progressive publishers will finally figure out how to communicate their message in ways that are relevant and interesting to today's young adults.
You can learn more about DreamThinkBeDo and see a Trailer here.
By the way, your purchase of Living the Questions resources from our Cokesbury store helps to support The Daily Voice and DifferentVoice.com. (Currently, DreamThinkBeDo is not yet added to Cokesbury's website.) Please click here to go to our Cokesbury store, then click on Curriculum & Small Groups > Adult > Living the Questions to see which items Cokesbury carries.
~ by Tim Gossett