The Melheimian Sabbatiblog

Preschool Bible Song

Hey Tanya,

Great to hear from you, and great to hear the graphics won over your husband!

Yes, I've spent a year working on preschool theory, systems, models and proto-arts-based curriculum designs. It hasn't quite made its way into Bible Song yet, but I'm anxious to get that started (after I finish my last dozen cities this fall - including Fort Dodge, IA this Sunday afternoon/evening and Omaha later on).

And yes, when the time is right, I'd love to have you consider testing.

Now, for the preschool problem: Sorry to hear the preschool kids didn't have a good experience.

If the parents and kids are together experiencing the theme opening, arts creation time, and show-and-tell closing, you have an infinitely better chance of the verse going home Monday - Saturday, and them continuing the faith incubation all week long.

The very best way to do Bible Song - and all faith education if you want it to get home and make a maximum impact - is to KILL the drop-off mentality and have parents AND kids together. That means the preschool director is NOT EVER bringing a group of 3 - 5 year olds into a strange room. That means parents bring their own kids into a fun, active, energetic space and from the safety of the parent's lap, they are drawn in to the music, motion and joy.

Imagine a preschool teacher bringing a pew full of 3 - 5 year olds into a regular worship service.

It's just not going to work.

If you have specific suggestions for what the little ones - and their parents - should have in their hands to supplement the theme materials at their cognitive level, I'm all ears.

And, if you know of anyone near Fort Dodge who needs a little Melheimian shot-in-the-arm-kick-in-the-pants, send 'em over to www.faithink.com.

Blessings, blessings, blessings!

Your servant in Christ,

Rich

________________________________________

Rich,

Again, I know you are very busy. So, I will try to make this short.  I
attended a conference in Des Moines (Plymouth Congregational) a few
months ago, purchased Bible Song and had our first Sunday yesterday.

You mentioned to me at the conference that you are in the development
stage of a preschool program but that you might be interested in a
church willing to test it and provide feedback. What are your current
thoughts on this?

Our preschool director brought kids into my first Sunday teaching Bible
Song that were from 3 to 5 years old.  (They have always been in their
own class and some have recently moved up from the nursery!)  I had kids
crying and scared and I was so disappointed because I have become quite
passionate about FaithInk, knowing it is just what our church needs.

I have made a proposal to our director to consider some other options
and wanted to know if the possibility of being a 'tester' for your
preschool program was even on the horizon.

If you have time, maybe you could let me know about that.

Thank you for using your skills to create something so relevant.  My
husband, the skeptic, looked over my shoulder as I was preparing and
said, "Wow, I'm really impressed with those graphics.  That is high
quality."  Then he spent four hours helping me get my room media-ready!!

Tanya Milledge
Oskaloosa, Iowa

Fun Church

Very early on the first day of the week...

Song "Easter Morning" (Mark 16:2-16 NRSV) by  Rich Melheim

Orchestration & Arrangement Todd Ernster of the Killer Hayseeds

Sung by Lauren Redpath of LaurenRedpath.com

Cartoons from Bible Song: The Good News

Sign Language for Mark 16:2-16 by Christy Smith

Online Games for Mark 16:2-16 at FINKlink GN13

Amazin' Christy

We're in Aspen for the next couple days, taping 30 verses in sign language with Christy Smith before she heads out on an Asian/Australian tour. If you'd like to see a sample of a Bible verse song turned into sign, CLICK and scroll down to the bottom.

The verses we're doing this week are for our "Word Spreads" and "Songs of Israel" curricula for Bible Song elementary. "Word Spreads" cartoons the book of Acts and teaches a verse from Acts and each of Paul's letters in song and sign. It will be out after Christmas. "Songs of Israel" takes kids through 15 Bible stories and teaches 15 Psalms.

Here's half of what we're taping this week, and the stories I'll start cartooning next week:

Word Spreads Themes

1. Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4)     The disciples are meeting in a locked room when the holy spirit comes in the wind, and they have little flames appearing on their heads.

2. Road to

Damascus

(Acts 9:4-5)    Paul's encounter with Christ.

3. Philip & the Ethiopian Eunich (Acts 8:26-39)    Philip is baptizing the Ethiopian official in a river. His chariot and horse are in the background. A dove may be coming down from heaven, or a light breaking forth from the clouds.

4. Paul's Escape (Acts 9:23)    Late one night, Paul's friends help him escape from those who want to kill him by lowering him down the city wall in a large basket.

5. Tabitha Raised from Dead (Acts 9:36-42)    Peter raises the dead woman from her death bed as her old women friends stand weeping.

6. Peter's Vision (Acts 10:9-16)    Peter has a vision of a large sheet lowered from heaven, filled with four-footed creatures, pigs, reptiles and birds.

7. Peter Freed from Jail (Acts 12:6-8)    Peter is in jail, chained between two sleeping soldiers when an angel appears in a bright light shining in the cell and taps him on the side. The chains fall off his wrists and feet and he is freed.

8. Paul Stoned (Acts 14:19) Angry civic leaders pick up stones and throw them at Paul to kill him.

9.

Lydia

and Paul by River (Acts 16:13-14)

Lydia

and her friends wear elegant purple robes and rich golden jewelry. They sit by the riverside as Paul preaches to them. (They wear purple because

Lydia

was a wealthy business woman who made her money by selling purple cloth... made from crushing up snail shells! You might have some snails in the picture for fun and educational interest).

10. The Prison Earthquake (Acts 16:25-31)  Paul and Silas are in chains in prison singing hymns to God with other prisoners listening to them when suddenly there is a violent earthquake. The jail doors swing open and stones in the walls loosen and their chains fall off. The jailer draws a sword to kill himself but Paul holds up his hand to stop him.

11. Sermon at the Greek Theater (Acts 17:22-28) Paul speaks in the theater of Areopagus to Greeks wearing white robes.

12. The Riot at

Ephesus

(Acts 19:23-28) A great riot breaks out in the city of Ephesus when the makers of the silver Artemis statues. Paul and his friend are dragged into the theater.

13. Forty Assassins (Acts 23:12-15) Forty assassins make an oath to not eat or drink until they have killed Paul.

14. Paul Before King Agrippa (Acts 25:23-27) A great king and queen sit on thrones, surrounded by soldiers, beautiful banners, and trumpeters. Paul stands in chains before them to be judged.

15. Paul's Shipwreck (Acts 27:39-43) A terrible storm smashes Paul's ship against the rocks. All the soldiers and sailors are afraid. Paul looks to the heavens with peace and confidence in God.

Easter Color Page

Here's a little something from Bible Song that isn't out yet. Dupe it and hand it out during the children's sermon on Sunday. Ask the children if they can tell you the story from the cartoon. Then hand out colors and markers and tell them you'd like them to color the cartoon and make their own cartoon on the back of the sheet. They have until the offering to finish. Place the drawings in the offering plate and have your 7th grade techno-nerds ready with a digital camera to shoot the drawings and project the work on the PowerPoint as the closing hymn goes by.

Post them on the wall at the close of the service and tell them they can pick them up next week to bring home!

Guess the Bible Story?

I've got the roughs just about ready for the new 15 themes of Bible Song's "The Good News." (Matthew - John)

Print this out and ask kids to guess the story.

Guess the Story II

Print this out and ask kids to tell you the story.

Christian Educator Burn-out

What am I learning on the road this winter as I visit with hundreds of church folks?

Christian Education Directors are under-valued, under-paid, under stress, and their gifts are regularly under-utilized.

Other than that, things are peachy in most churches.

They are expected to do more and more ministry with less and less money, support, and training.

Most are extremely frustrated and a majority are willing to tell you so if you only ask. The problem is, most churches don't ask. Few have mutual ministry committees set up to listen, care, support and fix problems before they get out of hand. When it comes to Christian Education directors, most feel if  they just do their job, stay in the basement, and don't bother anyone or try to impact other ministries in the church, they are left alone. The moment they start thinking systemically, ask to help shape ministry strategies, or expect to have imput in what gets preached and taught outside the basement fellowship hall, they get in trouble.

Most of them want to impact families, but are stuck baby-sitting. Most of them have a passion for the Gospel, but get no "air time" in worship. Most have amazing relational gifts, but are stuck in a system where 3/4 of their jobs seem like busy work.

And many of them are looking for solutions in a workbook or new curriculum, when the curriculum is only a sub-set of their problem.

The real problem? It's name is legion, for it is many.
1. Pastors give lip service to children's ministries, but rarely invest any time in it.
2. Parents drop kids at the door for a weekly religious "fix" then head off for coffee, expecting an under-trained volunteer to undo in 52 minutes a week what the rest of the world does to their kid in the other 10, 028 minutes.
3. Carpet funds, organ funds and parking lots easily get the money they need from tight budgets while children's ministry has to beg for enough to grow the kids who will come to walk on the carpets (and who will never listen to the organ or be around as a teen to drive on the parking lot).
4. Volunteers are willing to team teach for a season, but don't expect them to show up all year.

I could go on and on, but this is a blog. You finish the list yourself.

Maybe it's time we start listening.

Disappearance

I'm disappearing into a log cabin in the woods for the next five days to put the finishing touches on the writing and sketching for "The Good News" from our Bible Song Sunday School. I'll have no phone, no internet, no TV, no running water and - except for the fireplace - no heat.

Last time I did this I only took one CD - Chuch Mangione's "Children of Sanchez" - and I played "Jesus Christ" over and over and over and over.

All work and no play makes Rich a dull boy.
All work and no play makes Rich a dull boy.
All work and no play makes Rich a dull boy.

You get the picture.

Have a good week. Upon my return I'll show off a few of the pieces.

15 Pieces of Jesus?

I am in the middle of the second biggest challenge of my intellectual, theological, ecumenical life.

The first was choosing the 120 key scriptures from Genesis to the Revelation to record as songs for Bible Song, our new elementary brain/arts/sign based learning system. We chose these by asking the question: "What Bible verses would you want your kids to know by heart and by art before hormones kick in?"

After choosing and recording the verses in song and getting the sign language process underway, I began cartooning the 120 Bible stories. The Books of Moses was a piece of cake. Choosing 15 stories from Genesis to Deuteronomy was no problem at all.

Into the Promised Land was a bit more of a challenge. It is filled with blood and guts and gore, but it is also filled with great themes like love and loyalty and perseverence.

Now I'm cartooning the Gospels. I've only got room for 15 verses, 15 songs, 15 stories, and 15 two page black and white cartoons that will turn into 15 six page colored cartoons in the "Good News" home journals.

Here's the challenge: How do you choose only 15 pieces of Jesus' life? I think I've set myself up for a terriffic failure.

It's like the five night mini-series written for television that somehow is supposed to be turned into a two-hour and seven minute feature film. There's just too much good stuff, too many characters, too many key scenes that will be left on the chopping room floor, and too much drama that will be lost.

And here's the clincher - this whole thing has to be written in language, images and flow that children can grasp.

I get the overwhelming feeling that this is probably the most important theological and evangelical task of my entire life - showing Jesus Christ to a generation of children (and parents) across the world in a way that might actually want to meet him.

This may be why I'm here.

Now there's a daunting thought.

So, where would you start? What would you show? What would you stress? What would you leave out?

I'm more than open to suggestions, but I've got to do it all in the next three weeks.