Anatomy of a Worship Slide
I read an article today about projecting content (lyrics, readings, etc.) during worship. It had some tips to help projected content be more helpful for worshipers. I was pleased to see that our system passes the test for all of their tips, but the article got me thinking about what we’re doing with projection.
One of the first things I did when I switched into my current position was overhaul the projection system. At the time, we only projected lyrics to songs and each song was made up of an entirely different set of images, with little consistency from slide to slide. While I liked the additional art involved in the old style, I often felt that it was more distracting than helpful. Text would start at different positions on the screen, which makes it harder to track when flipping through multiple slides in the presentation. More problematic was that the design time it took to make each song was too high to sustain, especially once we started to project the entire service and move away from paper bulletins.
So I set to work designing a new system for projection. My guiding principles were:
- Readability is job 1. Moving to a paperless worship service meant the slides had to be readable above all else. After researching online, white text on darker backgrounds would result in the highest readability we could obtain. After our new projection system was installed, I invited some of our older members to do a readability test for font sizes to determine a minimum font size. Our standard is 32pt Calibri, 4 points above the minimum depth. Stand/Sit rubrics, Scripture references and service notes are 28pt.
- We can’t abandon the art. White text on black is the most readable combination, but I’m not sure it’s the best solution if we want to draw people into worship. Artwork and content are locked in a complex dance routine. After some trial designs, i decided to reserve the top 80% of the slide for content, and let the artwork reside in the bottom 20%.
- Design tells our story. Our three core story statements would influence the design so that the slides emphasize and reinforce who we believe God has called us to be at First Trinity. The primary story statement that I chose to focus on with the slide design was “Rooted and Relevant.” We have deep historical roots, but relevant expressions of faith. The primary font on the slides is Exocet Heavy, an “old” looking font based on ancient Greek and Roman design. Behind it sits the King & Queen, a more modern script, but with hints of old England calligraphy. The text show what part of the service we’re currently in, and matches the single page Order of Service that people receive in worship. The background has a rock texture applied to it, a nod to the solid foundation of God’s Word that our worship is based on.
- Icons and color amplify the mood. Behind the fonts sit black graphics with a soft light filter to allow the background to show through. The images are meant to help reinforce and teach what the various parts of the service are all about. They are subtle clues to the purpose of this section of the service. Times of song and celebration include people in celebratory poses. Prayer has a person on bowed down on their knees before God, illustrating our humble hearts in prayer. The Agnus Dei (Latin for “Lamb of God”) has a lamb in the background, a reminder of the perfect sacrifice of Christ. Confession and Absolution have a hill with three crosses, a reminder of Christ’s sacrifice for us. When possible, I chose traditional, liturgical colors. Confession/Absolution are purple, the color for Lent, a season of repentance. Scripture, Creeds and Baptism are blue, the color of life-giving water. The Lord’s Supper is brown, the color of a rich loaf of bread, fresh from the oven. Sometimes there wasn’t an obvious color, so I just chose something that worked.
- Sustainability and Speed. The slides have to be easy to create once in PowerPoint. With the use of master slides and formatting in PowerPoint, I’m able to convert the contemporary service (4-5 pages of printed text) into PowerPoint in under 45 minutes (assuming I get that long without distractions). Because verbiage changes from week-to-week, very few slides are reused. The design had to accommodate this.
Bears, Baldness and Youth: A Warning
You might know that I’m … less than full-haired. You might also know that one of my favorite wacky stories in the Bible is about Elisha getting mocked by some youth who were calling him a bald head. The whole story can be found in 2 Kings 2.
While reading Kem Meyer’s blog, I found a link to Jim LePage, who has been working on graphics for books of the Bible for the past year+. There are some really cool designs in there, but one in particular stood out:
After looking through Jim’s designs, I was led to his Tumblr account where he’s been collecting some other Biblical artwork he’s come across. That led to Todd Goehner’s Biblical Advice Posters. Lo and behold, what did I find?
Be sure to browse through the collections. There are some pretty cool graphics in there.
Fantasy Idol Standings: The Final 2
We’re down to the final two on Idol. Thanks to my diligent wife, here are the almost final standings for our Fantasy Idol pool:
Jen – 8
Pat – 11
Sue – 11
Jason – 14
Jaime – 14
Kathy – 15
Tracy – 15
Idol just hasn’t been as good for me this year, and may actually be my last year watching it. It might be partly because we’ve been so busy with things at church and home that I just haven’t gotten into it as much this year…
Fantasy Idol Update: The Top 6
Here are the standings after four weeks of eliminations, as calculated by Jaime:
Jen – 4 pts (still the one to beat!)
Pat – 5 pts
Sue – 6 pts
Jaime – 6 pts
Kathy – 7 pts
Jason – 7 pts
One of these years, I’m going to win my own game on my own blog. Right now, it’s not looking promising.
Fantasy Idol Update
Before the results come out tomorrow, I wanted to clarify that we’ll be assigning position #9 to the first person knocked off tomorrow and position #8 to the second.
Fantasy Idol 2010
So, despite the fact that I haven’t blogged in like forever, people have been asking if I’m doing a Fantasy Idol game this year… Sure, why not.
Here’s how it will work this year:
- You’ll pick the finishing order for the top 10. You have until 8pm on March 31 to set your picks.
- You’ll get 1 point for every spot you’re off. In other words, if you choose Katie Stevens to finish 8th and she finishes 10th, you’d get 2 points.
- The lowest point total at the end wins.
As you know you’re picks, leave them in the comments here.
Primal Book Review
Mark Batterson has a new book that goes on sale today. Unlike In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day and Wild Goose Chase, this one doesn’t include an animal in the title.
The new book is titled Primal and carries the subtitle “A Quest for the Lost Soul of Christianity.” The basic premise is that modern Christianity has a major problem. Mark writes:
We’re not great at keeping the Great Commandment. In too many instances, we’re not even good at it.
We are called to love God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength, but too often we fail to live that out. Mark explores what it would look like if recaptured that primal hear, mind, soul and strength of Christianity. As is often the case with Mark’s writing, he’s not afraid to ask some tough questions.
In part, the book is a beginning as we take stock in where we are currently in keeping the Great Commandment, but more importantly it encourages movement through the Spirit towards better keeping the Commandment.
It’s appropriate the book is coming out at the turn of the year. With so many making New Year’s resolutions, perhaps this book would be a good place to get started. You can see a list of places to purchase the book at the Multnomah site, or you can always ask your local Christian bookstore to order up a copy.
Due to some new guidelines implemented by the FTC (Not to be confused with our church, the FTLC.), I’m obliged to include this message: “This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.” So there you have it.
Music I’m Listening To
Not too long ago, David Crowder came out with a new CD titled “Church Music”. It’s been a regular in my music listening since it came out. Now I’m grooving to Matt Redman’s newest CD. Not sure which I like more right now.
Two tracks from Matt’s CD that stand out to me:
This Is How We Know (YouTube Video)
The opening lyrics:
This is how we know
This is how we know what love is
Just one look at Your cross
And this is where we see
This is where we see how love works
For You surrendered Your all
And this is how we know
That You have loved us first
This is where we chose
To love You in return
You Alone Can Rescue (YouTube Video)
Some favorite lyrics from this one:
Who, oh Lord, could save themselves,
Their own sin could heal?
Our shame was deeper than the sea
Your love is deeper still
You alone can rescue, You alone can save
You alone can lift us from the grave
You came down to find us, led us out of death
To You alone belongs the highest praise
Any good ones you’re enjoying right now?
Fantasy Idol Finals
It’s been several days since the American Idol finale. The little I saw was good, though the bikini girl/Kara piece looked to be a ratings grab. In the end, I’m glad Kris won. Adam was unique, but I think Kris sells more records than Adam, but Adam will deliver a much better live show.
Here are the final results for our Fantasy Idol pool:
Kat 60 Lisa Criste 54 Suzer Steege 53 Addie’s Auntie Jen 50 Kristina Beras 50 Phyllis 49 Caroline Criste 46 Kathy 46 Tracy Bramwell 45 Jaime 45 Zach Attack 44 Kelsey 43 Jason Christ 39 Mark Bramwell 38
Thankfully, I did not finish in last place. Kat is the winner of the pool this year, giving all six of her points to Adam. Despite his loss, Kat was able to hold off Lisa for the win. Congrats to everyone who beat me. Big thanks to Mark for taking last place and saving me the embarrassment of losing my own game.
American Idol Finale
It’s been a long, strange season for us watching Idol. I haven’t been as into it this year, which is odd. I thought the show was pretty good this evening, but I was expecting more from Kris.
I’ll stand by my Twitter prediction, however, and choose Kris to win it all. He should get more of Danny’s voters than Adam, and sometimes a weak performance can influence the fans to actually vote. We’ll see what happens tomorrow evening!
We’ll also crown our winner in Fantasy Idol tomorrow evening. Don’t miss it!
Howard Dean You Are Not
Good show this evening. I enjoyed seeing Daughtry perform, but Paula was … bad. It sounded like a recording, not a live performance, which is just plain lame if that’s what happened.
I especially enjoyed Danny’s candidness when it came to his awful scream at the end of his song. I thought for a moment that he might pull a Howard Dean:
Thankfully, his scream did not do him in. Whew.
Jaime reminded me that we haven’t had a Fantasy Idol update in a while, so here it is:
Kat 54 Lisa Criste 52 Addie’s Auntie Jen 48 Phyllis 47 Kristina Beras 46 Suzer Steege 46 Zach Attack 44 Caroline Criste 44 Kathy 44 Kelsey 43 Tracy Bramwell 43 Jaime 43 Jason Christ 38 Mark Bramwell 35
I am happy to report that I have climbed out of last place. I still have no hope of winning, but at least I’m no longer in last place in my own pool. The race is effectively down to two participants. Kat has all six points tied up in Adam. Lisa has 2 points for Danny and 2 for Adam.
Rat Pack Review
I thought it was a pretty good show this evening. Kris Allen is growing on me and could pull off an upset along the way. I’m not sure he can win it all, but maybe.
I keep wanting to like Alison more, but every week she’s just ok for me. I expect her to be in the bottom three. Matt should be there also and either Kris or Danny. I have to go with Kris, but don’t be surprised if it’s Danny.
Matt will go home.
Huh?
I didn’t watch the American Idol results show last night. Turns out, I’m kind of glad I didn’t. What were they thinking? Using the save on Matt Giraud? How incredibly dumb.
I can only imagine what Kelsey will say about this after they didn’t save Scott… 
Well, here are the Fantasy Idol standings, reflecting Matt’s saved status:
Addie’s Auntie Jen 30 Kat 30 Lisa Criste 30 Phyllis 30 Kelsey 28 Tracy Bramwell 28 Zach Attack 28 Caroline Criste 26 Jaime 26 Kathy 26 Kristina Beras 26 Suzer Steege 26 Mark Bramwell 24 Jason Christ 22
I am doomed to finish in last place I think. The only question now is how far out of first I’ll finish.
Idol Review: Top 10
Good show last night, at least what I was able to watch. I missed Matt Giraud and Kris Allen, though I did see the judges’ take on Kris. Addison decided to scream her lungs out during Michael Sarver and Lil Rounds, so I only was able to hear bits and pieces of them.
All that being said, here are my thoughts on the evening:
- Adam Lambert is probably the most versatile of the idols this year. I’m still not a huge fan, but he’s growing on me. I imagine it’s hard to pull out a surprise each week and he’s done so each time.
- Danny was great, but I’m surprised none of the judges commented on his opening video “Smokey is right” moment, only to start singing the song and he went with his own version. You can tell they were rushing to make the break so they could finish on time, so that’s probably why no one said anything.
- I couldn’t understand Allison this evening.
- Megan Joy was bad.
- Scott too.
- Anoop was forgettable.
- Lil looked good and sounded good from what I could hear, but not great, which I expected her to be. Simon was right about the song not giving her a “moment” to remember.
Michael Sarver should go home. Megan Joy and Scott MacIntyre should round out the bottom three.
No Saving Grace
Well, my bracket is busted, before the tournament even got started. I thought for sure Alexis would make it into the Top 5 at the least, possibly all the way to the end, but America has torched my Fantasy Idol picks. Bummer.
I think Alexis deserved to stay longer than she did, but whatever. It will be an odd touring group with 7 guys and only 3 girls. Odd indeed.
Here are the Fantasy Idol Standings through 2 weeks:
Addie’s Auntie Jen 12 Kat 12 Kelsey 12 Lisa Criste 12 Phyllis 12 Tracy Bramwell 12 Zach Attack 12 Caroline Criste 11 Jaime 11 Kathy 11 Kristina Beras 11 Mark Bramwell 11 Suzer Steege 11 Jason Christ 10
Other highlights of the evening:
- We taped the show and watched it back in only 30 minutes. No commercials and no Brad Paisley for us.
- When I fast forward on my ancient VCR, I hit stop and then fast forward because it’s faster than watching the fast forward. Most commercial breaks are about 3 minutes. Idol commercials tend towards 4 minutes though. So I turned on the display timer, fast forwarded and hit play like I did for every other commercial break this evening. Only to discover that the last last commercial break is only 3 minutes, so it came on with Ryan and Alexis on stage. So much for the drama of the moment.
- My picks really needed Alexis to get saved. If they didn’t use it here, I’m not sure they will. What were they thinking?
The A’s Have It
An interesting night on American Idol. I don’t really like country music, but I do like Randy Travis. It was a good night if your name started with “A”. Here’s how I ranked the singers:
- Adam Lambert: I’m still not really a fan, but his was the only truly unique song. I liked what he did with it.
- Anoop Desai: Glad to see Anoop is back. Great vocal, just ok stage presence.
- Matt Giraud: He’s a more talented Scott MacIntryre with the piano. He doesn’t stand out in my mind yet, but he did well this evening.
- Allison Iraheta: I like her spunk and rock voice.
- Alexis Grace: Not my favorite song choice, but I still liked her. I’d like to see a little more rock from her next time.
- Lil Rounds: Good vocals, but I couldn’t get Carrie Underwood’s version out of my mind and this just didn’t match up. Simon was right about her not being in to the song too. It just didn’t fit her.
- Danny Gokey: Ugh. Not a good performance, though the chorus was way better than the verse. He should still sail through though.
- Megan Joy Corkrey: Quirky as usual. I don’t think she should win, but I’m always looking forward to what she’ll come up with.
- Kris Allen: The vocals were strong, I just didn’t care for the performance.
- Michael Sarver: Great job with the lyrics. He shouldn’t win this competition though.
- Scott MacIntyre: If he weren’t blind, he’d be out of this competition already. He’s just not that great.
I think Michael Sarver goes home.
Jasmine and Jorge, We Hardly Knew You
The results are in. In short, I like them. I would have liked to see Jorge make it farther, but it was fair to see him go. I’m so glad that Alexis made it so there’s not a phone number controversy.
I also like the new rule for the judges. I think it’s fair to give them one save for the year, which should help keep someone worthy in the competition. It’s a good addition to the system. I’m also glad they didn’t exercise it this week.
Fantasy Idol is now underway as well. So far, no one lost an idol, so everyone is tied at 6 points. Here are the picks:
Addie’s Auntie Jen: Danny Gokey (2), Adam Lambert (2), Lil Rounds (2)
Kat: Adam Lambert (6)
Mark Bramwell: Adam Lambert (1), Kris Allen (1), Lil Rounds (1), Alexis Grace (1), Megan Corkrey (1), Matt Giraud (1)
Tracy Bramwell: Adam Lambert (2), Danny Gokey (1), Lil Rounds (1), Megan Corkrey (1), Matt Giraud (1)
Phyllis: Danny Gokey (1), Adam Lambert (2), Lil Rounds (2), Allison Iraheta (1)
Zach Attack: Danny Gokey (4), Scott MacIntyre (2)
Jaime: Danny Gokey (2), Adam Lambert (2), Alexis Grace (1), Lil Rounds (1)
Kathy: Danny Gokey (2), Adam Lambert (2), Alexis Grace (1), Matt Giraud (1)
Kristina Beras: Adam Lambert (2), Danny Gokey (2), Alexis Grace (1), Kris Allen (1)
Suzer Steege: Adam Lambert (3), Kris Allen (2), Alexis Grace (1)
Kelsey: Danny Gokey (3), Scott MacIntyre (2), Allison Iraheta (1)
Jason Christ: Danny Gokey (3), Alexis Grace (2), Adam Lambert (1)
EDIT: Missed 2:
Lisa Criste: Danny Gokey (2), Allison Iraheta (2), Adam Lambert (2)
Caroline Criste: Allison Iraheta (2), Alexis Grace (1), Adam Lambert (2), Danny Gokey (1)
Looking forward to the season!
American Idol: Top 13
I enjoyed most of the show this evening. I think Danny showed his awesomeness. I didn’t care for Adam, but that shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. Alexis was probably my 2nd favorite of the evening. Kris, Allison, Matt and Megan were also good.
Megan’s performance was really interesting for me. There were parts that I really really liked, but some that were just ok. There was something about it though that made me like her.
It’s funny to me that Idol doesn’t own the Idols-13 phone number. In fact, it actually belongs to a not so nice company (the link doesn’t take you to said company, just another blog post with information).
Ok, so here are my picks on the bottom 3 (assuming that’s still how it works):
- Michael Sarver
- Anoop Desai
- Jasmine Murray
Jaime and I are thinking that the big twist for the results show is that America chooses the bottom three, but the judges decide who goes home. I also think they could make the bottom three sing to save themselves. What do you think?
Last thought: Don’t forget to register for Fantasy Idol.
Fantasy Idol 2009 Signups
Well, we have our Top 12 13 contestants finally! I felt bad for Anoop getting his chain yanked again, feeling the complete disappointment of not making it, only to be told he’d actually made it because they were upping the number of contestants. That’s just brutal.
But enough about the Top 13; It’s time to play Fantasy Idol! Here are the rules:
- You can pick up to six contestants for your team.
- You can divide a total of 6 points among your team. (You are responsible for correctly adding your points. In the event that you assign too many points total for your team, one point will be deducted starting with the first contestant you selected and moving through each of your team members until it reaches six total points.)
- Each week your contestant survives, you will receive the number of points you’ve assigned to that contestant added to your total score.
- The person with the most points at the end of the season gets a free copy of In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day. (In the event that I win, 2nd place will receive the prize.)
Here’s an example of how it works:
You choose Anoop, Kris and Jasmine for your team. You decide Anoop is worth 3 points, Kris is worth 1, and Jasmine, 2. Each week Anoop survives, you’ll get 3 points added to your total score. Each week Kris survives, you’d get 1 point.
The deadline to sign up will be 7:55 EDT (Don’t forget to set your clocks ahead this weekend!) on Wednesday, March 11, which is 5 minutes before the results show starts. This gives you the opportunity to see everyone sing one more time before deciding. If you wish to change your picks, simply fill out the form again. Your latest valid entry will count as your official team.
Also, the name you enter on the form will be what’s displayed on the blog standings.
Feel free to invite as many people as you want to join in on the fun. Please point them to this post for the rules and to sign up.
American Idol: Group 3
I was underwhelmed with the show this evening. I’d say this group ranks a distant third as far as performances go. No one truly impressed me, and I’m not sure any should get a second chance in the wildcard round.
That being said, here’s how I saw things:
Top 3
- Lil Rounds: Not my type of music, but clearly the best vocal of the night. If I liked this music, I probably would have been impressed.
- Scott Macintyre: Decent performance, but I’d like to see him go through so we can see him play on the piano while singing.
- Jorge Nunez: Again, not necessarily my style, but I think he should go through. He’s likeable and a good singer. I think the competition can only support one ballad-type singer, so Scott or Jorge could be an early out in the Top 12.
The 2nd Tier
- Kristen McNamara: She’s likeable and cute, an above average singer that has room to grow.
- Felicia Barton: Also a good singer and a great story, getting a last second callback for the show. She shouldn’t make it through, but you never know.
The Distant 3rd
- Kendall Beard: I like her, but it’s hard to see her as anything more than a country singer. She doesn’t belong in the Top 12.
- Von Smith: He didn’t sing awful, but he didn’t stand out much either.
- Ju’not Joyner: I liked the slow start to the song, but he should have picked up the pace in the middle to give it some pop.
- Arriana Afsar: Terrible song choice, but she just makes the cut above the bottom of the barrel folks.
The Bottom of the Barrel
- Alex Wagner-Trugman: He’s really likeable. But that song was awful. Awful.
- Taylor Vaifanua: I’ve seen her sing the entire song, then saw the playback, and I still can’t remember much about her.
- Nathaniel Marshall: Did you see him perform? I predict he’s last to go for the suspense.
In the end, I think anyone in my 1st and 2nd tier could go through, with Lil Rounds being the only shoe-in. We’ll see though.
Also, the wildcard round is on Thursday, not next week. This means polling for Fantasy Idol will open after Thursday’s show sometime, possibly by Friday morning. Watch for the official post then!
American Idol: Group 2
From the “This is why I need a DVR” department… I set our VCR (yes, you read that correctly) to record American Idol this evening, but I forgot to set the digital converter box to Fox, so we actually taped the first 40 minutes of Biggest Loser instead of Idol.
From the recap at the end of the episode, it looks like that may have worked out well for us, as the performances seemed pretty bad. Watching Nick’s short clip was like a flashback to the tryouts, only it was a contestant that things they can sing and the judges just lay into him. How did he make it this far again?
Ok, from those that I saw, here’s who I liked (and didn’t):
My Top 3 (Should advance to Top 12)
- Allison Iraheta: I like her sound, but the song choice won me over. Jaime thinks I have residual love for anyone who sings Alone by Heart because Carrie Underwood sang it so well several years ago. Could be.
- Kris Allen: None of the guys really blew me away, but one has to make it. I like Kris, but I think Adam Lambert makes it.
- Megan Joy Corkrey: There’s something about her voice that I just love. It was a fun song, but her dancing could use some work. She’s marketable, so she should be a good fit for the top 12.
My Second Tier
- Mishavonna Henson: She was good, but I kind of agree with Simon that she sounded too old. I think she’s the odd girl out in this strong group of girls. Hopefully she gets a call back for the wildcard round.
- Jesse Langseth: Likeable but just ok voice for me. I wouldn’t mind if she got another shot in the wildcard round, but I’m ok if she doesn’t.
My Bottom Tier
- Matt Breitzke: Simon’s right. He’s quite forgettable with his song choice, but that’s probably a good thing. It certainly moves him up my list. I wish I could forget these other two goofballs below him.
- Kai Kalama: Ugh. Awful. He looked like a greasy car salesman/vegas singer cross. The song was a terrible choice. I had such high hopes for such a cool name, too.
- Adam Lambert: I’m definitely in the “hate it” crowd on this one. Way too over the top, awful vocals, stupid expressions. Randy’s right, though, he looks like Edward Cullen of Twilight fame. There should be enough young girls that find him attractive that he should get more votes than Kris Allen, which is too bad.
So how do you rank them?
American Idol: Group 1
Well, we are finally down to the real deal with American Idol. It was good to move out of the auditions phase and into the actual competition. Here’s the rundown of candidates as I saw them, with a quick comment on each:
- Tier 1
- Danny Gokey: Top vote getter for boys/overall. He sounded great and how could you not vote for him with his story?
- Anoop Desai: 2nd highest vote tally, advances to Top 12. He’s really likeable.
- Alexis Grace: Top vote getter for the girls. I liked the punky hair. Very rocker-like.
- Tier 2
- Michael Sarver: Like him, should get a 2nd chance at the Wildcard round.
- Tatiana del Toro: Way better than expected, but I don’t think she should make it. She might, though, thanks to Vote for the Worst.
- Jackie Tohn: She’s more likeable when she’s not singing.
- Ricky Braddy: The judges thought he sounded good, but I thought he was forgettable.
- Ann Marie Boskovich: Borderline tier 2 at best.
- Tier 3
- Stephen Fowler: Horrible song choice. Absolutely horrible. I wouldn’t mind if he got a 2nd chance, but I’m not sure he will. He’s used up too much grace from the judges making it into the top 36.
- Stevie Wright: I liked her a lot after her auditions. She was awful tonight. I hope she gets a 2nd chance. She could grow a lot.
- Brent Keith: He’s nice enough, but no in the same league as the tier 1 people.
- Casey Carlson: Wow. She was terrible, but kudos to her for not crying on stage. The judges were rough on her.
40 Inspirational Speeches in Two Minutes
Saw this over on Lifehacker:
As a big movie-watcher, it was interesting to see how they were all cut together. I’ve probably seen 2/3 of the movies in there and recognized a few others.
Me, Myself and I AM
| I had an opportunity a while back to review Wild Goose Chase here. I signed up to do another review, this time of Me, Myself and I AM, by Matthew Peter and Elisa Stanford, published by Multnomah Books. Read on for how to win a free copy of the book. |  |
The basic premise of the book is that you will examine the story of God in your life by reflecting on some questions. The book is divided into a number of different sections, but it starts with a few questions about where you are now (physically, emotionally and spiritually) and ends with some reflections on the journey you took while working through the book.
Here are some of the questions you’d look at in the book:
- I like myself most when:
- I like myself least when:
- This is how my Father influenced my relationship with God:
- This is how my Mother influenced my relationship with God:
- If I picture my spiritual life as a journey, I would describe my experience as:
- My Creed: (yes / no / not sure for a number of different statements)
- If I had the opportunity to invite any Bible character other that Jesus home for lunch, I would invite:
- I would serve:
- I hope we would talk about:
- If I died today, my biggest relief that life on earth is done:
- My most enduring regret:
Overall, the questions range from easy “check-offs” to really difficult to answer. Some of them made me uncomfortable to read because it forced me to think of myself and my actions in a new light. The book makes for a great introspection, but I wish it had come with a word of Grace for each section. Some Bible verse that relates God’s grace and love in each section would help cleanse some of the guilt or hurts that you revisit in the questions.
Aside from being a journal, it would also work well as a discussion tool for a small group or family time.
If you’re interested in picking up a copy, our good friends across the street at Life Resources would be happy to order one up for you. If you don’t live around here, stop by your favorite big box book website and you’ll be able to get a copy yourself. You can also win a free copy of the book right here on this very blog. Here’s how:
Send an email to jasonthedce AT gmail DOT com with “Jesus Question” in the subject line. In the body of the message, complete the sentence: “If I could ask Jesus one question when I get to heaven, it would be…” I’ll put the best ones anonymously on an upcoming Feedback Friday and we’ll vote for our favorite. The author of the winning question gets the book.
