Coronavirus Response

  • Home
  • A-Z List
  • About
    • About the NCC
    • Connectional Table
    • Staff
  • Calendar
    • Events
    • Google Calendar
    • Past Events
  • Churches
  • Contact
    • Find Us
  • Districts
    • District Office
    • Beacon
    • Capital
    • Corridor
    • Fairway
    • Gateway
    • Harbor
    • Heritage
    • Sound
  • Employment
  • Search

NC Conference

Healthy Congregations and Effective Leaders in Every Place Making Disciples of Jesus Christ for the Transformation of the World

  • Discipleship
    Developing Disciples
    • Christian Formation
      • Children
      • Church & Society
      • College
      • Differently Abled Persons
      • Educational Ministries
      • Older Adults
      • Status & Role of Women
      • Young Adults
      • Youth
    • Church Revitalization
      • Coaching
      • Disciple Making Way
      • Evangelism
      • Grants
      • MissionInsite
      • Real Discipleship Survey
      • Shift
      • Spiritual Life
    • From the Bishop
      • Bishop’s Bookshelf
      • Bishop’s Sermons
      • Church Transformation
      • Conflict Transformation
      • Connections
      • Discipleship & Learning Plan
    • Multicultural
      • Asian
      • Hispanic/Latino
      • Native American
      • Strengthening the Black Church
    • Stewardship
      • Apportionments
      • District Remittances
      • Financial Discipleship
      • Grants
      • Insurance
      • Mission & Service
      • Pension
      • Treasurer Training
  • Leadership
    Strengthening Leaders
    • Bishop’s Office
      • Appointment Book
      • Bishop’s Sermons
      • Church Transformation
      • Conflict Transformation
      • Connections
      • Discipleship & Learning Plan
    • Ministerial Relations
      • Board of Ordained Ministry
      • Called to Ministry?
      • Extension Ministries
    • Board of Laity
      • Certified Lay Minister
      • Lay Servant Ministries
      • United Methodist Men
      • United Methodist Women
      • United Methodist Youth
    • New Faith Comm.
      • Called to Plant?
      • New Room Society
      • Our Communities
    • Conference Offices
      • Center for Leadership Excellence
      • Christian Formation
      • Communications
      • Conference Secretary
      • Connectional Ministries
      • Information Technology
      • Multicultural Ministries
      • Outreach Ministry
      • Treasurer’s Office
  • Service
    Ministering To The World
    • Local Outreach
      • Church Construction
      • Church Loans
      • Restorative Justice and Mercy
      • Disciple Bible Outreach
      • NCC UMVIM
      • Seed Funds
      • Mission Projects
        • Health Ministry
    • Global Outreach
      • Imagine No Malaria
      • Love for Liberia
      • Missionaries
      • Project AGAPE
      • Sierra Leone: Mission of Hope
      • ZOE
    • Disaster Ministries
      • Donate to Storm Response
      • Hurricane Florence
      • MERCI
      • Response Plan
      • Response Team
      • UMCOR Kits
    • Giving
      • Advance/Rainbow Covenant
      • Apportionments
      • Give to Storm Response
      • Mission & Service
      • The Gary Wayne Locklear Mission Endowment
      • New Room Society
      • Special Sundays
    • Ministry Partners
      • Camps & Retreats
      • Partners In Ministry
      • Robeson Co. Church & CC
      • UMF
  • Resources
    Supporting Ministry
    • Conferences
      • Annual Conference 2019
      • Annual Conference 2020
      • Charge Conference 2020
      • General Conference
      • Pilgrimage
      • SEJ Conference 2016
    • Media Center
      • Catalog
      • Labyrinth
      • Ministry Tools
      • Online Resources
      • Weekly Newsletter
    • Online Resources
      • Archives & History
      • Church Lookup
      • Online Data Collection
      • Online Learning
      • Pastor Lookup
      • Podcasts (NCCUMC.FM)
      • Ramus: Web Hosting
      • Video (Vimeo)
    • Publications
      • Advent 2020
      • Appointment Book
      • Bible Study
      • Conference Directory
      • Conference Journal
      • Every Day Grace
      • Lenten Reflections
      • Mission & Service
    • From UMC.org
      • Agencies
      • Communications
      • Discipleship
      • Finance & Administration
      • Global Ministries
      • Graphics Library
      • Relief
      • Status & Role of Women
  • Media Center
  • How It Works
    • Borrowing Policies
  • Catalog
    • OPALS
    • Resource Request Form
    • Request a User Account
    • OPALS User Guide
    • Video Tutorial
    • Pathfinders
  • Online Resources
    • Ministry Tools from Around the Web
    • Guide to NC LIVE
  • More Resources
    • For Small Group Leaders
    • For Church Librarians
    • Labyrinth
    • Copyright Laws
  • Newsletter
    • New Resources
  • Contact Us

Study Harder Challenge: Pop Culture

May 28, 2019 Leave a Comment

Study Harder challenge

Join the NC Conference Media Center’s Study Harder Challenge! Your group is invited to expand your circle of influence and try something new by studying resources that apply any of 12 characteristics that will help you think outside the box. Read more about the Study Harder Challenge and download your worksheet.

Challenge: Features Pop Culture

It’s summer! Have some fun with your bible study! All while relating Christian principles to the culture in which we live.

Choose a study that features pop culture – TV shows, movies, literature, any media widely known and consumed outside of the Christian market. You will end up with some great conversation starters, some new tools for evangelism, and a deeper understanding of the relationship between Christianity and culture.

The Entertainment Ministry

  • mayberry bible study
  • beverly hillbillies
  • gilligan's island
  • bonanza

Many of our churches have studied North Carolina’s most loved television show, The Andy Griffith Show, in their small groups. The Entertainment Ministry by Stephen Skelton offers four volumes of The Mayberry Bible Study. Each volume includes four episodes of the show. Each session is focused on a Christian principle that is illustrated in that episode. We also have a collection of 40 video clips from The Andy Griffith Show that could be used as sermon or lesson illustrations.

Skelton has produced similar DVD studies for the following icons of pop culture:

  • The Beverly Hillbillies
  • The Lucy Show
  • Gilligan’s Island
  • The Van Dyke Show
  • Bonanza
  • Super Man
  • John Wayne
  • Harry Potter
  • Twilight
  • It’s a Wonderful Life
  • A Christmas Carol

Skelton has also written study booklets that provide a Christian perspective on these items of pop culture:

  • gospel of superman
  • legend of sleepy hollow
  • charles dickens life of lord
  • night before christmas cover
  • The Wizard of Oz
  • Superman
  • Charles Dickens
  • The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
  • The Gift of the Magi
  • The Night Before Christmas
  • Paintings of Jesus

Bonus! Every study from The Entertainment Ministry comes with a reproducible study guide. The NC Conference Media Center holds a Certificate of License so that you can copy the study guide or booklet for everyone in your group. Borrow the DVD and study guide from us, and you’ve got a free bible study!

Matt Rawle

Rev. Rawle is a United Methodist pastor and author of the Pop in Culture bible study series. These 6-week DVD studies offer insight, humor, and inspiration based on some of your favorite pop culture classics. The series explores:

  • To Kill a Mockingbird
  • Doctor Who
  • A Christmas Carol
  • The Nutcracker
  • Superheroes
  • Jesus and Christ figures in films

The Gospel According To…

  • dr seuss

It was popular for awhile to publish books with the title, “The Gospel According to (fill-in-the-blank pop culture reference).” These books try to tease out Christian themes in popular culture. We have several of these books in the Media Center that would make good companions to a study of these well-known icons:

  • Dr. Seuss
  • J.R.R. Tolkien
  • Star Wars
  • The Simpsons
  • U2
  • Bob Dylan
  • Disney
  • Starbucks
  • Hollywood

Christian Movies

Lately, some Christian movies have been brought into mainstream culture with big-name actors or theatrical success. The Media Center offers small-group studies that include clips of the following movies:

  • God’s Not Dead
  • Do You Believe?
  • War Room
  • Courageous Living
  • Heaven is for Real

Additional Resources

View our Genre Collection of DVD Studies Featuring Pop Culture to find links to many of the studies mentioned here as well as additional titles.

Podcast!

The NC Conference produces a podcast, Watercooler Christianity, that explores Christianity and pop culture. It is co-hosted by NC Conference pastors Laura Wittman and Aaron Hayworth. Previous episodes have talked about:

  • Superheroes
  • Fitness
  • Beer & Hymns
  • Christmas movies
  • Bird Box
  • Marie Kondo
  • Captain Marvel
  • The Office
  • Lord of the Rings

Request These Resources

These resources can be borrowed for free by anyone involved with a United Methodist Church in the North Carolina Conference. We will mail them to your home! All you need to do is fill out the Resource Request Form.

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn

Filed Under: Resources

Email Newsletter

Sign up below to receive email updates from the Media Center. You'll get short weekly updates on news and resources.

The NC Conference respects your privacy. See our Privacy Policy.

What Should I Borrow?

  • Catalog
  • Pathfinders
  • DVD Studies for Adults
  • For Small Group Leaders
  • How to Choose the Right Study for Your Group
  • Study Ideas for Your Small Group
  • The Study Harder Challenge
  • Posts about Resources
  • New Resources
  • Reviews
  • Labyrinth

Other Resources

  • For Small Group Leaders
  • For Church Librarians
  • Ministry Tools from Around the Web
  • Online Resources
  • Guide to NC LIVE
  • Copyright Laws

NC Conference of The United Methodist Church · 700 Waterfield Ridge Place · Garner, NC 27529
Phone: 919.779.6115 · Toll-free: 800.849.4433 · Fax: 919.773.2308

Copyright © 2021 · Privacy Policy · Powered by WordPress · Site Admin