Andy Rowell | Church Leadership Conversations

How to find movie clips to use in your sermon

   I recently had a student who told me she loved movies.  This woman watched lots and lots of movies.  I was wishing she would read a few more books and go out more often with friends.  But I also encouraged her to write down a movie clip she could use in teaching for each movie she watches.  One of my students emailed me that she is sometimes doing this.  (See the end of this post). 

I don't have this habit down myself but I would like to!  Movies can be a big waste of time but if you are reflecting on them, they can be edifying. 

You can send those clip descriptions into Preaching Today and get paid $75 for each one!  See here for a list of their illustrations which you have to pay to access (but you can still the list).  See here for their guidelines on submitting articles. 

Or get some practice and share your insights with the world by starting a free blog entitled "______'s Movie Illustrations" on Blogger.com.   

I gave my students a Movie Clip assignment in Teaching and Learning Strategies  The Microsoft Word assignment sheet is available free for download at the following link: Download mfilm_clip_assignment.doc

There are a few examples at Leadership Journal’s Website .  Search for “Movie Clips to Show or Tell”.

Here are some books which give movie clips for sermons:

1. Movie-Based Illustrations for Preaching and Teaching - Volume 1 by Craig Brian Larson
2. More Movie-Based Illustrations for Preaching & Teaching: 101 Clips to Show or Tell (Movie-Based Illustrations) by Craig Brian Larson
3. Videos That Teach 4: 75 More Movie Moments to Get Teenagers Talking by Doug Fields
4. Videos That Teach 3: 75 More Movie Moments to Get Teenagers Talking (Youth Specialties) by Doug Fields
5. Videos That Teach 2 by Doug Fields
6. Videos That Teach by Doug Fields
7. Group's Blockbuster Movie Illustrations: Over 160 Clips for Your Ministry! by Bryan Belknap
8. Group's Blockbuster Movie Illustrations: The Sequel by Bryan Belknap
9. Group's Blockbuster Movie Illustrations: The Return by Bryan Belknap

I have created an Amazon.com Listmania! list entitled "Using Movie Clips in a Sermon" if you want to see the covers of the books. 

The reason I mention all of this is that I got an email from Kerrie Schene, one of my students from that class.  After the course had ended, she thought of two movies that could serve as illustrations.  She didn't put her email to me in the "correct form" for the class assignment but I still thought it would be worth sharing with you.  I'm proud of her for watching movies and thinking about the themes and how she might use them in teaching.

Hey, Andy!

How's it going?  I hope your summer is going well with Amy and Ryan in Upland.  I hope you guys are getting some good relaxing time amidst plans for this fall. 

This is random, but there were two times this past semester when I had seen movies/remembered movies with good scenes in them that reminded me of our movie scene presentation in Teaching & Learning.  So, I'm not sure why, but I randomly remembered those just now and wanted to send you them before I forgot once again!

Okay, the first one I saw over Christmas break-"Christmas with the Kranks".  The basic gist of the movie is a married couple in Suburbia boycott having Christmas and decide to skip the traditions and go on a cruise instead.  Then, their daughter decides to come home for Christmas at the last minute so they scramble to make it a good Christmas for her.  The main scene that I thought was really good was one that parallels Christ's gift of mercy, redemption and grace to us.  It's one of the last few scenes in the movie.  Tim Allen's character decides to give his obnoxious neighbor and his sweet wife (who has cancer) his cruise tickets.  His neighbor refuses to take them and insists that he can't pay for them, though Tim repeats that they're a gift over and over and finally the neighbor takes them in amazement.  After I saw that, I said, "That is such a perfect scene to teach God's free and undeserving gift of Jesus to us!" 

The second one came to mind on the spring CE retreat, actually.  I was in the Lectio Divina room (which was awesome, btw) and my scripture to read was 1 John 3:1-3-

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.

The word "lavished" was what stuck out to me the most from the passage and made me think of the movie "A Little Princess".  I don't know if you or Amy are familiar with it-there are a couple different versions, but I was thinking of the most recent version made probably in the mid-90's.  The main story is about a girl named Sarah who came to America from India with her father to live in a boarding school as he goes to war-WWI.  He dies while she is at school and the cruel headmaster makes her become a maid at the school and she has to live in the attic with another servant girl named Becky.  They live in very poor circumstances, but still try to hang to some hope despite them.  They notice that a very rich man lives across the way and they can see both him and his butler, who dresses like an Indian sheik, through the windows.  He sees the girls and notices their living conditions.  One morning they wake up to beautiful surroundings.  They have big comfy blankets, pretty robes and slippers and a table covered with hot food that they haven't tasted in forever.  The girls are so excited and try everything at once and exclaim at the beauty of it all.  They end up playing and dancing in the sunlight through the windows and that was the main scene that I thought of when reading and thinking on the word "lavish".  The colors and cinematography in this movie are great, and definitely help when the cold attic is transformed with beautiful colors and sunlight.

So, I hope that maybe these can help for class next year if you are teaching a section of it at all or in the future.  I have just had those in my head for a while and kept forgetting to share them with you.  Again, I hope you are all enjoying the sweet country summer that exists in Upland, Indiana. :)  See you in the fall!

Kerrie Schene
Women's Ministry/CARE Ministry Intern
Southland Christian Church
Lexington, KY

Guidelines for Using Movie Clips in a Sermon

“A picture is worth a thousand words.”

Film and television clips can be a rich resource to draw from when teaching. They can be used at the beginning, end, or middle of a presentation to capture attention, stimulate interest, create a desire to know more, illustrate principles, summarize, or provide a powerful, memorable wrap-up to a message. Here are some preparation and presentation guidelines to help you make efficient use of this effective resource.

GUIDELINES FOR SELECTION

1. Select examples that capture the mood as well as the message of your point
2. Select examples that don’t require a ton of explanation to set up
3. Select examples that won’t require an apology afterwards (You can find more info at http://www.pluggedinonline.com/ or http://www.movieguide.org/ about movie moral content though I am partial to the reviews of movies at http://www.christianitytoday.com/movies/ since I know three of the reviewers personally).
4. Select only that segment that serves your specific purposes—edit, edit, edit!
5. Don’t be afraid to select examples that may be unfamiliar

GUIDELINES FOR PRESENTATION

A good clip doesn’t stand on its own; it requires a good set up and wrap up

  SET UP—Think Past, Present, and Future

1. Past: Describe the background, setting, time, place, etc
2. Present: Identify the characters and action of the scene
3. Future: Describe any future aspects of the story that would clarify your clip
4. Focus attention by telling them what to watch for, e.g. Pay attention to…,” Be sure to watch for…,”  “Take note of….”
5. Don’t forget to warn the audience of anything they might find offensive or disturbing

  WRAP UP

1. Let the clip speak for itself OR summarize the point you’re making quickly
2. Answer any lingering questions the clip may have raised
3. Don’t get caught up in a personal running commentary on the film as a whole

LICENSE ISSUES

Your church will also need to have a video license to show clips of movies.  Yes, even clips of movies as I understand it though this guy disagrees.  Here are a couple of providers in the USA: MPLC and CVLI  The Willow Creek Association report about the issue is here.  In Canada we used ACF

This handout was originally created by Faye Chechowich, a professor of Christian Educational Ministries at Taylor University, and added to by Ted Ewing, pastor of First Church of God of East Central Indiana.  It was further revised by me for my course Teaching and Learning Strategies (Fall 2005) at Taylor University. 

See the next post which will talk about how to find movie clips. 

APPENDIX: MOVIES I HAVE SEEN IN THE THEATER THIS SUMMER

I have watched three movies in the theater this summer and would probably recommend all of them.  See the reviews of them at Christianity Today: Superman Returns (2 1/2 stars), Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (3 1/2 stars), and X-Men: The Last Stand (3 stars). 

You should know that Pirates of the Caribbean is part of a series so the plot does not resolve whatsoever.  The next movie comes out in May 2007.  It is fun.  It is also a bit difficult to follow if you don't remember the previous film.  I read Wikipedia's plot summary of the previous film at Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl which helped a lot. 

Superman Returns is also well done I think.  Some of my family thought it was predictable.  I liked it.  There are a few thoughtful moments.  (As far as superhero movies go, see the 4 star reviews from Christianity Today of Batman Begins and Spider-Man 2 now both on DVD.  They are great.)

X-Men 3 was the most intellectually stimulating for me because I could think of some parallels to some issues in our modern world.  Again, it might be helpful to read the plot summary of the previous films at Wikipedia at X2 and X-Men to appreciate all of it. 

Media and Preaching

A fellow professor e mailed me this question:

I'm looking for a book that can help explain the communicational importance of using electronic support during worship. Any ideas you have for me to peruse would be appreciated.

Here is what I said:

Check out these in this order. You can see my notes below.

High-Tech Worship?: Using Presentational Technologies Wisely (Paperback) by Quentin J. Schultze

Publisher: Baker Books (January 2004)

Schultze was in my class this year because he has been a visiting scholar at Taylor. This book is short and wise and would fit your purpose I think.

Communicating for a Change : Seven Keys to Irresistible Communication (Hardcover) by Andy Stanley, Lane Jones

Publisher: Multnomah (June 1, 2006)

Andy is one of the leading communicators in the nation. (He is speaking at Willow Creek's Leadership Conference this year). This is his new book.

The Hidden Power of Electronic Culture : How Media Shapes Faith, the Gospel, and Church (Emergentys) (Paperback) by Shane Hipps

Publisher: Zondervan/Youth Specialties (February 1, 2006)

Taylor communication professor and my friend Kathy Bruner is reading this book. She says it is good. He has been on Leadership Journal's Out of Ur recently. See my blog post responding to his article about Video Venues here.

-- The rest of these books I don't know much about. Abingdon (of United Methodist roots) has published all of them.

· The Wired Church: Making Media Ministry (Paperback) by Len Wilson

Publisher: Abingdon Press; Bk&CD Rom edition (March 1999)

· Digital Storytellers: The Art of Communicating the Gospel in Worship (Paperback) by Len Wilson, Jason Moore

Publisher: Abingdon Press; Bk & DVD edition (April 2002)

· Media Ministry Made Easy: A Practical Guide to Visual Communication (Paperback) by Tim Eason

Publisher: Abingdon Press; Bk & DVD edition (April 2003)

· The Spectacle of Worship in a Wired World: Electronic Culture and the Gathered People of God (Paperback) by Tex Sample

Publisher: Abingdon Press (September 1998)

---I have a few other books about how to use movies in teaching here.

How to Lead An Impressive Bible Study

I have a friend who is trying to get a pastoral position at a church.  He needs to lead a Bible study with the board of elders for 60 minutes as part of his job interview.  Below is the advice I gave him.   

Dear __________,

This year I have graded hundreds of Bible studies. 

I have seen three problems over and over again.

1. The leader doesn't understand the flow of Life-Bible-Life and does all Bible study questions. 

2. It goes super long and so you are never get to discussing how this relates to life.  Often the leader is a bit afraid of talking about the nitty gritty so this adds to the frequency of the lengthening of the Bible study portion. 

3. No one talks because the leader doesn't ask good open questions. 

For the flow of their Bible Study, I encourage my students to use Thomas Groome's Shared Christian Praxis Five Movements from his books Christian Religious Education and Sharing Faith. 

Here's my free-wheeling description of it. 

I hope it gives you some ideas as to the structure of your time.

1. 5 minutes. Easy activity - quote, news story, movie clip, personal story, survey, etc about the topic.  Then gently ask them for what they think about the topic "off the top of their heads."  Or better yet, ask what other people typically think about the topic.  Let this be fairly light.  Ease them into it.  E.g. "What do your coworkers think about spirituality?  What are some of the spiritual movies of the last few years?  (Sixth Sense, Chronicles of Narnia, The Passion, The Village, Da Vinci Code, Superman Returns).  Why do people say they are spiritual?"  Or, "What superheros do you remember growing up?  Have you enjoyed any of the movies about superheros (X Men, Superman, Spiderman, Batman, etc.).  What is the appeal of those movies? (the triumph of good over evil; interesting talents)"   

2. 5 minutes. Engage a little of discussion about the importance of the issue.  What are the consequences if people think that about this topic?  What if everybody did that?   Why do people typically have that view of the subject?  Where do you think those ideas come from?  E.g. "How do children learn about spirituality?  What happens if children get confused views of spirituality? (Columbine? Confused by predators on the internet?)  What efforts do public schools do at teaching ethics and values? (No drunk driving, no cheating, etc.)"

3. 15 minutes. What does the Scripture say about this topic? Your four sentence background summary.  Then read the text - ask for volunteer(s).  Have three people read if you think there are three main sections of the passage.  Give people a copy of the text to mark up (NRSV, NIV, ESV, TNIV).  It will typically take people some time to get a handle on the passage so you want to faciliate them diving in and discovering it.  Have people pair up and share.  Ask, what are you think are the most important words? Or what do you think is the most important sentence?  Open questions are especially good.  Paraphrase your favorite sentence.  What questions do you have?  It is much easier for most people to share with a partner rather than the whole group and it facilitates them getting into the Scriptures themselves.  Then have some people (if they are willing) share with the whole group some of the main insights they had shared with their partner.  Hopefully through these questions you are guiding people to the main point of the passage with maybe a couple of subpoints.  When the light goes on and people get that you want to move on. Your summary statement: What I am hearing is . . . What I was thinking about this earlier, this is how I would summarize it.  Then . . . ok, we have begun to talk about it but let's talk a bit more . . . what does this mean? 

4. 10 minutes. So what?  How does this insights from Scripture relate to what we see on TV?  How does this insight from the Scriptures affect our coworkers?  What might be different about their lives if they knew this?  How might our church be different if we knew this?  What does this text remind you of?  Who in your life could really use this lesson?  If  . . . is what this passage is teaching, what is one thing that this affects in daily life?  Take 60 seconds and draw a picture or symbol of something and share it with your partner.  E.g. At the beginning of our discussion we talked about kids and how they learn ethics and morals in our culture - from TV and superheros and worse.  What does our text have to say about that issue today?  Anything? 

5. 10 minutes.  What is the new thought for you today?  What do you plan on contemplating the rest of this week?  What part might you memorize?  What attitude might this change?  How will you act differently this week?  Give them a small piece of paper with the text for the day, date and room for them to draw or write anything they like.  Give them 2 minutes to think, or draw or pray.  End by saying . . . what are some things that we can pray about . . . anything . . . how can we pray for all of us concerning this . . . what are other side comments have we brought up tonight that we can bring to the Lord in prayer.  Have short prayer. 

45 minutes scheduled.  If you go over a little somewhere that's ok if the discussion is hot.  Aim to end at 4 minutes early (56 minutes total).

I often try to pair down the flow of the whole lesson to about 8 questions and print them out for people and that is for 1 1/2 hours.  You will probably be able to discuss about 6 questions I'd say in an hour. 

I hope that might give you a vision or at least some fresh ideas for the time. 

andy

Update: my friend thinks he did well though he didn't take my advice!  Oh well. 

Program and Curriculum Syllabus

I taught Christian Educational Ministries 352: "Program and Curriculum Development" this spring and will teach it again next year.  Here is the syllabus we used.  I'm attaching it as a Microsoft Word document. 

Download syllabus_ced352_revised.doc

I couldn't do this with Blogger on my previous blog. 

Christian Curriculum Development Bibliography

Colson, Howard P. and Raymond M. Rigdon. Understanding Your Church’s Curriculum. Nashville: Broadman, 1981.

Cully, Iris V. Planning and Selecting Curriculum for Christian Education. Valley Forge: Judson Press, 1983.

Groome, Thomas H. Sharing Faith: A Comprehensive Approach to Religious Education and Pastoral Ministry. Eugene: Wipf & Stock Publishers, 1999.

Harris, Maria. Fashion Me a People: Curriculum in the Church. Louisville: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1989.

LeBar, Lois. “Structuring the Curriculum.” Chapter 8 in Education that is Christian. Wheaton: Victor Books, 1989.

Lewis, Kathryn. “The State of the Art in Evangelical Curriculum Publishing.” Christian Education Journal. Autumn 1987.

Marlow, Joe D. “Analyzing the Curriculum Debate.” Christian Education Journal. Spring 1993.

Miller, J. P. & Seller, W. “Curriculum Evaluation Models” in Curriculum: Perspectives and Practice. NY: Longman, 1985.

Pazmino, Robert W. “Curriculum Foundations.” Christian Education Journal. Autumn 1987.

________________. Principles and Practices of Christian Education: An Evangelical Perspective. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1992.

Pearson, John. “Weekend Retreats” in Youth Leader's Sourcebook. Gary Dausey, ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1983.

Schultz, Thom and Joani Schultz. Why Nobody Learns Much of Anything at Church: And How to Fix It. Loveland: Group, 1996.

Senter, Mark H. “Planning an Event” in Youth Leader's Sourcebook. Gary Dausey, ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1983.

Walton, John H., Laurie D. Bailey, and Craig Williford. “Bible-Based Curricula and the Crisis of Scriptural Authority.” Christian Education Journal. Spring 1993.

Wyckoff, D. Campbell. Theory and Design of Christian Education Curriculum. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1961.

Teaching Bibliography

Buechner, Frederick. Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy, and Fairy Tale. HarperSanFrancisco: 1977.

Coles, Robert. The call of stories: Teaching and the moral imagination. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1989. 1-30.

Duckworth, Eleanor. “Teaching as research.” Harvard Educational Review. 56.4 (1986): 481-495.

Eisner, Elliot W. “Educational Aims, Objectives, and Other Aspirations.” The Educational Imagination. New York: MacMillan, 1985. 109-126.

Freire, Paulo. Education for critical consciousness. New York, Continuum, 1973. 3-59.

Gangel, Kenneth O. and Howard G. Hendricks, eds. The Christian Educator’s Handbook on Teaching. Victor-Scripture Press, 1988.

Godawa, Brian. “Introduction.” “Conclusion.” Hollywood Worldviews: Watching Films With Wisdom & Discernment. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2002.

Gorman, Julie. “’There’s go to be more!’ Transformational learning.” CEJ 5.1 (2001): 23-51.

Groome, Thomas H. “The Focusing Activity in Shared Praxis.” Ch. 5. Sharing Faith. San Francisco: HarperCollinsPublishers, 1991.

Groome, Thomas. Christian Religious Education: Sharing our Story and Vision. 2nd ed. San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1999.

Habermas, Ronald T. “Patterns of Growth: Structural Dimension.” “Aspects of Learning.” “Avenues of Learning.” Teaching for Reconciliation. Rev. ed. Eugene: Wipf and Stock, 2001. 65-83, 100-132

Habermas, Ronald T. “Components of Teaching, Parts 1-2.” Teaching for Reconciliation. Rev. ed. Eugene: Wipf and Stock, 2001. 133-173.

Hendricks, Howard. Teaching to Change Lives: Seven Proven Ways to Make Your Teaching Come Alive. Multnomah: 2003.

Hollander, Jocelyn A. “Learning to Discuss: Strategies For Improving the Quality of Class Discussion.” Teaching Sociology. 30 (2002): 317-327.

Horne, Herman H. Jesus the teacher: Examining his expertise in education. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1978.

Jones. Tony. Read, Think, Pray, Live. Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2003.

Joyce, Bruce and Marsha Weil. “Learning from Presentations” Ch. 15. Models of Teaching, 5th ed. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1996. 265-278.

Joyce, Bruce, and Marsha Weil with Emily Calhoun. Models of teaching. 7th ed. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2004.

LeFever, Marlene. Creative Teaching Methods. 2nd ed. Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 1996.

Marlow, Joe. “Analyzing the curriculum debate” CEJ. 13.3 (1993): 95-101.

Nouwen, Henri. Creative Ministry. New York: Doubleday, 1971. 3-20.

Pazmino, Robert W. Basics of Teaching for Christians. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1998.

Pazmino, Robert W. Principles and Practices of Christian Education: An Evangelical Perspective. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1992.

Richards, Lawrence O. “Focusing Attention,” Ch. 17:187-195. “Focusing Attention,” Ch. 21:225-239. “Encouraging Response,” Ch. 20: 215-222. “Encouraging Response,” Ch: 269-275. Creative Bible Teaching. Chicago: Moody Press, 1970.

Richards, Lawrence and Gary Bredfeldt. Creative Bible Teaching. Chicago: Moody, 1998. 310-318.

Shaw, Perry W. H. “Jesus, Oriental Teacher Par Excellence.” CEJ 1NS (1997): 83-94.

Schultz, Thom and Joani. Why Nobody Learns Much of Anything at Church: And How to Fix It. Loveland: Group, 1993.

Smallbones, Jackie L. “Teaching Bible in Small Groups” CEJ 1NS (1997): 19-27.

Stake, Richard. “The countenance of educational evaluation.” Teachers College Record. 68.7 (1967): 524-535.

Walton, John, Laurie Bailey, and Craig Williford. “Bible-based curricula and the crisis of scriptural authority.” CEJ 13.3 (1993): 83-94.

Wilhoit, Jim and and Leland Ryken. “Leading Inductive Bible Studies.” Effective Bible Teaching. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1988. 153-177.

Wilkinson, Bruce. The Seven Laws of the Learner: How to Teach Almost Anything to Practically Anyone. Multnomah, 1983.

Wrobbel, Karen. “Teaching for thinking: A must for Christian Education.” CEJ 12.3 (1992): 147-153.

Yount, William. Created to Learn. Nashville: Broadman and Holman, 1996.

Yount, William R. Called to Teach: An Introduction to the Ministry of Teaching. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1999.

Preaching Bibliography

Bell, Rob. “The Subversive Art: Drawing from the prophets, the rabbis and Jesus to confront the culture.” Leadership Journal. XXV.2 (2004): 24.

Bell, Rob. “Life in Leviticus: Planting this church, I spent a year preaching through Leviticus, and (surprise!) it worked.” Leadership Journal. Winter (2002): 45-47.

Gibson, Scott M., ed. Preaching to a Shifting Culture: 12 Perspectives on Communicating That Connects. Baker Books, 2004.

Johnston, Graham. Preaching to a Postmodern World: A Guide to Reaching Twenty-First Century Listeners. Baker Books: 2001.

Kimball, Dan. “Preaching: Becoming Storytellers Again.” “Preaching Without Words.” and “Spiritual Formation.” Ch.16-17, 19. The Emerging Church. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003. 155-196, 213-225

Larson, Craig Brian and Haddon Robinson, eds. The Art & Craft of Biblical Preaching: A Comprehensive Resource for Today's Communicators. Zondervan, 2005.

Long, Thomas G. Witness of Preaching. Westminster John Knox Press, 1990.

McLaren, Brian. “Learn a New Rhetoric” The Church on the Other Side. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2000. 87-93

Nelson, Alan E. Creating Messages That Connect: 10 Secrets of Effective Communicators. Group Publishing, 2004.

Pagitt, Doug. Preaching Re-Imagined. Zondervan, 2005.

Robinson, Haddon W. Biblical Preaching: The Development and Delivery of Expository Messages. 2nd ed. Baker Academic, 2001.

Stone, Dave. Refining Your Style: Learning from Respected Communicators. Group Publishing, 2004.

Stott, John. Between Two Worlds: The Challenge of Preaching Today. Eerdmans, 1994.

Taylor, Barbara Brown. The Preaching Life. Cowley Publications, 1993.

Troeger, Thomas H. Ten Strategies for Preaching in a Multimedia Culture. Abingdon Press, 1996.

Wilson, Len and Jason Moore. Digital Storytellers: The Art of Communicating the Gospel in Worship. Abingdon Press, 2002.

Use of Media in Teaching and Preaching Bibliography

Barsotti, Catherine M. and Robert K. Johnston. Finding God in the Movies: 33 Films of Reel Faith. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2004.

Belknap, Bryan. Group's Blockbuster Movie Illustrations: Over 160 Clips for Your Ministry! Loveland: Group Publishing, 2001.

Belknap, Bryan. Group's Blockbuster Movie Illustrations: The Sequel. Loveland: Group Publishing, 2003.

Belknap, Bryan. Group's Blockbuster Movie Events: Relevant Retreats and Movie Nights for Youth Ministry. Loveland: Group Publishing, 2005.

Fornof, John. Movie Nights for Kids: 25 Fun Flicks to Inspire, Entertain and Teach Your Children (Heritage Builders/Focus on the Family). Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, 2004.

Higgins, Gareth. How Movies Helped Save My Soul: Finding Spiritual Fingerprints in Culturally Significant Films. Relevant Books, 2003.

Larson, Craig Brian and Andrew Zahn. Movie-Based Illustrations for Preaching and Teaching - Volume 1. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003.

Larson, Craig Brian and Lori Quicke, More Movie-Based Illustrations for Preaching & Teaching: 101 Clips to Show or Tell (MOVIE BASED ILLUSTRATION GUIDES). Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004.

Mraz, Barbara. Finding Faith at the Movies. Morehouse Publishing, 2004.

Schultze, Quentin J. High-Tech Worship? Using Presentational Technologies Wisely. Baker Books, 2004.

Schultze, Quentin J. Communicating for Life: Christian Stewardship in Community and Media. Baker Academic, 2000.

Smithouser, Bob. Movie Nights: 25 Movies to Spark Spiritual Discussions With Your Teen. Updated edition. Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, 2005.