I am always trying to find ways to connect religion/faith personally to students. If a personal connection is not made for students the bible can become empty words. Our God is a personal God that wants a relationship with each of us. Like any relationship we must cultivate that relationship by spending time with our Lord in the word and opening our hearts to his never ending love. Often, teens do not make this connection. This is the time that students are psychologically discovering their "self". Students are questioning their morals, faith, and other personal traits during this time and this is where connections could be made in faith.
Here is a link for a great article on the psychological development in the Middle School Setting: Middle School Development
Last month I found a really great resource that could be used to make personal faith connections. Faith coming alive for students can be vary powerful. Movies such as The Passion of the Christ and others have made connections for many individuals. Although their theology may/can often be skewed, they can be a powerful resource for teachers to use with students.
The movie "Noah" comes out in 2014 and it looks like a fantastic film. I would really like to dissect the theology in this film before I would use it as a resource in my classroom. Teachers must be aware of faith-cultural connections such as this upcoming film. This could be a powerful connector for students because of its "real" appeal. This is a Veggie Tale version of Noah that society is often used to. This seemingly historically accurate film could open the door for new questions/connections for students. Teachers and church workers should be very aware of these types of films or cultural influences because they could be used as a connection, not a hinderance for their ministry.
I think this film looks very good and I can't wait to see how it mimics the biblical text. Any thoughts? Feel free to comment!
Here is this upcoming 2014 film, "Noah":
