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Join us for our Wednesday Night Bible Study as we visit Mayberry each Wednesday evening.
What does the Andy Griffith Show have to do with the Bible? More than you might think. To illustrate a principle, Jesus often used a parable – an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. Parables allow listeners to recognize real-life events as relevant examples of spiritual truth. In parables, Christians have a precedent for utilizing stories to convey important messages. Because the Bible is the most influential book in the world, modern writers borrow from it more often than we might think, whether they realize it or not. One fundamental way to use popular entertainment to engage a Christian worldview is to evaluate the story from a Scriptural perspective. Even a casual conversation about a TV show can afford and opportunity to witness. Each week we will view an episode of the Andy Griffith Show and use The Andy Griffith Show Bible Study Curriculum (Yes, there really is such a thing) as our guide to glean life lessons from the Bible. Come early and join us for Dinner, served at 5:30. There is no charge, however donations toward the cost of the food are accepted.
The following are excerpts from an article that appeared in “Christianity Today” Entitled What Would Andy Do? Fictional Mayberry is setting for hit Bible study. By Corrie Cutrer
What do an engineer from Alabama, a newspaper columnist in Dallas, and a host on CBS’s The Early Show in New York all have in common? An interest in the gospel–according to Andy, Barney, Opie and Aunt Bee. People from around the country are taking note of a new Bible-study series based on the popular 1960s television program, The Andy Griffith Show.”I’ve been a fan for a long time,” says Joey Fann, 34, of Huntsville, Ala. A software engineer, Fann watched reruns of the show in college to relieve stress. “I noticed that some episodes brought out a certain moral point,” he says. Fann eventually created a study for his church in Huntsville based on several of the episodes. “The first class had about 20 people,” he remembers. That was two years ago. In the months that followed, Thomas Nelson publishers took notice and agreed to distribute the series nationwide. Since its release in May 2000, churches and ministries have purchased over 6,000 copies of the video-and-study-guide series. “We have some churches that are buying hundreds of the study guides at a time,” says Harry Clayton, senior vice president of Nelson Word Multimedia Group. Congregations will show an episode before breaking members into small groups for discussion, says Jim Baird, director of Nelson Word. “It’s not a study of the show,” he says. “It’s a Bible study. The show simply illustrates biblical values.” Each study offers a handful of Scriptures and a series of questions intended to help participants connect the show with biblical ideas. “Mayberry was a good town with good people,” says Jim Clark, founder of The Andy Griffith Show Rerun Watchers Club. “It’s easy to find parallels with Christian teaching and the story of Mayberry FROM ISSUE: September 4 2000, Vol. 44, No. 10, Pg 27
