The Truth Project

Focus on the Family's The Truth Project is a direct attempt to reverse the troubling statistic that only 9 percent of professing Christians have a biblical worldview. It's a stunning fact that backs what many believers have already seen and felt-that worldly values are increasingly taking hold and causing havoc among believers.

To help counter this slide of beliefs, Focus on the Family is launching their The Truth Project--a DVD-based small group study that clearly and concretely re-introduces believers to the truth claims of God. Supported by Dr. James Dobson and Christian worldview authorities Ravi Zacharias and Oz Guinness, FOTF believes it holds the potential for exponential change within the body of Christ.

The series is led by an energetic Dr Del Tackett. Tackett is president of the Focus on the Family Institute and Senior Vice President of Focus on the Family. An adjunct professor at New Geneva Theological Seminary and Summit Ministries, he served more than 20 years in the United States Air Force. As a professor, he's taught more than 30 undergraduate and graduate courses at three different institutions, over a 12 year period. He's also an ordained elder in the Presbyterian Church in America.

You can see a trailer of the series here; I recommend the four-minute version rather than the 30 second one, which is cut into such short shots that it's only just comprehensible.

The Trouble with Paris

By a circuitous route, I found a DVD resource for young people, called, The Trouble with Paris. (It came via an Aussie magazine called Novus, which contained an article by Darren Rouse (famous for the very popular ProBlogger site) who's a Baptist pastor in Melbourne. In the article he referred to his other site, The Living Room, and in one of the posts there I found reference to the DVD.

The Trouble With Paris takes you on a four-week journey exposing the myths of popular culture, whilst presenting a new lens by which to view Christianity in a consumer world.

Western culture teaches us that our value and identity comes from the products, experiences and relationships that we consume. You can become a celebrity if you want it bad enough. Youth is worshipped and commitment to anything is uncool. But where do I find contentment and happiness? In a society where consumerism is god, how do Christians express their faith in a meaningful and relevant way?

Mark Sayers, Australia 's leading young adults theologian, presents a unique insight into how media and advertising impacts upon our dreams, values and expectations as Christians. The Trouble With Paris has thoughtful animation and an interactive question time, and is the ideal resource for small groups or individuals wanting to reshape how to live out your faith in a world of plastic promises.

The modules are as follows:
• Week One – The Pursuit of Happiness
• Week Two – Fame, Fortune and other Fables
• Week Three – Reality Bites
• Week Four – Finding God's Reality

You can buy a copy of the DVD directly from the website.

A Purple State of Mind

In a recent Christianity Today article, Brandon Fibbs writes about Friends, Faith and a Feud. The two friends are Craig Detweiler and John Marks, and they date their longstanding friendship back to college days, when they were roommates. However, one of them, Detweiler, is a Christian, and Marks is not - he was until the year he met Detweiler, as it happens.

Detweiler is a filmmaker, and between them they've made a documentary in which they have an ongoing conversation about Christianity, faith, believing or not believing and a good deal more. The film, A Purple State of Mind, is available on DVD, and you can order it here, or see more about it on their site.

If you've nothing else to do (apart from buying the DVD, that is) you can watch a number of outtakes on the site (same link as the last one). This will give you an idea of the approach they take.

The DVD would make great viewing for small groups, since it gives an insight into the way someone thinks who isn't a Christian and who's got plenty of reasons/answers as to why he shouldn't be, as well as showing how to have a conversation with a non-believer without losing your cool, or your friendship.