ADULT MINISTRY
Surfing the Church
by Beverly CroweTipton
Have you been to your church library recently? Many good people try to make the church library a helpful resource, but their efforts are sometimes lost on Sunday school teachers. Why? Most church libraries contain only a few resources for biblical, theological, and historical studies because those resources are often expensive and not always an exciting read. Also, church libraries are often the last place Sunday school teachers think to visit, and most of them are not open at 9:00 on Saturday nights. In the end, large, expensive books become sizable paperweights, bowing library shelves and gathering dust bunnies. It is not surprising that many congregations have given up on having a church library.
That is discouraging for Sunday school teachers seeking resources. Some teachers begin to build a personal library of helpful books. However, the Bible itself is such an expansive library that no one book, or even five, can say it all. Ultimately, having a good study library is neither an inexpensive nor simple proposition.
The advent of the World Wide Web has changed the ways we gather information. Though many churches lag behind on the information superhighway, most church members do not. Recent studies indicate that the number of computers in most households today exceeds the number of televisions. Not only is the Internet interactive, but we can always find something we want to know on the Web. That’s good news.
But there’s bad news. We all know that some of the Net’s offerings are inappropriate and sometimes harmful. Even if we avoid these offerings, how do we know the information that speaks to our interests is trustworthy? To make matters even more complicated, we sometimes misuse or abuse the facts. For example, do you know someone who has looked up their aches and pains on the Internet, found a site that matches their symptoms, and then convinced themselves they have a terrible disease?
It’s easy to get discouraged, but many good sites can help us teach the Bible. Surfing the Internet can seem like navigating deep waters, but even beginners can find their way through informational sites and glean nourishment from articles and insights of scholarship. Below are several helpful sites with brief descriptions. Each site also includes links to more resources. As with all research, the bottom line is not to wait until the last minute to do your work. Take time early in the week to seek, and you will find the resources you need to teach God’s word in the most effective way.
New Testament:
http://www.ntgateway.com
The New Testament Gateway is an award-winning web directory of Internet resources on the New Testament. Within this site, you can browse or search annotated links on everything from the Greek New Testament to Jesus in film.
http://www.religion-online.org/cgi-bin/relsearchd.dll/showbook?item_id=531
This older publication is an online introduction to the New Testament by Richard Heard. It guides readers through the general context of the New Testament and its individual books
http://www.kchanson.com/LINKS/ancweb.html
This site offers resources and other sites for understanding the world in which Jesus lived as compiled by Dr. K. C. Hanson. All sites listed by Dr. Hanson are of generally high quality and accepted scholarship.
Resources:
http://unbound.biola.edu
This site contains more than fifty different versions of the Bible in a variety of languages, all in a searchable format. If you want to know how John 3:16 reads in different translations or even in different languages, this site is for you.
http://www.wfu.edu/~horton/r102/ho1.html
A Basic Vocabulary of Biblical Studies for Beginning Students: A Work in Progress is an online dictionary for Bible study that explains some of the terms scholars use. This work is still in progress but has many useful items.
http://divinity.library.vanderbilt.edu/lectionary
This site offers the revised common lectionary maintained by the folks at Vanderbilt University Library. Here you can access the lectionary for upcoming years in all three cycles. Click on the text links and you will get the actual reading.
Old Testament:
http://www.otgateway.com/
This site has many links for the study of the Old Testament both by book and by topic.
Let the surfing begin!
Beverly CroweTipton has been editor for both Formations Bible study curriculum for adults and Youth Intersection Bible study for youth. Before her work with Smyth & Helwys Publishing, Beverly served as associate pastor of Seventh & James Baptist Church in Waco, Texas. She is a graduate of Furman University and Southern Seminary. Her husband, Vaughn, is chaplain of Furman University and their children are Jared and Abby. Beverly cherishes time with her family and enjoys running and reading.
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