Monthly column for youth leaders

As Christmas approaches the problem for youth leaders everywhere is how to present Christmas with excitement, in a way not done previously, yet without compromising the message. The challenge this month is how to illustrate Christmas, and along the way to think about illustrations for talks generally.

The difficulty with illustrations is that they can be too good. We see a video clip, or hear a song and immediately see its potential for use as an illustration in a talk. Then the illustration begins to burn a hole in our notebook; it has just got to be let out. We end up falling into the tempting trap of writing the talk around the illustration. I fell into just such a trap with the film The Matrix. It is a rich source for illustrative material. There are some fantastic bits of dialogue seemingly purpose written for talks about the Christian faith. So I used and overused certain clips until, fortunately for all those who listen to me, I lost the cassette.

Giving it a swerve

Here are several ways of side-stepping this problem. I have to admit to still learning the art of illustrating talks. My notebook still has too many holes.

1 Let the Bible shape the talk. This is an obvious first step and one that has been touched on before in this column. Often by working hard on what the Bible says, an illustration is obviously provided for us or becomes unnecessary. It is worth issuing a health warning about books of 'instant talks'. Beware and learn to see where the talk has been written around the illustration. Sometimes these are so blatant that they do not even include a Bible reference. Don't throw those books away just yet, however (see point 5).

2 Try writing the talk without illustrations. I have tried this myself by banning the video projector. It is a good idea to make sure that you can put what the passage is saying into words yourself, without relying on a video to back the point up. If you have found a video clip or another illustration that is supportive, don't incorporate it into the talk. Arrange it at another point in the meeting and refer back to it. In this way it will reinforce the point and not overshadow it.

3 Know your theology so that you can begin to work out the best time and place for using your illustrations. Develop some kind of file or index system for storing ideas. In this way you will be able to cross-reference a Bible centred talk with a relevant illustration. The illustration will then not burn so much of a hole in the notebook.

4 Get help on the Christian responses to films, books and songs. There are books and many websites that comment on the media from a Christian point of view. All help is gratefully received on identifying themes in different movies and books. Two good examples are www.damaris.org and www.anglicanmediasydney.asn.au (click on culture@home).

5 Finally be a bandit and pinch all the illustrations you can find, even those from the 'instant' books. They can all be stored away and employed on the right occasion and in a helpful way. This is one of my reasons for taking notes during other people's talks; I'm really poaching ideas. However, do be careful of using illustrations that appeal to only a narrow band of people. One common mistake is to use illustrations that only appeal to boys (or sometimes girls). Beware of using too many football illustrations.

No compromise

So how do we illustrate Christmas without compromising the message? I have looked back through some past Christmas talks for ideas available to be poached. Please observe the health warning given earlier, these are not 'instant talks'.
One idea that I pinched from a well-known publishing company's Christmas cards was the illustration of 'Monopoly'. The theme of the talk was God's king announced and arrived, and salvation achieved. I used John 3.16, printed on a giant 'Get out of jail free' card, and also used the illustrations of giant 'Angel', 'King's Cross', and 'Chance' cards.

When one of our children was due, I used our preparations for the baby to illustrate a talk on Luke's account of the preparations for Jesus's birth. I'm not advocating beginning your talk preparations in March; there are often other families around with babies or young children. The challenge of the talk was the impact that Jesus's arrival and life does or does not make on our lives.

Finally, the song that's been burning a hole in my notebook recently is 'Peace on earth' by U2. With lines like 'Jesus, will you take the time to throw a drowning man a line', it is tailor made for a Christmas talk. I've yet to use it, because I'm waiting for an occasion in a talk that has been prepared properly. But I do want to respond to that lyric by saying 'Yes, you've only got to look as far as the gospel to find that line, and grab hold to avoid drowning.'

Illustrating Christmas

Giving it a swerve

No compromise

Roger Fawcett

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