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15 July 2011
Puppets are boring, out-of-date and they don’t keep the kids attention.
I could not disagree more with this above statement (Unless it included that puppets are of the devil).
I recently read a blog about the use of puppets in Children’s Church, CLICK HERE to read it. I really suggest you go check it out; the whole site is pretty awesome! In the blog the writer, Whitney George (the performing arts director at Church on the Move in Tulsa, OK), makes a statement that has stuck with me for a while:
“Creativity is not limited to the mediums that we deem worthy, story transcends medium and until that truth hits you like a ton of bricks, you’ll always make bad creative decisions because you’ll be focused on the wrong things.”
I think that with a lot of hard work and practice that puppets can be very influential in teaching kids about Jesus.
I use to make fun of modern dance, or interpretive-looking dance. I go to Oral Roberts University and last year during an all-worship Chapel they had the dance majors do a modern dance. And all I have to say is that I cried, to a dance, to something that I had previously thought was really lame 20 minutes before. But what can I say, it had the Holy Spirit all over it! I said all that to say that it shouldn't matter what form it comes in, but when you work hard and you listen to the Holy Spirit, God will take care of the rest. You also need to think about who your audience is too. When I first started doing puppets, I was ten years old, and I swear that the only songs we did were Carmen songs. Now, don't misunderstand me. I love Carmen, in fact I still rock out to him every once in a while. But kids these days (I can't believe I just said that, a true sign that I am getting older) need to be entertained. So why not meet them half way try doing a puppet skit to a song they know (try Toby Mac, or ask one of the kids in your children's church what they listen to) and you still teach a meaning behind it afterwards.
What are your thoughts? Do you still use puppets? If so, how have you adapted it to fit in the fast-paced culture?
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