Lessons From Lego Masters
Building a Children's Ministry Teaching Time with technical ability, storytelling and aesthetics.
This Throwback-Thursday-on-a-Tuesday article was originally published at Youthworks.net on 29th June, 2021. © Youthworks 2021.
In a non-scientific study of my household, it was unanimously held that Lego Masters Australia is the best show on TV. From Hamish Blake’s self-aware and self-deprecating humour, to the playful competitiveness of the contestants whose passion for LEGO is clear in the way they genuinely commend each other’s builds, to the heartfelt tears of Ryan “Brickman” McNaught every time he eliminates someone from the show (it is still a competition after all).
Best of all is the creativity of the contestants, showing off the boundless potential of the humble Lego brick, partnered with the God-given ability for humans to continue the work of the Genesis 1 creation in bringing order out of chaos, or in this case, complex character builds and dioramas from the roughly 3.5 million bricks in the Brick Pit.
As much as I could heap praise upon this show for 1,800 words, I won’t (this isn’t a TV review article, after all!). Nevertheless, LegoMasters has started me thinking about how we write and deliver teaching time in our Children’s Ministry. Did you get whiplash from that about-turn (or, as Hamish would call it, a MBT – Mid-Build Twist)? Let me explain.
Before they even start building, the contestants on Lego Masters are given a brief of what to build. This most recent season has included building the scene inside a snow globe, a scene built around the limb of a tree branch, and a model that can be suspended from a large helium-filled balloon. The most important part of each episode is to complete the brief. If a particular build doesn’t fit inside the snow globe, cracks the branch, or sinks the helium balloon to the floor, it’s not even in the running for that round.
However, simply fulfilling the brief is not enough. When it comes to deciding who wins a Lego build, Brickman—co-host, judge and all-round Lego genius—consistently looks for three things; technical ability, storytelling and aesthetics. Once a contestant has done what was asked, it is the inclusion of these three things that make a particular build “pop”. Mastering these three things can progress a team to the next level with certain advantages won along the way. Failing in one of these areas is often a team’s ticket out of the competition.
This made me wonder: what would happen if we thought of our Children’s Ministry teaching times with these same three things in mind? Not because children’s ministry is a reality show competition, and not because you’ll get sent home if you do these things poorly. Rather, thinking about fulfilling the brief, using technical ability, storytelling, and aesthetics can help your ministry teaching “pop”.
Fulfilling the Brief
Of course, the most important part of any children’s teaching time is fulfilling the brief. By that I mean we must teach the Bible passage faithfully;
understanding and communicating the context of the passage
identifying the big idea the author is seeking to teach
sharing how this applied to the first audience and how it applies now
No amount of technical prowess or creative flair will cover over a Bible teaching time that misrepresents the truths of Scripture or misapplies the passage to the children’s lives as disciples of Jesus.
In my context, as I visit churches, coach children’s ministers, and watch leaders deliver children’s teaching time, I find that fulfilling the brief is adequately done much of the time. There are always small tweaks that can be made, or a deeper understanding of the historical and theological context of a passage that we can grow in. That’s one of the exciting adventures of being a Christian, that there is always more to know.
But in terms of teaching the narrative of a passage, linking the passage to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus as the centre of our faith, and applying the passage to our lives as disciples, many of our children’s ministry leaders fulfil the brief of faithfully speaking the gospel.
Technical Ability
In terms of technical ability, what I am looking for in a children’s ministry teaching time is a clear structure that helps the children to see the clear relevance of the Scriptures to their daily lives as disciples of Jesus. Paul tells Timothy,
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17 NIV).
Good teachers help the servants of God, or the not-yet-Christians who are in our midst, to see the usefulness of Scripture and the way it applies to the life of faith.
Children (and adults) learn best when what they are learning about connects to what they already know, and when they can see the connections to their lives. A simple structure that helps make these connections clear is starting in the world of the child, before taking them back to the world of the Bible, and then bringing them home to their world. This ‘Way In’, ‘Bible Exploration’ and ‘Connections’ will be familiar to anyone who has used CEP’s Scripture or church-based children’s ministry resources.
It is unhelpful to jump straight into the Bible text without an introduction,
“Good morning kids. Today we’re learning about Abraham. Let’s read Genesis 12 together.”
Or leave the children in the world of the Bible,
“And so, we see that Jesus is an even better Abraham. Let’s pray and then go get morning tea.”
This risks leaving the beautiful truths of the Bible as abstract stories or concepts in the children’s ears, but failing the “So what?” test.
“Nice story Tim about an old man having more children than stars in the sky. But I’m an 8-year-old in Sydney in 2021. So what?”
By having a teaching time structure that clearly connects with the world of the child, both before and after unpacking the Scriptures together, shows a precision in technical ability in demonstrating that all scripture is useful and thoroughly equips us to live our lives as disciples in the world today.
Story Telling
Crafting a great children’s ministry teaching time is like crafting a great Lego build. There are a number of aspects of good storytelling in terms of how we use our voice and body language to communicate meaning. However, in this instance, I am thinking about the need to have one clear story that is evident to the hearer or viewer. Teams on Lego Masters have become unstuck here in one of two ways. Some teams technically fulfil the brief, but the model is a bit lifeless and dull—all one shade of Lego with nothing to catch the eye.
On the other extreme, some teams put so much detail into their diorama that it becomes cluttered and overwhelming, and the clarity of the story becomes lost, unable to see the Lego-forest for the Lego-trees.
I’ve seen both of these in teaching times that I’ve observed, and guilty of both in teaching times I’ve delivered.
Maintaining a clear story requires us to keep the main thing the main thing. Some teaching times suffer from meandering through the passage in a way that, yes, accurately communicates the facts of the Scripture, but fails to make narrative arc of the passage shine with significance. Other teaching times can be cluttered through emphasising every small detail or seeking to illustrate every theological topic that the passage (even briefly) touches on.
There are always many true things in a Bible passage. Many supporting ideas that are God-breathed, helpful, and true. But not every true thing needs to be said every time. Equally, emphasis on every true idea can clutter this particular teaching time and obscuring the one main big idea that you are seeking to communicate.
Aesthetics
The final aspect that Brickman looks for in a Lego Masters build is the aesthetics. Does the Lego model look beautiful? Do the colours pop? Is it attractive and draws the viewer into the design so they want to stay and study it further? One particular design this season drew the comment from Brickman, “You have made art out of Lego” – the highest praise any humble brick-builder could hope to achieve.
Very few of us are going to make art out of our children’s ministry teaching time. However, the point to make is that for both Lego models and effective teaching times, the visuals are not incidental to the design; they are an essential aspect of the process and product that invites the curious viewer to spend time viewing, thinking, and engaging with what is being offered.
Once again, there is a danger of being too cluttered in aesthetics, where the visuals are distracting the listener from the big idea being communicated. Sometimes the maximum “less is more” needs to be judiciously employed. However, good visuals will enhance the effectiveness of the teaching time, the same way that a beautiful Lego build attracts the viewer. Effective visuals capture the attention, create curiosity, stimulate the imagination, and hold the listener in ways that speech alone cannot do. They enhance our teaching time and are worth the time to do well. The addition of carefully crafted aesthetics—visual aids, pictures, slides, props, costumes, chalk drawings, puppets, etc.—can help the otherwise good teaching become great.
The Winning Build
Unlike Lego Masters, children’s ministry is not a competition. There’s not one team of ministry leaders who will get the “Teaching Time 2021” trophy from the hands of Jesus as they enter New Creation. However, we know from our own experience that not all teaching times are equal, and we are seeking to labour willingly for the reward our Saviour will give his faithful under-shepherds (1 Peter 5:2-4).
Always, the most important element is fulfilling the brief, teaching the Scriptures accurately, truly and faithfully. If this is where your team need support, then all the other categories can be put aside for a time. However, once a team is confident in their ability to re-present the gospel message clearly, then technical ability, storytelling and aesthetics can be a helpful framework for getting from good to great. From an accurate presentation of Scripture, to a creative, engaging and—under God—faith-formative time with the young disciples of Jesus in our flock.
What’s the next bible talk you’ll be crafting? Where will your technical ability, storytelling and aesthetics enhance your faithful fulfilment of the brief?
I love the emphasis on storytelling and connecting God’s Word to the One Big Story of Scripture as well as to kids’ lives.
I wrote a worship-based curriculum following God’s Covenant promises using objects to tell stories. Children re-experience the stories by telling them after the storyteller is finished. They have time to reflect and create ( Blooms taxonomy) and this allows the Holy Spirit to speak to them.
The-childrens-sanctuary.com