Review: Tales of the Unexpected

Recently, I received a review copy of a new outreach course from The Good Book Company, designed particularly for 'non-booky' people. Tales of the Unexpected consists of four short sessions, using some of the parables of Jesus from Luke's Gospel to help people understand the gospel.

The study guide is great, with each session laid out almost like some older Sunday School material, with questions, the Bible text, summaries of the teaching, and interactive sections and quizzes to aid in remembering the stories. With very little work, the study guide could also be used as the basis for a discussion group, with time given for people to follow along and fill in the books as they go along.

As I've said, the course has been designed for non-booky people, and it wouldn't intimidate people, with the great design in the study guide, and everything is at a basic but good level. Ideal for non-Christians, or even new Christians as an introduction to studying the parables, and coming to grips with some of the varied ways that Jesus is portrayed and teaches.

Alongside the study guide, there is also a DVD which contains a short advert to show in church before the course begins, as well as the four sessions. These are presented by Pete Woodcock (who authored the course with his wife, Anne), and Lizzie Smallwood. There's a choice as to which person you watch, as they each present the same material, so depending on the group, you can use whoever is more suitable. However, I'll have to take their word for it, as the DVD didn't want to work at all in our MacBookPro. I've tried it a few times, and each time it has just spat it out again without playing.

Hopefully if the DVD works, the course would be a great one to run, perhaps alongside or prior to a Christianity Explored course, and will make a good complement to the outreach programmes and evangelistic courses in a local congregation's calendar, or home group.

Tales of the Unexpected is available from The Good Book Company, with a starter pack (also see the free download of a leader's guide and how to run a group guide), as well as the individual DVD and study guides.