By Benjamin Kendrick
This season iLeadYouth.com will provide a free Bible study for each episode of the popular TV drama Lost.
Lost is a show about faith. After receiving the 2006 Golden Globe for Best Dramatic Television Series, creator David Lindelof said, “This show is an exercise in faith.” But Lindelof didn’t have to tell some of us, we already knew. For the last two years I, a fan of the show and its theological undertones, have been preparing and facilitating weekly classes for youth, young adults, and adults based on the Lost television series. These lessons will now be available for free at iLeadYouth.com. I think that the best way to reach out to people outside the church, as well as re-energize those within it, is to offer them something fresh, something different, something that takes us out of our comfort zone. My hope is that the Lost Bible study will do just that.
The format of each Lost episode—following a single character through events on the island and pre-island flashbacks—draws attention to the moral and spiritual struggles that Christians face each day. The studies I did with my youth last season (Season 3) included discussion topics such as guilt and remorse, fitting in, responding to grief, divine intervention and miracles, materialism, loss of faith, persuasion, healing from trauma, and shame. Since Lost features a diverse cast of characters, we as a viewing audience can approach our faith from a variety of angles.
This series is organic. It will grow and evolve as Lost’s fourth season reveals new secrets each week. The study for each episode will be available on iLeadYouth.com on the Monday following the episode’s airdate. This allows you to discussion one episode before the next episode airs. You might do this study as a Tuesday morning breakfast chat or a Wednesday evening Bible study.
Lost has been described as “meticulously intentional.” The television series is full of metaphor, thematic overtones, and subtleties. Lindelof has described Lost as “a show written by people who love books.” Like a literary work, the show takes time to digest. There are many layers and a lot of mysteries yet to be solved. Youth who are not already familiar with the show will need time to get caught up. (Past seasons are available on DVD or at Internet stores such as Related Links:Related Links:
