Welcome

I've never really been one for blogs. I mean, sure, I’ll click on a random post here and there, but I’ve never understood the point of why I’d regularly read the detailed ramblings about someone else’s everyday life. Yet perhaps that’s the problem right there. Up until recently, I’ve operated under the assumption that there are two main kinds of blogs, and this first type – the random nattering about whatever for the pure sake of writing – has always turned me off. I’m sure some people enjoy it, but if that were what I wanted to accomplish here, I can guarantee you I’d give up within the week.

The other main type of blog, from my experience, are those random articles that you typically find mass distributed on Facebook. These blogs tend to be associated with an organization of some sort, and the writers there are presumably chosen to write because they have some kind of qualification that makes their voice worth listening to. And full disclosure, I’ve never considered myself qualified enough in anything worth writing about to think that a bunch of random strangers on the Internet would want to listen to me. Then again, if Buzzfeed has proven anything, it’s that people will read about or watch pretty much anything, so what do I know?

So why have I started Shed the Sunday School Glasses then? Well, a few reasons I guess:

1) I’ve attended summer camps for more years than I can remember at this point. Most of my life at any rate, and eventually what started as attending turned into working. This past summer was my 9^th summer working at camp, the 6^th of which I was heavily involved in writing/adapting the curriculum we used to teach the Bible each day. So while I may not have a degree in education, I do have a few years experience now in brainstorming, writing, and teaching Bible lessons to kids and teens. I guess I decided that that’s finally enough experience to throw my voice into the ring.

2) I’m a student who’s coming to the end of his time in school. I should be completing my Masters degree in English in June, and I need to start deciding on a future course. I had some close friends and mentors suggest that writing a blog would be a good way to start. So consider this a portfolio of sorts. Obviously it’s very informal writing – though I will say, being able to use contractions and sentence fragments is kind of freeing! – but this should give anyone reading a general sense of my writing style.

3) Starting is always the hardest. When I’m writing a paper, or one of these blog posts for that matter, I find that I can stare blankly at the screen for a LONG time while that little line on Microsoft Word just blinks at me. And people always say, “Just start writing. You’ll figure out where you’re going eventually.” So this is me, just starting.

Where does that leave us then? Well, I’ve started this blog as a place to continue writing Bible stories for kids in new and exciting ways. I’ve been really challenged in the last two summers to make the Bible come alive to kids, to use my love of and talent for writing and teaching to do more than just preach at a bunch of seven year olds. Instead, my goal here is to draw out the main point of each story (one could even say the Bottom Line, assuming Orange doesn’t have that trademarked) while connecting these stories back to Jesus and why faith in Him actually matters.

The both exciting and scary part about this is that my writing now has the potential to be read by a much larger audience than the sixty or so kids who attend camp. I’m usually a very private person when it comes to the Internet – practically every social media platform I’m on is currently set to private* – but now I’m giving the entire world the chance to read my stuff. Perhaps that’s getting ahead of myself, but my dream for this blog is that it might one day become something that parents discover and then read to their kids. Or even just read for their own enjoyment. Either way, I pray that someone, somewhere gets something out of this and that maybe, just maybe, God would see fit to expand His Kingdom through this blog a little bit. 

To that end, my goal is to post a new story every Thursday of about 1200-1500ish words. The Bottom Line will be bolded so that it stands out. I’d like to say I’m generally aiming for around 8 years old, but forgive me if I end up shooting for a tad older than that – especially during the weeks where I go from writing a 20 page academic paper to this.

But I’m hoping that (if not now, then in time) my writing will be accessible for pretty well any age. Personally, I think this is the best way to write for kids, and I’d like to think I’m in good company on that one. Dan Povenmire and Jeff “Swampy” Marsh, the creators of Phineas and Ferb, the longest running animated show with new episodes in Disney Channel history, have said that the best way to write movies or TV shows for kids is to write content that both kids and adults will enjoy (Want proof? Take a look at this interview: http://ew.com/article/2011/08/04/phineas-and-ferb-across-the-2nd-universe-disney-channel-original-movie/). Hopefully I’ll learn to find that balance here too.  

However, I also want to take the time occasionally to write about something different. Something that isn’t the same general story formula every week. As such, the second Sunday of every month I will be posting what I like to call a Second Sunday Switch-Up. These posts will still largely have to do with my thoughts around storytelling, faith, and kids ministry, but they may occasionally dip into current events or other random topics. They will also be more like this post – a chance for me to free write to an intentionally older audience. For instance, spoiler alert, next week I plan to go into a little more detail about why I chose the name Shed the Sunday School Glasses.

So whether you have a kid or are just here to support me, whether you are connected to Kidmin or are just interested in hearing a fresh take on familiar stories – heck, whether you are even trying to figure out if this whole Jesus things is all it’s cracked up to be – I hope you’ll take the time to join me on this journey. Read, enjoy, maybe even learn a thing or two. I’ve certainly done all three as I’ve prepped the first few weeks of this, and I’m sure that will only continue in the months ahead.

Starting is always the hardest… Can’t wait to see where we go from here!

~Brent “Brentagious” Bonvanie

*Shameless Plug: If you want regular updates about this blog (or even if you don’t), follow me on my totally public Twitter account @BrentagiousBlog. Gotta get my name out there somehow!