Meet the Author

I had a new experience today. I went to the Children's Literature Festival with my daughter and members from her class. My wife and daughters are avid readers and my daughter's teacher has truly "inspired" the class this year to learn about several authors and to read their books. My daughter was approaching "rock-star" worship over one author and we planned to hear a talk by the author at the festival. My daughter made a shirt with the author's name and woke up 3 hours early to get ready to leave. She had saved her money to buy the author's latest book and hoped to be able to have it autographed. I began to wonder what kind of writer could inspire such a following. As we loaded the school bus at 6am, I noticed 3 other home-made "fan club" shirts and listened to elementary students discuss authors and books as though they were talking about sports teams and statistics or songs by the latest pop star. Needless to say, I was impressed!
My daughter was giddy as we entered the room and the author was casually talking to event coordinators as cameras flashed and kids pointed to the stage. He gave a very enjoyable talk, inspiring each of them to pursue their own dreams in writing and held their attention for nearly an hour before sending them off to meet the next author. Despite the fact that he was not greeting people individually, my daughter and a few others got to shake hands and quickly speak to him (where he actually discussed an email that my daughter had sent to him.) Once again, I was overwhelmed and I got a picture of the interchange between them and we purchased a book from the bookstore that he had signed. A great day for my daughter and class.
I started contemplating what had made this event such a success. Although the authors were good and the books were good, I have never seen kids respond so strongly to literature. They were expecting exciting things to happen before they got there. I realized that the main thing that made this experience unique was the expectation they had. The teacher had shared her passion for reading and writing books with the children on a personal level. She had exposed the kids to the literature by walking through several books with them in class, sharing insights and personal reactions along the way, and by giving them a set of goals in literature to achieve in order to attend the trip. In that way, those who went to the festival had a solid understanding and appreciation for what was going to happen that day, as well as a group of friends to share the experience.
I began to relate the experience to our Bible study efforts. The material (the Bible) is the best, the author is first rate (God.) The stories are captivating and share experiences that we all can relate to. The drama is "real life" and the implications for our lives are eternal. Why, then, do we not see a similar reaction in our Bible study groups. I wonder if we need to make sure we have the same approach. A teacher who will share a personal passion, insights, and reaction to the literature. A set of goals to achieve in our study so that we are prepared for continued growth, and a set of friends to share the experience. After our quarterly Sunday School teachers' meeting last night, this experience spoke to me as a roadmap to a more exciting study time together. We should approach this time of preparation (life) as we discover everything we can before the day comes when we get the opportunity to .... Meet the Author!