Church uses study based on show

In a time when people are rushing from one place to another with more things to do and less time to do them in, there seems to be a yearning to go back to the simpler form of life. It’s a life where you have time to say, “hello,” wave or bake pies. It’s a yearning to go back to Mayberry, according to University of Mobile (UM) professor, Larry Turner.
   
Mayberry, the fictional setting of the 1960s “Andy Griffith Show,” is an idealistic small town with a sheriff who does not carry a weapon and a deputy who carries the bullet for his gun in his front shirt pocket. The show’s memorable characters live a simple, happy life in their small town.
   
“Mayberry represents a simple life and what is good,” said Turner, associate professor of education at UM. “People cared very much about one another. People laughed about things, but never laughed at or made fun of people. In the hectic, unsettled world that we live in, we all long for this simple life.”
   
Turner, who admires the concept of the simple Mayberry life, leads a Mayberry Bible study at his church, First Baptist Church, Chatom, where he serves as deacon. Before presenting the idea to his pastor, Turner put a lot of thought into this idea. He was concerned that this type of study might be too secular, but felt assured after searching the Scriptures.
   
“I realized that even Jesus taught in parables. When he was dealing with fishermen, he was talking about fishing. When he was talking with farmers, he was talking about planting seeds; he dealt with people where they were, and that’s what this study does,” said Turner. 
   
“The Way Back to Mayberry” Bible study was developed in 1998 by Joey Fann of Twickenham Church of Christ in Huntsville. Fann, a longtime fan of the Andy Griffith Show, noticed that in each episode a moral lesson was implied. In some of the shows, the lesson went even deeper, to a spiritual level. 
   
“This show routinely portrays some of the basic principles and morals that we as Christians hold dear to our hearts,” Fann said. “Values such as honesty, integrity, character, forgiveness and responsibility are presented in ways with which we can identify. The show is filled with the basic morals and Christian principles taught by the Scriptures.”
   
Fann believes the study, which has spread across the United States and into Canada, is successful because the Andy Griffith Show is familiar and timeless.
   
During a typical Sunday afternoon class, Turner or Bob Jenkins, a member of First, Chatom, who serves as assistant to Turner, plays an episode of the Andy Griffith Show. After the video is completed, the teacher begins a discussion about the moral implications in the episode. The participants offer their views, then Turner leads them through the Scriptures that relate to these morals.
   
Elsie Williams, a member of First, Chatom, also thinks the study is applicable to life in her small town.
“The Andy Griffith Show is so down to earth and the morals are so good. It shows us what family life and a community should be like,” said Williams.
   
The main theme Turner has found in this study is in dealing with people. Many of the values that are exemplified in the show are about respect for authority and raising children.
   
“The values in the Andy Griffith show so often are about dealing with people — how to get along with your friends, your family, people in authority,” he said. “The central value in each episode is dealing with people and caring about people enough to go the extra mile to help them.”
   
Turner said that Chatom, because it is a small town, can invoke these lessons of practical Christianity very easily. “In Chatom, everyone knows everyone else. We can go that extra mile to help one another very easily.”
   
He said the class has discussed how Andy’s character often personifies an ideal Christian — one who looks for an opportunity to help someone else, even when there seems to be no answer to their problems. They further analyzed Andy and realized that he tries to make the best of each situation.
   
To obtain more information on the study, visit the Web site, www.barneyfife.com.