Revolve 2008 (for teen girls)
Refuel 2008 (for teen boys)
Becoming 2008 (for women)
Thomas Nelson, July 2007, 384–400 pages, $16.99, www.thomasnelson.com
Revolve CD
Thomas Nelson, July 2007, $19.99, www.thomasnelson.com
Looking for a fashion magazine? This isn’t it. A New Testament? Sadly, you won’t find it here. This popular fusion of the two leaves much to be desired. While there are useful features scattered within, such as in-text devotionals, Web sites for meaningful involvement, and even a bonus music CD of big-name Christian artists, the widely varied topics tend to get shallow treatment.
The major problem with “BibleZines” is they impose the fashion mag genre onto the many different genres of the Bible. The habits of magazine flipping will be thrust on Scripture as the reader asks, “What catches my eye? What’s interesting?” Here, the extra features are more visually interesting than the Bible text. If your students are attempting to cultivate good Bible reading habits, give them a readable Bible. If they’re looking for visual and cognitive distraction (from numerous random trivia/curiosity features) while doing devotions, BibleZines are for them.
The Revolve Spin two-CD set gives 30 four-minute mp3 devotionals for girls. They are very well-produced hip-hop tracks that seem all over the place, but the messages are helpful. One highlight is a call to social action, which is just one way the CDs seek to fight the “me” message that pervades our culture.
