Teaching the Bible relevantly poses a challenge. Too much "modernization" can potentially distort Scripture. Not good. Conversely, relying on kids to figure out how a Bible story applies to the world they live in now is equally not good. An ideal amount of relevancy will connect the message of a passage with life today—while preserving the original meaning.

For example, consider telling the story of the rich young ruler (in Matthew 19) as a drama using a rich young music star. Children can picture a youthful, wealthy musician—thanks to the entertainment industry. And when they do, the light turns on that the message of the story applies to people living in today's world.

The dialogue from this story demonstrates that relevancy need not require complexity. The script that follows comes from a unit called "Got Wisdom?" used by Promiseland, the children's ministry of Willow Creek Community Church.

The scene.Jesus teaches a crowd. Tim enters at a distance, sometime during the opening ...