If you work with the youth ministry and haven’t heard of the NOOMA videos then you have probably been living on the North Pole or under a rock. If you don’t work with a youth ministry, NOOMA is a series of videos by Flannel and published by longtime Christian publishers Zondervan and starring Rob Bell. NOOMA comes from the phonetic spelling of the Greek word pneuma meaning wind, spirit, or breath. I was first introduced to the series by viewing #9 in the series called “Bullhorn Guy”which can be seen at the link here. While Rob Bell’s look and sound may appeal to most folks sense of coolness, there is an undermining of the gospel going on in what he says. In this particular video he is condescending toward a guy who is street preaching with a bullhorn. Bell basically says I think the bullhorn guy has it wrong. My very first thought was of John the Baptist. Matthew 3:1-6 offers an excellent description of the behavior of John the Baptist. He called the people to repent of their sins. I have to wonder does Bell ever talk about the very thing that separates us from God. He certainly doesn’t in the “Bullhorn Guy” video.

In my research of this popular evangelical video series I found a series of articles reviewing the NOOMA video series. The articles are done by Greg Gilbert who writes for 9Marks Ministeries. I believe he does an excellent job of articulating what is good about the NOOMA videos and more importantly what is dangerous about them. Click on the link below to read the review.

The Scoop’a on NOOMA