c. 1998 Religion News Service
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. _ In a scene on”The Andy Griffith Show”that takes place in church, a visiting speaker extols the merits of taking life slow and easy.
Afterward, as they exit the church, Andy and Barney shake hands with the speaker.”Yes sir,”Barney says to him about the sermon,”That’s one subject you just can’t talk enough about _ sin.” While sin isn’t the main focus of one special Bible study class at Twickenham Church of Christ here, the biblical and moral merits of”The Andy Griffith Show”are. Each Wednesday night, the Mayberry faithful gather to sip lemonade, munch popcorn, and watch an episode of the classic 1960s TV sitcom, among the most popular of all time.”It’s really amazing where the discussion goes,”said Joey Fann, who worked with fellow church member Brad Grasham to design a curriculum for the weekly hourlong class.”It makes application to our everyday lives. The interest we’ve received has been phenomenal. We’ve heard from people all over the country about it off our Web site.” The class,”Finding the Way Back to Mayberry,”started out in June with 28 participants. It has since grown to a standing-room-only crowd of 84. Plans are under way to move the class to larger quarters.
Early arrivals are treated to taped folk music by the Dillards, known as the Darlings on the show. Each class begins by viewing an episode about life in Mayberry selected by Fann and Grasham, followed by a discussion of the moral lesson it teaches, Scripture verses to complement the various scenes, and how to apply the lesson to everyday life.
Fann and Grasham, a deacon at Twickenham, are both longtime fans of TAGS (“The Andy Griffith Show”).”It’s been a lot of fun,”said Grasham.”We didn’t think people would laugh at us, but we did wonder how would people perceive a Mayberry class. Some didn’t understand the concept of how to pull biblical Scriptures from it, but once they sit through it, they realize what values it expounds.” Fann said Griffith, who played the beloved Sheriff Andy Taylor,”always wanted each show to have a moral emphasis and for people to enjoy it. The dialogue between the actors was priceless.” Wade Schofield, who recently attended the Mayberry class for the first time, said it’s”a great idea, but I would have never thought about it as a Bible study class. I’m a big fan of `The Andy Griffith Show’ because it’s a good family show. You can take real-life situations and present them in a right setting, such as the show did, and gain something from it.” Linda Laird, who has attended most of the classes, said she has been a fan of TAGS since it first aired.”Wednesday nights are always hectic, and this just gives you a nice break to sit back and really enjoy something while getting a good lesson in life,”said Laird.”I usually see the characteristics of the people on the show in myself. It was a foregone conclusion I would attend this class.” While Fann and Grasham do not claim to have the teaching skills of Miss Helen Crump (Andy’s girlfriend and Opie’s teacher), they do hope the class will provide entertainment while offering valuable lessons of life.”We want to have a good time with it, but also get something out of it,”said Fann.”We targeted it for adults, but the age range varies widely, from 8 to 80. Now that word is getting out about it, we are getting several visitors each week. People are curious about it.” The Mayberry Bible study is not the only one of its kind, said Jim Clark, who founded The Andy Griffith Show Rerun Watchers Club in 1979. It now has more than 1,000 chapters (all named with something connected to TAGS) and some 20,000 members.”It’s a good blend of wholesome entertainment, and Andy Griffith used it to help make a point,”said Clark.”We’ve had a number of preachers who have started chapters and used it informally in their church.” Clark said he knows of one church, Lindley Park Baptist Church in Greensboro, N.C., that offers a class called The Gospel According to Andy.
Mayberry is also the subject of a college course, Mayberry 101, taught by the Rev. Neal Brower, a Methodist minister, at local community colleges through a continuing education program in North Carolina, the home state of the fictional Mayberry.
Some of the episodes studied by the Twickenham group include:”Opie’s Charity,”in which Andy chastises his son for saving to buy a gift for his girlfriend, but later learns Opie wanted to buy the girl a coat because she needed one;”Barney Fife, Realtor,”where Barney gets into real estate and urges Andy to stretch the truth about problems with his house so it can sell; and”Opie’s Hobo Friend,”in which Opie begins to emulate a hobo _ Mr. Dave _ by playing hooky to go fishing.”Television can be bad, but sometimes, like tonight, it can be used for good,”Fann told the attentive class (no one fell asleep, like Asa the Mayberry bank guard always did).”Mr. Dave never took responsibility for his actions, and it didn’t take long for Opie to start doing the same thing. We have no idea what kind of influence we have on people. It can be good or bad.”
Eds: For more information, visit the class’ Web site at http://www.hsv.tis.net/(tilde)thefanns/Five.htm)
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