Tip Lewis and His Lamp (Audio Drama)
Summary
Tip Lewis and His Lamp (Audio Drama) is a full-cast audio adventure by Lamplighter Ministries. Based on a book of the same name by 19th century author Pansy (real name Isabella Alden), the rapscallion Tip Lewis has his whole life turned upside down when he hears the Gospel. After accepting Jesus into his heart, Tip goes through the process of sanctification, learning to read his Bible (his “Lamp”), pray, work diligently, and spread the Good News to his friends and family.
Assessment
Tip Lewis and His Lamp (Abridged Audio Drama) is an abridged-but-faithful version of the original novel by Pansy, produced with a full cast, sound effects, and music by Lamplighter ministries. The audio drama recreates the bulk of the original novel, along with its core message of forgiveness, evangelism, and sanctification, in a shortened version. Despite this abridgement, the story retains not only its primary themes, but also it’s overall storytelling style and tone.
The story has an incredible amount of both heart and depth to it that are often missing from modern Christian stories. Tip’s journey after becoming a Christian isn’t perfect by any means. He still struggles, he loses his temper, he doesn’t know what to do at times. However, he still strives for God’s will and to be diligent in his faith and work. The story depicts a lot of grace and mercy for both Christians and non-Christians.
The age range for this story is about 12 years old, although it is clean enough and suitable enough for younger children; even if they won’t catch all of the theological nuance. There is some hardship and suffering, but nothing that should be too traumatic for anyone older than about 10. The story is also suitable for both boys and girls, however, Tip Lewis is presented as an excellent example of young, masculine Christianity and so boys might get a little more out of it. There is also plenty of action, dialogue, and male friend dynamics to make the story interesting.
Light-o-Meter
Writing Style: 5 out of 7 Little Lights
Plot: 5 out of 7 Little Lights
Worldbuilding: 5 out of 7 Little Lights
Characters: 6 out of 7 Little Lights
Narration/Performance: 6 out of 7 Little Lights
Theological Message: 6 out of 7 Little Lights
Overall: 5 out of 7 Little Lights
Talk
To start, I want to say that Tip Lewis has to be one of the best examples of a young man’s faith journey that I have ever seen. Of course, not saying that a more masculine faith journey is more important, precious, or valuable than a feminine faith journey — both are incredibly beautiful in their own way! However, modern Christian media tends to be geared more towards girls and women as a whole, so whenever I (a woman) see media that presents a more masculine perspective on faith I get really excited.
Tip feels incredibly real as a character in both his sins and flaws and in his pursuit of the Lord. He stumbles on occasion and doesn’t have all of the answers right away, which keep this story from falling into a “once you accept Christ, everything is perfect and you’ll never sin again” type mentality. I particularly love Tip’s heart for the people around him. He has a genuine desire to see those around him changed and brought to Christ that also keeps the story from being obnoxiously evangelistic. Tip’s motives are from a genuine love for his friends and family, as well as his love of the Lord.
All of the characters around him, too, feel very rich and real. They struggle, they have their own paths to follow, they lash out or act out or cry out for help. They laugh, they react with astonishment, and they lift one another up with encouragement and kind words. There are mentor figures, there is the faith of children, there is the sweetness of prayer, and the celebration of new believers. It is overall an excellent and truer picture of faith than a significant portion of fiction I’ve engaged with.
I found this story a lot more approachable in general than the previous Lamplighter audio drama I reviewed (The Basket of Flowers). The characters were a little easier to understand and the story a bit more digestible. However, Lamplighter used the same “nested narrative” feature in this one as in The Basket of Flowers to provide the audience with a bit more context and explanation, which I thought was helpful. This is absolutely a story I would recommend to anyone with a middle grade or tween boy.
Where to Enjoy
Lamplighter Ministries Website: Tip Lewis and His Lamp - Dramatic Audio MP3 Download - Lamplighter Ministries
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