'East ender George Carey, then the Archbishop of Canterbury, heard about ‘The Bible in Cockney’ and likes it so much he wrote the foreword.'

Mike Coles hated RE at school, ploughing through dry textbooks on topics like Paul’s missionary journeys.

He became a Christian in his late teens, and considered going into the ministry, but was persuaded that his gifts were in teaching, and 20 years later, he’s still teaching RE, in the East End of London.

He was a newcomer to Cockney but started to hear the kids in his class using it, so he started to pull it into the lessons, such as ‘Jesus went along to Simon’s Mickey Mouse, where Simon’s finger and thumb in law was Tom and Dick in Uncle Ned.’ Gettit?)

One of the teachers suggested he start to put some of it into writing, so he rang up the East London Advertiser and said that he had translated part of the Bible into Cockney, were they interested.

They were round within the hour and the article was in print on the Thursday, and the Sun, the Mirror, the Times, ITV, and all the rest turned up on the Friday.

And so the book was born. And we’re not talking porkies. So have a butchers. East ender George Carey, then the Archbishop of Canterbury, heard about ‘The Bible in Cockney’ and likes it so much he wrote the foreword. The kids in his class are getting used to their teacher’s fame, and he teaches from these books some of the time.

How does he fit writing in with a full time teaching job? Well, now 90% of his lessons are in his head, so he writes in evenings and during the summer.

Minibus

At the moment, he’s finishing ‘Mr Coles, Class 9C and the Genesis Time Machine’, a book about a ten kids in a minibus going to the beginning of time and watching creation. It’s the book he’s enjoyed the most. The ten kids are named after pupils, and Mike gets them to check some of the stuff he writes. He even gets ideas from them.

Mike’s style uses unusual formats, such as reality TV (God’s Reality Show, problem pages (Dear Bible, I Have a Problem), and interviews (So You Think You’re a New Testament Writer). This is because is inspired by what the children enjoy, such as Big Brother and magazine problem pages.

In ‘God’s Reality TV Show’, biblical characters were contestants in a game show. They were set challenges such as hunting for their own food and weaving cloth in pairs (with unlikely pairings such as David and Saul). Samson was always a troublemaker, drinking too much wine under a tree.

Mike is passionate about RE in schools, especially in the current times where wars take place in the name of religion. RE is an important place to address the issues of conflict, race and prejudice, questions such as ‘is Islam really a religion of terror?’

Racial tension

During the recent bombings in London, Moslem children discussed their beliefs that the bombs were nothing to do with Islam at all, and they talked about the recent rise in racial tension.

He has looked at using his format to write about Islam in a very down to earth way. Mike is open about his Christian beliefs in school, and encourages children to be able to argue their own point of view.

Despite the humour (or perhaps because of the humour), Mike’s books aim to get important theology across in a down to earth and entertaining way.

So who is Mike?

• When he was young, Mike used to write about the planet ‘Boam’, populated with silly people, and he still has it in his attic.
• He is a massive fan of ‘Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’
• If he hadn’t been a teacher, he would have been a tornado chaser.

Suzanne Elvidge is the editor of eChurch Active, bringing technology to the church

• Greenbelt 2005 index