Excerpt from “Relevance, Faith and Art”

I recently read this article on Relevantmagazine.com and thought it was really interesting and wanted to share it with you. Also, maybe we can start a discussion on what it is saying.

We have become irrelevant.

Many contemporary Christians tend to make one of three errors when dealing with art: One, we declare anything that doesn’t explicitly proselytize, anything that depicts brokenness without redemption to be depraved or unworthy of Christian notice. Or two, we decide that the secular world really does have better art, so we copy it, boldly and without apology or thought into our own creativity. Or three, we try so hard to be relevant that we adopt the attitude and worldview of the culture that surrounds us—instead of being the proverbial salt and light, we end up as dust with nothing to offer in the way of hope, because there is only a perfunctory difference between those of us who claim to follow Christ and those who don’t.

Go ahead and click here to read the whole article. Let me know what you think?

 

Artisan Warrior

Where does Artisan Warrior come from?

I was sent a link to a personality game from a friend and mentor of mine, Tony Kim, and there I saw two “roles” that I felt really spoke to me.

Artisan (Creative) : Artisans create moods, environments, things, buildings, paintings, ideas. The entertainment industry is filled with Artisans.

Typical occupations include: artists, musicians, innovators, inventors, eccentrics, interior designers, trendsetters. (20% of the U.S. population) 

Famous People: Elvis Presley, Vincent Van Gogh, Michael Jackson, Shirley Maclaine, Marilyn Monroe, Cher, Judy Garland. Albert Einstein, Elizabeth Taylor, Steven Spielberg, Michelangelo. 

For obvious reasons, I was drawn to ARTISAN. I have the word “Creative” in my title, so I must be an Artisan.

Warrior (Active Defender and Protector):  Warriors are solid folks (both men and women) that defend and protect society.  Warriors are productive, organized do-ers.  They like to make the laws and enforce the laws; they love to plan and enforce plans.  They are very loyal to people and to ideals, sometimes following their “leader” without question.  Warriors like to work with physical things.  They tend to enjoy active sports and like to hang-out with other Warriors.  The U.S. promotes Warriors as the “ideal” male role model, because Warriors are the majority personality role here. 

Typical occupations include: physicians, massage therapists, counselors who use confrontive techniques, athletes, business people, strategists, police officers, lawyers, project managers, advocates, soldiers, construction workers, organizers, solid citizens, good dependable employees. (30% of the U.S. Population) 

Famous People: John Wayne, Sylvester Stallone, Robert Redford, Oliver Stone, Fidel Castro, Hannibal, Martin Luther King Jr., Hilary Clinton, Clint Eastwood, President Dwight Eisenhower, Jane Fonda, General Norman Schwarzkopf, Jodie Foster, Richard Gere, Ayatollah Khomeini, Mary Kay Ash, President Ulysses S. Grant, Oliver North, Paul Newman. 

I was also drawn to WARRIOR because this is what I strive to become. A Defender and Protector of society. I am drawn to Justice issues like Human Trafficking, Poverty and Orphans.

So I changed my “title” unofficially to say “Artisan Warrior”. Hopefully, Newsong will allow me to put it on my business card. But this is what I hope I will be known as. A person who through creative means make a positive difference in the world.