1. Christian artists should view their talent as a gift from God and see its use ultimately as worship to God.
2. A Christian artist should have a sober assessment of his gift and neither
   over-estimate the opportunities it should given him or undervalue the
   contribution he can make with it.
3. The most authentic Christian art results from our joy in Christ overflowing
   into Christian art, not our strategies to do art that is Christian.
4. Creating art is an expression of faith and obedience, not of compulsion or identity.
5. The Christian artist should see his art as a way to love God, his people, and the world.
6. The Christian Artist sees the sovereign hand of God in both his opportunities and his obstacles.
7. The Christian artist is committed to truth in the way he lives and what he creates.
8. While the Christian artist is under no burden to make all of his art
   explicitly Christian, it would be an unbiblical use of his gift to
   intentionally create a body of work without reference to Christ.
9. The Christian artist rejects the worldly concept of artist as an outsider
   and embraces his place among God’s people in the local church as
   essential to his life and gifting.
10. The Christian artist should not ignore his personal responsibility to evaluate the theological soundness of his work.
11. Because the Christian artist trusts God, he will battle selfish ambition,
    competition, and any pretense of entitlement in regard to his art.
12. The Christian artist will see the evaluation of others as an essential help
    in both growing in their art and assessing its fruitfulness.
13. The Christian artist will resist elitism and care about the accessibility
    of his art to the average Christian in the congregation
14. The Christian artist must never confuse the joy of creativity with the joy of knowing and pleasing God.

I’m really, really kidding. But, it’s an interesting word-study. He says:

The following meditation comes from my devotional lingering over Psalm
96:7. All the modern versions translate it, “Ascribe to the
Lord…strength” (ESV, NIV, NASB). Only the KJV renders it with the
literal, “Give unto the Lord…strength.”

There’s nothing unusual about this Hebrew word “give” (yahab). It’s used over sixty times in the Old Testament in all the ordinary ways the word give is used.

The word ascribe in Psalm 96:7 is an interpretation. It’s
a paraphrase. It’s a good interpretation, I think, but, as with all
paraphrases, it short circuits our reflection. But for me,
full-circuited reflection is where my soul gets its best food. So I am
glad I spent the summer of 1969 with William LaSor learning Hebrew.

That’s just a highlight. If you want, you can go read the whole article.

> Go read the story

I’ve partnered up with someone to do some graphic work, in exchange for some promotion of BADmedia.  One thing they want is animated GIFs for their website.  I’ve never created animated GIFs so I figured now was a good time to learn.  Also, I’m working on a website for BADmedia to get ready to start promoting my business some more.  Why not create an animated GIF for the BADmedia site?

I couldn’t live with a simple animated GIF.  I wanted something more along the lines of Flash (another web animation I’ve never learned).  After reading a bit on the net, I learned you can turn an AVI into an animated GIF.  Cool!  I dropped a background graphic and some animated text into iMovie HD, exported as an AVI, dumped it into ImageReady and voila!  My first animated GIF.

I’m working on several recordings right now.  I recorded a southern gospel concert a couple of weeks ago, so I’m moving on to the mixing stage of that project.  I recorded last week’s Georgetown College Symphonic Band concert.  That recording should be wrapped up this weekend, since it was just a few mics.  Mixing will go quickly on that.  But, I turn around on Sunday to record the Central Kentucky Concert Band’s spring concert.  On top of all this, I’m beginning the process of picking songs for The Point’s first worship album.  It’s really more of a glorified “bootleg” concept.  I plan on recording all the services from now on, and every few months, making a low-budget CD of 10-12 songs.  I’ll manufacture all of them myself in small runs of about 100.  It’ll mostly be a good outreach tool, I think.  We’ll see.

I’ve been digging in to some new graphic design techniques as of late.  I’m a self-trained artist, so I still have a lot to learn.  Mostly, I’ve been digging into Photoshop a bit more to create stuff for web and print.  The majority of my time is usually spent in Illustrator designing shirts.  But, I’m doing more graphic work for The Point these days, and I’m looking to expand BADmedia some more.  So, I think learning more in Photoshop will help.  Mostly, I’ve been playing around with new brushes and the like to create the ever-so-popular grunge and distressed looks that are “all the rage” right now.  I feel like I’m jumping on the bandwagon, but I’m learning new stuff, so that’s always good.

I’m not doing a whole lot of web stuff for the time being, but I think that will change as I move into the summer months.  I have a few sites in desperate need of redesigns, and as mentioned, I’m working on getting some more clients.  I’ve struck up a small partnership with another local business that might lead to some new web clients.  More on that to come.

Tonight was PCG night, and our group went through the study fairly quickly.  It was a good study and I think we were all surprised that we hammered through it in under an hour.  So, I find myself with some free time that I don’t normally have.  Hence, this novel of a blog post.  I’m off to enjoy the rest of the evening…

I wonder if they know if they agree with him or not?

Sadly, my best guess is the majority of his congregation doesn’t know if they agree with him or not.  Not because he’s a good or bad preacher.  It’s because they haven’t searched the Scriptures themselves to know what they believe.  I feel like this is the biggest problem with emergent churches and churches where false gospels are taught.  The members of the churches aren’t discerning enough to line up the pastor’s teaching with Scripture.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again.  Being a Christian is like being a politician.  We have to know what we believe on EVERY issue and be able to contend for our faith.  Would you vote for a Presidential candidate without first knowing their stance on certain issues?  Would you walk into the ballot booth with a blindfold on and start pushing buttons?  I would hope not!

Why then, are churches alright with sitting under a pastor’s preaching and not knowing if they agree with him or not?  I truly feel that if members of Joel Osteen’s church cracked the Bible open for themselves and started seeing its truths, they’d begin to see the problems with his message.  Too many Christians are alright with accepting what the pastor says as truth, without searching it out for themselves.

My advice?  First, read your Bible - more than on Sunday morning or Wednesday night.  Second, start asking yourself questions and searching for the answers in Scripture (What do I think about homosexuality?  Is drinking a sin?  What does the Bible say about tithing?).  Third, ask your pastor what he (emphasis on “he” - if it’s a “she,” you might want to look into what Scripture says about that!) thinks about these issues.  Do you agree with him?  Does he back his answers up with specific references to Scripture?  If you disagree, talk about your differences.  Are they Biblically based, or based on opinion or feelings?  It should be pointed out that you don’t have to have 100% agreement on every issue.  But, there are certain truths that must be agreed upon for unity in the church.

The answers to some of these questions might determine if you stay at that church or start looking for a new church.  Or, maybe the pastor is in the wrong and it’s time to round up enough church support to send him packing (based on Biblical principles, of course).  This is a very important issue to me.  I’m thankful that I’m part of a church that I know my pastor well and know he preaches Biblical truth.

Antoine Dufour - Glimmer of Hope - Guitar - www.candyrat.com

Genesis 25:20

20 and Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean, to be his wife.

Isaac was forty years old before he got married.  In those forty years, he undoubtedly experienced periods of frustration and fiery passion because of his physical desires.  A person’s physical desires are at war with the spiritual nature.  Yet Isaac was obedient to his father, Abraham, who taught him how to meditate on God’s commands and promises in the battle against his sinful nature.  Later on, God gave Rebekah to Isaac as his wife, and they lived together in harmony.

There is a lesson buried in this passage:  Isaac is a great example to young people of a person who abstains from sex before marriage.  This is an important subject, because all young people have to face this battle.  Isaac’s purity and moral integrity are clear indications of the way he was raised.  His father taught him to avoid bad friends.  Isaac meditated on God’s promises, prayed, and did useful work.  Though not specifically state in the text, it’s safe to assume that he diligently dedicated himself to mediation and prayer during the first forty years of his life when he wasn’t yet married.

But some might say, “Waiting for marriage is unbearable and aggravating!”  They’re right.  it’s very similar to other difficulties requiring patience that believers must face, such as fasting, imprisonment, cold, sickness, and persecution.  Lust is a serious burden.  You must resist it and fight against it.  But after you have overcome it through prayer, lust will have caused you to pray more and grow in faith.

The band will premier a piece written specifically for them.  David Holsinger has composed “Legacy Music” for the band, which will feature parts of the Georgetown College Alma Mater.  I’ve never had the opportunity to hear a premier, let alone record it.  It’ll be a special experience.

As part of the concert, Dr. LaRue has invited all of the “gem alumni” back to campus - nineteen in all.  The gem alumni are former members of the band that played significant enough roles to be designated a “gem” by Dr. Pete.  I’m fortunate to be a part of this group, one way or another.  It’s exciting that all nineteen - literally coming from all over the globe - will be in attendance.  I’m looking forward to seeing some old friends.

If you want to hear some good music tomorrow evening, drop by the John L. Hill Chapel on the campus of Georgetown College at 8 p.m. for a special evening.