CONNECTED WORSHIP

Personally, I am not a fan of swiss cheese, unless it’s in a nice fondue, but the style of design intrigues me. I want to share this video that features Paul Rand, one of the originators of the Swiss Style of graphic design. I am always trying to learn more about design, style, form and content. I especially want to know how to better use design to convey the important messages of our day, specifically the Gospel. I think that Paul has some very juicy tidbits.

I have to highlight some of my favorite quotes from this video.

“Design is the synthesis of form and content.”

“When form predominates, meaning is blunted. When content predominates, interest lags.”

And my favorite: “Don’t try to be original, just try to be good.”

Hope you enjoyed!!

Penn, a pronounced atheist, shares his views on an encounter he had with a Christian.

We watched this video in church today. Our pastor was trying to make the point that we need to tell people about Jesus no matter what. It’s our job to tell the world about the good news of eternal life. I am interested to hear anyone’s thoughts on this.

So you are going along in your walk with God. Everything seems fine. You have a little trial here, a small trouble there, but nothing your faith can’t handle. Then one day, you are blindsided by something terrible. The walls of stability come crashing down and everything around you is testing the true steadfastness of your faith. What you thought was good and right has turned sour and bitter in your mouth and you don’t even know how. What happens when the very foundation of our existence is cracked and appears beyond repair? I can think of three reactions people should have to difficult events in their lives — Sit, Stand, Walk — and to whom they respond makes all the difference.

Our response to situations in our life is the very test of faith that, when passed, cultivates endurance in our spirits. (James 1:2-3) That’s why we need to accept trials and troubles with joy. We need to kinda puff up our chest and say, “I have Jesus Christ on my side, throw your worst at me, world.” Knowing that with the help of the Holy Spirit, we will come out on the other side more refined and better equipped to be a light in a dark and dying world. That’s the context I wish to mention these three responses.

If we take a look at the very first Psalm (Psalm 1:1-3), we find that right away, God tells us through the psalmist how to be blessed. “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers…” [NASB]. We are called in this passage NOT to respond in these ways to wickedness, sin and unbelief. I have to ask myself what these responses mean. What would it mean to walk in the counsel of the wicked? The Amplified Bible lays out a more descriptive picture.

WALK – following advice, plans and purposes
STAND – submissive
SIT – to relax and rest

I think we need to reflect on our own lives and examine times when we may have responded in one or more of these ways to anything but God and His word.

I really love verse two because we are told what we ARE supposed to do. ”Instead you thrill to God’s Word, you chew on Scripture day and night” [MSG]. I think that it is so refreshing to know that we simply need to Walk or follow the advice of God’s word. We get to Stand or submit to His truth. We are told to Sit or relax and rest on His foundation. Its pretty clear. There’s no need to rely on the gossip and emotion. You don’t have to look to the news or media for information to hold onto. You don’t need to withdraw or run away. You just need to meditate on the scriptures. When you respond in this way and practice it on a daily basis, this is what happens:

“He is like a tree
[firmly] planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers” [Psalm 1:3 ESV].

Turn to the truth of God’s word and the help of the Holy Spirit. Sit, stand and walk according to God’s ways and you will be able to stand firm, bear fruit and cultivate endurance even in the midst of things gone wrong.

I recently found this mellow iTunes mix. Being a piano player, I really enjoyed Jon Foreman’s tune “My Love Goes Free” off of his Fall EP. If you haven’t checkout his seasonal EP albums, one for each season of the year, you definitely should. He’s great as the lead singer for Switchfoot, but his solo stuff is just as enjoyable. This mix may not be rockin’ enough for you, but I’ll find a nice kickin’ mix and put it up here soon.

In my last post, New Media and The Church – Part 1, I discussed the idea that advertising trends are changing and the church should be aware of these paradigm shifts. Today, I am interested in addressing how to apply these trends to the church.

To start, maybe we should ask, what is new media anyway? Well, Sam Mahlstadt writes about using social networking to extend the vision and reach of the church. Facebook, YouTube and Twitter are three of the big online communities where people gather to share information and experiences through text, video and images. Building relationships is a huge part of being successful in the social networking sector and harnessing the power of these new forms of communication.

“Relationships are built in a context, and you must be willing to immerse yourself in the network to which you belong in order to become part of the framework. A community is a living, growing collective that can only exist within a context created by multiple contributing members. To be a viable component of a network, you must continually engage with the other members in conversation and creation.”

In Part 1 of this post, we saw that people want an interaction with your message, not just a sales pitch. In order to spread the truth of God’s word using new forms of media, you need to understand how to create “online” relationships with those people who are interested in your message. Once that relationship is created, it must be sustained. These relationships through online networking are very powerful. Through them, awareness of your message can grow exponentially.

“Simply becoming a member of an online community does nothing to further your cause if you don’t engage and interact with that community in a meaningful way…Whether you are building a community, raising awareness to a cause or generating financial support, your social network can become an important extension of your vision.”

The power of new media is growing, and spreading the truth of God’s word can be done effectively when these forms of media are used correctly. Just like advertisers are considering the change in media consumption trends, we need to be aware of these changes and use all the tools in our tool belt to get people connected to God.

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Excerpts taken from Sam Mahlstadt’s article in Collide Magazine, “Extend Your Vision, Expand Your Audience”