I was browsing through some blogs the other day, and I stumbled across a piece of advice directed toward freelance designers: “Work for free or for full price. Never for cheap.” The more I thought about the concept, the more it made sense - if you want the quality of your work to be above question, if you want to avoid the hassle and heartache of managing unreasonable expectations - establish up front that you don’t give or take shortcuts. That as much as you value your clients’ money, you understand the true worth and value of your services as well.
Reading Phil Cooke’s The Last TV Evangelist and evaluating some of my personal journey through this past year made me realize how pertinent this pricing advice is to the Christian experience - particularly when the journey seems to include a wild ride in the mainstream of culture.
This year I was privileged to lead a media missions team - and although our time on the field was fulfilling in its own unique way, some of the most rewarding moments for me were the discussions that we had leading up to our trips. We talked about how “Christian media” should look, if it should exist at all; what perspective our stories should take, and why; how to avoid being “preachy” without compromising the message of the gospel. It’s that last topic that still weighs on my mind, and where I think this little piece of freelancers’ guidance may well be far more significant to those seeking to balance their lives “in the world, but not of it” than to those seeking merely to balance their financial statements.
My team’s greatest concern, as we began talking about missions and stories and media, was that we avoid at all costs the presumptuous and naive perspective so often taken by those who feel every minute of of video wasted that does not include prayer, a sermon, or an altar call. They worried, and rightfully so, that a short-term perspective might manage to infiltrate our trip and our stories; that our stories might be judged by their immediate impact and condemned if they didn’t “bring people to Christ.” I understood.
Personally, my concerns were a bit different. While I understand their perspective and avoid most Christian television like the plague, I was beginning to realize another potential - that, in becoming “not preachy,” we would be nothing at all. That, in attempting to become acceptable to the world, we would lose all distinction from it.
We didn’t know how to find the middle ground.
To this day, I can’t remember when I came to the realization that both of these possibilities were rooted in the same fundamental error; that “finding balance” and pulling back would simply compound the problem, not offer a solution. If the real issue was being too preachy - the answer would be less preaching. If the real issue was being too similar to the world - the answer would be to run the other way, to simply do the opposite. Those aren’t the real issues.
The real issue is that we have cheapened our message. We, the saved, can’t figure out what we’ve been saved from or for. We, the redeemed, don’t comprehend the value and depth of our redemption. We’ve cheapened our message because we’re not sure what it’s worth.
We’ve presented Christ as the Savior of souls, simplifying and reducing the evangelistic mandate to counting heads at an altar call, offering to reduce the cost of salvation from a life surrendered to a three-minute ritual. But wait, there’s more - we sound like a daytime TV commercial that neglected to mention the shipping & handling. Or, if we realize the offense inherent in the name of Christ, we run the other way. We create programs and institutions that “offer hope” without introducing the “confusion” of theology, avoiding any jargon that might associate us with the sinking ship of church-as-usual and disguise the terminology that would disclose our true identity. And then wonder why the world can’t figure out who we are.
I don’t have all the answers - but I know that a discounted gospel is no gospel at all. The world needs a Savior who can and will redeem, not only for eternity, but entirely. We need to show the world that salvation is free, but it’s not cheap; it costs your life, but it’s worth so much more. Christianity isn’t about finding a shorter shortcut; it’s about avoiding shortcuts and discovering truth. Maybe if we really paid the price of obedience and found the reward of His presence - we wouldn’t have such a problem with asking others to do the same. Maybe if we lived the story we wouldn’t have such a hard time telling it.
http://www.drawar.com/articles/two-choices-for-rates-and-cheap-isnt-one-of-them/242/
Monday, June 21, 2010
Friday, June 18, 2010
Monday, April 19, 2010
Media Missions 2010 - 20 more days!
You know you might be on the media team if...
preparation for missions looks like this.
To all who may be following us, either on facebook, on our blog, or via email: WELCOME! We deeply appreciate all of the work, finances, and prayer that has gone into getting us this far. That said, we're finally getting ready to go on the field and will be needing your support yet again as we travel and seek out the stories that the Lord would have for us to share.
Let me take a moment to share a little bit of history/vison with you all :)
I'm graduating in 11 days with a degree in Mass Media Communication, emphasis in Multimedia Production, and an abandoned degree in Government/Prelaw. They say that the average number of times that a college student changes their degree is somewhere around 3 - I jumped the gun and changed my intended majors from engineering/music to media/government the summer before I came to ORU. While I'd like to say that my own prescience enabled me to be where I am today, I can only stand in awe of the work that the Lord has done in my own life to bring me here. Thanks to prayer, some Jesus-heart-work, and a lot of Godly counsel, I was in the right place at the right time with the right skill set when ORU Outreach began forming its first media missions team last year. (that's last year's team below)
Since it would take pages to tell of the experiences we had in preparation alone, I will forego the preamble and get right to the point. Last year's trip solidified in my own heart and mind the place that media has in the Kingdom of God and helped me to realize that, far deeper than the sensory overload and visual stimulus, media ministry is intercession. It's not just communication for communication's sake; it is not merely images of desperation designed to induce a financial response; media missions is becoming the bridge between worlds providing a vehicle through which the Lord can move.That being said, just like there is no shortcut to living the Christian life, there is no shortcut to producing "Christian" media. We cannot simply include the name of Christ and mention His gospel, hoping that somehow someone will respond. Our work reflects our Savior, and therefore we work with excellence; our salvation encompasses all areas of life, and therefore the stories we tell may range from the miraculous to the mundane.
We are different, though. We carry a hope that gives significance to every action and promises that justice and mercy are not mutually exclusive. We understand that redemption is offered to every person, nation, and situation on earth. We realize that we are not alone in this world and that the Love of our Father can overcome every pain and tragedy that could ever be known.
That is why we are different; that is why our stories are different; that is why we go.
Please continue to pray for the entire team as we finish classes this week, finals the next, and then have a week of training before leaving for our respective destinations. Mandy and I will be flying to Kenya on May 10 and visiting the two teams (Dominion Farms, Disciples of Mercy) there, while Adam and Mike will be leaving a day earlier and staying with teams Guatemala and Belize.
Love you all so much - can't wait to share our stories with you!
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Sunday, July 26, 2009
To whom it may concern...
To Christian media producers, artists, advertisers, designers, writers, musicians, creatives, entrepreneurs, and dreamers:
Stop imitating the world.
It's sickening when you, indwelt by the Creator of the Universe, forgo the limitless inspiration and affirmation of eternity to pursue transient trends and the fickle applause of men. It's shameful when people walk away from your art and congratulate you that it was not as awful as the last Christian film, design, book, painting, or website that they saw. It's embarrassing that your programming can be distinguished from the world's - not by its difference in content but by its lack of quality.
This cannot be what God intended.
You must stop imitating the world. Not because you can't measure up to their standards, but because of what will happen if you do. If you find a way to work the system and beat the world at their own game: Congratulations. You have become masters of manipulation and wield deception as skillfully as any weapon. Your craft has a symbiotic relationship with sin nature. You have learned the nuances of an appeal to the flesh and conned your audience with a shallow version of truth that has been stripped down until only appearance remains. You fell for the lie that said you could use the world's tools for Kingdom purpose and it would all work out. Your creativity draws attention to itself instead of to the King because it is fueled by your own skills and effort.
At best, you're burned out - and usually bitter.
Still, it's not all your fault. In some ways, you have been funneled into a vicious cycle by our lack of appreciation and failure to understand your gifting. You were misunderstood because you challenged the status quo that we held as sacred. Your calling was not acknowledged because we didn't understand its place or value. Our attempts at cultivating curiosity and creativity ended with children's church and summer VBS. Your training was left in the hands of the world because it was easier to let someone else deal with the mess.
We were wrong.
It's wrong that you should be forced to seek encouragement and community outside the church because creativity is too risky for the establishment. It's wrong that we keep asking you to create more of the same, safe, sterile pamphlets that we've always had. It's wrong that we ask you to prostitute your gifting for the sake of our comfort and profit.
It all has to change.
You have so much going for you. The treasure you possess - the creative energy and passion of eternity - is the most sought-after commodity in the world. Your ability to captivate and fascinate hearts with your creations is inspired and indwelt by the glory of the Endless God. You are a part of the greatest story ever told - with characters more engaging, storylines more complex, and dialogue more saturated with meaning than any other. Point and counterpoint, rhythm and cycle, suspense and surprise are inherent in your faith. Adventure and risk are accepted as you choose to follow a plan you cannot fully understand.
Start dreaming.
Don't limit yourself to the stories that have already been told - remake after remake of Daniel in the lions' den is not the expression of truth that God desires from your creativity. Realize, first of all, that every story is God's story. The expanse of possibility isn't what He could fit into 66 books but how He can fill the billions of lives, guiding the paths of both infants and nations. Sometimes His work is obvious and demands an instant response; more often, though, He chooses to remain hidden and allow us to discover Him as we go about our lives, facing struggles and unknowns, traversing both highs and lows. This is the greatness of the God we serve. His glory is not displayed only in recounting the past, but also in realizing the present and dreaming into the future.
Go for it.
Stretch yourself a little. Explore the creativity that you have been trusted with. Cultivate the sense of adventure that allows you to embrace the unknown and try something that you've never seen done before. Don't be afraid of your imagination - surrender it to the Lord and He will meet you there. Most of all: enjoy the journey. We can't promise to always understand, but don't let that stop you. There will always be those who accuse and judge.
But you don't answer to them.
You answer to the most creative Person to ever exist - the one who decided to give birds wings and trees leaves, the One who dreamt stars and galaxies, planets and oceans, love and life into existence. He came up with the whole idea of romance and adventure. He fills His home with color, light, sound, and motion. Just read Daniel, Ezekiel, or Revelation to get an idea. And He's not finished dreaming - He is preparing worlds for you to explore and inhabit for eternity.
It is your divine mandate to be an intercessor - to bridge the gap between the temporal and the eternal, to inspire and instruct the heart. You have a hope that the world does not.
It is your prerogative to stand as both a witness and a voice, giving expression to truth beyond the capacity of mere words to express.
It is time to take your place as the forerunners you are called to be.
“Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered into the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him. For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.” - 1 Corinthians 2:9-10
Start creating again.
Stop imitating the world.
It's sickening when you, indwelt by the Creator of the Universe, forgo the limitless inspiration and affirmation of eternity to pursue transient trends and the fickle applause of men. It's shameful when people walk away from your art and congratulate you that it was not as awful as the last Christian film, design, book, painting, or website that they saw. It's embarrassing that your programming can be distinguished from the world's - not by its difference in content but by its lack of quality.
This cannot be what God intended.
You must stop imitating the world. Not because you can't measure up to their standards, but because of what will happen if you do. If you find a way to work the system and beat the world at their own game: Congratulations. You have become masters of manipulation and wield deception as skillfully as any weapon. Your craft has a symbiotic relationship with sin nature. You have learned the nuances of an appeal to the flesh and conned your audience with a shallow version of truth that has been stripped down until only appearance remains. You fell for the lie that said you could use the world's tools for Kingdom purpose and it would all work out. Your creativity draws attention to itself instead of to the King because it is fueled by your own skills and effort.
At best, you're burned out - and usually bitter.
Still, it's not all your fault. In some ways, you have been funneled into a vicious cycle by our lack of appreciation and failure to understand your gifting. You were misunderstood because you challenged the status quo that we held as sacred. Your calling was not acknowledged because we didn't understand its place or value. Our attempts at cultivating curiosity and creativity ended with children's church and summer VBS. Your training was left in the hands of the world because it was easier to let someone else deal with the mess.
We were wrong.
It's wrong that you should be forced to seek encouragement and community outside the church because creativity is too risky for the establishment. It's wrong that we keep asking you to create more of the same, safe, sterile pamphlets that we've always had. It's wrong that we ask you to prostitute your gifting for the sake of our comfort and profit.
It all has to change.
You have so much going for you. The treasure you possess - the creative energy and passion of eternity - is the most sought-after commodity in the world. Your ability to captivate and fascinate hearts with your creations is inspired and indwelt by the glory of the Endless God. You are a part of the greatest story ever told - with characters more engaging, storylines more complex, and dialogue more saturated with meaning than any other. Point and counterpoint, rhythm and cycle, suspense and surprise are inherent in your faith. Adventure and risk are accepted as you choose to follow a plan you cannot fully understand.
Start dreaming.
Don't limit yourself to the stories that have already been told - remake after remake of Daniel in the lions' den is not the expression of truth that God desires from your creativity. Realize, first of all, that every story is God's story. The expanse of possibility isn't what He could fit into 66 books but how He can fill the billions of lives, guiding the paths of both infants and nations. Sometimes His work is obvious and demands an instant response; more often, though, He chooses to remain hidden and allow us to discover Him as we go about our lives, facing struggles and unknowns, traversing both highs and lows. This is the greatness of the God we serve. His glory is not displayed only in recounting the past, but also in realizing the present and dreaming into the future.
Go for it.
Stretch yourself a little. Explore the creativity that you have been trusted with. Cultivate the sense of adventure that allows you to embrace the unknown and try something that you've never seen done before. Don't be afraid of your imagination - surrender it to the Lord and He will meet you there. Most of all: enjoy the journey. We can't promise to always understand, but don't let that stop you. There will always be those who accuse and judge.
But you don't answer to them.
You answer to the most creative Person to ever exist - the one who decided to give birds wings and trees leaves, the One who dreamt stars and galaxies, planets and oceans, love and life into existence. He came up with the whole idea of romance and adventure. He fills His home with color, light, sound, and motion. Just read Daniel, Ezekiel, or Revelation to get an idea. And He's not finished dreaming - He is preparing worlds for you to explore and inhabit for eternity.
It is your divine mandate to be an intercessor - to bridge the gap between the temporal and the eternal, to inspire and instruct the heart. You have a hope that the world does not.
It is your prerogative to stand as both a witness and a voice, giving expression to truth beyond the capacity of mere words to express.
It is time to take your place as the forerunners you are called to be.
“Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered into the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him. For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.” - 1 Corinthians 2:9-10
Start creating again.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
asia aftermath
Embarking on this trip was one of the most surreal, and yet most natural, things that I have ever done. While my major is in mass media communications, my heart is in missions. So, when the invitation came to be a part of this groundbreaking trip, I was excited for the opportunity. For those of you who might not know, I was able to travel with the first ever ORU Media Missions team to India, China, and Japan, visiting 4 mission teams in a month to document their experiences while pursuing the heart of God in a foreign country.
I sometimes wonder what God was thinking when He dreamed this trip into being. Correction: this question has been burning in my mind for the past month, and no matter what I do or the answers I come up with, it will not go away. Why, exactly, were we there? What did we accomplish? The obvious answers are there - we left with the intention of capturing footage for several different branches of ORU and bringing back media that accurately portrays the work of the students and of God in the places we visited. However, there seems to be a greater purpose, a deeper meaning, and a more significant grace on this project than we ever imagined. Stumbling through the many technicalities and logistics of planning this trip and then living it out on the field was frequently difficult and frustrating; yet, in retrospect, every step seems to be in line, divinely orchestrated and covered with grace. Perhaps that is the word that most accurately and succinctly summarizes the entire trip: grace. At some moments, like the afternoon we spent talking to a recently elected Member of the Legislative Assembly in India or the morning we watched a girl get to see pictures of her adoptive parents at a foster home in China, that grace was easy to recognize and appreciate. At others, like the early morning hours spent transferring files instead of sleeping, miles traversed in transportation designed for a much smaller load, or when we were dropped off at the wrong airport at 4:45am in New Delhi and had to find a way to get ourselves and all of our equipment to the right airport, checked in, through security, and on our flight by 6, the grace that led us to the right people who put us in the front of the lines and held the plane for us was not thoroughly realized until after the moment had passed and we were on our way.
It is moments like these that make me think there might have been a bigger purpose to our trip than we realized. Stories like these spark the wonder in my heart and I begin to think that maybe, and more than maybe, this wasn't our idea at all. Perhaps the whole time, when we thought God was working through our ideas, this whole thing was a dream in His heart. Perhaps it is simply time, in the grand scheme of things, for the hidden things to be revealed and for the seeds that have been so long underground to spring to life. It's strange to realize in such a significant way that while you have been chasing so hard after God, searching high and low to find Him at work, that He wants to be known more than you want to know Him. He wants to be seen more than you want to show Him. Perhaps, and more than perhaps, the dreams of our hearts and the dreams of our Creator were perfectly aligned, the timing was more than coincidental, and we found ourselves walking in the perfect will and intentions of God.
Still, in the process of returning and beginning the process of arranging, assembling, and articulating the stories that we were privileged to capture, I find myself face-to-face with my own inadequacy. I don't know how to explain the situations in which we found ourselves without talking far too much about how we got there or going into detail about the early morning, rush to pack equipment, cramped car, beads of sweat, caffeine withdraws, jet lag, and emotional strain. Then, if I begin to go down that path, I feel that the story has been compromised in some half-hearted attempt to justify the imperfections of our communication and details we overlooked while attempting to capture an event that we had traveled halfway around the world to observe. And yet, that is not the story at all. The story is that we remembered anything at all, that when the bulbs for our lights were 5 hours away at the house, we found the only lamp in the entire hotel and were able to (almost) get rid of the eye shadows and convince sleepy team members that sitting down for an interview was not as bad as it sounded. The story is that when I managed to leave one of the $100 batteries for the Sony camcorder on a bus, I also found a replacement in China that, after I began to turn and walk away, the vendor offered to sell to us for 150 Yuan (about $22). Stories like these more accurately represent our trip - and yet, they seem superficial in comparison to the stories our contacts told with their lives.
In all honesty, their stories are the ones that need to be told. The significance of our story is that we were able to witness, for a moment, the work that they have given their lives for. Russel and Sandra Board have lived in Japan as missionaries for 30 years. They gave up much of their privacy and personal space by allowing us to live at their house for a month, and then were going to pick up an intern who was moving in for several months on the day that we left. Longevity and commitment like this are rare in the world, partially because they are not valued. Consistency is not flashy and makes for a really boring montage, but it is highly valued in the economy of Heaven and greatly honored by the King. There is only so much footage of driving around town or across states that anyone would want to see, but it is what consumes a large percentage of Nelu's time. I tell stories about being tired because of a lack of sleep, and yet I cannot forget the mornings that I would wake up a full hour before my alarm to the sound of dishes rattling and breakfast being prepared.
To tell all of the stories we encountered and experienced on this trip would, in all honestly, take a full month :) So, if you want to hear more of them, just ask. God is moving in the earth, but this is the story I know best - the story of my own life being changed, of my steps being directed one at a time, of unexpected connections and surprises that leave me in awe of His goodness over and over again. Maybe later I'll have time to extrapolate on some of the others - or maybe I'll wait and let you see them :)
I sometimes wonder what God was thinking when He dreamed this trip into being. Correction: this question has been burning in my mind for the past month, and no matter what I do or the answers I come up with, it will not go away. Why, exactly, were we there? What did we accomplish? The obvious answers are there - we left with the intention of capturing footage for several different branches of ORU and bringing back media that accurately portrays the work of the students and of God in the places we visited. However, there seems to be a greater purpose, a deeper meaning, and a more significant grace on this project than we ever imagined. Stumbling through the many technicalities and logistics of planning this trip and then living it out on the field was frequently difficult and frustrating; yet, in retrospect, every step seems to be in line, divinely orchestrated and covered with grace. Perhaps that is the word that most accurately and succinctly summarizes the entire trip: grace. At some moments, like the afternoon we spent talking to a recently elected Member of the Legislative Assembly in India or the morning we watched a girl get to see pictures of her adoptive parents at a foster home in China, that grace was easy to recognize and appreciate. At others, like the early morning hours spent transferring files instead of sleeping, miles traversed in transportation designed for a much smaller load, or when we were dropped off at the wrong airport at 4:45am in New Delhi and had to find a way to get ourselves and all of our equipment to the right airport, checked in, through security, and on our flight by 6, the grace that led us to the right people who put us in the front of the lines and held the plane for us was not thoroughly realized until after the moment had passed and we were on our way.
It is moments like these that make me think there might have been a bigger purpose to our trip than we realized. Stories like these spark the wonder in my heart and I begin to think that maybe, and more than maybe, this wasn't our idea at all. Perhaps the whole time, when we thought God was working through our ideas, this whole thing was a dream in His heart. Perhaps it is simply time, in the grand scheme of things, for the hidden things to be revealed and for the seeds that have been so long underground to spring to life. It's strange to realize in such a significant way that while you have been chasing so hard after God, searching high and low to find Him at work, that He wants to be known more than you want to know Him. He wants to be seen more than you want to show Him. Perhaps, and more than perhaps, the dreams of our hearts and the dreams of our Creator were perfectly aligned, the timing was more than coincidental, and we found ourselves walking in the perfect will and intentions of God.
Still, in the process of returning and beginning the process of arranging, assembling, and articulating the stories that we were privileged to capture, I find myself face-to-face with my own inadequacy. I don't know how to explain the situations in which we found ourselves without talking far too much about how we got there or going into detail about the early morning, rush to pack equipment, cramped car, beads of sweat, caffeine withdraws, jet lag, and emotional strain. Then, if I begin to go down that path, I feel that the story has been compromised in some half-hearted attempt to justify the imperfections of our communication and details we overlooked while attempting to capture an event that we had traveled halfway around the world to observe. And yet, that is not the story at all. The story is that we remembered anything at all, that when the bulbs for our lights were 5 hours away at the house, we found the only lamp in the entire hotel and were able to (almost) get rid of the eye shadows and convince sleepy team members that sitting down for an interview was not as bad as it sounded. The story is that when I managed to leave one of the $100 batteries for the Sony camcorder on a bus, I also found a replacement in China that, after I began to turn and walk away, the vendor offered to sell to us for 150 Yuan (about $22). Stories like these more accurately represent our trip - and yet, they seem superficial in comparison to the stories our contacts told with their lives.
In all honesty, their stories are the ones that need to be told. The significance of our story is that we were able to witness, for a moment, the work that they have given their lives for. Russel and Sandra Board have lived in Japan as missionaries for 30 years. They gave up much of their privacy and personal space by allowing us to live at their house for a month, and then were going to pick up an intern who was moving in for several months on the day that we left. Longevity and commitment like this are rare in the world, partially because they are not valued. Consistency is not flashy and makes for a really boring montage, but it is highly valued in the economy of Heaven and greatly honored by the King. There is only so much footage of driving around town or across states that anyone would want to see, but it is what consumes a large percentage of Nelu's time. I tell stories about being tired because of a lack of sleep, and yet I cannot forget the mornings that I would wake up a full hour before my alarm to the sound of dishes rattling and breakfast being prepared.
To tell all of the stories we encountered and experienced on this trip would, in all honestly, take a full month :) So, if you want to hear more of them, just ask. God is moving in the earth, but this is the story I know best - the story of my own life being changed, of my steps being directed one at a time, of unexpected connections and surprises that leave me in awe of His goodness over and over again. Maybe later I'll have time to extrapolate on some of the others - or maybe I'll wait and let you see them :)
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