embracing accusations

I just bought "Pages," Shane & Shane's newest album. The whole album is awesome, but this song has absolutely struck me speechless. It's incredible. PLEASE go find it and listen to it. In the meantime, here are the lyrics.

Father of lies, coming to steal kill and destroy
All my hopes of being good enough
I hear him saying, “cursed are the ones who can’t abide”
He’s right, halleluia, he’s right

The devil is preaching the song of the redeemed
That I am cursed and gone astray
I cannot gain salvation
Embracing accusation

Could the father of lies
Be telling the truth of God to me tonight?
That if the penalty of sin is death, then death is mine
I hear him saying, “cursed are the ones who can’t abide”
He’s right, halleluia, he’s right

The devil’s singing over me an age old song
That I am cursed and gone astray
Singing the first verse so conveniently over me
He’s forgotten the refrain.
JESUS SAVES

do I work too much?

I had a rather disturbing dream last night. First of all, allow me to preface by explaining that I am responsible for the Sunday morning Guide, the bulletin that is given to everyone that walks in the door. In my dream, the Guide has mysteriously gone horribly, horribly wrong.

We were all called into a meeting led by the pastor (and by "all," I mean ALL--everyone who has ever had any semi-important influence in the church). The pastor begins speaking with a grave expression, asking, "Who can explain what happened with this week's Guide?" The room goes quiet. Apparently everyone knew what he was talking about except me, and I'm supposed to be the one "in charge."

At this point I'm getting very nervous. I'm wondering what could have possibly gone so terribly wrong between the designing and the final product. I kept going back over all the steps in my mind, trying to remember if something had been wrong or if I had missed something. I asked the people around me what the pastor was talking about, but they were too ashamed to talk about it. I start to panic.

Finally, to my utter horror, the pastor holds up this week's Guide. It nothing short of a train wreck. For starters, the graphics had somehow gone completely and totally awry. Instead of looking like the posters for "The Battle," it looked like awful Christmas wrapping paper. Cheesy, red and green, tacky, the whole nine yards. Everyone just stares at me...wondering what the heck I was thinking. I tried to argue that this was DEFINITELY not my doing, and that the last time I had seen the Guide it looked perfect, but no one seems to hear me or believe me.

As if that alone wasn't bad enough, nothing is where it is supposed to be. The announcements are scattered all over the place in no particular order or format, the guest registration card is on the wrong panel, the sermon notes insert is not even there, and the offering numbers are totally wrong. It was a pretty sorry sight.

In my dream all I kept asking myself was "How could this happen??" How could I have missed such huge mistakes? How did no one catch them before they arrived in people's hands on Sunday? Why did the printer not show me a proof before they printed? How did this happen??

I woke up panicking until I slowly realized that it was just a dream. Pretty sad when you're having nightmares about the weekly Sunday bulletin. Do I work too much?

my first one

I used to be into this whole blogging thing, back in high school when all I had to talk about was what I had for lunch that day and how much homework I have. Now, however, I have quite different experiences and priorities. The purpose of this blog will be so that the staff/ average churchgoer/general public will be able get to get a glimpse of what exactly I do. I have learned that my world, the world of designing, printing, finishing, displaying, is very ambiguous to some. Few people know the process of how I do what I do, and through this blog, I will try to explain it.

Basically, it's my job to translate a vision (or sometimes abstract idea) into a visible, tangible piece. I try to take an idea and run with it; I try to make a piece go places that no one would have foreseen; I try to be truly innovative. While for some projects this process is much easier said than done, in the end, my only desire is that I have communicated the overall goal clearly and effectively, and that I have done my job with excellence.

Since we're in this thing, I guess I should probably start with my most current project, "A Cry From Hell." This event is heavily outreach-oriented; we want members to bring their unchurched friends. So, it was our goal to come up with an idea that was eye-catching, relevant to culture, and maybe a little shocking (especially for the average churchgoer). We want people to see the design, stop, turn, and ponder the message of the event. Thus, the final product that arose is definitely not your typical "church propaganda," in my opinion.

Don't be shocked when you see the large eight foot posters. Stop and look. Think about the underlying message. Think about your unsaved friends and family. Hell is real.

I hope this design resonates with you and strikes a chord in your soul.