Free Buttons for a Verse

We have 15 extra buttons packs from the art show, and we want you to have them. Here is all you have to do.

1. Leave a comment with a bible verse that is meaningful to you and why.
2. Make sure you leave your email address.
3. Cross your fingers.

We will randomly pick 15 people from the comments and send you one of these packs. Lets make this great folks.I want these comments to not only be an inspiration to us, but to everyone who reads them.

The comments will be closed next Monday, so get to it!

My Confession To You.

For the past couple months I have been working hard on various projects. There 2 projects in the works right now for the blog, and we just finished up Not Art. Gospel. Now these are great for me to work on, but they have become consuming to me. It has taken my focus away from God and His Word.

My daily reading has been replaced with looking at art for inspiration, and reading about better communication. My prayer has been replaced by sketching and thinking of concepts. Now those things are not bad, but they have become sin in my life by putting them before God.

I am praying that God will give me a renew heart for His Word, and that might fuel all that I do. Thank you all for reading and participating in this blog. I am excited for this renewed passion from God and what that will look like in this blog and through art.

—Corey

Video Game Friday

Are you ready for a game that will test your knowledge of letters and shapes? Well, here comes Z-Rox, a really hard brain game that will make you think and use parts of your brain you never used…maybe even parts of the brain you don’t even have!

PLAY Z-ROX NOW!

How to Get Searched at the Airport.

So, have you ever wondered “how can I get searched at the airport?” well I have found the answer, T.S.A. Communication. Here is what they do.

T.S.A. Communication is a project that alters the airport security experience and allows the government to learn more about you then just what’s in your backpack. Thin 8.5 x 11 inch laser-cut sheets of stainless steel comfortably fit in your carry on bag, simultaneously obscuring the contents you don’t want the TSA to see while highlighting ideas you do want them to see. Change your role as air traveler from passive to active.

Check out the mischief in action. You gotta love the Rick Roll.

Read more about this project and how to aquire some of these plates here.

Homeless Food

As Kyle and I were preparing for the Oct. 15 Blog Action Day, a friend send me this link. We have been thinking of ways that we can use the gifts and the position God has giving us to help those who need it, and then I read about FairStart. FairStart is a job training and placement center in Seattle, but it is far from ordinary. FairStart teaches homeless individuals the ins and outs of the food services industry. They also run a full kitchen open for lunch, and have a celebrity chef work with them Thursday night for dinner.

What I love about this is seeing someone use a gift that they have, and share that to better others. What if the church did this. Open up it’s doors for volunteers to teach construction, computers, art, accounting, ect. What if we all make an effort to use the gifts God has given us to share His love for all people.

Please go to their site and spend time reading about what they do, and the stories of lives changed.

I’m Addicted to Speed…

…and I don’t mean the drug.

Everyone will agree that we live in a fast pace culture. The convenience of technology has connected us and allows us to multitask better than at any other point in history. We have become oh so familiar with phrases like timetable, deadline, turnaround, and of course “time is money.” But, I have ask, what’s the cost of our need for speed?

Those involved with design and marketing know that a quick creative turnaround is key to staying profitable. But what if that first solution isn’t the best? What if it’s only half as successful as if it were worked over for another day? What if, by moving quickly, you’ve lost sight of the end goal and compromised our creative ability?

These questions nag me in my corporate work, and make me nauseous when I think about it in the context of my church/ministry work. What if I only half the people made it to that life-changing message Sunday? What if I moved too fast and forgot to make it about spreading God’s love and good news to everyone? What if I’m not exercising the creativity that God has blessed me as steward over for his glory?

It says in Proverbs 7:8 that “The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride.” I think it hugely important for all of us involved in the church/ministry communication world to be patient when it comes to creating marketing materials. Just like we’d hope our pastor would take time to develop a sermon inspired and anointed by God’s spirit, we too should step back and give God some time to communicate through us.

This video was posted on the Collide blog last Friday. I’ve watched it several times, and am blown away by it every time. This photographers patience and commitment to creativity and his art inspires me.

Watch the video and share your thoughts on our collective addiction to speed, and the possibilities that exist for us if we’d just tap the brakes every once in a while.

The Plow on Alltop!

Great news! As of this morning, The Plow Blog has been added to the Modern Church category at Alltop.com!!! We’re so excited and humbled to be included on a list with so many other great church/ministry thinkers and leaders.

If you’re not familiar with Alltop it’s basically a “digital magazine rack” of the internet. They feature hundreds of topics and pull the latest posts from all of the top blogs and display them in a nice, organized fashion. It’s a great site for finding new blogs to read, and seeing what others are reading as well. Here’s a cool video they put together to help explain. Gotta love the stop animation!

Name That Brand, or Ministry.

I found this link today on The Serif, and it’s pretty cool. Trying to think of a name for a new company or ministry/church can be the most time consuming and exhausting process. Well, Name This takes that job and makes it easy for only $99, ACT NOW! Here is how it works.

1. Someone posts a product or service in need of a name
2. Name This members go to work, suggesting names and/or investing points in their favorites
3. After 48 hours of brainstorming, their system does some fancy math and crowns the winners
4. Name This takes money out of each naming fee and distributes it to the members who create/influence the top three…

I will be trying this out today, who knows maybe I can make some money.

Video Game Friday

PLAY SPIRITUAL WARFARE!

Here is a blast from the past. Classic Christian Nintendo. Enjoy your weekend.

Taking Art to the Streets.

Over the past couple months, and even more recently I have felt a strong urge to push art as a way to share the gospel. I feel like art can break down certain stereotypes of Christianity and is able to let scripture be read without the filter of the world. I also love street art. I love the fact that you can take a dead or dying space and add life to it. I like the fact that you can use elements around us to tell a story that cannot be missed.

Now what about the two together? Can we create art that is meant to tell of Jesus, or share His Word, and bring that to the street. What do you see as the negatives of this, and what do you see as the positives? I have been thinking hard about this for the last 2 weeks and now want to turn it over to you. As Christians should we take our art and message to the streets?

Here is some work that has inspired me. Taken from Wooster Collective.