by Jason Joyner | Jul 7, 2008 | arts, Blog, CBA, CFBA, christian fiction
Welcome to a new week!
There’s a great way to start the new week off right as well, if you’re a fan of Christian fiction. I’ve been a member of the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance for 2 years now, and it has grown tremendously. There are books reviewed twice a week (not always here, of course), and there is a large community that talks about the latest in Christian fiction.
Now there’s been a new expansion that is quite remarkable. The leaders of CFBA have started the Christian Fiction Online Magazine. I knew this was coming for a little while, but I didn’t appreciate how much they had managed to put into this work. It is very impressive. From a cover story interview with Robert Liparulo to columns of fiction craft by Brandilyn Collins and funny stuff from Randy Ingermanson and Kristin Billerbeck, it is packed with content. You can browse in an alliterative delight, with categories of “Best,” “Buzz,” “Bizarre,” and “Biz” awaiting you.
So if you enjoy reading good fiction or are interested in writing yourself and want an online resource, make sure to check out CFOM. The editors have put in a lot of work and it is well worth your time.
by Jason Joyner | Jul 7, 2008 | arts, Blog, CBA, CFBA, christian fiction
Welcome to a new week!
There’s a great way to start the new week off right as well, if you’re a fan of Christian fiction. I’ve been a member of the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance for 2 years now, and it has grown tremendously. There are books reviewed twice a week (not always here, of course), and there is a large community that talks about the latest in Christian fiction.
Now there’s been a new expansion that is quite remarkable. The leaders of CFBA have started the Christian Fiction Online Magazine. I knew this was coming for a little while, but I didn’t appreciate how much they had managed to put into this work. It is very impressive. From a cover story interview with Robert Liparulo to columns of fiction craft by Brandilyn Collins and funny stuff from Randy Ingermanson and Kristin Billerbeck, it is packed with content. You can browse in an alliterative delight, with categories of “Best,” “Buzz,” “Bizarre,” and “Biz” awaiting you.
So if you enjoy reading good fiction or are interested in writing yourself and want an online resource, make sure to check out CFOM. The editors have put in a lot of work and it is well worth your time.
by Jason Joyner | Feb 3, 2008 | arts, Biblical worldview, Blog
Breakpoint is a favorite internet place of mine – I get daily emails from Chuck Colson’s radio broadcast. This last week there was one called “Made for Beauty.” It speaks of Francis Schaeffer’s book Art and the Bible, which I’ve spoken about before here.
Here’s the opening:
The neighbors watched the new church building go up in just one month—and what a sight it was! The church was a squat, square building made of unrelieved concrete. On the inside was garish red carpeting. A massive parking lot surrounded the church.
Nothing could possibly have been uglier—and the fact that so many Christians build church structures like this reveals how far Christians have strayed from the place beauty and art are meant to have in our lives.
As the late Francis Schaeffer notes in his book, Art and the Bible, we evangelicals tend to relegate art to the fringes of life. Despite our talk about the lordship of God in every aspect of life, we have narrowed its scope to a very small part of reality. But the arts are also supposed to be under the lordship of Christ, Schaeffer reminds us. Christians ought to use the arts “as things of beauty to the praise of God.”
I’ve talked about what is in the rest of the article before, but it is nice to see the same message getting out. Check out the article here.
by Jason Joyner | Feb 3, 2008 | arts, Biblical worldview, Blog
Breakpoint is a favorite internet place of mine – I get daily emails from Chuck Colson’s radio broadcast. This last week there was one called “Made for Beauty.” It speaks of Francis Schaeffer’s book Art and the Bible, which I’ve spoken about before here.
Here’s the opening:
The neighbors watched the new church building go up in just one month—and what a sight it was! The church was a squat, square building made of unrelieved concrete. On the inside was garish red carpeting. A massive parking lot surrounded the church.
Nothing could possibly have been uglier—and the fact that so many Christians build church structures like this reveals how far Christians have strayed from the place beauty and art are meant to have in our lives.
As the late Francis Schaeffer notes in his book, Art and the Bible, we evangelicals tend to relegate art to the fringes of life. Despite our talk about the lordship of God in every aspect of life, we have narrowed its scope to a very small part of reality. But the arts are also supposed to be under the lordship of Christ, Schaeffer reminds us. Christians ought to use the arts “as things of beauty to the praise of God.”
I’ve talked about what is in the rest of the article before, but it is nice to see the same message getting out. Check out the article here.
by Jason Joyner | Jan 26, 2008 | arts, Biblical worldview, Blog, books, culture
Getting Christians to a consensus on a lot of things can be interesting. However, T.M. Moore from Breakpoint and Chuck Colson’s Centurions project thinks he may have some suggestions on how to do this regarding Christians engaging the culture. This is along the lines of my Seven Spheres series from a week or two ago.
Breakpoint talked about it this week and had this great quote:
How do we do this? Our task is two-fold. First, we must participate in culture at the same time that we are engaged in a biblically based critique of culture. For too long, Christians have ignored the arts and have, thus, failed to realize that culture and the arts can be conduits of God’s truth, grace, and beauty.
Second, as the body of Christ, we need to support those among us who exercise their God-given artistic gifts. When we join together “for creative engagement in culture matters,” T. M. argues, we can “create a greater sense of unity in the body of Christ,” as well as increase our impact on culture.
Read the whole article here. I haven’t read the book yet, but I’ll be interested to check out Culture Matters down the road.
by Jason Joyner | Jan 26, 2008 | arts, Biblical worldview, Blog, books, culture
Getting Christians to a consensus on a lot of things can be interesting. However, T.M. Moore from Breakpoint and Chuck Colson’s Centurions project thinks he may have some suggestions on how to do this regarding Christians engaging the culture. This is along the lines of my Seven Spheres series from a week or two ago.
Breakpoint talked about it this week and had this great quote:
How do we do this? Our task is two-fold. First, we must participate in culture at the same time that we are engaged in a biblically based critique of culture. For too long, Christians have ignored the arts and have, thus, failed to realize that culture and the arts can be conduits of God’s truth, grace, and beauty.
Second, as the body of Christ, we need to support those among us who exercise their God-given artistic gifts. When we join together “for creative engagement in culture matters,” T. M. argues, we can “create a greater sense of unity in the body of Christ,” as well as increase our impact on culture.
Read the whole article here. I haven’t read the book yet, but I’ll be interested to check out Culture Matters down the road.
