My wife, Bethany, has been reading Rob Bell's book, Velvet Elvis. I'd like to read it too, but haven't got round to it yet. She did hand it to me at one point, though, and had me read a passage from it.
Here is an extract from what I read:
“Christian is a great noun and a poor adjective. There is some Christian music, art, speaking etc. which is truly terrible, and doesn’t honour God. If we label stuff ‘Christian’ we end up turning off the radar of discernment. And we miss where God is outside Christendom.“It is impossible for a Christian to have a secular job. If you follow Jesus and you are doing what you do in his name, then it is no longer secular work; it’s sacred. You are there, God is there. The difference is our awareness."
I've recently been discussing this with Dave Quiggle, who agrees with Rob Bell. The moment that you start using the word Christian as an adjective, you also start to exclude people. It's not that I myself am exclusive, but if I attach the word Christian to something I produce, then in the eyes of many people, I become something that they don't want to associate with, and so they become excluded.
Dave references a book by Frank Schaeffer - Addicted to Mediocrity - which makes similar statements. I'm not sure that Schaeffer's position always entirely lines up with my own, but I think I agree with him here.
So, here's the question: do I label myself a Christian tattoo artist? I know that a lot of people want to come to a tattoo artist that's a Christian for lots of reasons. There is a great spiritual attachment that comes with a tattoo, and people want to be sure that they are not aligning themselves spiritually with something ungodly. I'm more than happy to tattoo these people. But should I sacrifice my opinion of the use of the word Christian as an adjective for the sake of marketing myself? Am I even sacrificing anything?
Any thoughts?
OK, I know that I promised a post full of my recent musings on a certain subject. Sorry to disappoint, but this isn't it. It's coming, for sure, but I saw this picture, and felt like I should post it.
If this isn't one of the most inspired ideas for a tattoo that has ever been, then I don't know what is. It's unique, it looks pretty cool in its own right... It's even interactive. You'd never be bored on a long train/plane journey/in a doctor's office/anywhere else you might ordinarily become bored again!
Brilliant.
Hard to believe, then, that I found this on a 'worst tattoos ever' page. I know. Some people have no sense of style.
If anyone wants a join the dots tattoo, come see me, ok?
Well, this worked out pretty well for the wearer, didn't it?
I was trying to find a John McCain tattoo to pair up with this one, but I had no success. Strange that. Anyway, aside from the fact that this likeness of Mr Obama has come out a little darker than his true colour, I think it's a rather good portrait.
Let's just hope, for the sake of this tattooed person if no one else, that Barrack makes a good president. It'd be a bit embarassing to have a tattoo of someone like Nixon on your leg, wouldn't it?
I have a longer post brewing, but I need time to sit down and really think it out. Until then...
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