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?

 


Comments

Sarah
11/21/2008 02:28

I think this is a similar question that some christians face when they are working in the music industry. When you lable someone a 'Christian artist' then you expect a certain style of music from them, or a certain message behind their songs. However those artists who release music into the 'secular' charts (man how I dislike all these labels!) can often have a greater degree of success due to the size of the market. The fact that some of these bands or artists are also Christian is normally just a bonus for other Christians.
I would say don't label yourself as a Christian tatoo artist unless that is the market that you want to be catering to, unless you only want to do religeous sybolism or the like. I think you could have a major impact with this ministry outside the church circles. So yeah I would say don't label yourself, but don't be at all afraid of letting people know where you are a person stand.

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Kieron
11/21/2008 02:41

Awesome response Sarah. The truth is there will always be people labeling you a Christian Tattoo Artist even if you never actually call yourself that. One artist who springs to mind is Damon Conklin from Supergenius tattoo. He is rated as one of the top 20 most influential artists of all time and he deserves it. He is a christian and runs Bible study out of his shop in Seattle but nowhere in his bio and stuff does he call himself a Christian Tattoo Artist. Even so i find myself describing him to people i know as a Christian Tattoo Artist.
So i guess what i'm saying is that the label will follow you. It isn't something i would pursue but i wouldn't shun it either. It is what it is. Your call goes beyond making sure that the body of Christ is well inked. There is a whole other body out there that could do with sitting in your chair and hearing your musings.

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Jonathan Puddle link
11/25/2008 09:50

I dislike labels.

I don't call myself a Christian DJ, anymore than I call myself a Christian IT Manager (which I don't do). I'm a DJ. And I'm an IT Manager. And I happen to be a Christian.

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UGG Boots On Sale link
12/25/2010 02:12

Christmas Eve means safe. When beautiful melody flows in your dream tonight~

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Jake Wells link
06/17/2011 23:36

How ya doin? Great question.

“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."

SOOOO TRUE!!!

I used to work with Dave Quiggle tattooing, before I was saved. My path to salvation was pretty knarly, and now that I know Jesus and follow Him I find it hard to do almost anything but manual labor and am very limited in tattooing. I can't work in a traditional tattoo shop. I look back on the days of working with Dave and not knowing God was real, but respecting Dave's "beliefs" as a nice person. If only I had known the Truth then. If only I had given my life to Jesus then! I would have had Bible studies in my shop!! So many things would have been different.

Oh well, I'm saved now, and so is my entire family. What more could I ask for. Praise Jesus!!! I call myself a Christian tattoo artist, not for the money but because that's all I can tattoo. I can ONLY tattoo Christian tattoos or tattoos that are positive. I can't tattoo anything that promotes false religions like Buddhism or Hinduism, etc, etc, etc, ..as per Leviticus 19:28. Do not mark yourself for the dead. I love tattoos and I love tattooing but I gave myself to Christ and want everyone to know the Truth also. I could only work in a Christian Tattoo Shop doing Christian Tattoos. If you get a chance or want to you can check out my testimony on my website. It was such a blessing to have read this, Thank you.

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Zoe Garcia link
07/12/2011 04:38

i went to a small christian highschool ..and for a time our english teacher read velvet elvis and then we would discuss it as a class.. when this chapter came up .. my class got into a very heated disscusion ..i found myslef torn.. in one side the bible calls us to be different .. we are in this world but not from it..on the other side ..by labeling something "christian" people get uncomfortable.. I Find myself torn in the middle .. on one side .. yes i am christian.. i want to be different .. i want to be radical.. on fire for my God and yes that can make people uncomfortable, too "spiritual" but i can also see how when you have God in you .. you want to Give him EVERYTHING that includes your dreams, your efforts, your passions .. and my Job would be in this category..i agree when you say Everything is spiritual ..
specially when its something you have a passion for..

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zoe
07/12/2011 04:50

when you have christ in you .. you are different .. once you have been in his presence you will not be the same.. i really like what sarah said the "the label will follow you." if someone is a true follower of God, filled with the holy spirit the way they act, the way they think will be different.. you dont have to remind people all the time that your a christian .. they will KNOW you are a christian, by your actions by the way we live our lives which should be different..

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