Are Christians Dumbing Down?

Hey gang....I just ran across a blog headline which grabbed my attention and I wanted to share and comment on it...since the site does not accept comments on it's posts.

Click sliceoflaodicea to read the original posting.

Addressing the part that got my attention (being someone who's championed the development of the spiritual based graphic novel), here's a taste...

Fast forward to 2009 and the rotting corpse of Western Christianity. This buffoonery is what now fills churches today—the entire idiotic scene inspired by a children’s cartoon of singing and dancing vegetables (which I assume refers to Veggie Tales). Infantalism rules, literacy is dead, and God-given intellects are dead, suffocated under years of video game playing, movie and television watching. Hard to believe that Christians used to produce books like “Bondage of the Will”, and translations of the Scriptures from the original languages. Today, pastors and church laity are reading “graphic novel” (comic book) versions of the Bible because they struggle to grasp anything beyond a one syllable word. Here are some of evangelicalism’s finest in action. Watch and weep.

Now, if you didn't visit the original posting, this commentary is mainly directed at a posted video showing a Christian congregation dancing, singing and worshiping in a way the author finds distastful and degrading. But for the purposes of my comment, I'm dealing with his/her misguided generalization about literature created for young people and/or the graphic novel.

This author seeks to make a point about the breakdown of sophisticated analitical thought and writing within the Western Christian culture by slamming things obviously not created to answer such demands by believers.

Raise your hand, if you think Veggie Tales was created to foster advance discourse on the tenants of Christianity among religious scholars! A Ridiculous question? Of course it is, but it's to make a point. Products like Veggie Tales and most literature (re: picture books) and video's aimed at children are not meant to teach advanced religious theory or complicated Christian Dogma, rather plant seeds of interest among children using forms and styles of entertainment that is prevelant among "our culture". Likewise with most Graphic Novels or Christian based comic books. DISCLAIMER: Before I go forward I will admit for the record, that in my Eye Witness series, I do attempt to dig a bit deeper and pair the Gospel as presented by the Biblical narrative with historical and cultureal data about the first century we now known, in an attempt to take the reader to the next level of interest...but will grant that is not the case with most product designed in this format of literature.

But I reject this author's base assumption that pastors and church laity are reading Graphic Novel adaptations of the Bible (and Christian based fiction) because they struggle to grasp the intrecacies of the Bible and anything beyond "one-syllable words."

First of all, I have yet to come across a publisher that is creating a graphic novel adaptation of the Bible, that is meant to replace the original prose form...that's not to say someone isn't working on one now and it will be a monumental undertaking...but for most of us following this course, I think it's a fair assumption to say that this form is meant to attract readers to the Bible narrative that wouldn't be reading it otherwise, or in other forms. With Eye Witness, I'm attempting to reach the skeptic or person that's uninterested in attending church or reading the Bible, but loves reading in the format of comic books, graphic novels and manga (which translates to comic books in Japan...but in general terms has come to represent the entire output of far eastern created works of that style). My goal is to attract that person through my use of dramatic graphic design and a fictional intermingling with the Biblical narrative to make the story come alive with a contemporary feel. The endgame is to get the attention of someone who wouldn't think twice about reading these stories otherwise and God Willing, to create a spark of interest that might lead them to their local church, teen ministry or even picking up the source material.

Once again, I'll make the assmumption that many of the titles being published today in this format, share a similar goal. Now is that a bad or good thing for "the Church Body"...especially when you consider the docuemented drop off that occurs among young people when they get to high school age? But could there be their churches out there using graphic novel adaptations in their sermons? If there are, I'd wager a guess they are a seeker church that is catering to a high school to college age attendee...and this is the way to get there attention.

Secondly to generalize that those who read Graphic Novels cannot grasp anything beyond a one-syllable word, is this author basically showing their ignorance about the whole format. As anyone who's actually familiar with what's been produced in graphic novel or comic book form over the last 30 years can attest to, charagorizing the format as being simplicist or for those who struggle to read, is a blatent misnomer. Trust me, if you can grasp the involved prose of a Neil Gaiman (Sandman) or Alan Moore (Watchmen)....much of the Biblical narrative would prove to be a snap! Sure there are comics like those produced by Archie Comics and DC's animated line, that are rather simplistic, but than again they are targeting a 10 and under audience.

So what do we make of this uninformed rant? Not knowing the author, my guess would be they have a serious bone to pick with the western Christian Church and like a magician they seek to "pull things out of the proverbial hat" that will support their generalization that it has basically devolved into a chanting, dancing bunch of fools who have no foundation in advance learning or culture. Take a peek inside any Christian bookstore (or religious section of your local Borders) and you'll see their is an abundance of books being produced by contemporary authors every month, who seek to challenge the intellect as well as rouse the passion of the highly literate Christian reader.

Secondly, it's obvious the author has difficulty with the concept of OUTREACH and how it can be used effectively in our comminities. The Apostle Paul called upon us to discover our spirutal gifts and use them to advance the word among the people of the world. By his very actions, Paul demonstrated how we, as followers of Christ, we must be able to converse with "the world" in styles which they use...To the Jews, he was a jew, to the Greeks he became a Greek!

Using something like Veggie Tales, or Christian rock music, or the graphic novel, are all ways to speak to different segments of our culture (and/or age groups) that communicate in a way that they relate to and are attracted to. It surely doesn't mean that our message is deluted...but that it's just in a different language, metaphorically speaking! It's the same premise behind why we have four different Gospels, each written in a way to commuincate with a different aspect of the first century world.

R.J. Luedke
Award Winning Author/Illustrator
http://www.headpress.info/about.html

Comic Con 2008 Report

As a creator and publisher of Christian based graphic novels, I view the world of pop culture and the conventions which worship it's icons as my great mission field. And for those of you unfamilar with this world, Comic Con International, held each year since the mid-'70's in San Diego, is the largest of these events in North American. This last year it drew over 125,000 people over it's 4.5 day run.


Comic Con '08 has come and gone....The good? We had our best year EVER at CCI by the number of Eye Witness books we sold and gave out. Since we were doing the world premier of Eye Witness book three: Rise of the Apostle, I assumed we'd be selling mostly copies of it, (since we had had books 1 and 2 there for the last three years), but to my surprise we sold mostly sets of all 3. That is a very true indication that we were attracting new fans to our series, (and Chrisitan works in general), that might not been open to it in years past....as I kept hearing the question, "have you guys been hear before?" So these were people who may have gone by our table in years past without giving my books a second thought. woo--hoo! Also good news was, that I met a group of young people that had traveled from Colorado to come to Comic Con and hand out tracks. This was a mission trip for them!

The Bad? It seems like there was less of a presence by Christian creators, (by that I mean indy, small or self publishers...always plenty of closet-christian creators). Of course the Christian Comic Arts Society (CCAS: http://www.christiancomicarts.com/) was there, like always, but I was disappointed to see that Michael Davis and the Guardian Line of Christian comics was a no-show (http://www.theguardianline.com/)! And I know that, since they were suppose to have a booth right across from me. But other than that, I was unware of any other Christian or spiritual based books being exhibited.

But during the annual Sunday Chapel service I put out a call for all those in attendence, (Since I did the sermon), to dig deep over the next year...discover your spritual gifts...and determine how you can use them in God's service. For those in attendence gifted artistically, that could mean more comics, graphic novels, (for the exhibit hall), original art or sculpture(for the art show), indy films (for the film festival), or costumes (just to walk the convention in, or for the masquerade ball). For those gifted for ministry, it could mean walking the room and handing out comic style tracks or maybe having a table for those in need of help.

It will be interesting to see how that call in answered over the next 12 months.


bob luedke

-http://www.headpress.info/

Following the Company Line?

I was forwarded this link to a recent PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY article, about Buzz Dixon's line of graphic novels, (Serenity, Goofy Foot Girl) currently published by Thomas Nelson:
http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6544434.html?nid=2789

Having first met Buzz back in 2004, when he was shopping the concept of Serenity and I was releasing the first Eye Witness graphic novel, (See: http://www.headpress.info/) , we seemed to both be on the same wave-length about bringing more books with a Christian foundation into the market of comics, manga and graphic novels, (from the subtle to the overt). Therefore, it somewhat saddens me to see him basically speaking the Thomas Nelson company line, "that our graphic novels are not necessarily Christian"...in the hopes of gaining wider reconition in the secular book trade, (see my blog from 2/12 on Thomas Nelson, to more fully understand how I view this stategy).

But then again....Buzz has high hopes for his properties, (as adressed in the article), being tranferred to other media and has partnered (ironically) with this "Christian publishing giant" to help make that happen.

It's funny but this very situation is one I've sat and talked about with brother Christian creators (of all of the arts...music, movies, comics etc...), for years and years! What if one of us created a book/movie/song that became widely popular and was offered a deal with a major company/publisher to make some serious dollars with it, would we be willing to tone down its Christian themes to make it more widely accessible? It's a fork in the road anyone wishing to create works with overt Christian themes, or messages, must deal with when working in a pop culturish industry. Do I stay my course and not sacrifice my desire to expand the kingdom through my works, or do I go down the path for more sales, more exposure, more money, in exchange for potentially having to give up some of my editiorial control of my creations to do so?

Is this moral conumstrom unique to Christian creators?...of course not, think of how many tales of creative types "selling out to take the big money" you've heard in your lifetime. It's just that with those who profess a goal larger than earning money or fame, (re: the great commission), it seems like the decision becomes magnified.

Disclaimer: Since I have not talked to Buzz about this yet, don't be mislead that I'm inferring that this is the course Buzz has taken with his books...it's just that this interview, coming on the heals of a similar statement from his publisher a month earlier, has caused me to wonder out loud. Buzz Dixon is a wonderful person, an honorable businessman and to date Serenity has been one of the more pleasant and well received Christian themed american-manga published and my hope is that his core mission for his properties does indeed stay the same.

RJ Luedke
Head Press Publishing

Memorial Day and Christianity?

I was inspired by a message from my pastor yesterday, (Matt Chandler/The Village Church, http://www.thevillagechurch.net/), on how we (as Christians) should think about Memorial Day.

He shared his phone conversations with one of his brother ministers who this year took up a mission in The People’s Republic of China. When they speak on the phone they must be very careful what they say, for you never know who may be listening in that country, since being convicted of sharing the Gospel and/or proselytizing can easily land you in jail or worse. Because of this, they have developed a very simplistic code system, which allows them to speak about the Church and it’s success and/or failure without every really talking about it. Needless to say, it can result in humorous and even confusing messages, if both parties aren’t synched up on the code, (“We are running short of ‘user manuals’ at the office, can you ship us over another 500?”).

So what does this all have to do with Memorial Day? Simple! On this day every year, we should bow down in prayer before God and thank him for all the people who have sacrificed their blood that we may live in a country where speaking in code about our Lord is not necessary!

Living our entire lives under the protection of freedom of speech and religion, we tend to forget that such freedoms are not universal. We may look at being imprisoned or executed for speaking about Jesus and his gospel as historical and belonging to a bygone era, when in reality it still happens daily in many parts of our world! In my Eye Witness books, I write about and illustrate followers of Jesus being beaten, stoned and crucified, (see: www.headpress.info), but 2000+ years later these same punishments occur regularly to Christians, (though the cross has been replaced with more modernized forms of torture and execution).

We may sometimes find we are not very enthusiastic about some of the things our current leadership is doing, but that does not mean that our philosophy or system is wrong… maybe just a bit askew sometimes. But our country is still the paragon of freedom that allows our church to flourish and we must always remember those who laid their lives down to make that a reality.

So May God bless those who had the courage to provide the freedoms under which we can freely worship on this Memorial Day 2007!

Robert Luedke
www.headpress.info

Eye Witness creator on Worldwide Podcast

This Friday Evening, (April 20th), at 9pm eastern time, I'll be a part of a world-wide Podcast.

It will be broadcast from the home of RECOVER IN CHRIST MINISTRIES. During the broadcast I’ll be talking about the making of my Eye Witness graphic novel series (www.headpress.info) and how the graphic arts can play a big role in getting people involved in ministry.

To listen in and even participate in this live Net event, go to:

http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/talkCast.jsp?masterId=20077&talkCastId=20077

…copy and paste the above link, and let your friends, family and people in your church know they can CLICK THE LISTEN BUTTON to stream and listen.

Talk at you then...literally!

Robert Luedke
Head Press Publishing
www.headpress.info