by Jason Joyner | Jul 12, 2011 | a question, Blog, Father's heart, overdone analogies, POTUS, White House
You’ll never believe the invitation I received this weekend.
A man in a black suit, wearing an earpiece and sunglasses, came to the front door. He handed me an official-looking envelope with a presidential seal on it. (He then proceeded to search my property for possible evil-doers, which was creeping me out, but that’s another story.)
Opening the seal, I pulled out an embossed invitation, words jumping off the page in a bright red:
—
Mr. Joyner,
You have been chosen, by the President of the United States, to join him in his work to help the country move forward. You do not need to apply or get approval or clearance. All the work has been done for you. The POTUS would like you to be his ambassador. You will speak in his name, and you will have all the rights and privileges that he enjoys. This is more than a government job. You will not need to face scrutiny or Congressional approval. You have, in a sense, been adopted into his family. It is an executive order, and nothing can change that. You need only to accept what is being offered to you.
Sincerely,
The President
—
Wouldn’t that be something? Of course, nothing of the sort happened. I didn’t have a Secret Service agent on my steps or checking through my shrubbery. I didn’t get a White House invite.
I’ve received something better though.
Instead of a special message from Washington D.C., I have an invitation all the way from Israel, the Mediterranean, and Egypt. It has been waiting for me for around 2000 years.
The Lord of heaven and earth has asked me to be His child. I didn’t do anything to earn it. I couldn’t do anything to earn it. But He has adopted me as His son, and wherever I go, I am His ambassador. I speak in His name and try to work for the betterment of His Kingdom. I don’t always do my best, but I am working always toward the goal of pleasing my Father. The little story above is a weak analogy to what it is like to have this gift of adoption into His family.
If we were asked to serve our country, most of us would be honored, even if we didn’t always agree with the current administration. How then, should we consider this invitation we have from the God of the Bible?
What would you do with a White House invitation? How do you think it compares to what I am claiming the Bible offers?
—
(This idea was blatantly stolen from my good friend Kerry Neve, who said I could)
—
by Jason Joyner | Jul 11, 2011 | Bible, Blog
From the prophet Isaiah (ch 55):
10 As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
12 You will go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills
will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field
will clap their hands.
13 Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper,
and instead of briers the myrtle will grow.
This will be for the LORD’s renown,
for an everlasting sign,
that will endure forever.”
by Jason Joyner | Jul 11, 2011 | Bible, Blog
From the prophet Isaiah (ch 55):
10 As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
12 You will go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills
will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field
will clap their hands.
13 Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper,
and instead of briers the myrtle will grow.
This will be for the LORD’s renown,
for an everlasting sign,
that will endure forever.”
by Jason Joyner | Jul 8, 2011 | Ashton Kutcher, Blog, DNA Foundation, human trafficking, Real Men don't buy girls, Village Voice
Last week I posted about a Village Voice article that attacked Ashton Kutcher – for daring to stand up to men who fuel the sex trafficking industry in the United States. Since then there’s been a lot of back and forth about this article and the Twitter feud it launched.
Initially it seemed the most vocal were people eager to pile onto Ashton. Many people on Twitter thought he got his tail handed to him.
There’s a problem with listening to the people who spout off first.
There have been some great articles standing up to the Village Voice’s so-called “scientifically backed” article. People who were trashing Mr. Kutcher could do it quickly in 140 characters. The authors who spent time writing articles that showed what fools the Village Voice were took time.
Here are two excellent articles, written with a lot more thoughtfulness than what the Village Voice could muster.
An Open Letter from FTS (Free the Slaves) to The Village Voice
Remember that the Village Voice has a financial stake in this “debate,” as they host a website for “adult services,” without always knowing whether the people offering the services are, in fact, adults or doing it voluntarily. It is nice to see that in the financial arena it has already affected them, as American Airlines has pulled advertising from their website. It is good to see some businesses with a conscience.
I still have more thoughts on some of the root problems for slavery and child sexual exploitation. That will be for another post.
—
by Jason Joyner | Jul 8, 2011 | Ashton Kutcher, Blog, DNA Foundation, human trafficking, Real Men don't buy girls, Village Voice
Last week I posted about a Village Voice article that attacked Ashton Kutcher – for daring to stand up to men who fuel the sex trafficking industry in the United States. Since then there’s been a lot of back and forth about this article and the Twitter feud it launched.
Initially it seemed the most vocal were people eager to pile onto Ashton. Many people on Twitter thought he got his tail handed to him.
There’s a problem with listening to the people who spout off first.
There have been some great articles standing up to the Village Voice’s so-called “scientifically backed” article. People who were trashing Mr. Kutcher could do it quickly in 140 characters. The authors who spent time writing articles that showed what fools the Village Voice were took time.
Here are two excellent articles, written with a lot more thoughtfulness than what the Village Voice could muster.
An Open Letter from FTS (Free the Slaves) to The Village Voice
Remember that the Village Voice has a financial stake in this “debate,” as they host a website for “adult services,” without always knowing whether the people offering the services are, in fact, adults or doing it voluntarily. It is nice to see that in the financial arena it has already affected them, as American Airlines has pulled advertising from their website. It is good to see some businesses with a conscience.
I still have more thoughts on some of the root problems for slavery and child sexual exploitation. That will be for another post.
—
by Jason Joyner | Jul 6, 2011 | Athena Grayson, Blog, breakfast food analogies, links, Mike Duran, writing craft
Amazing how a holiday throws a person out of sync…
Anyhoo.
I came across a few interesting posts last week I wanted to share. Food for thought. I don’t necessarily agree 100% with everything, but I’m always up for seeing people think about issues!
I recently found an old internet pal (old being relative on the net…) was blogging regularly about writing. I’d like to introduce you to
Athena Grayson, and she has a great post on
evaluating your beliefs as a writer, and trying to understand the opposite perception. We all have messages to share in our fiction, and we don’t want them to be preachy. If we can see other views a little more, we can work more realistic and rounded characters into our stories. Good stuff – especially since it references
The Schwartz!
Finally, I saw that Novel Journey was announcing some major changes. It seems they are rebranding somewhat to be bigger and better, and are now known as
Novel Rocket! It seems the journey gets a boost here – so check out the new swag!
There’s always good stuff out there for the writing world (since if we’re not writing books, we’re writing blogs. Or tweets. Or cereal boxes…) I’ll try to keep the best ones coming to your attention.
by Jason Joyner | Jul 6, 2011 | Athena Grayson, Blog, breakfast food analogies, links, Mike Duran, writing craft
Amazing how a holiday throws a person out of sync…
Anyhoo.
I came across a few interesting posts last week I wanted to share. Food for thought. I don’t necessarily agree 100% with everything, but I’m always up for seeing people think about issues!
I recently found an old internet pal (old being relative on the net…) was blogging regularly about writing. I’d like to introduce you to
Athena Grayson, and she has a great post on
evaluating your beliefs as a writer, and trying to understand the opposite perception. We all have messages to share in our fiction, and we don’t want them to be preachy. If we can see other views a little more, we can work more realistic and rounded characters into our stories. Good stuff – especially since it references
The Schwartz!
Finally, I saw that Novel Journey was announcing some major changes. It seems they are rebranding somewhat to be bigger and better, and are now known as
Novel Rocket! It seems the journey gets a boost here – so check out the new swag!
There’s always good stuff out there for the writing world (since if we’re not writing books, we’re writing blogs. Or tweets. Or cereal boxes…) I’ll try to keep the best ones coming to your attention.
by Jason Joyner | Jun 30, 2011 | Ashton Kutcher, Blog, DNA Foundation, human trafficking, Real Men don't buy girls, Village Voice
I’m not Ashton Kutcher’s biggest fan.
Mr. Twitter King has not been someone I’ve really enjoyed in films (alright, he was funny in Cheaper By The Dozen), and I just haven’t paid him much attention.
However, this year my respect grew when he and his wife Demi Moore started the
DNA Foundation to help fight child sex slavery and human trafficking. They started an ad campaign that shows different Hollywood actors doing some goofy things being “manly” with the tag line REAL MEN DON’T BUY GIRLS.
The ads have gotten a little flak for supposedly being off-target. I found them humorous enough and appreciated that the message of men not paying for forced child sexual exploitation was getting out. I am passionate about seeing human trafficking end in our lifetime, and hope more people recognize the scope of this issue.
Unfortunately, the Village Voice took exception to “goofy” Ashton getting serious about this issue. Their problem is supposedly “integrity”. The article claims that the numbers used by the DNA Foundation and other activists of 100,000-300,000 children being “at risk” for sexual exploitation are wildly inflated. Oh, the article gives lip service to the tragedy of any child being exploited, but that statement is very weak compared to the vitriol stirred up through the rest of the article.
The article goes to lengths to paint Ashton as a doofus who is more interested in self-image than the actual issue. It discusses a “celebrity charity advisor” that helped Ashton and Demi craft a message against child sex trafficking. It attacks the studies used to get the above number, and tries to suggest it is wildly over-estimated.
The interesting part is when the article insinuates that faith-based groups working to help end slavery are in it to win big government bucks. The disdain and bias shows clearly when talking about anyone religious participating in this work.
A disclaimer reveals Village Voice’s stake in the situation:
Congress hauled in Craigslist on September 15, 2010. There, feminists, religious zealots, the well-intentioned, law enforcement, and social-service bureaucrats pilloried the online classified business for peddling “100,000 to 300,000” underage prostitutes annually.
It goes on to say that Village Voice has always advertised for adult services, and feels attacked by the “devout” now that Craigslist was taken to the woodshed.
I am shocked how Village Voice can take such an issue and turn it into a First Amendment argument? I have no experience with this magazine, as it seems to be a New York phenomenon.
I am certain that the numbers for child sexual exploitation and trafficking are very difficult to nail down. Even if the study chided in the Voice article is flawed, so is their selective research and analysis. They should be talking to people in the field like
Rachel Lloyd, founder of GEMS. Still, the dismissive way they talk about faith-based advocates reveals a philosophical agenda that doesn’t give any respect to the concern over human lives being so damaged and used.
I’ll have more to say on this topic soon. I’m interested to see where the Village Voice goes now after staking such a horrible position. It drove me to become more of an Ashton Kutcher fan and a follower of his on Twitter. Maybe there’s a little reverse effect going on.
My final thought is a lyric from a song from the 90’s:
“Human rights have made the wrongs okay”
Slavery sucks. People need to see some of the root causes and stand for what’s right.
—
by Jason Joyner | Jun 30, 2011 | Ashton Kutcher, Blog, DNA Foundation, human trafficking, Real Men don't buy girls, Village Voice
I’m not Ashton Kutcher’s biggest fan.
Mr. Twitter King has not been someone I’ve really enjoyed in films (alright, he was funny in Cheaper By The Dozen), and I just haven’t paid him much attention.
However, this year my respect grew when he and his wife Demi Moore started the
DNA Foundation to help fight child sex slavery and human trafficking. They started an ad campaign that shows different Hollywood actors doing some goofy things being “manly” with the tag line REAL MEN DON’T BUY GIRLS.
The ads have gotten a little flak for supposedly being off-target. I found them humorous enough and appreciated that the message of men not paying for forced child sexual exploitation was getting out. I am passionate about seeing human trafficking end in our lifetime, and hope more people recognize the scope of this issue.
Unfortunately, the Village Voice took exception to “goofy” Ashton getting serious about this issue. Their problem is supposedly “integrity”. The article claims that the numbers used by the DNA Foundation and other activists of 100,000-300,000 children being “at risk” for sexual exploitation are wildly inflated. Oh, the article gives lip service to the tragedy of any child being exploited, but that statement is very weak compared to the vitriol stirred up through the rest of the article.
The article goes to lengths to paint Ashton as a doofus who is more interested in self-image than the actual issue. It discusses a “celebrity charity advisor” that helped Ashton and Demi craft a message against child sex trafficking. It attacks the studies used to get the above number, and tries to suggest it is wildly over-estimated.
The interesting part is when the article insinuates that faith-based groups working to help end slavery are in it to win big government bucks. The disdain and bias shows clearly when talking about anyone religious participating in this work.
A disclaimer reveals Village Voice’s stake in the situation:
Congress hauled in Craigslist on September 15, 2010. There, feminists, religious zealots, the well-intentioned, law enforcement, and social-service bureaucrats pilloried the online classified business for peddling “100,000 to 300,000” underage prostitutes annually.
It goes on to say that Village Voice has always advertised for adult services, and feels attacked by the “devout” now that Craigslist was taken to the woodshed.
I am shocked how Village Voice can take such an issue and turn it into a First Amendment argument? I have no experience with this magazine, as it seems to be a New York phenomenon.
I am certain that the numbers for child sexual exploitation and trafficking are very difficult to nail down. Even if the study chided in the Voice article is flawed, so is their selective research and analysis. They should be talking to people in the field like
Rachel Lloyd, founder of GEMS. Still, the dismissive way they talk about faith-based advocates reveals a philosophical agenda that doesn’t give any respect to the concern over human lives being so damaged and used.
I’ll have more to say on this topic soon. I’m interested to see where the Village Voice goes now after staking such a horrible position. It drove me to become more of an Ashton Kutcher fan and a follower of his on Twitter. Maybe there’s a little reverse effect going on.
My final thought is a lyric from a song from the 90’s:
“Human rights have made the wrongs okay”
Slavery sucks. People need to see some of the root causes and stand for what’s right.
—
by Jason Joyner | Jun 27, 2011 | Blog, CBA, horror, Mike Dellosso, splitting some hairs, supernatural suspense
Last week I was part of a blog tour that featured Darkness Follows by Mike Dellosso, a good read that falls in the category of “supernatural suspense” in the Christian fiction (CBA) industry. I made the argument on Wednesday that it really is a horror book.
Sorry for giving that little detail away Mike. 😉
Anyhoo.
I asked why books like this are marketed with what basically amounts to a euphemism. From the comments last week, both Mike and Nicole hit it on the head.
Sales.
The label of “horror” is as loaded as the label of “Christian fiction.” As Nicole said, it conjures images of Stephen King and the horror movie trinity of Freddy/Michael/Jason (I take umbrage at the last one). I’ve only read one King novel, and didn’t enjoy the things it did to my imagination. I understand he has books like The Stand that read differently from Pet Sematary. But his reputation is so strong, it is hard for him to write something else that will break through to readers other than his fan base.
Conversely, it is hard for many readers to get away from the stereotype of slasher flicks/books to open up a thoughtful book like Darkness Follows that explores the love of a father and a daughter. DF has a body count, but it is not gory or gratuitous. People die to further the plot, not to shock. Mike in his comment laments the reality of the situation, because I think (as he does) some readers who would enjoy a book like DF won’t find it because it isn’t labeled as horror, although he would lose more if it was marketed as horror.
It is a catch-22 inherent in the CBA industry. It is more conservative than the ABA market it parallels. For those of us who read widely or want to write for the CBA, we just have to keep this in mind. The CBA market is changing, but slowly and not without growing pains and waxing/waning.
I don’t know if we’ll end up with a genre of Christian horror in the CBA. Perhaps the euphemism of “supernatural suspense” is here to stay. BTW, I like a category of supernatural suspense, but I think it is too broad to do horror justice, especially since it fits books like This Present Darkness and the Left Behind series.
Thoughts? Should the CBA aspire to having a horror category someday?
—
