May
07
Freedom From Fear - “Fear of Rejection”
Freedom From Fear - “Fear of Rejection” - Clark Whitten - Grace Church Orlando
May
06
Twitter Updates for 2008-05-06
- k… KinkyFriedman.com the Cowboy Philosopher still freaks me out. JUST smoke the cigar already…don’t simply wave it around on TV. #
- @stacyharp … Thanks Stacy. Janet is fun. #
- Don’t be worried about a Theocracy, the "Me"ocracy is fully entrenched. ::: turning off cable news ::: #
- Listening to NIN free album and, poor thing… he is STILL an angry demon inspired genius. I could write a blog post on my journey with NIN #
- ::: yawn ::: #
- Thank God for brakes! Sheesh… #
May
06
Media Alert: On “Turn Signal” with Kim Trobee
The interview is about the APA canceling a symposium on Homosexuality and Religion.
May
04
New Art - Breaking Out
Click on the photos to be taken to the uploaded versions on Flickr. These are photos not scans so they aren’t perfect lighting but since they are black and white, it doesn’t take to much away.
I just need to get a scanner some day. I titled these as breaking out because there is something different to them compared to my usual. I showed some of my work to another artist at church, for the first time, and he had *great* feedback. Very helpful. He said my “color theory” is unique and in some of the pieces I paired colors together that aren’t supposed to work but do. He was impressed.
I have no idea what color theory is. 
And it really doesn’t matter in the drawings above.
My friend told me I should investigate colored pencil more. He says the one piece I did in color pencil has an amazing amount of emotion.
Cool. Anyway, hope you enjoy the above.
May
02
Jesus Anime Project
I watched the above video. I love the Anime style. Don’t like it when it is abused but as an art form… its really fought for a place and found it. I think the above video, while a simple sketch (not the finished product) show tremendous potential for dramatic story telling. The contextualization of this particular story is actually quite superb. I really look forward to the finished product.
May
01
Freedom From Financial Fear - Sermon by Clark Whitten
Freedom From Financial Fear - Clark Whitten - Grace Church Orlando
Click the above to hear the sermon online.
May
01
Change, Consistency & Accountability: Blog
***UPDATE: At the end of the post***
When it comes to my blog you can reasonably expect that I will consistently change things. Some say I am “erratic” and “unaccountable” for pruning my blog posts and taking blog sabbaticals that just don’t quite last as long as initially expected :).
Erratic? Well, the biggest erratic thing I would admit to right now is announcing blog sabbaticals. I confess to that … please forgive me. I won’t announce them any more…I’ll just do what I got to do and not do what I don’t need to do :). As for being “unaccountable”…that’s just … an odd thing to say. I am accountable every day to a lot of people. A lot of people who are personal friends, mentors, co-workers, legitimate media … A lot of people who are thoughtful enough (from all kinds of perspectives) to contact me privately. I am constantly receiving valuable feedback and accountability.
May
01
Same Sex Struggles
Here is another reprint from an article of mine on Boundless. It is my testimony and was originally published last May.
***
Same-Sex Struggles
by Randy Thomas
Fifteen years ago I was a very different man from who I am now.
All of my relational, political, and social needs were defined by a worldview that fed my appetites and met my needs, albeit just temporarily. My world was centered around the idea that the unholy trinity of me-myself-and-I was sufficient to provide vision, inspiration, answers … and even legacy.
I was gay.
I didn’t particularly care for Christians 15 years ago. During the 1980s I was an out and proud gay-identified man watching one friend after another die of AIDS. The Church said we deserved the horror. (Of course, if one deserves that kind of horror for their sin, the human race would have been long extinct by now.)
Being gay was the only way I thought possible of knowing and being known. According to everyone around me - both the condemning and condoning crowds - being “gay” was my only option. I had moved out of the closet only to find myself living in a pigeonhole.
Such a me-centric worldview was stifling my true self, the one that’s created to be in relationship with our Creator and His creation.
Apr
29
Schaeffer’s Manifesto: A Revolution Realized
The following was originally published on Boundless last October. I thought I would add it here as well.
***Begin***
Schaeffer’s Manifesto: A Revolution Realized
by Randy Thomas
The culture war is coming to an inevitable and dangerous turning point and Francis Schaeffer knew it would. The battle between Christianity and secular humanism - absolute Truth versus personal truth - is one that cannot be ignored or mixed.
Sadly, absolute Truth is being drowned out by the myriad chorus of personal truths shaped in the over-arching context of secular humanism and its materialistic end. In the end it is the Truth of God versus the lies offered by secular humanism that mankind is self-sufficient - that mankind can determine what god, if any, they individually serve instead of submitting to the one Creator’s divine intent.
Every generation has faced some sort of cultural issue which directly challenges the application of the gospel. Church history is replete with the battles brought against the gospel, from direct opposition of pagan or secular forces to the Reformation battles starting with Luther against the Catholic Church. There have been “culture wars” over baptism, prohibition, evolution and most recently human sexual ethics. Francis Schaeffer’s A Christian Manifesto speaks powerfully to the true condition of the modern Christian church in the United States and the battles currently being waged.
Apr
29
Free Music - Coldplay
The Long Brake declares “Free Is The New Future” and links to a free song download from the band Coldplay.
I am/was not a big big Coldplay fan. I have always thought they were creative and thoughtful but not a “fan.” However, I think The Long Brake may be correct. I hope so at least. I for one am getting exceedingly tired of the pop machine (all genres) and LOVE the idea of an artists project or piece actually speaking for itself. The best art in history stood on its own. I like the idea of busting out of the mold and not being processed through Hollywood, or Nashville for that matter, first.
This is a smart move for Coldplay and other artists who have done similar things. The pure artist (whether they are world class or not) won’t be threatened by this. There will always be the “industry” at some level but I also believe that the arts are on the comeback. I pray artists will not be throttled by the mediocrity enforced which turns the work into “product.”
Because Coldplay made this move, I am willing to investigate them further. Again, I think it is a smart move.
