We've moved again!

Obviously I'm a terrible "blogger". We don't update this blog anymore.
Go to our facebook page for the latest JesusPainter info.

http://www.facebook.com/JesusPainter

We have moved to Tennessee!!

As of January our ministry is now based out of the TN area. We have really been enjoying the blessing of being able to drive to so many new cities. We moved here from Florida and could not drive anywhere from Orlando. I spent 3 or 4 days a week sitting in airports. We are sending out a regional mailer to churches and sponsors in all of our neighboring states. It reads:

Mike and his family have relocated from Florida to Middle Tennessee. We now have the ability to drive to many events from this centralized location which has been a great blessing to us. Now that we are located centrally, we can share our ministry, at less of an expense to event sponsors in this region. We look forward to every opportunity and if we could be of service in sharing our ministry at your event, please contact us.


If anybody has an event going on within a 5 hour drive and you think that I might be able to contribute please call.

Thanks,
Mike

Q and A "How do we incorporate visual arts into worship?"

Lisa asked:

Great blog. I feel called to lead worship, but it seems that so many churches are hesitant to incorporate ALL of the arts... seeing worship as just music... so my style doesn't fit too well! What have you done to get churches/large events to accept what you do as an appropriate part of the worship process?

JesusPainter Responds:

Wow... good question. I wish there was an easy answer but to me it seems that it varies from group to group. The best tool we have in a situation like this is to send a sample video out to groups who seem to be on the edge. Sometimes the problem is that in more conservative audiences change tough to pull off. Other groups don't want to spend money on an artist. As for convincing large events the trick is to do well at small events. And the real trick is to go for free. If people don't want to pay lower your price. I worked for free for a little over a year. I was not intending to start a career, I just felt called to use my gifts. Eventually I was busy enough to ask for a few bucks. God provided. Thanks Lisa

Lisa asks:

Yesterday I asked a question that was a little too broad. Here is what I was getting at... How do you see visual arts being effectively incorporated into corporate worship for local churches? What can worship leaders do to make sure this happens?

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I want to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to chime in here. I will offer my 2 cents but I am not a worship leader employed by a church. Please contribute, I feel like this thread could be one of the most important topics here. I am going to think about this before I just churn out some lame answer. I will try to answer this within 24 hours.

My Family

I wanted to do a little post about my family. Anne and I have been married for almost 4 years, this picture was taken the night that we got engaged. We have 2 dogs Ruby (black lab) and Koko (chocolate lab). We spend a lot of time together since Anne comes on the road with me. Anne is a RN (nurse) and she worked in the ER for a few years but now she is taking some time off. She just finished a forensic nursing degree (yes, just like CSI). For fun we usually just sit around watching our dogs wrestle or watch movies. We also like to play frisbee golf and go camping. Here is a picture of the Dogs. If you look close you can see a lizard on the screen, they love lizards. By the way, everyone in Nashville needs to be on the lookout for us because we will be moving your way in Feb. See ya then.

Saddleback Purpose Driven Worship Event

I recently performed at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, CA. I was a part of the Purpose Driven Worship Conference. I painted on the main stage during a general session with the Saddleback worship band and I facilitated a workshop on how to effectively incorporate the visual arts into a worship setting. A few guys that I met on the road in Cali came down from Bakersfield, Jeremy Vinson was the guy in charge. They did an incredible job leading worship in my breakout session. There was a 3 man crew using a guitar, banjo, and accordion. They used the different types of instruments to create a really cool sound. Feel free to comment below with any details if you were there.

Sacrifice Journal

The Sacrifice Journal is finally out and I am thrilled at what a great job the guys at Standard Publishing did. The idea came from parents constantly telling me that their kid is a great artist but all they do is sit around drawing cartoons. This book is filled with about 1/3 blank pages, 1/3 graph and ruled pages, and 1/3 scenes from the life of Christ and devotional thoughts. It is full of my artwork which was mostly designed specifically for the book. I have already heard stories about kids being able to benifit from the journals. If you want to know more they are available at the webstore click here. If you have one of these and want to share anything about the book please comment below.

Youth Specialties

I hear at least twice a week "I think I saw you at a YS convention". This is probably because I have performed at about 23 of them (I lost track). YS has been great to me year after year and I have been invited again this year. The first two conventions Sac and Pitt are already over. Nashville is right around the corner Nov 17 and I am hoping that I get to bump into a few of my college buddies while I am there. I will probably be painting with the David Crowder Band while I am there. I will be on the main stage friday night. Usually they put up with either Crowder, Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman, or someone like that. Anyway... If any one is reading this and your going to be in Nashville be sure to say hi, I will be hanging out at the late night option until pretty late.

YS Website: http://www.youthspecialties.com/

If you saw me at a YS convention feel free to comment about it below.

Gaither Praise Gathering 2005

I'll be at the Gaither Praise gathering in Indy this weekend.
The website is http://www.praisegathering.net/

I will be updating this as I know more.

Scribbles (your 2 cents)

This area is for you to contribute anything that comes to mind.

If we met at an event or you are an old friend of mine this is a place you can say hello.

If you have any cool ideas for visual worship you can start a discussion here. If I think that it is really good I will start a new subject specifically about your idea.

Have fun!

You've got questions, I've got answers.

The idea is simple, ask me a question and I will answer it on the Blog. I will try to address every question. We will do the questions through email and I will post the answers as a new entry in the blog. I will title the answer with your question. I will usually reply to your email when I answer your question.

Click here to email me a question.

If you use web mail (like hotmail or yahoo) my Q and A email address is blog@jesuspainter.com

Rules

What are the rules?

So far I have the Blog settings pretty loose. I don’t force you to become a member to post comments. I have set it this way so that anyone can contribute their thoughts. There will be many young people visiting so we need to keep our posts appropriate. If you have any questions about what you want to write just email me the idea and I will decide. If anything bad is posted I will try to remove it within the hour. If you see stuff that is bad and think that I have missed it please email me immediately. If too many people take advantage of the loose settings I will change them but for now we will try it this way. The only other rule is to enjoy yourself. If you have a problem with someone’s opinion, BE NICE. It is fine to politely disagree but keep things constructive. Anything intended to hurt anyone in any way will be removed immediately (especially if you are making fun of my spelling).

Start Here

Welcome!

This thing is brand new as of October 30, 2005 so if you visit tomorrow and no one else is here it’s not because I don't have any friends. However if you visit 3 months from now and I am the only one writing stuff than it will be evident that I don't have any friends. So please contribute. The reason I put this up is so that you guys can share with me and the world at the same time. I get some really amazing emails and I would love it if other people could benefit from the stories that I receive on a weekly basis.

What am I expecting?

I don’t really know, it’s up to you guys. I hope that we are able to give people examples of how the visual arts are impacting worship and ministries around the world. I will also be writing little blurbs about events that I attend so if you happened to be there it would be awesome to hear from you. If you have new ideas or if you are an artist we want to hear from you. If you need prayer there will soon be a spot for you. If you have any of the JesusPainter stuff (posters, prints, books, videos, or shirts) and have a cool story about it put it in writing.

Have fun,

Mike