Author: Kevin Spear

I am a content creator and storyteller based in Florida, where I work for OneHope. I love digital and content marketing, writing, and the occasional doodle.

Categories
church cartoons Social Media

Social Media and the New Pastor Celebrity

Cartoon of two men. One says, "You're that pastor I saw on Facebook Live! Can I have your autograph?"
Published in the July 2020 CHOGNewsletter

One interesting phenomenon of the pandemic is that more churches than ever are using social media and video to continue connecting with their congregations. In effect, it can make any pastor a new celebrity.

It wasn’t that long ago when anyone we saw on a screen would have been a big deal. If you saw that person out and about, you would naturally want their autograph. Now, anybody with a phone or computer can post a video. That is quite powerful!

Yet, it is still tempting to want an autograph of someone you have seen on a screen, whether it is Facebook Live, YouTube, or that coworker you had a Zoom meeting with. I better dust off my autograph book, grab my face mask, and get to it!

Cartoon of two men. One says, "You're that pastor I saw on Facebook Live! Can I have your autograph?"
Published in the July 2020 CHOGNewsletter

Categories
motivation

The Cost of Negativity

Quote: "Negativity can keep us out of the Promised Land and cost us forty years." Mark Batterson

We all go through wilderness experiences. Everybody has gone through one in 2020. The pandemic has made that a virtual guarantee. Today’s quote by Mark Batterson reminds me we don’t have to stay there.

When things get rough, do you let negativity creep in? Do you feel a sense of entitlement and believe you are too good to have bad times? Perhaps you let despair make you believe that things will never change.

Don’t let negativity keep you in the wilderness! Yes, we all face hard times. There are events, circumstances, and people we’d all like to change. Start believing and claiming the positive by faith.

  • Things will change for the better eventually
  • You can walk by faith instead of fear
  • Temporary setbacks need not define you
  • Speak positive and encouraging words
  • The solution will come

Nobody wants to stay in the wilderness. Don’t let negativity keep you there.

 

Categories
motivation

Appropriate Modes of Transportation

Cartoon of of an angel waiting at a bus stop.

Commuting sure looks different this year as opposed to last year. Who would have thought a bus stop would be considered a risky endeavor before COVID-19?

Angelic transportation may be the way to go. We may feel safer at a bus stop if we knew a guardian angel was at our side. But would the angel be wearing a mask? Would he be giving you one?

Many people are considering what it will look like when they begin commuting to work once again. This article from Healthline.com says the CDC’s guidelines suggest solo commuting is the safest option. That’s what I’ve had to do most of my professional life, out of necessity. But what if that isn’t an option for you? What if you work in a city where public transportation is the only viable option?

In that case, the usual recommendations of wearing a mask, practice social distancing, and washing your hands frequently become that much more important. The article also says not to touch anything on your commute. Easier said than done, I know. Then again the trains and buses I have been on had quite a layer of gunk on surfaces. Maybe that layer would be great motivation to refrain from touching, or breathing anything while on that bus!

Cartoon of of an angel waiting at a bus stop.
Categories
motivation

Can you really understand the other side?

Cartoon of two boys. One has a decoder ring

There are so many opinions out there. One side is determined the other side is crazy or stupid. The other side is convinced anyone who doesn’t think like them is off their rocker. Can one side truly understand the other in the current climate?

When I drew this cartoon, I was the parent of teens and working with kids. I realized kids can be just as puzzled at the way adults act. Parents frequently wonder where their kids are coming from. Guess what? Kids may think the same as well.

We may not have decoder rings to figure out what someone is thinking, but we have some great tools. We can…

  • Listen more than we speak
  • Be humble enough to learn from another
  • Realize there can be some legitimate points on both sides of a disagreement
  • Consider a third option that will satisfy all sides

If you do find a decoder ring, I’m not opposed to that solution either. In fact, I think I’ll have a bowl of cereal and check if there is one at the bottom of the box.

Cartoon of two boys. One has a decoder ring
Categories
motivation

Do you know why with certainty?

Cartoon of birds on a wire

When something happens, it’s easy to assume we know the answer to the event. But what if the “obvious answer” isn’t all that obvious? Our assumptions can deceive us, can’t they?

The little bird in my cartoon thinks he knows why his yellow friend is so large. Naturally, he must be eating some killer birdseed! But is the bird’s assumption correct? What if another factor caused the yellow bird to have some hefty prominence?

  • What if the yellow bird was an escapee from a science experiment?
  • Could the yellow bird have an overactive pituitary gland?
  • Maybe he had been on Sesame Street and birds naturally get yellow and large there
  • What if he is a she and in this species of bird, the females are larger?
  • Perhaps he is simply a different species?

Humor works because a joke or a cartoon sets us up to think in one direction, then the punchline takes us in another. It’s a bit of mental whiplash. Henny Youngman was great at it.

“If at first you don’t succeed…so much for skydiving.”

Henny Youngman

We make assumptions all the time. Could it be we shouldn’t be as certain of our assumptions as we are? Perhaps we need to be humble enough to consider there are other answers to why something is the way it is. It could lead to creativity…and perhaps a breakthrough.

Cartoon of birds on a wire