Categories
motivation Social Media

It Looks Good Onscreen But it Doesn’t Print

My day job is as a Graphics Manager. Occasionally, I will see a job come through that looks fantastic on screen, but it doesn’t print well. If the graphics stayed on the screen, there would be no problem. But when it comes to printing, it defies the physical limits of a printing press.

Bright colors that take advantage of the screen’s vibrance can print dull. An image may have all the needed resolution to look great on-screen. But it can look pixelated and rough when printed. It looks great in the virtual world but put it on paper, and it falls short.

There is a difference between the virtual and physical worlds. The virtual world can look bright and shiny. But when that world meets the physical world, it can be dull and rough.

Beware of comparing the virtual world to the physical one. The highlight reel of social media doesn’t show the troubles someone is going through. A video game may make you look like a fantastic driver… until you get behind a real vehicle! The virtual world can be fun, bright, and shiny. It has yet to replace the real world we live in on a daily basis.

Categories
church cartoons

Fashion Sense and the Video Pastor

Welcome to the modern world of fashion and the video pastor. It’s a challenging time for them. Not only must they learn how to post video sermons, but they can be critiqued by a world-wide audience for their fashion sense.

I have a fascination with gaudy fashion.

I suppose it’s because I would be a tacky dresser if it wasn’t for my wife. From the moment we started getting serious, she seriously pared down my wardrobe. She made it socially acceptable in no time.

I blame my fashion sense on the eighties. It was a time of hot pink, neon green, and weird shapes. It was the decade that brought us parachute pants, vinyl jackets, and leg warmers. I was way too impressionable back then.

Unfortunately, there are plenty of pastors my age that may have taken their fashion cues from the eighties as well. Social media isn’t kind to these poor souls. People will make comments on a YouTube or Facebook Live video that they would never say to a pastor’s face.

There is a bright side to the brutal honesty of social media. In a traditional, in-person service, congregants will frequently keep their comments to themselves. It is only the rare, crusty church patriarch or matriarch that would comment on a pastor’s sermon… or his/her fashion for that matter. But social media loosens the tongues of the shy congregants. Sure, a pastor may wince at the comments, but at least they know what the majority think of his new green and red, polka dot tie.

Cartoon of a speaker in a garish outfit. He says, "For those of you joining us online, please comment on something besides my fashion sense."
©2020 Kevin Spear. Published in the September 2020 CHOGNews

I drew this for the September 2020 CHOGNews.

Categories
church cartoons Social Media

Social Media and the New Pastor Celebrity

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
children's ministry

Why I am in Children’s Ministry: A Video Interview

This is a bittersweet time for me. My church has a monthly video about volunteers who serve in children’s and youth ministry. They interviewed me about my role in children’s ministry. Here’s the video:

Within the video, I explain the strange story of The Yellow Kevins. Thanks to the wit of a kindergartner and fourth-grader, I got to draw a jaundice version of myself.

I also explain what has kept me going in children’s ministry for over twenty-five years. I have loved working with the kids. But I found the bigger reason in a passage found in Psalm 78.

It is a bittersweet moment because my wife will be exiting Salemkids, the children’s ministry, at our church, to pursue what God is calling her to next. It is an exciting, scary and meaningful journey all wrapped up. We’ll see what the next chapter holds.

Categories
Adobe Photoshop Bible Christmas holiday The Gospels

The Christmas Story in a Speed Drawing

This year, I had the chance to illustrate the Christmas story for a family party. I narrated the story from Luke 2 and Matthew 2 in the Bible. 

May you have a merry Christmas!