beyond opinion

Chad Ballantyne

Para-dox (Greek) {para, beyond; doxin, opinion} 1: a statement or preposition that seems absurd, intellectually self-opposing, or contrary to common belief, yet may be true.

JESUS said we are not of this world (John 17) The world therefore, should see us as different; even strange.

The Christian is to be a type of paradox on this earth. People should look at us and say, "Their thinking and actions are "absurd and contrary to common belief"

Jesus was a paradox himself. God and man. Most of his teaching was paradoxical. And It worked! The globe was turned up-side down by Jesus absurd and uncommon belief.

The first will be last - Mark 10:31

In weakness we are strong - 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

To live we must die - John 12:24

To lead we must serve - Matthew 20:26

Paradox literally means, "beyond opinion." So, what is beyond opinion?

The Truth of the Word and the mystery of God.

We are to show the world the "other side" of life, the side that cannot be measured, calculated, or defined. We need to show them freedom and help them realize their humanity!

Paradox will strive to be the voice of freedom and humbly share the good news of the Gospel, showing mankind who they truly are and why they are here.

vision

First of all, we are a redeemed community. We were spiritual lepers who have experienced a healing touch from our merciful Savior, Jesus. We were prisoners, set free by the grace of the Creator God. We are ordinary people with an extraordinary message. We are not only thankful for our freedom, but also passionate about sharing the way to experience that freedom with friends, family and the world. We want them to see Jesus and experience a relationship with the Creator God through our lives and through the arts.

creative paradox

Why the emphasis on the arts? Other than it being a passion of ours, we believe art is powerful! The arts make God a possibility for the lost. Through a song, a painting, a drama, a sculpture, a dance, they imagine him in their hearts, before they invite Him in. The arts ignite the imagination more than anything. It's usually when we step out of the rat-race, plug our ears to the deafening noise of the marketplace, turn our eyes for just a second from money and all that it buys, to stop... wonder... and sigh... that we hear it...the still small voice of God, saying, "come unto me all who are weary and I will give you rest, I made you - you are my creation and I love you." Music, drama, media arts, movement, sculpture, paint all have the power to slow us down to the point where we are free to imagine God in our lives

We desire to empower Christian artists to manifest the imagination of God through their artistic offerings enabling the world to see the invisible and believe the impossible.

We also desire to be servants of the local church, here and around the world, joining with them to accomplish the ultimate mission: "make disciples of all nations." We believe the local church will become the vanguard of creativity and human innovation, a culture transforming community, thus helping the world see the light of the Gospel and understand their God-given worth.

In a sentence -

"We are a Christ Centered, apostolic ethos, creatively expressing the Glory of God."

Christ Centered... as Our Example - holistic discipleship will be the core. Teaching artists to be Humble, servant-hearted, radically obedient to the Call, exalting Christ at all times and glorifying God. Being free to create whatever they want while following the Creator Christ - Phil. 2:5-11

Apostolic... in Our Mission - "to be sent out." Although community will be a high value, we understand our mission is to be witnesses of Jesus to the world. Acts1:8.  We believe Christian artists are the modern day missionaries to this decaying culture.  They need to be encouraged through authentic community, energized through insane creativity, empowered by spiritual practices, equipped by spiritually mature artists and give the best tools and funds we can find, then lovingly thrusting them onto the front lines of this culture. One goal: Glorify God with your life. 

Creative Ethos... as Our Mode - not a business, a body. Not an organization, an organism. You will not find departments, or divisions here. We are a loving community of God-chasers, who, through our lives and artistic offerings, strive to live and breath the spiritual disciplines of studying His Word, prayer, worship, solitude, compassion, and evangelism, revealing Truth to all nations. Acts 2:42

Paradox will accomplish our vision by providing artists, both professional and amateur, the community, Biblical discipleship, skill training, resources and atmosphere needed to impact the world through their art and through their relationships.

We long to help mankind see God's Glory, everywhere! The first step is for us to get out of the way! Like city lights washing out the beauty of a star filled sky, we can at times; block people from seeing His Glory. We believe, the world isn't looking for pat answers as much as they are looking for deep spiritual truth. We tend to lean heavily on the "1,2,3" approach in presenting God to the world; portraying a "we got it all together" attitude. What the world needs is more of us showing our BROKENNESS, AND BEING HUMBLE and at times saying, "I don't know." Many churches are known for their programs or pastors, but we need to be, as Jesus said, KNOWN BY OUR DEEP LOVE AND GENUINE RELATIONSHIPS. We tend to ask people to engage the spiritual through rational thought, but it's through knowledge along with the emotions that really make a lasting difference. We tend to place a disproportionately high value on excellence, when what people really want and need is REALNESS. Most churches tend to be, competitive, whereas we want to be more about COLLABERATION.

The late, H.R. Rookmaaker (art historian, university professor, jazz critic and a major inspiration for Francis Schaeffer) said that, culture is the result of man's creative activity within God-given structures." Opinion is the lid man slammed shut on himself and greatly limited his ability to know God and to create in that relationship. The lid imprisoned mankind into a false reality - a partial reality. This reality was limited to the senses. If you can't see, taste, touch, smell or hear it, it doesn't exist. Mystery, spirituality, eternity, the unexplained wasn't "real" anymore. And we now see the repercussions of centuries of man's creativity without God. We need to pry off that lid and show the world the "real reality," one that includes both the senses and mystery and help mankind to experience real freedom. In a sense, it is to understand and experience life before death and after death. We need to help the world see the un-seeable, to wonder again, to believe in the unbelievable - to show mankind that he has meaning. We are not just machines, but a created being, worthy of a life destined to be united with the Creator! That's what Paradox desires to be a part of. It's to fulfill the Great Commandment and Commission to love God, love people and make disciples through the arts.