Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Comics - the Original Blog


Walk into just about anyone's office, home, place of business or personal space, and likely as not you'll find some kind of cartoon up on a wall or a bulletin board.  And, I would go out on a limb to say that 99% of the time it is not just a random comic..... it has direct (and humorous) relevance to that person's life, work, situation.... you name it. 

It is often said that in all humor, the truth is found.  I believe that.... that's why satire is so appealing to us.  It gives us a way to laugh at ourselves.  Some comics are just downright funny in a goofy kind of way, like the comic I have titled "Trouble in Pirate Church," in which pirates are being served communion wafers (crackers).  Of course, what's a pirate without a parrot sitting on his shoulder.  You get the picture.  To me, that's just downright funny in a goofy kind of way. 

Then, there are comics that make a statement about today's culture.  Like the comic that Kenny Gonzalez brought me last week.  It shows Moses standing on the mountaintop holding two stone tablets, with a voice coming from above that says ...........

I got a real chuckle out of that.
But, what about those comic strips, or little one frame funnies, that are humorous, yet make a powerful philosophical statement about life in general?  (a blog in pictures!.... the original blog!) In my own office, I have a framed "Peanuts" cartoon that I feel speaks not only to each of us in our own personal lives, but to the church as well.  In my mind, this particular "Peanuts" cartoon calls us to examine the way we do things, the way we view things, and the way we think about the world in general.  It asks us "what's more important..... preserving tradition at all costs, or changing and growing for the sake of the future?"


So, how would you answer those questions, both for yourself and the church?  Wanna know what Lucy said to Charlie Brown?  Just stop by my office sometime and take a look.