The goal of Benei Aor is to “draw youth to Jesus Christ, deepen their relationship with Him, train them in leadership and involve them in reaching others with the Gospel.” The ministry works with children and youth between the ages of 8 and 24. Participants meet once a week for prayer (an important part of the ministry) and discipleship. Groups also take part in service opportunities as well as sharing the gospel through creative outlets such as song and dance. There is regular interaction between the more than 500 youth that are involved in Benei Aor in both the United States and Brazil.

To learn more about Benei Aor USA or find out how you can get involved visit www.beneiaorusa.org.

This is your chance to come and spend an evening hanging out with us, getting to know our vision, and learning how our vision can become your vision. Saturday night you’ll get to here some amazing stories, but you can also find out how you can become apart of telling on of the many other stories out there waiting to be told. Go to www.bedouinsinternational.org/banquala/ to find out more. We’ll to see you there!

So here’s your invitation. Come join us for a night of art, food, music and discussion about the power of media and the responsibility that comes with that power:
6:30PM Saturday August 1st, 2009
Woodrow Hall 5504 1st Ave North Birmingham, AL

Visit www.bedouinsinternational.org/banquäla to find out more and get your ticket.

“If you are manipulating people to think in a certain way, you must be aware of it. Graphic design is very manipulative. And most people (designers) don’t think about it. They are just thinking about what the client is buying. I am not judging it but you need to know that you are persuading someone to buy a product or persuading someone to think in a certain way. You must be aware of the effect your work has.”

Check out the whole interview here.

His ideas about graphic design as a public service and creative sincerity have been influential on how I approach my job as a designer and in Bedouins. I’m not naive enough to think that every little project I start has the ability to change the world, but I do think that more designers need to consider the implications of the work they do. As a Christian I want to be about redeeming the culture around me not just adding to the noise. I don’t mean that as a slam on advertising or the commercial side of design. I mean that I want to be intentional with the work that I create as well as the interactions I have with people everyday. Life is too short to be too caught up in yourself.

This is something that excites me, because it means to me that my work was successful. Not just successful in creating a cool shirt, but in creating a symbol that transcends its original format. That’s something I strive for in everything I create and something I encourage you to think about. Don’t just think about the here and now of even the smallest of projects; think about the big picture. A solid piece of design i more than just a cute image; its an icon, communicating a message that is timeless and transcendent.

I say all that to brag on just one of the amazing things God is doing through Bedouins, and to encourage you to visit She Dances’ new website. They just launched it earlier this month at shedances.org. Check it out and you just might see those wings again.

And I’m sure some of you out there are wonder why the web/interactive guy is the last one to start blogging. Well you can probably chalk that up to being to busy sometimes, and just laziness a lot of times. But now I’m here and determined to change that: call it a late new year’s resolution, a change of heart, whatever. I’m currently in the midst of some fun work with a company called GI inc. in Nashville and a project with our great friend and board chairman Biscuet. More about those projects soon as well as some other goings on.