Monday, September 24, 2007
I want to be a Jellyfish, Please God help me stop being a salmon.
Salmon swim upstream always fighting, when they finally get to the top they spawn and die. Kind of like ministers who are always fighting to get the next thing done, and then when that's done there's something else to do and then something else and something else and then something else until finally we lay an egg and die. if we don't get hooked in the mean time.
One the other hand veggie tales creator Phil Vischer has started a new company after losing Big Idea under some of the same kinds of self abuse to which I continually subject myself (for the story, Click here.) He calls his company Jellyfish. This is an excerpt from his story on why..."Why? Because jellyfish can't choose their own course. They can't locomote. They can go up a little, they can go down a little. But overall, they're completely dependent on the current to carry them wherever they’re supposed to be. For a jellyfish to make a 20-year plan would be ridiculous. An act of ultimate hubris. And so it is with us. Rather than crafting their little plans and laboring to force things to go "their way," Phil and his new cohorts at Jellyfish are committed to seeking and following God’s direction, each and every day – committed to staying in the "current" of God's will, and letting Him carry them where they need to be. No long range plans, unless they come directly from God."
I have to tell you, as a cartoonist who loves Jesus, Phil Vischer is a hero of mine. I am a huge fan of his work and the fact that his work was used to tell millions of kids about Jesus is awesome. If you had asked, I would have told you that my dream would be to do exactly what he did. I also have to confess, in reading the story of the fall of Big Idea productions I would have fell down the exact same well. I'm a salmon, it's what I do. Thanks for being so transparent Phil. You have inspired me. I want to be a Jellyfish too.
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Salmon swim upstream always fighting, when they finally get to the top they spawn and die. Kind of like ministers who are always fighting to get the next thing done, and then when that's done there's something else to do and then something else and something else and then something else until finally we lay an egg and die. if we don't get hooked in the mean time.
One the other hand veggie tales creator Phil Vischer has started a new company after losing Big Idea under some of the same kinds of self abuse to which I continually subject myself (for the story, Click here.) He calls his company Jellyfish. This is an excerpt from his story on why..."Why? Because jellyfish can't choose their own course. They can't locomote. They can go up a little, they can go down a little. But overall, they're completely dependent on the current to carry them wherever they’re supposed to be. For a jellyfish to make a 20-year plan would be ridiculous. An act of ultimate hubris. And so it is with us. Rather than crafting their little plans and laboring to force things to go "their way," Phil and his new cohorts at Jellyfish are committed to seeking and following God’s direction, each and every day – committed to staying in the "current" of God's will, and letting Him carry them where they need to be. No long range plans, unless they come directly from God."
I have to tell you, as a cartoonist who loves Jesus, Phil Vischer is a hero of mine. I am a huge fan of his work and the fact that his work was used to tell millions of kids about Jesus is awesome. If you had asked, I would have told you that my dream would be to do exactly what he did. I also have to confess, in reading the story of the fall of Big Idea productions I would have fell down the exact same well. I'm a salmon, it's what I do. Thanks for being so transparent Phil. You have inspired me. I want to be a Jellyfish too.
