News Briefs Jan 9-15, 2012

Happy New Year. Here is what is happening in the world of Christian arts:

• Christianity Today Names 2012 Book Awards http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2012/january/2012-book-awards.html.
• In an Esseay, Eric Metaxas Asks Whether Anyone in the Media Reads the Bible Any More http://www.ericmetaxas.com/
• Author John Bevere discusses his newest book "Relentless" in a live video chat Jan. 10 at 1 pm (ET) http://www.livestream.com/waterbrookmultnomah.
• The 4th annual SongDiscovery Creative Conference April 26 – 27 at Brentwood Baptist Church in Nashville, formallya one-day songwriting conference, has expanded. Included now are additional general sessions, one-on-one critique times and workshops catering to songwriters, authors and visual artists. In 2011 close to 300 worship leaders, musicians and decision makers attended the event. http://worshipleader.com/creative/

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Singing Hills a Great Place for Retreats, Events

Masterwork Productions highly recommends Singing Hills Christian Conference Center in Plainfield, NH for your retreat and special event plans in 2012. I have had some wonderfully blessed retreats at the facility in the beautiful, quiet hills of New Hampshire. We are planning some writers events in New England, and hope Singing Hills will be one of the locations.

Singing Hills promotes Jesus Christ through camping, conferences, and retreats. Their friendly staff hosts groups and individuals year-round.

Excellent conference facilities, traditional outdoor camping, and 135 secluded acres to enjoy, Singing Hills is located in the woodlands of Western New Hampshire.

The facility can accommodate a total of 250+ guests overnight, as well as provide them with meals, meeting areas, audio visual equipment,and numerous recreational options (renovations currently are taking place as well). The needs of several groups can be met at one time. Each guest group is provided with their own housing and meeting area, while sharing dining and recreational facilities.

Each of the two main buildings have a comfortable lounge area for relaxing times or small group meetings, as well as large stone fireplaces that serve as key fellowship areas, especially during the winter season. Meeting areas include two large, air conditioned chapels which are equipped with sound systems and pianos.

For information about booking your event or retreat at Sunging Hills, contact Ruth at retreats@singinghills.net.

--Lauren Yarger

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Happy New Year! On Vacation Until Jan. 9.

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I recently went back to the Discovery Museum's Dead Sea Scrolls Exhibit to view the oldest surviving parchment copy of the Ten Commandments. Totally awesome. Don't miss it.
--Lauren Yarger

The oldest and best preserved parchment manuscript of the Ten Commandments – the rules that are the pillars of morality and law in the Western world and which 3,500 years later were written into the civil and criminal codes of 12 of the original 13 US colonies – will be exhibited in New York City for the first time during the holiday season. 

Written in Hebrew around 50 BCE on a parchment that measuresjust over 18 inches by 3 inches, the Ten Commandments Scroll will be on view in the exhibition Dead Sea Scrolls: Life and Faith in Biblical Times at Discovery Times Square through Jan. 2 (the rest of the exhibit continues through continues through April 15 in New York, then moves to the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia).  The narrow strip of  parchment encapsulates and defines how men and women should work and live with each other and their faith in a civil and collaborative society. 

The scroll contains text from Deuteronomy 5 and is among the trove of early documents known as the Dead Sea Scrolls, a group ofapproximately 900 manuscripts discovered in a series of caves in the Judeandesert in the late 1940s and 1950s. 

The 15-day exhibition period of the Ten Commandments scroll is the longest that the Israel Antiquities Authority has allowed outside Israel because of the scroll’s immeasurable importance, its fragility, and its age.  Following the exhibition, the Ten Commandments scroll will be returned to Israel. 

Discovery Times Square (DTS) is New York City’s first large-scale exhibition center presenting visitors with limited-run, educational and immersive exhibit experiences It is located at 226 West 44th Street (between Broadway and 8th Avenue). Sphere: Related Content

Book Notes December 2011: Good Reads from Bob Hamer, Rory Noland, Richard Paul Evans, Eric Metaxas

Here are some books you might be interested in:

Targets Down

By Bob Hamer

From the publisher:

"Targets Down" is the follow-up to retired FBI agent Bob Hamer's "Enemies Among Us," which Publishers Weekly hailed as "a page-turning roller coaster that feels like Jack Bauer’s 24 without sailing over the top."

When an FBI wife is critically wounded and two people are found dead on a mountain pass, special agent Matt Hogan is tasked with identifying those responsible. The undercover assignment takes him into the shadow world of Russian organized crime, neo-Nazis, and the sex-slave industry. Matt's cover is almost blown twice—once by accident, once by incompetence within the FBI ranks—making violence appear to be his only solution. As he confronts evil, Hogan relies not only on the strength of his wife's faith but his own quest to find God. He also finds terror and terrorism on this heart-pounding journey.

Note: I have read this book and found it an enjoyable read. I also have read Hamer's nonfiction book "The Last Undercover," which is an account of his time in the FBI where for 26 years, he was an undercover agent where he posed as a drug dealer, pedophile and contract killer among other things to bring some of the toughest criminals to justice. I never walk by a certain store in New York City without remembering his account and saying a prayer for the victims.

-- Lauren Yarger

Visit http://www.bobhamer.net/ for more information and to order.

Worship on Earth as It Is in Heaven: Exploring Worship as a Spiritual DisciplineBy Rory Noland
From the publisher:
Rory Noland addresses the challenges of Christian worship head-on, offering practical suggestions gleaned from Scripture on understanding and experiencing vibrant worship.

The first half of Worship on Earth as It Is in Heaven explores what it means to grow as a private worshiper. The practices of the psalmist David provide insight to help people worship God on their own. Second, Noland discusses corporate worship by exploring the glorious gatherings in heaven, as described in the book of Revelation. He presents immediately applicable ideas for becoming a better corporate worshiper.

 This book includes:
• Slice-of-church-life scenarios. Every chapter begins with a brief scenario that presents a worship-related issue or a conflict corresponding to the chapter topic.
• Group discussion questions. Based on the opening scenario, these questions help readers think about and discuss worship-related topics from different perspectives.
• Issue-by-issue practical guidance from a biblical perspective.
• “Ponder and Apply” application questions. Each chapter ends with a series of discussion questions and action steps to help readers identify key insights and make personal applications.

More information and purchase at http://www.zondervan.com/Cultures/en-US/Product/ProductDetail.htm?ProdID=com.zondervan.9780310426257&QuerySiteString=Zondervan&QueryStringSite=Zondervan

Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25

By Richard Paul Evans
Parents, teachers and community leaders concerned with the dark and violent content in today's popular young adult novels are enthusiastically embracing the new best-selling book, Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25. With its highly entertaining and morally uplifting themes, the book quickly landed on the NY Times Best Seller list and is already in its 6th printing.
Michael Vey tells a story of an unlikely teen hero who, despite struggling with Tourette Syndrome, has special gifts and powers that help him overcome evil forces threatening to take over the world. The book's "good story, good values" approach has both adults and youth applauding.
"The message of Michael Vey is one every parent, teacher and administrator will want their children to read," said Ann Harkins, CEO of the National Crime Prevention Council.
"Our students went nuts over Michael Vey. I'm not exaggerating to say that Michael Vey is the most popular reading we've ever assigned," said Bill Glisson, principal of Miami Valley Middle School in Dayton, Ohio.
Michael Vey is the first in a new series by best-selling author Richard Paul Evans (The Christmas Box), published by Simon and Schuster in partnership with Mercury Radio Arts, a multi-media production company started by popular talk show host Glenn Beck.

WEBSITE: Visit the official site to watch the trailer, sign up for updates and download a discussion guide at: http://www.michaelvey.com.
BUY THE BOOK: At Amazon (http://amzn.to/michaelveyamazon) or Barnes and Noble (http://bit.ly/barnesandnoblemichaelvey).

Socrates in the City: Conversations on 'Life, God, and Other Small Topics'

By Eric Metaxas
From the publisher:
Following the extraordinary success of the New York Times bestseller "Bonhoeffer," Eric Metaxas's latest book offers inspirational and intellectually rigorous thought about the great questions surrounding us all today.

The Greek philosopher Socrates famously said that "the unexamined life is not worth living." Taking this as a starting point, Eric Metaxas founded a speaking series that encouraged busy and successful professionals to attend forums and think actively about the bigger questions in life. Thus Socrates in the City: Conversations on "Life, God, and Other Small Topics" was born.

This book is for the seeker in all of us, the collector of wisdom, and the person who asks "What if?" Within this collection of original essays that were first given to standing-room-only crowds in New York City are serious thinkers taking on Life, God, Evil, Redemption, and other small topics.

Luminaries such as Dr. Francis Collins, Sir John Polkinghorne, Charles Colson, N.T. Wright, Os Guinness, Peter Kreeft, and Jean Bethke Elshatin have written about extraordinary topics vital to both secular and Christian thinking, such as "Making Sense Out of Suffering," "How Good Confronts Evil," and "Belief in God in an Age of Science." No question is too big-in fact, the bigger, the harder, the more complex, the better. These essays are both thought-provoking and entertaining, because nowhere is it written that finding answers to life's biggest questions shouldn't be exciting and even, perhaps, fun.

For information and to purchase, visit http://www.ericmetaxas.com/blog/order-the-new-socrates-in-the-city-book-here/. Sphere: Related Content

Recharging at the Women of Faith Conference in Hartford

A Reminder of How Arts are an Important Part of FaithBy Lauren Yarger
I enjoyed a nice break from the routine last weekend with a stop in at the Women of Faith Imagine Conference at the XL Center in Hartford. Speakers Sheila Walsh, Henry Cloud, Luci Swindoll and others gave women an opportunity to "escape from the everyday and be refreshed, encouraged and inspired."

The Friday night session brought home to me how the arts play a vital part in ministry. It's not that I don't know that. I head a Christian performing arts ministry and write for and about theater while encouraging those who minister in the arts everyday. Having others in the arts minister to me at the conference just confirmed how vital these media can be in conveying God's message -- especially when we're tired.

I had just returned home that day, at about 2:30 am after two weeks of being displaced. First a freak October snow storm robbed us of power for 10 days. Then, prior ministry commitments took me away for about 10 days. And somewhere along the way I had managed to lose my keys. I was exhausted, but the reward of getting to spend time with my friend and author/speaker Lucinda Secrest McDowell motivated me to drive over to the XL Center instead of to dive under the covers. I'm so glad I did,

First, Nicole Johnson entertained us with a talk about the many different roles played every day by women. It was accompanied with humorous costume pieces and dramatic elements to bring home the message. How effective drama is, I thought. A speech about the many aspects of a woman's life and all of the people depending on her for different things might have expressed the same sentiments, but the dramatic elements used by Johnson -- a little song, a construction hat, a chef's hat, a boa -- said so much more and stuck in the brain longer than a bunch of words could have.

Then we laughed, until we hurt, as comedian Ken Davis recounted experiences going through airport security, disciplining children and of all things, losing keys (boy, could I relate). God was able to use a servant's gifting as a storyteller to bring home a message about experiencing joy in the Lord. I know women got that message regardless of whether they knew God personally yet or not.

Then we were treated to the vocal talents of Natalie Grant who gave a concert and led worship.

It was the perfect battery charge for this servant who had been zapped of energy (both literally and figuratively) and a confirmation that the work I do is of vital importance.

The tour continues in 2012 with "Celebrate." To find out if it is coming to a city near you, visit http://www.womenoffaith.com/events/. Sphere: Related Content

Christian Arts News Briefs Week of Nov. 14

• Two $1,000 scholarships will be offered to the best male and female performer at the Christians in Theatre ARts (CITA) Secondary School Theatre Festival Jan. 27-28, 2012 in Greenville, SC. Representatives from Anderson University, Rocky Mountain College, Asbury College, Abilene Christian University, Lee University, North Greenville University and more will be attending. The festival is an opportunity for students who share their common faith and passion for theater to connect with one another during a weekend of workshops, professional performances and student performances for ajudication. For more information visiit the website. Updates also are available via Facebook.
• Check out the latest thoughts on arts ministry in the church from storyteller/actor Chuck Neighbors at http://www.mastersimage.com/2011/11/09/plant-those-feet/.
• Christian Theatre Scripts is celebrating two years of ministry. For the resources offered by Sandy Boikian, visit http://christiantheatrescripts.webs.com.
• The Board of Directors of Christian Leadership Alliance (CLA) has named Tami Heim as CLA's new president and CEO. She will begin in this role on Jan. 1, 2012. Heim brings extensive leadership experience to this role including her service as president of Borders Inc., and as executive vice president and chief publishing officer of Thomas Nelson Inc.
• Comedian Allen Edge is available for bookings. Transitions Edge Productions 312-458-9399 or email allen_dennis_edge@yahoo.com to book "The Edge of Sanity" for your special event.
• The Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) announced today that cash charitable giving to ECFA members continues to be very strong, totaling $9.38 billion last year, a 5.8 percent increase from the 2009 level of $8.87 billion. -- Religion Press Release Services
• The Stoop Concert Series' upcoming concert this Saturday, Nov. 19 presents Paul Phillips Band (8 pm), Jeannine Hebb (9 pm), and Mary Bragg (10 pm). The event will be emceed by Chris MacIntosh (aka “Grandfather Rock”) of WCWP Radio. Doors open at 7:30 pm., and showtime is at 8pm. While the concert is free, The Stoop will be accepting suggested donations of $12. Receive a free gift with the full suggested cover. All drinks and concessions including beer and wine are inexpensively priced under $4. The Stoop venue and concert series is presented by Music Forum of Church For All Nations, Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod. Church for All Nations is sponsoring the series in providing the landmark venue as a contribution to the cultural and spiritual life of Hell's Kitchen.

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