Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Striving for Excellence

This weekend I attended a photojournalism conference at Southwestern Baptist Seminary in Ft Worth. I was greatly inspired by extremely talented professional photojournalists who humbly pointed back towards God as the reason they put no stock in fame or accomplishment. They love God first, family and friends next, and excellence in serving God through their work after that.

Two thoughts really stay with me. I asked John H. White (Nikon legend and pulitzer prize winner) why he photographs and what he loves to shoot. He replied, "I try to see through God's eyes".

The second is that as a Christian media specialist, I need to be a jack of all trades, and a master of one - Storytelling. I am reminded of how Jesus reached out to the multitudes everyday. He is the master of all storytellers, and I want to be like Him.

Inspired indeed.

When the weekend was done, we took a trip down to the Fort Worth Stock Yard, and I tried to put in to practice some of the ideas given to me over the weekend. In the stables there, we ran across a Christian cowboy who works with prisons through the Christian Motorcycle Association. He introduced us to his horse named Katrina, found in a shelter where she was taken after hurricane...you guessed it...Katrina. It was a great day, and further proof that God is everywhere we go.