A- A visual magazine. The power of visualization should not be underestimated. One picture can speak more than a thousand words. The goal of Crooked & Perverse Nation is to create a powerful picture show. I would like to connect pictures with each article. As you write, consider the picture imagery that goes with the subject you’re talking about. Example: recently, I stopped by an old vacant church building, when I walked inside I noticed the inside had been vandalized, spray paint on the wall, broken glass, I took my camera out and took several pictures, the imagery inspired an article entitled, "The Desecrated Church". I would like much of this publication to be visual.
B- I would like this publication to be hard hitting for the following reasons: No one can experience the love, mercy, and compassion of God, unless they are first shown their sins. Many people use this [love, mercy, compassion, forgiveness] as a diversion to avoid facing the reality of their sins! I need to explain the concept of "sins diversions" in order to understand why there is such a need for a publication like this.
Diversion #1- Blame someone else:
Recently there was a study done on obese children in America. One of the reasons given was because teachers are assigning too much homework. If the teachers wouldn’t assign so much homework our children could get more exercise. With this diversion we blame someone else for the sin.
Diversion #2- Silence the bearer of bad news:
Tommy had been addicted to pornography all of his life, yet he was deeply involved in religious activity, serving in the church. On one rare occasion the minister talked about the sin of pornography. After the message, Tommy told the preacher that subjects like that should not be discussed from the pulpit, the church is not the place to discuss sex and politics. The diversion here is to silence anyone who is pointing out the sin.
Diversion #3- Over emphasizing the love, mercy, and compassion of Christ:
Sue had an abortion at age 15. At 46 she was a deeply religious woman. On Mother’s Day the minister talked about the sanctity of life and the sin of abortion. Afterward, Sue came up to the minister and said, "You don’t know how much your message hurt me, you should have talked more about the love, mercy, and compassion of Jesus Christ and how He forgives those that have aborted their unborn. Here the diversion is to keep the focus on the love, mercy, and grace and never focus on the sin. We hear much of this kind of preaching today.
Diversion #4- Never judge:
John is the typical spineless Christian that you witness today in the world. "What do you think about Swaggart getting caught with a prostitute?" John’s response, "The Bible tells me not to judge." Here the diversion is to never see the sin for what it really is. It’s the ostrich with its head in the sand.
Diversion #5- Jesus Christ:
The greatest diversion people use for avoiding responsibility for their sins is----Jesus Christ. How does this work?
I’m a sinner --but God loves me.
I’m forgiven.
I’m covered under the blood of Jesus Christ.
THE DEVIL KNOWS that most people never get around to dealing with sin on account of all the diversions.
Diversion #6- Compensation:
When one area of life is lacking, over achieving in another area to make up for the void. Example: Let the church be involved in all sorts of good works to compensate for the sinful behavior of the congregation. God will overlook the sin and bless our good works.
C- No religious jargon. Sanctification--justification- reconciliation, penitence, intercession, cross-bearing. Most people don’t know what a religious person is saying! NO RELIGIOUS JARGON. Furthermore, in writing I would like to come straight to the point, no mincing words, no compromise, no appeasement, NOT opinionated.
D- Each article should consist of 500-1000 words. Not long winded, more like a sound bite. Keep in mind the attention span of the average American. Decisive and straight to the point. Get your point across with as few words as possible which means before you start writing, YOU HAVE A POINT TO MAKE.
E- Advice for submitting articles. Always start each article with a mission statement of how you want the person to feel once he finishes reading your article. Example: I want the person reading my article to question whether his church is on the road to becoming a desecrated church, a church that has become unfit for ceremonial purposes.
F- I would like to include articles that deal with God’s Love, Mercy, and Grace. The sinner having been convicted of sin needs some where to turn. He needs answers for the mess he’s gotten himself into. Therefore, the goal is to first convict and then offer solutions.
G- Outreach and purpose. I would like this publication to go outside the doors of the churches of God and to the general public. The purpose is to cause the sinner out in the world to be convicted of his sins and turn to God, so he needs something hard hitting to convict, but then needs to find the answers. Please keep this concept clearly in your mind when you submit an article. The purpose is to engage the sinner to conviction, NOT to simply minister to people who are already in the church. Some good advice would be to start each article with a person in mind [friend, relative, co-worker] who is struggling with sin.