Interview with Julio Pineda – Creator of www.reflexzion.com

Perusing the usual design spots I found this talented Graphic Artist/Web designer on the internet – I quickly emailed him and asked if he’d like to do a interview and got a fast response.  This man really has a heart for the Kingdom on God and is using the talents the Father gave him to advance it – Ladies and gents, let me introduce Julio Pineda. Designer of www.reflexzion.com and other awesome designs.

Personal:

What is your full Name?

Julio Cesar Pineda Aldana

How old are you?

24

Hometown?

El Lobo, Guatemala

Background? Where you grew up, what you did as a kid – any interesting things.

I was born in Puerto Barrios, Guatemala but grew up in a town named “El Lobo” till I was about 9 years old. As a kid I loved nature and hunting. Never did I think I would end up in the U.S., let alone be interested in Graphics/Web. At the age of 13 I was diagnosed with Leukemia and 98.2% of my body was covered with the cancer and the doctors gave me a 33% chance of surviving – but God is Great! Here I am and it’s a joy to serve Him.

Did anything that happened to you while you were young influence you into your career choice?

Not really…I used to call my friends “Geeks” because they would use computers. I just…fell into it! Tried it once and loved it!

Where and what did you study?

I did attend The Art Institute of California – Orange County but only lasted there a year due to financial circumstances. But the determination to learn and do something as well as the calling God placed in my life goes beyond school and money.

At the moment are you working in a company or are you freelancing?

Both…

I am currently the webmaster for a church in Vista, CA called Vista Assembly of God (www.vistaassembly.com) and I also freelance. I am also in the process of releasing my own clothing line and other projects.

What are the benefits of working like this?

The flexibility and resources…but I also learned that at any job place you work at you are basically getting paid to learn, not just do. So it’s a win-win situation.

What do you do for fun?

Other than hang out with friends, I love to design and learn as much as I can so that I can do what I do better. I love paintball though!

What is the most relevant topic on your heart at the moment?

Trust and Clarity…To Trust in God completely and The Clarity I get from understanding my Identity in Christ.

Creativity:

How old were you when you found your creative streak?

Since a young age I’ve always liked to experiment but as far as design goes…I was about 16.

Do you think that people are born with creativity or that it’s inside us all?

We were made in the image of God…and boy is He creative! It’s inside us all!

Where do you get inspiration from?

Other than God…Life…

What has design/your creativity taught you about yourself?

Creativity has taught me to appreciate what I do and who I am even more because when I create something it goes beyond just simple designs. It speaks about what I feel, what I think, and how I view something or just life itself.

What has design/your creativity taught you about God?

Wow! Uhmmm…

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.” Psalm 19:1-3

Creativity has taught me that God is Great, Loving, Joyful, Etc. His characteristics are reflected in all of Creation.

What fields do you work in?

Web, Graphics, Video, Photography

What are some of the best things you have had the opportunity to work on?

Aside from working at and with various churches to reach the lost and those in need, I have done various mission trips where I’ve been able to do what I love and bless others as well as be blessed.

What influence does God have in your work?

Everything…His provided the creativity, talents and strength to do what I do.

I see you do a lot of work with a Christian outlook; do you believe that even your time and profession should be tithed?

I strongly believe this…God deserves all we are and have, because ultimately it belongs to Him anyways.

Reflexzion:

Please tell us more about what this is all about.

More than a concept or company…ReflexZion is a lifestyle.

We are about portraying and confirming to the heart, mind and soul that there is More. That hope is not an emotion but the basis of Faith. That Happiness is not merely a pursuit but a genuine transformation or shift of the mind, actions and heart.

The protection of the heart is vital to living life. For joy does not come merely when circumstances change but rather… joy has the potential to and does change the circumstances or gives us strength to endure such. So it is our mission to Reflect and impose such truths. Because what is wrong with the world should not belittle, dim or take our focus off what is right and what is right with the world. So whatever the means may be…design, pictures, video, clothing, missionaries or a simple yet profound testimony. It is our desire to make it known that the best way to live and or enjoy life is to REFLECT THE GREATNESS OF AND IN IT.

Our foundations are well rooted on Godly principles, our belief made certain through faith and our passion redeemed and given wings through the Revelation of Truth.

What is your aim and purpose for the website?

The human Soul was not created to become complacent, adapt to routine or live with out Purpose. It is our desire to be an encouragement, an inspiration or a simple reminder that Life is Beautiful, but that beauty has to be sought-after and once found…protected. Our purpose is to help others see the need to break habits, routines and lifestyles that rob us of joy, peace, purpose and a relationship with God.

I see you have 3 sections; Photography, Missionary Websites and Graphics, tell us a bit about them?

They say a picture says a thousand words and to us… it is another way of declaring the beauty of God and life to those who see them.

Through our Graphics (Resources) we want to share our creativity and be of help to churches, businesses, organizations, etc. that can’t afford to pay a designer or simply like our graphics.

With our Missionary section we want to help be a “voice” to those in need and to those who change lives day in and day out.

Do you think what you do as a job is linked with your calling for God?

Definitely, and because I understand the calling it is a privilege more than it is a job.

Do you know of any other design/creative websites with a Biblical Christian worldview?  Why do you think there are so few?

http://www.creativemyk.com/

http://www.ichurchdesign.com/

http://www.lifechurch.tv/

I think that there are so few because many “Christians” understand the call but few chose answer it or continue in it.

“Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.” Matthew 16:24-25

God:

Where do you feel God is taking you?

Other than a deeper, more intimate and real relationship with Him, I think that He wants me to fulfill the dreams and desires He has given me. He is taking me to His Greatness.

Do you think you can make a Kingdom impact through your design?

As long as God is in the midst I believe they will make an impact because it is Him speaking through what I do.

Any message to the designers out there?

Stay connected to God and He will use you and your talents to reach the lost and those in need. But stay connected…

Any closing words?

“I submit to you that if a man hasn’t discovered something he will die for, he isn’t fit to live.”

Martin Luther King Jr., Speech in Detroit, June 23, 1963

If you want to see more of Julio’s work, check out his website www.reflexzion.com or his profile on www.christianmyk.com

Thanks Julio – It was really good finding out a bit more about you.

Creativity in Design – An interview with Matthew Griffin

I was stumbling along on the net and up popped this blog called Mirificampress.com and an article called, ‘Show and Tell: A Christian Designer’s Guide to Faith in the Workplace’.

So, being a designer myself and what’s more a Christian one, I though I better check this out and well – I was very pleasantly surprised – someone had put together this great article, so I decided to ask him some questions. Ladies and Gentleman: Matthew Griffin.

Background…

Ant: Where did you grow up, what you did as a kid – any interesting things?

Matthew: I grew up in Austin, TX. As a child I always enjoyed building things, drawing—just about anything that involved creativity. When I was in eighth grade, before anyone knew what a website was, I started programming video games in GW BASIC. That’s where I got my first taste of computer-aided design. I was hooked. I haven’t stopped since – I did however, eventually figure out that I didn’t have the patience for video game development and the web seemed like the next place to go. Fortunately, through all of my searching and learning in my teen years, I had great Christian parents who constantly made me think about what I was doing and how it related to the big picture.

Ant: Did anything that happened to you while you were young influence you into your career choice?

Matthew: Yeah, my father was an architect and I loved to watch him work at his drafting table. Architecture is actually pretty close to web design in essence. They both involve a unique mixture of open creativity and precision that few disciplines require. I was always attracted to that and I’m pretty sure that if the internet revolution had never taken place, I probably would have taken the same route as my father.

Ant: Where and what did you study?

Matthew: Well, after I graduated from high school in 2000, I started my search for a college with some kind of degree in web design. Tough luck. No such program existed.

At that point I knew enough to freelance, so I did that and worked a regular 9-5 job for a few years until I was making enough to design on my own full time. During that period I focused most of my attention on learning the tools of web design: Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, Flash, etc. It wasn’t until I was out on my own that I really got serious about studying traditional graphic design principles.

Ant: At the moment are you working in a company or are you freelancing?

Matthew: I own my own studio called 6House Design. Right now it’s me and a couple of independent contractors doing the lion’s share of the work.

Ant: What are the benefits of working like this?

Matthew: I think the primary benefit is flexibility. I believe very strongly that men and women in the workforce should be able to spend time with their family. I do have a separate office where most of my work is accomplished, but I have the opportunity to spend extra time at home with my wife and kids for lunch and other stuff. I also like to involve my wife in my business.

The concept of a family working together as a single unit to make a living has long been forgotten in out culture, but historically it was an important model for Christian living.

Fortunately, though, modern technology is making it more and more and feasible and I think we can all be thankful for that. I’m pushing toward that model and I encourage the guys that work for me to do the same.

Creativity…

Ant: How old were you when you found your creative streak?

Matthew: Wow! I’m not really sure. As far back as I can remember, I was creating things and showing them off to my parents.

Ant: Do you think that people are born with creativity or that it’s inside us all?

Matthew: This question hits on a controversial idea that I think is very important for Christian creatives. We’ve been told by modern psychologists and scientists that humans are either right brained or left brained – reducing us to machines, fit only for specific labor. And while I agree that we tend to favor one side or the other, none of us would be able to function without both. As we create, we mimic the true creator. This is a part of the image of God stamped on our being, and it exists in us all.

Ant: Where do you get inspiration from?

Matthew: I tend to go through phases, but I can find inspiration just about anywhere: God’s creation, DVD covers, magazine. Recently, I’ve been perusing a lot of design and typography from the 16th century. It’s interesting to see how it was done when efficiency was much more of a consideration.

Ant: What has design/your creativity taught you about yourself?

Matthew: If anything, it’s taught me to be humble. The more I learn, the more I realize I don’t know.

Ant: What has design/your creativity taught you about God?

Matthew: For sure, the process of creating has brought my awe of God to a greater height. Creating forces you to take a closer look at the world – God’s world. As a Christian, I can’t help but compare my attempt at design and creation to the things designed by God. And when I’m faced with the unmatched beauty, immensity, and complexity of it all, what can I do but fall on my knees to worship. There is no design by any human that could ever evoke that response from me.

Ant: What fields do you work in?

Matthew: I work almost exclusively in web design. Although I do a little print design from time to time.

Ant: What are some of the best things you have had the opportunity to work on?

Matthew: That’s a difficult question to answer because every project is so unique. But usually the best projects are the ones that blaze a new trail. For example, I recently worked on website called QuickSchoolPix.com that will completely change the way school pictures are taken. It’s those kinds of projects that are the most exciting for me.

Ant: What influence does God have in your work?

Matthew: Well I already talked about how God’s creation affects my work but my work is more specifically influenced by his Word, the Bible. It’s an ongoing quest for all Christians in every vocation to learn the principles in God’s word and extrapolate those principles out into a worldview that permeates every aspect of life. That’s my goal, and because of that, God’s influence is undeniable in my work.

Ant: I see you do a lot of work on Christian websites; do you believe that even your time and profession should be tithed?
Matthew: I believe that Christians should be known as generous people. That’s a principle that can include both the fruit of labor and labor itself. But I also believe that the primary way Christian creatives can give back to the Lord is by spending time supporting the Christian creative community. That’s where our work should be—passing down knowledge and encouragement to the next generation of creatives. There are a lot of ministries who expect creative work to be done for free or at a discount. I think this attitude is indicative of the widespread belief that ministry work is a high calling and everything else is “other” work—what has to be done to get the bills paid. I couldn’t disagree more. Both ministry work and “other” work are necessary for the building of God’s kingdom and they should both be held as sacred.

Mirificam Press…

Ant: Please tell us more about what this is all about.

Matthew: I starting writing Mirificam Press because it seemed that there was no one attacking the issues of web design from a Christian worldview. As Christians, many times we forget that we have in our possession a truth that brings order even to “secular” vocations. The internet is the knowledge conduit of the future and it’s being built around evolutionary psychology and other such nonsense. I wanted to encourage other Christian designers to think like Christians and start taking back the playing field.

Ant: On the website you have a verse from Romans 11:20, “Be not high-minded, but fear…” Why this verse, what is the significance to you?

Matthew: Romans 11:20 is the verse that appears on the personal seal of Robert Estienne, a brilliant Christian designer from the reformation era. It’s a warning to Christians to be humble about the grace that has been given them by God. It’s a great verse to remind Christian creatives to give God all the glory.

Ant: You say “There should be no contradiction between theology and work philosophy.”  What do you mean by this?

Matthew: It’s easy to compartmentalize our faith apart from our work. And most of the time when we do think about how our faith affects our work, we only think in terms of business ethics—don’t lie, don’t steal, don’t cheat. But Christianity is a whole worldview. If it only has relevance in the area of ethics, then it’s not really relevant at all. We have to step back and take a God’s-eye-view of our work and ask ourselves what we’re doing, why it’s relevant to our purpose as human beings, and how our activity should be developed and channeled to bring God glory. This pragmatic attitude of Christian creatives, that what ever works is good, is corrosive to the Christian community.

Ant: Do you think what you do as a job is linked with your calling for God?

Matthew: No, actually I would take it a step further and say that what I do as my job is the very essence of my calling. Whether I’m designing for a commercial business or a church, I see my work as sacred—the highest calling possible. I was created with talents and interests that have driven me to my vocation. Those talents and interests are God given and they bring him glory when they are used to do so.

Ant: Do you know of any other design/creative websites with a Biblical Christian worldview.  Why do you think there are so few?

I don’t know of anyone writing about design from a biblical worldview but there are plenty of Christian designers out there. I know because they contact me all the time to thank me and discuss design and worldview issues. The problem is that most designers don’t know how to inject their faith into their work. In short, they have a broken worldview. I struggled through the same issue and it took a lot of reading and thinking to get where I am now. That’s by no mean an announcement of my arrival. I still have a long way to go and I hope to encourage other Christian creatives to take the same journey and step out of their shells.

God…

Ant: Where do you feel God is taking you?

Matthew: Honestly, I have no idea. But I know what he’s commanded me to do and I know that wherever it leads will be wonderful because I’ve been adopted by grace as his son.

Ant: Do you think you can make a Kingdom impact through your design?

Matthew: Absolutely. But I want be be careful to stress the excellence of my design as a kingdom building work as much as the content. I heard someone once say, “Shoddy holy work is still shoddy”.

Ant: Any message to the designers out there?

Matthew: Never stop reaching for Christ in your work. And never accept the world’s philosophies as truth.

Check out Matthew’s site at http://www.mirificampress.com

So… we have a wee bit of a problemo these days when it comes to the world’s view of Christianity: it’s just a tad out of wack. Back in ‘ol country, Europe (where the history comes from…) it’s seen as all grey-gloomy cathedrals and somber mumbling worship, apparently. Out in the New World the perception ranges from deep and prejudiced right-wing hardliners to happy-flappy seeker-sensitive marshmallow sessions.

Up here on the African deck it gets eyeballed as quaint and boring, or for spiritual orphans chasing emotional highs. These perceptions seem to be harboured even within the church denominations, ‘cos that’s what is slammed in their faces daily in mags, on the box and in the web. If you think of Hollywood – yes, yes everyone harps on about them, Hollywood bad etc. etc. – but check this: less than what, a percent of the world’s western population pumps out maybe 80% of its television and film – and these guys aren’t all exactly championing the Kingdom and its King.

Sure, these warped perceptions do find their root in the different ways some people have their gathering of the saints, but hey, as long as whatever these people are doing is truly from the heart and smooth with the scriptures then that’s awesome. Different cultures and societies have a sweet variety of expressions of worship and devotion, of servanthood and discipleship. God be praised, He doesn’t want us all to be clone drones. Keeps things interesting. If there is one thing I want to witness is a classic southern Gospel meeting. Apparently it’s epic.

See, the thing is, mass-media usually takes a stock cutout of any… well anything really – hip-hop, skateboarders, footballers, cops whatever – and uses that as its representation of the whole. Stereotype is its friend, cliché it’s bread and butter. It’s kinda like using a budgie to rep for all the birds. But I’d like to see you stick a 300-pound ostrich in a budgie-can without it swallowing your head.

So I digress (and will again, eventually – it’s inevitable). The point is, there are some awesome peeps out there breaking the cheap and nasty mold the church has been shoved into, and taking the life, love and freedom of Christ to the streets, the beaches, the skies, the railings: showing that God doesn’t fit into any moulds we make – because we could never make one big enough. Or unique enough. Or beautiful enough…

Here’s one of ‘em, Brad, and his message:

“You must shine amongst them like stars lighting up the sky, as you offer them the message of life” Philippians 2vs 15

We look at society and it’s full of youth searching for something? Somewhere to belong and feel the love we all crave so deeply within. Jesus hung out with the misfits of society, he even ate dinner with them, but in today’s world so many people want nothing to do with them. We want to fill our pews and youth groups with model citizens and perfect youth that never stumble, while we their youth leaders stumble daily.

Don’t get me wrong, this is not bad as idealism goes, but we are set in the reality where youth do drugs and break things just for fun, where they go skating for hours on end just to escape the realities their broken homes are filled with. They run away searching for something to dull the responsibilities they now have, responsibilities no youth should ever have. We pile excessive amounts of responsibility and expectations on these youths and then have the audacity to complain that kids grow up so fast these days. We spend hours answering the questions no one is asking. Yes, Jesus is the answer but what’s the question?

‘Where to from here?’ is a question I often here people around me asking. Someone always answers ‘anywhere as long as its forward’. Where is forward for me? I need to remember: just because God is by my side does not mean I am moving forward. So the reason I am writing this article and ramblings is forward for me – is a Ministry organization called Son Skate,

Son Skate started out as nothing more than a passion placed on my heart by God for skate boarders and other ‘outcasts’ of society, or at least the stereotyped outcasts.

Son Skate is about building relationships and showing a relevant Jesus through the way we live our lives. It is also about showing an appealing lifestyle that is both fun and necessary to gain eternal life and happiness.

Mission Statement and Vision

To be a Christian witness and presence to the skating and riding community of South Africa!

Son Skate is not a freelance organization, in other words in order for a club to be opened up it has to be run within a local church, this is done for accountability and it allows the church to take ownership of youth and its leaders and allow for fellowship, building relationships and support. I feel it needs to be stated that Son Skate is not the be all and end all, it’s the next step forward for me and God and so many others. We draw along side Son Surf who have been around for more than a number of years, they work with surfers along the shorelines of South Africa and have mission trips abroad. Son Skate and Son Surf are about the people, people that need Jesus more than anything, just like us! We will work alongside anyone that has that passion.

Son Skate has dreams of affecting youth with this thing we call truth, but we are left with the how, and is it even possible? It’s easy enough to get youth to stop external things and to see progress on the outside initially – but for how long? Its difficult and sometimes not instantly noticeable for a long time the inner change that God is bringing about. We are often left feeling bleak about all our efforts, but that’s what faith and prayer is for. It says in the Psalms ‘if you seek me you will find me’, if our youth seek through the temperamental Jesus they see in us, just like Paul says, ‘imitate me as I imitate Christ’ – they will find the real God and he will hold them close.

If you want more information, check out:

www.myspace.com/sonskate

www.Sonsk8.co.za

www.Sonsurf.co.za

www.Breach.co.za