Being Jesus to the World

What it means to be a fruitful Christian.

by Shawn Cohen

CollegePlus! student Christina Dickson doesn’t have a heart for ministry. She does, however, have a heart for God and wants to show His love to the world in a way that few have attempted before. Recently, Christina has come to recognize that having an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ must precede service to Him. “We have to have the life of Christ living within us, Christina said, “before we can have purpose as a Christian.” Now, in her words, she wants to “live Jesus” through photography and photojournalism.

Living Jesus and Bearing Fruit

However, the truth of letting Christ live through her only became clear to Christina earlier this year while she was serving on a short term missions trip to Peru. Describing herself as a visionary who gets discouraged when she’s not achieving things, Christina said that on the missions trip, God helped her define what true fruit is in a believer’s life. “When I came across John 15, where Jesus says that we cannot bear fruit apart from Him, I thought, ‘That doesn’t make sense because later on He says that these people will do great things,’” she said. That’s when God helped her define the term “fruit” as it is used in the Scriptures.
“All of a sudden I realized that the only fruit that is [defined] in the New Testament is the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5,” Christina noted. “It’s not converts or doing great things for God,” even though, admittedly, the fruit of love, joy, and peace can be evidenced in these things. Quoting from Oswald Chambers, she said, “The essence of true Christianity is letting Christ live in us and have His being formed in us.” While in Peru, Christina realized that handing out water to needy villagers or offering a smile to someone on the street were ways in which she could let Christ live in and through her.

A Vision for the Visual Arts

A professional photographer, Christina has recently been seeking the Lord on how she can use photography to impact believers and unbelievers alike. “I want to use photography to get people to think,” she said, “to see that they can change the world if they let Jesus live in them.”
Out of this desire was born Revolution Press, a Christian photojournalism ministry that will challenge the worldview of the postmodern Christian subculture. “It’s scary,” Christina said, “because in order to do something like this effectively, you have to experience it yourself.” In other words, Christina realizes that her own belief system needs to be transformed by God before she can influence the worldview of those around her.
Christina and two other photographers are embarking on a Christian photojournalism journey that few have walked before them. “There is an extreme lack of Christian photography,” she said. “There is no Christian photojournalism [web]site and there are no books on Christian photojournalism.” Christina and her associates, however, are convinced that God will use them to help other believers change their perspective and face the tough issues of life.

Chronicling Our Times Through Photography

Christina has already begun to implement the vision God has given her. At the time of this writing, she had two upcoming projects to work on. “On Thanksgiving I’m going to volunteer to shoot the Thanksgiving dinner at the Portland Rescue Mission,” she said. “And then we’re going to wake up at 4 a.m. to shoot a photojournalistic essay of Black Friday. It’s going to be called ‘Thanksgiving or Thanksgetting?’”

How CollegePlus! Is Helping Christina

Earning a business degree with the help of CollegePlus! has assisted Christina in starting up the Revolution Press endeavor. “A degree is a tool you can use for other opportunities,” she noted. Revolution Press “has motivated me to read textbooks on corporations and business structures. [The degree] can be a means to effecting a goal but your goal should not be the piece of paper itself.”
Click on the following link to view Warrior Maiden, Christina's photography blog. You can see the Revolution Press blog by clicking here. To keep abreast of what happens with Revolution Press, stay tuned to Christina’s photo blogs.

(Editor's note: Christina and her photography colleagues completed the photo essay "Thanksgiving or Thanksgetting?" Click here to view their photos and read the challenging thoughts that accompany the images. You'll need to scroll down the page a bit before the essay begins.)

 

 

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The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the interviewee and not necessarily those of Global Learning Strategies.