A Ground Breaking Film Festival

In November of 2004, an extraordinary event took place; it was the opening of the first San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival which took place in the heart of Alamo City. This festival was truly an amazing place to network with other Christian filmmakers and learn skills necessary for producing Christian films. The festival was so inspiring and helpful for me that I can't begin to put it into words!

Here is a look inside the main theater

It was more than a film festival; there were numerous seminars and workshops given by industry professionals such as Geoff Botkin, Rich Christiano, and Ron Maxwell, the esteemed director of Gods and Generals. It was truly a wonderful time to glean knowledge from those experienced professionals!

I am so excited that I will be able to go again this year; I hope to learn more skills, meet new people, and reunite with friends that I met last year! Will I see you there this October?

Doug Phillips

Click here to read an article by Doug Phillips called, "The Independent Christian Film Revolution".

Did you know that my film, Consider God's Creation, screened at the 2004 festival?

Book Marking Tips

Have you ever read an excellent book, and underlined important paragraphs, so you could come back later and refresh your memory? Several years later, I can imagine your surprise when you come back to find those marked sections hard to find! You flip through the pages, but cannot easily find the object of your search. So you stop and try to remember what chapters contain the marks. Finally, you shove the book back on the shelf and say, "Forget it!"

Does that scenario sound familiar? It may if you often mark the good stuff. Would you like some tips from an experienced reader? Well, you came to right place!

I have found some excellent book marking tips. First off, if you're going to mark an entire paragraph, use a pen to draw a star or asterisk in the margin next to the paragraph. That way, you won't have to underline every line in the paragraph. (Ok, that one is rather obvious!)

Next, in every page where you underline a sentence or mark a paragraph, use a highlighter to mark the page number. That way, you can flip through the pages and easily find the good stuff! (Ok, so that was obvious too, but hopefully helpful!)

What Kind of Company?

Is Scott Eash Multimedia an entertainment company? Most definitely not! While we do produce products that are entertaining, we do not classify ourselves as an entertainment company. Here's why...

Life on this earth is short, and people do not get a chance to live life twice. I believe time is too precious to waste it on pure entertainment. We must wisely spend our time in activities that help us become better people, and better Christians.

That is why each product from Scott Eash Multimedia will contain elements that seek to build character, promote spiritual growth, strengthen families, etc. Many of our products may contain entertainment value, but they will never be intended solely as meaningless entertainment. I hope Scott Eash Multimedia will grow to be a company that people trust to produce helpful, purposeful media products.

Read about our company mission, here.

The Question of Alcohol

The other day, I received this comment from one of my readers...

I've been in an ongoing debate with a friend on the subject of alcohol. Out of curiosity, where do you stand? -Stephen

Here is my response...

Much can be said against alcohol, speaking from a logical, common sense standpoint. I have not heard of anyone that chose to be an alcoholic when he took his first drink. It is simply impossible to know beforehand if we will be able to resist an alcoholic addiction, so it is wiser to avoid alcohol altogether.

I am reminded of a conversation I once had with an acquaintance that occasionally drinks light alcoholic beverages. I will call him Bill, though that is not his real name:

Bill- “I won’t become addicted; I can quit whenever I want.”

Scott- “Then why don’t you quit?”

Bill- “I don’t want to.”

See the trap into which alcohol may lead? We can be convinced that we are in control when alcohol actually has us firmly sealed in its grip.

What does Scripture say? In summary, I believe the Scriptural consensus is that alcohol is not bad in and of itself. Drunkenness is forbidden, but drinking wine on occasion is not. One might recall that Jesus turned water into wine at a Jewish wedding.

As I said earlier, drunkenness is expressly forbidden in Scripture. Not only is alcoholic addiction forbidden, but the state of being drunk is forbidden also; to be drunk once is as wrong as having an alcoholic addiction. Ephesians 5:18 says plainly, “And be not drunk with wine...”

For further reference, look up Genesis 9:20 & 21, Genesis 19:30-36, I Kings 16:9 & 10, Proverbs 23:29-35, Proverbs 31:6 & 7, I Corinthians 5:11, I Timothy 3:3 & 8, and Titus 1:7. Each of these passages either warns against wine or tells of a person that got into trouble because of wine.

Though alcohol itself is not forbidden, I believe it is best to avoid it altogether to prevent even the possibility of addiction or drunkenness.

What is the Standard?

By what standard do we determine truth? By what standard do we determine write and wrong? Each person has a standard that guides every belief and action, whether they acknowledge it or not.

What is that standard? Is it me? Is it my autonomous reason, majority opinion, or something else?

I am here to make the declaration that the Bible must be the only standard to which we appeal!

Many Christians say that the Bible is their standard, but in practice they appeal to other sources (in some situations). Many Christians leave Scripture out of certain aspects of life (entertainment choices, clothing choices, politics, etc.). These Christians appeal to their own minds to make what they consider earthly or unspiritual choices.

This is a good example of a double-minded Christian: one foot in the world and one foot in the Scriptures. Such a person is unstable in all his ways!

The Bible must be our only standard for every aspect of life! Whether we are forming our theology or practicing apologetics, the Scriptures must be our standard, source, guide, presupposition, etc.

Teens and Rebellion

Yesterday I received the latest issue of a Christian magazine to which I subscribe. Inside the magazine is an unfortunate letter to the editor. In the letter, the writer explains that she is renewing her subscription because the magazine says the things she wishes she could say but often can’t because of the whole “teen/parent thing”.

The “teen/parent thing”? Does this woman believe (the lie) that teens are destined to rebel and distance themselves from their parents? I would say so! She has accepted a lie that is straight from the pit of hell!

The fact is that parents expect their teens to rebel, so they do. Why would any teen want to attain a higher goal than is set before them? Expect your teens to rebel and I can assure you that they will live up to your expectations!

However, it doesn’t need to be this way. Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” Ephesians 6:4 says, “And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”

Train your children the biblical way, don’t tolerate rebellion, and expect your teens to continue in the way of the Lord; you’ll have much less trouble!

If you have further questions about child rearing, I recommend this audio series by S.M. Davis.