Sunday, May 23, 2004
Letter to Kirkpatrick and Sova
Thanks for collaborating with me. Here is a link to my new company, Including Judas LLC’s, website: www.includingjudas.com. I am partnered with a computer engineer that is working on acquiring the tools to make the website professional. I had no idea how expensive engineering software is.
Including Judas LLCis a company that believes that every person receives an equal chance at redemption through God’s grace including Judas. I have long been drawn to the music industry, and my goal is to make a way for musicians to acquire success and make a living through their music while still not becoming famous, catering to a mass market, or sacrificing their artistic integrity. With the current changes in the recording industry, I have been focusing mainly on live shows and waiting to see what the outcome of various legal and technological landmarks will be.
I have a question, if you will allow me to partake of your experience and wisdom. While I am a business major and possess talent in the area of finances making getting rich simply a question of commitment to that goal, I have often been taught that goal is wrong. Even though I do see my purpose in attaining any wealth to be a steward of God’s money and use it to His ends, I still feel a twinge of guilt at the though of committing to acquiring any great material means. As I run my company, I am constantly faced with the choice of operating for profit or for charity.
I am inspired by the work of John Henry Hammond Jr, the Jazz promoter and critic that launched the careers of Charlie Parker, Dizie Gilespie, Count Basie, Benny Goodman and later Bob Dylan. Born to a rich aristocratic family, John Hammond abandoned the life of a New York financial emperor and used his family’s money to further the careers of talented musicians who otherwise would have never been recorded or promoted (often paying for groups of up to 15 musicians to enter a studio and record with all expenses coming out of his pocket and then retaining none of the profits or rights to the albums, allowing the musicians to support themselves).
The difference between John Hammond and I is that my family has supported me this far and will not support me any farther. My education is the investment my family has made for me, and I must use that to support myself and anyone else that needs my help.
So my question to you, as a man who has worked as a missionary and also been experienced in the entertainment industry is how do you see a man my age best running a company for the purpose of furthering and supporting creative works while still providing for himself and his family? I see the two alternatives as either being missionary minded and trusting God to meet every financial need, or running a highly profitable business and redistributing a large percentage of earnings towards charitable artistic work, but I am sure there is a middle ground. Do you see and alternatives or have any ideas that haven’t come to me yet? And whether or not you do, is there anything from your experience that you would tell me to help my chances of success in being an instrument of God in the artistic community?
Thank you for your consideration.
Including Judas LLCis a company that believes that every person receives an equal chance at redemption through God’s grace including Judas. I have long been drawn to the music industry, and my goal is to make a way for musicians to acquire success and make a living through their music while still not becoming famous, catering to a mass market, or sacrificing their artistic integrity. With the current changes in the recording industry, I have been focusing mainly on live shows and waiting to see what the outcome of various legal and technological landmarks will be.
I have a question, if you will allow me to partake of your experience and wisdom. While I am a business major and possess talent in the area of finances making getting rich simply a question of commitment to that goal, I have often been taught that goal is wrong. Even though I do see my purpose in attaining any wealth to be a steward of God’s money and use it to His ends, I still feel a twinge of guilt at the though of committing to acquiring any great material means. As I run my company, I am constantly faced with the choice of operating for profit or for charity.
I am inspired by the work of John Henry Hammond Jr, the Jazz promoter and critic that launched the careers of Charlie Parker, Dizie Gilespie, Count Basie, Benny Goodman and later Bob Dylan. Born to a rich aristocratic family, John Hammond abandoned the life of a New York financial emperor and used his family’s money to further the careers of talented musicians who otherwise would have never been recorded or promoted (often paying for groups of up to 15 musicians to enter a studio and record with all expenses coming out of his pocket and then retaining none of the profits or rights to the albums, allowing the musicians to support themselves).
The difference between John Hammond and I is that my family has supported me this far and will not support me any farther. My education is the investment my family has made for me, and I must use that to support myself and anyone else that needs my help.
So my question to you, as a man who has worked as a missionary and also been experienced in the entertainment industry is how do you see a man my age best running a company for the purpose of furthering and supporting creative works while still providing for himself and his family? I see the two alternatives as either being missionary minded and trusting God to meet every financial need, or running a highly profitable business and redistributing a large percentage of earnings towards charitable artistic work, but I am sure there is a middle ground. Do you see and alternatives or have any ideas that haven’t come to me yet? And whether or not you do, is there anything from your experience that you would tell me to help my chances of success in being an instrument of God in the artistic community?
Thank you for your consideration.
