Surprised by Joy Great stories always encounter overwhelming obstacles and challenges, but somehow in the end we find a new hope and we can be surprised by joy. This is not only in first world countries or in western culture. It is universal. Why? Because the human heart was made with a homing device, which […]
Life Before the Resurrection This past weekend we celebrated Palm Sunday and reflected on Jesus’ life before the resurrection. What a marvelous day it must have been for the disciples when Jesus was finally honored, praised, and celebrated. They may have started to wonder when this day would come. How many times had Jesus performed […]
Faithful Fairy Tales Our culture needs more than faithful pastors and theologians, we also need faithful fairy tales and writers. We need pastors and theologians to help us understand the depth and mystery within God’s Word. We need artists, filmmakers, and the writers of parables and fairy tales to create stories that inspire us afresh. […]
Is God in Control of My Career? Have you ever wondered, “Is God in control of my career?” You’ve worked hard, you’ve put in the 10,000 hours to develop your talent, and been shrewd about pursuing meaningful opportunities. And yet, you haven’t gotten the ‘break’ you hoped for or risen to a level of success […]
Shrewd as Serpents The life of a creative requires not only talent and skill, but it also requires you to be shrewd as a serpent. Over the last 20 years, I don’t know how many times I have coached creatives on the need to be shrewd as serpents. It isn’t your typical sermon content, or […]
How to Boost Your Creativity Through Lent Looking for a new way to celebrate Lent? Lent is a spiritual practice. At the heart of Lent is the idea of identifying with Jesus, who started his ministry by fasting for 40 days. He gave up what seemed essential (food) in order to help him focus on […]
Stop Trying to Fit In Deep confidence grows within us when we stop trying to fit in. This happens when we find our confidence in who God made us to be, and how much He loves us, instead of trying to ‘fit into’ the art scene. There is a good reason you don’t quite fit […]
Remaining Faithful in the Face of Fame One of the greatest challenges in Hollywood is remaining faithful in the face of fame. In an industry built on ego, massive PR campaigns, and billions of dollars, even the humblest among us can be tempted to believe the great press we get. At the heart of it, […]
Christianity & Creativity: Kitsch in Art What is the real problem with kitsch, especially religious kitsch? Does it bother you? Maybe it should. But it is not repulsive because we are artistic snobs, who learned in college to snub our noses at shallow art. No. We find it lacking because there is no depth in […]
Your Identity as a Creative Your identity as a creative is serious business. We must define clearly what that means. There is a danger finding your identity in only one project, or one talent. Your identity must be greater than that if you will be able to pivot and adapt to the challenges of life. […]