Slaying the Dragon of Sentimentality: Why Aesthetic Maturity Matters What’s On Your Wall? The Capital One commercial provokes you, “What’s in your wallet?” because your wallet symbolizes who you are, how you spend your money, and what you value. Maybe you’re a successful leader with a fancy credit card, a gym membership, crisp 100-dollar bills, […]
Stop Selling Your Art Cheap Every year I encounter artists who are afraid to charge what they’re worth. It paralyzes their career and strangles their hope of having the career they could have. Some are surrounded by people with a low view of art. Others live in cultures where ambition is a dirty word. The […]
The Hero’s Journey vs. The Disciple’s Journey One of the most celebrated frameworks for understanding story is The Hero’s Journey by Joseph Campbell. It is the most celebrated approach to writing a story for novelists, screenwriters, and filmmakers today. Campbell captured the imagination of George Lucas and countless creatives. His unique claim was that all […]
How To Be An Artist Telling Parables Like Jesus When you think of great artists, do you ever think of Jesus? He was always speaking in parables that confused the Pharisees, and even made the disciples scratch their heads. Jesus told stories like a great artist, because he knew that great art and great stories […]
Stop Settling: How Real Humility Produces Deep Passion, Not Passivity Living passionately and pursuing humility can sound like polar opposites, like putting one foot on the gas and the other on the brake at the same time. And yet, we are called to do both. Christians are called to love passionately. We are called to […]
Overcoming Creative Block: 5 Powerful Ways to Get Inspired Again Christians have unique resources in their creative life…but how do they make a difference? Naturally, as a part of the AEM community, you know that all creatives face this same challenge, but did you know you have spiritual resources for overcoming these challenges in your […]
Art is For Your Heart: Drama You Were Designed for Drama God gave us stories because we are designed to think in drama and narrative. We grow up as children looking for context to give meaning to our lives. We ask ourselves, “Why am I here?,” “What is the purpose of all this?,” and, “What […]
Artists Stop Playing It Safe: A Christian Perspective “Art is dangerous. It is one of the attractions; when it ceases to be dangerous, you don’t want it.” — Duke Ellington. Let’s get into it: Do you have a dangerous faith and courageous imagination? “Playing it safe” and “creativity” don’t go together. Playing it safe, is […]
Why You Should Dance…Before the Lord Why did King David, the man after God’s own heart, dance before the Lord? While some Christians may excuse it as the quirks of an eccentric leader, the truth is that he is a model for all worshipers of God. While this may make some believers uncomfortable, we must […]
Three Things that Do Not Change Culture: What I’ve learned after 20 years Everyone talks about changing culture, engaging culture, and transforming culture but after 20+ years of ministry in L.A., I think it is time to share 3 things that do not change culture. Yeah, I can’t believe it either; It has already been […]