I was on social media the other day, and someone posted a memory of one of my favorite things, The Creation Festival. Creation was a Christian Music Festival that was held every Summer from 1979-2022 at the Agape Farm, in Shirleysburg, PA. It would draw as many as 100,000 people. Their slogan was “The highlight of your Summer…maybe your life.” It sure was that for me. In the Beginning In 1997 I was a Christian in trouble. I believed in... Read more
My Rock and Roll Life: Thoughts for Christians in the Arts I just heard that Ozzy Osbourne is retiring. In some ways that feels like the end of an era, and it ages me greatly. I was never a big Black Sabbath fan (Ozzy’s first band for the uninformed) though I did like Iron Man, but when I heard Randy Rhodes’ iconic guitar playing on Crazy Train for the first time I was hooked. Yes, I was a big fan... Read more
If you’re a Christian creative, the only “muse” worth having in the Holy Spirit. The One who spoke the universe into existence and the Maker of all things is the only source we need. This brings to mind what Jesus said, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33 ESV) While this verse certainly has many applications, if you find yourself creatively blocked, seeking inspiration from the... Read more
This is an excerpt from my upcoming book, Make Like Your Maker: Making What Your Maker Made You to Make. Should You Be a Professional Creative? In the early days of my art career, I felt the need to be a professional. Mainly because I wanted to tell the world, “I am a professional artist.” I wanted to do this for a living, and so I did. I took anything I could get and in the process, I ended up... Read more
I am currently in the early stages of writing a book called Make Like Your Maker: Make What Your Maker Made You to Make. I decided to share this excerpt because it really speaks to the beginning of the creative process. For more on Make Like Your Maker go to my author page. In the Beginning I’ve always been an artist. I haven’t always been a believer, but when I was starting to explore faith, I decided I needed to... Read more
February 17 is Random Acts of Kindness Day. What better opportunity is there for Christians to live out 1 Peter 4:10, “Each one should use whatever gifts he has received to serve others…?” Here are 10 random acts of kindness Christian creatives can do to make a difference. 1. Make and Takes You’ve no doubt seen them around. Someone takes a rock and paints it, leaving it somewhere for someone else to find. It’s a little treasure to brighten someone’s... Read more
I know it’s been a while. I haven’t written in several months. The reason is simple. I was burned out. Have you been there? A Labor of Love I have a hard time understanding how it happened. I love doing what I do. I love writing, creating, you name it. Nearly everything I do professionally is more joy than job. Yes I know how blessed I am and how rare it is to live that way. I also really love... Read more
Don’t get me wrong, there are some things in this life that are very complex and hard to understand, but there are a lot of things that really aren’t. So today, please hear my plea. Don’t overcomplicate your life. Your Life Is a Line One of the things that I think people really overcomplicate is the idea of sin and repentance. It’s not all that complicated. Sin is anything that God calls sin, and repentance is turning from it. To... Read more
Did you ever think of the spiritual implications of a monarch butterfly? A few years ago, a couple came into my church, Matt and Charlotte Kulp. Their hobby is raising monarch butterflies—upward of 500 a year. They wanted to tell the world about their hobby, share the Gospel and generate awareness, so they started a YouTube channel called Monarch Miracles. They also decided to do a presentation for churches and civic groups and asked me to help them create the... Read more
I was asked this question today. What Is Beauty? About an hour ago, I was on my Zoom call for Christian Creatives, which was started by Dr. William Barnett over at International Network of Creatives and the question was posed. What is beauty? It’s harder to define than you think and that concerns me. I will confess for a person who has spent his entire life in the arts in one form or another, I was struggling to define beauty.... Read more
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