If you really want to understand hope in hopelessness, you need look no further than a man on a cross. While ultimately all hope is found in Jesus, today, I’m not talking about him at least not directly. Rather, I’m talking about a man we only really know for his sin. I’m referring to someone Bible commentators sometimes call the penitent thief. His story is found in Luke 23:39-43. This man is mentioned in all four gospels, but never by... Read more
Did you know Jesus spoke of using your gifts to serve the Lord and fighting fear of failure? It’s true. It’s all found in a passage that I will no doubt quote often in this column. (I already quoted two verses from it in a previous article.) It’s Jesus, the Master Storyteller telling a masterful story. It’s found in Matthew 25. It’s called the Parable of the Talents. What is a Parable? Parables are stories, that, according to Scripture, hold... Read more
It might be a name you’ve not seen before, though many of you know exactly who He is. As with many of the names of people in Scripture, His name is prophetically significant, and knowing the meaning of Yeshua Hamaschiach is crucial. Let’s dig in… …but first a little fun A few of you might be thinking, who on earth is Yeshua Hamaschiach? I took advantage of that in 2016. The nation was becoming increasingly divided over politics and the... Read more
A question was posed, “Did Jesus really turn water into wine?” From. my perspective, this could be a very short article, one word, “Yes.” I’m pretty much a cut and dried guy when it comes to the Bible. I used to say, “God said it. I believe it. That settles it.” I now realize that is an erroneous statement. I now say, “God said it. That settles it, whether I believe it or not.” The truth is belief is the... Read more
…or how to use your artistic gifts to “draw them in.” In a previous column, we looked at ways we artists can serve One thing nearly all churches have in common is a need for reaching people beyond their walls. I have found this can be a great opportunity for visual artists to serve. Art can be a real attention getter for people in the community. Some of these ideas require more ability, while others are great entry level opportunities,... Read more
As you know, in this column we are all about creative ministry and so today we are going to look at a form of creative evangelism that has, at times, been controversial, the “He Gets Us” campaign to ask the question, “Is this creative evangelism?” A Little Background My wife and I have a fairly long commute to the church that I pastor. This Sunday we were listening to some praise and worship music on the radio to help us... Read more
It is imperative that we who desire to serve the Lord with our creative gifts remember is that it’s ministry and ministry needs to be biblical. Here are ten Bible passages that are crucial to anyone involved in creative ministry. All these passages come from the ESV. 1. Genesis 1:1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Did you realize the first thing we learn about God in the Bible, perhaps beyond His eternal nature, is the... Read more
In this column, my purpose is two-fold. To help the church to embrace creative people and to help creative people to embrace and serve the church. With that in mind, here are nine ways to get to serve your church with your gift. Thinking back to when I first began using the arts in ministry, outside the obvious use of musical gifts, it was not always easy for practitioners of other art forms to find opportunities to serve. It can... Read more
As you may have seen in my previous article, the entire course of my life was changed when a pastor found a use for my artistic talents in the local church. It was a relatively small project, but it opened doors, which revealed other abilities, which led to a very fulfilling artistic life of ministry. I am convinced I am not an anomaly. I believe there are frustrated artists all over the body of Christ, who would love to serve... Read more
The Origin Every great comic hero has an origin story, so why not me? My whole life, for as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to be an artist. I had an amazingly supportive grandmother who put crayons in my hands before I knew what to do with them and from there, I was off to the races. It’s not surprising. After all Pablo Picasso once said, “All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist... Read more
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