Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Featured”
What does a Christian do when an artist calls Jesus a “boogey man”? How about the unbeliever when a musician sings “Jesus’ll kill you if you don’t get along”? Or simply his name: Jesus. Does the Christian swoon, the unbeliever grimace? For years, a favorite musician of mine has been Joni Mitchell. As the preeminent singer-songwriter of the twentieth century, …
Why would anyone read the same book more than once? I’m Josh Gastin, I’ve read The Lord of the Rings 14 times, and I’m here to answer that question. First off, I will readily admit that 14 is far too many times to read a book and I can’t exactly recommend that anyone else go as far as that. I …
In the summer of 2015 during a time at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, two friends and I came upon a temporary exhibition in one of the lower areas of the museum. In the center of the space there was a soft lit, large scale abstract painting. It was tawny oil paint and gold leaf on canvas – glinting a …
“O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth.” Psalm 8:1, 9“O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth.” -Psalm 8:1, 9 The familiar passage from Psalms always brings to mind the worship chorus. I remember hearing it over and over as a child. I can hear the arrangement in my …
I’m writing this on May 29th, which marks exactly one month since Forefront 2017. If you weren’t able to make it, Forefront 2017 was the festival and conference where we combined workshops and learning with some of the most amazing art and performances I have ever experienced. I walked away feeling more full and inspired than I could have hoped …
The best stories share a unique characteristic. It’s not a specific type of plot or a certain set of characters; what sets these excellent stories apart is their mastery of the bittersweet ending. This applies to more than just monuments of classical literature. Les Miserables and War and Peace leave the reader drifting in emotional limbo for days afterwards, but …
STUNTS. You know, all the amazing action you see in television and movies that leave a lot of us feeling one of two ways: “How can a person actually do that?” Or, “Wow that would be so fun to do!” This summer, through what is only an act of God, I entered the stunt world. I went to a stunt …
There is a gulf in the Christian community between sacred and secular art and culture. Sacred music and art is safe to interact with — no chance of upsetting God or becoming too immersed in the world there. What the Christian community fails to realize, however, is that secular art and culture and God are not mutually exclusive…
As a Christian and a creative — someone who must be producing something original (often multiple things at once) in order to feel purposed — I often take time to consider my place, both in Christianity and in the arts community. Even though I surely consider myself first a follower of Christ and second a creator, I find myself often …
