Writer | Editor | Artist | Ordinand
Jesus is the one good king to whom the righteous rulers of legend and literature all point. He, too, comes to us in a humble position, as a God birthed in a stable, crucified as a criminal, before being exalted to glory. He, too, overcomes the enemy armies—in his case, the very armies of Evil itself. He, too, saves us from affliction—not merely pestilence, but the very disease within our souls.
Unlike your contemporaries, who churned out mostly happy-clappy loves songs to Jesus, you peered into your pain, stared into the darkness of the world, and saw the light of God piercing through that darkness. You used the hurt and brokenness of your life to form art beautiful in all its truthfulness.
But for all of your suffering and broken life, Vincent, I want you to know something: you continually point me back to God. In my darkest moments, I look at your paintings and see all the vibrancy of creation on full display.
When I return to my hometown, I realize I am a fish out of water. I recognize the sights, the sounds, and the flavors, but they are no longer mine. There is an aesthetic, verbal, and all-around cultural disconnect. The experience is bittersweet.
Occasionally, seeing how other brothers and sisters in Christ have celebrated and pointed themselves to the gospel over the centuries can enrich our experience of that same gospel all the more
I was talking with a coworker recently. An English major when he was in college who loves writing stories and reading Dostoevsky, he is now studying at the seminary in order to hopefully plant a church overseas someday. We spoke of stories we liked and environments that seemed to inspire us, like gothic buildings and … Continue reading The Artist-Pastor Identity Crisis, Part 2
From ghosts and demons to psychosis and the mysteries lying in-between, these are tales for our generation that harken back to classics past.
The 1990s began with some award-winning masterpieces, followed by international films that would shape the future of the genre.
The 1980s were dominated by low-budget bloodbaths, but a handful of stylish, A-rate productions went against the tide and still stand today as amazing cinematic contributions to the genre.
The 1970s featured a surprisingly direct approach to spiritual warfare shown in now legendary pictures like several of these films.
