Essay / Art

We'll "Figure Out" the Trinity, Get It?

This January I’ll be teaching an intensive class on the Trinity as part of Biola’s innovative IRIS program. It’ll be a three-week class that I’ll be co-teaching with nine other Biola profs, intentionally stirring together as many academic disciplines as we can fit into one

Essay / Avant-Garde

Happy Thanksgiving from the Pumpkin Diner

There’s an attitude of gratitude at the pumpkin diner, as the meals-with-friends-and-family part of the holiday kicks in. You can either be grumbly and hateful, or humbly grateful, so which is it gonna be? Today’s special speshle is turkey ham, according to the little bird

Essay / Avant-Garde

Psalmtooning 4: Ponder Ponder Ponder

The fourth Psalm, in graphic form by renowned interpreter Freddy Age Nine: Following a medieval tradition, Freddy Age Nine has taken the first letter of the Psalm (A is for “Answer me when I call”) and made it the architectural center of the composition. The

Essay / Avant-Garde

Star Wars Halloween Dance Party!!!

What are you dressing as, and what dance are you doing? Astromech Droid Artoo Unit Waltz (Bleep Blaap Blooop Danube) Ewok Sabre Dance (but Ewoks don’t have sabres, so here’s a spear) Begin the Boba Beguine (or is it the Jango Jig?) Poppin and Lockin

Essay / Avant-Garde

Psalmtooning 3: "How Many?"

Phoebe Age Seven interprets the first line of the third psalm as an actual question –“How many are my foes?”– though it was apparently intended as an exclamation: “Wow, that’s a lot of foes!” Phoebe Age Seven adds the exclamation point, but you can tell

Essay / Avant-Garde

Nonconformist Droid

It’s not all Psalmtooning around the house these days. The artists known as Freddy Age Ten and Phoebe Age Eight are nothing if not prolific, and their work cannot be confined to any single medium or genre. The resident curators (also known as parents) are

Essay / Avant-Garde

"Me First!" Elijah and the Widow of Zarephath

Here is a little two-minute video presentation of the story of Elijah and the widow of Zarephath (1 Kings 17:8-16). The team at my church’s media ministry put it together, and it features drawings by my kids, accompanying narration by our friend Anna. This video

Essay / Avant-Garde

Psalmtooning 2: Serve With Fear

Phoebe Age Seven draws her way through the second Psalm. In her earlier psalmtoon work, she showed a strong commitment to unifying the entire page composition. In the second Psalm, for whatever reason, she has apparently abandoned the quest for a unified composition in favor

Essay / Avant-Garde

Psalmtooning 1: Planted by Rivers of Water

I don’t know what other families do for devotions, but at my house we are cartooning our way through the book of Psalms. With world-famous artists like Freddy Age Ten and Phoebe Age Eight living under the same roof, it’s an opportunity not to be

Essay / Art

"Here is Your God:" Songs from Isaiah

This weekend was the official release of a new set of songs from my home church, Grace Evangelical Free Church in La Mirada, CA. The album has a website where you can listen to the songs online, buy the album, or buy individual tracks. There’s

Essay / Art

My First Publication Ever

Cleaning out the garage to make room for some basic woodworking tools, I found what I believe is my first publication ever. That is, it’s the first time I wrote something, was paid for it, and saw it printed by a national publisher. It’s from

Essay / Art

Giant Chocolate Bunny: Siedell's God in the Gallery

My review of Dan Siedell‘s book God in the Gallery just came out in the latest issue of Cultural Encounters. The same issue also has a short essay by Siedell, extending and updating some of his ideas about art and religion since the 2008 publication