Creativity, Faith, and Self-Publishing: Interview with Sam Mahlstadt

Today I am interviewing Sam Mahlstadt, author of Creative Theology. Sam writes a blog on faith and creativity at creativetheology.com. His book is now available in digital form, and the print edition is available for pre order. You can follow him on Twitter at @sammahlstadt.

In your book, you say that beauty inspires us to create. Tell us about what inspired you to write Creative Theology.

I tell a story in the book about a hiking trip I took through Rocky Mountain National Park. I witnessed the incredible reflective quality of nature on that trip. Some of those moments have stuck with me, as I’m personally compelled by the beauty found in nature. I also tell a story about a writing class in college where we were tasked with observing a piece of art for an hour, and then writing a poem in response. This is a key concept in the book, and that moment largely shaped my thoughts about creating in response to beauty. I don’t go into this in the book, but the art piece I looked at was a huge Jackson Pollock painting, Mural, at the University of Iowa Museum of Art, Read the rest of this entry »

Leading through Lies: truth or compassion?

In the last couple of weeks, I’ve come across some sharp tweets from leaders that seem to be referring to issues that people they know are going through. You know what I mean… those sideways, out-of-no-where, specific-situation types of tweets that make you think “there is a story here.” Whether they are referring to a specific person or not, you would definitely feel the finger pointing at you if you were dealing with the issue in question. One of them was from a well-known worship leader whom I respect and whose music I still think is awesome.

Jenn Johnson is known for being grace-centered, so this tweet is probably taken out of context. And to be honest, she did follow it up with several other tweets that softened the blow of this one. But here is my point: how does this information help the person she is addressing?

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Exposing the Lie of Loneliness

Do you believe this lie?

When you get married, you will never be lonely again because you will be with your best friend 24/7.

There are two kinds of loneliness: the kind you feel when you are by yourself (alone), and the kind you don’t feel when you are with someone else. They are the same.

Last weekend, my wife went out of town by herself. She really needed the time on her own because she has been under a lot of stress lately, so I was happy the trip came up for her to get away.

Friday night, I put the kids to bed and had a couple of guys over. I’m pretty busy, so I took the opportunity to stay up late and hang out with some friends without having to worry about anyone else. We had a good time talking, laughing, smoking pipes, and then I went to bed much later than usual.

After a short and restless night of getting up to take care of sick kids every hour or so, I was awoken at 6:30 am by my youngest daughter who was ready for the day to begin.

This may have been the moment when I first noticed the loneliness. I missed Heather the night before as I went to bed by myself, but I felt like I really needed her the next morning.

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Do You Have What It Takes to Lead?

Have you ever wondered if you have what it takes to be a leader? There are not many people who actually take the risks required to discover the answer. Fear holds many back, but others actually believe that they are already disqualified before they even try. They are not afraid of finding the answer because they already know it, and it is a resounding NO.

It’s pretty easy, in the world we live in, to look around and see a superstar. Regardless of your field or organization, there are giants around you. Their messages are on repeat on the internet and in your head, and all of your friends quote them to you. These leaders are perhaps among the greatest, or maybe they are just the loudest. Either way, when you compare yourself to them, you are incredibly small… or at least that is how you feel. The truth is that you just don’t realize your potential.

So how do you know if you have what it takes to step out in intentional leadership? There are only a few pieces to this puzzle, and the good news is that you can develop these qualities if you don’t have them already.

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Confront Your Enemy

At the core of every choice lies a hidden enemy.  Too often, we are unaware of this silent monster lurking under the surface of our awareness.  It aims at our weaknesses and our bad experiences.  It pushes the buttons that cause us to act or not act out of self-protection.  This enemy is waging war on our ability to take risks and to put faith into action.

It goes by many names: rejection, failure, isolation, loss, anxiety, pain, vulnerability, helplessness, and the unknown.  But, in the end, at its very core, it is fear.

You know this fear because you can feel it in your stomach, and if you’re quiet enough, you may even pick up on some of the lies it tries to feed your subconscious.

You can overcome this. Read the rest of this entry »

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