Is the Church (Literally) Setting the World on Fire?

Taken by my friend Laura in her backyard during the Oregon fires last month. I started this blog ten years ago having just graduated from Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry.  Me and my friends had been sent out to set the world on fire, and the blog was created to pass on what we were …

How an RPG Video Game Changed My Life…

I’ll admit, when I picked up Final Fantasy XII from a video game store last summer, it wasn’t because I was searching for a deeply meaningful experience.   I basically bought it because I had randomly inherited a PlayStation 3, and despite the fact that it had been a decade since I had last been in the …

Staying Faithful When You’re Doubting Everything…

Note: This piece was co-authored with my good friend Belle Alvarez, a fellow Philly artist who’s been sharing the journey with me since our college days. Check out Belle’s work at bellealvarez.com!   You never quite know where a coffee conversation can take you. A few years back, Belle and I met at the Barnes and …

The Fragile Pathways to the Present…

Edited from a journal entry I wrote upon arriving back from a documentary filmmaking trip to Haiti one year ago: It seems obvious now.  Of course I should be here back in my bed, the rustling of wind through the trees outside my window and the faint sound of a TV downstairs.  But kneeling in …

Did Social Media Eat My Creativity?…

While doing some delivery work the other week, I found myself listening to a podcast about how social media affects us.  This is a topic that's been making its way into my periphery rather frequently in recent months; my friend Belle wrote an article on why she quit Facebook and is loving it; there was …

The Ben Franklin Invention That Nobody Talks About…

Working as a Philly tour guide the past five years, you get a sense of the things kids learn in school.  Every time we get to Ben Franklin's house and I ask people to name some of his ideas and inventions, the studious ones tend to name the same things: bifocals, volunteer fire departments, swim …

Seeing the Place of your Youth through the Eyes of a Grown-Up…

If you've ever wanted a surefire way to keep track of how you've changed over time, try leaving the place you grew up in and live 2000 miles away for five or ten years before returning.   Since you don't have an opportunity to remold your perceptions of the places and people there through newer memories, you …

My 5 Greatest Discoveries of 2017…

The year behind me was possibly one of the best years of my life.  I got to be in a commercial, co-direct a documentary about missions in Haiti, work as an assistant music director at a Renaissance Faire, and perform in a Victorian holiday caroling troupe while simultaneously visiting every Lancaster County Christmassy event ever …

Making it in the Real World: Reflections from a Year Post-Grad…

Eleven months ago today, I sat through a somewhat dull speech in a giant auditorium wearing an awkward square black hat, and bid farewell to my four-year excursion through the theater higher education system.  As is customary for such an experience, there was a sense of both relief and uncertainty. What's next?  Will a degree in the arts actually help me …

Your Beliefs: True or Just Convenient?…

Recent political events (I'll leave you to guess which ones) have left me fascinated once again with the psychology behind why we humans make the decisions we do.  While I do not plan to unveil the grand Oz of the universe pulling the strings of our minds from behind a curtain somewhere, I do wish to relate some …