“The War of Art” by Steven Pressfield

I’ve recently gathered my summer reading list and am really looking forward to it. This year I’ve got four books on my desk to read over the summer:

• The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
• Making Ideas Happen by Scott Belsky
• Leading in Prayer: A Workbook For Worship by Hughes Oliphant Old
• Rework by Jason Fried

Each of these books has come up in different conversations (in real life, on the blog, twitter or facebook) over the past year and I’m looking forward to each of them for different reasons.

I started reading “The War of Art” the other night and never has a book had such profound impact on my life within so few pages – with the exception of the Bible, of course. The first part of the book explains something that is very well-known to artists but hard to express – Resistance. He makes the case for the clever, sneaky ways that Resistance pulls us away from our task of creating. Resistance takes on many forms – distractions, laziness, success, etc – but always comes once we make the commitment to create. (As a sidenote, I’m not one of those who thinks that “artist” is a specialized category of class of people. I believe we are all artists and every single person will face Resistance in some way, whether or not they believe that they are gifted creatively.)

He moves from this incredible discussion on Resistance and its power to an exploration on the differences between amateurs and professional. The general view of “amateur” is that they are someone who is doing something because of their love of the activity. Pressfield’s argument is that it is the amateur who does not love the activity enough and that the professional, while he may get paid for his work, is actually the one who is creating because of his love. Even if the professional were not being paid, he would still be compelled to create.

One of the fun ways to take a book like this to a new level has been to share some of my thoughts and some of the quotes on twitter (@chrisfromcanada) and to have a second level of interaction with people who are either new to the book or who have read it before. If you’re interested in following along, I’m attaching the #WarOfArt hashtag to all of my tweets about the book.

Here’s a series of tweets and replies that have been happening on twitter the past few days -

“It’s not the writing part that’s hard. What’s hard is sitting down to write.”#warofart

I’m 10 pages in and I’m already convinced that this book could change me. #warofart

“The best & only thing that 1 artist can do for another is to serve as an example and an inspiration.” #warofart Thanks, artist friends, …

“We will never cure our restlessness by contributing our disposable income to the bottom line of Bullshit, Inc.”#warofart

“Fundamentalism and art are mutually exclusive. There is no such thing as fundamentalist art.” #warofart

Resistance and fear. What’s the step I’m afraid to take right now? What’s the journey that is too fear-filled? #warofart

“If you’re paralyzed with fear, it’s a good sign. It shows you what you have to do.”#warofart Thankful for the enduring perfect love of God

From @JeannaMiller – RT @chrisfromcanada: “If you’re paralyzed with fear, it’s a good sign. It shows you what you have to do.”#warofart

From @derricklogan – RT @chrisfromcanada Summer reading begins now. #warofarthttp://twitpic.com/1ylkf3 // Top 5 all time for me.

Some more #warofart reading tonight. Lots of things stirring in my brain from the first 50 pages.

From @anidolheart – RT @chrisfromcanada Some more#warofart reading tonight. // I have been told to read that book. Thanks for the reminder.

“Seeking support from friends and family is like having your people gathered around at your deathbed.”#warofart Thankful 4 deathbed friends

“Tolstoy had thirteen kids and wrote War and Peace.” #warofart He must have had one great wife.

I wish I could tweet all of page 57. I think I need to rip it out and frame it instead. #warofart

From @christopherbmac – @chrisfromcanada I dare say Tolstoy’s family life was probably the inspiration for the book, with that many kids.#warofart

“The artist committing himself to his calling has volunteered for hell, whether he knows it or not.” #warofart Little over the top. I get it

The exploration of amateur vs. professional has so much to say for those of us leading teams of “volunteers.” Good stuff. #WarOfArt

“The professional, though he accepts money, does his work out of love. He has to love it.” #WarOfArt

“Technically, the professional takes money. Technically, the pro plays for pay. But in the end, he does it for love.”#WarOfArt

“The professional masters how, and leaves what and why to the gods.”#WarOfArt

I totally get Piper’s “we are not professionals” but I am now sold on Pressfield’s “we are not amateurs”#WarOfArt

From @ChurchTechGuy – @chrisfromcanada I was once told the only difference between amateur and professional art is who gets paid. I do it for the love of art.

From @b_rewster – RT @chrisfromcanada:”The professional masters how, & leaves what & why 2 the gods.”#WarOfArt/Another awesome person reading “The manifest”

From@sabbatical – @chrisfromcanada Karl Marx had seven kids, but at least 3 of them died because he was so poor due to his writing/philosophizing.

From @charlie_mcevoy – @chrisfromcanada The first time I read that book I wanted to copy the entire thing in a note book.

From @wdkunkel – @chrisfromcanada Isn’t that one of the longest books EVER. With 13 kids, could it have been his ‘garage project’ before there was a garage?

From @marcjolicoeur – “War of Art” is quite good, eh @chrisfromcanada?

I’m looking forward to working my way through the rest of the book. As you may be able to tell, I have a feeling that the impact of this book is going to last for a long, long time.

William Paul Young (author of “The Shack”) on The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos

Lots of you end up on this site because I’ve talked about “The Shack” several times – both about my interaction with the book and about my interaction with William Paul Young, the author. Paul was in southern Ontario last week and was part of a show on CBC called “The Hour” hosted by George Stroumboulopoulos. George has become a very well-respected journalist in Canada and I love his interview style.

If you want to see the interview (it’s less than 13 minutes) you can see it here – http://www.cbc.ca/thehour/videos.html?id=1124988848

After you watch, I’d love for you to come back and drop your thoughts in a comment. Here are mine -

• .George is a fantastic interviewer. He gets to the heart of the matter very quickly and knows enough of the story & context to come off sounding well-informed and intrigued by the answers.
• .Paul has heard every question in the book over the last couple of years and has an answer ready for every one of them. He has become very experienced at the interview thing.
• .I am amazed and excited that a book written for this guy’s six kids has opened these kinds of doors for spiritual discussion. Agree or disagree, like him or not, Paul’s book has given the church new opportunities to talk about the gospel with those who have questions. Are you taking that opportunity??
• .What is the deep, preconceived, misguided notion of God in my own life that I need to get rid of?
• .Big thought on this one – there is NO WAY that CBC would have given this guy 15 minutes of airtime 10 years ago. No chance. Pretty awesome that he was given that opportunity to declare Jesus is the Word of God, that God is existent as the Trinity and that He is exceptionally fond of each of us. That is very cool.

Theology of Worship

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I’m taking a theology of worship class at Heritage Seminary in Cambridge, ON. The course began today and we are off to a great start! Dr. David Barker is teaching the class and his passion for Scripture and the church is inspiring and engaging. I’ve heard Dr. Barker speak a few times (including Sunday mornings at our church) and I have been looking forward to this class for a while.

Some of you were asking today about the books that we are using for the course readings this week. Here’s the list of required and recommended books that Dr. Barker has given us. I’ve read several of these and have added the rest to my (ever-growing!!) ‘need to read’ list.

• Engaging with God: A Biblical Theology of Worship by David Peterson
• Unceasing Worship: Biblical Perspectives on Worship by Harold Best
• Worship by the Book by D. A. Carson
• Reaching Out Without Dumbing Down by Marva Dawn
• The Gift of Worship by C. Welton Gaddy
• Enter His Courts with Praise: Old Testament Worship for the New Testament Church by Andrew Hill
• Worship Evangelism by Sally Morgenthaler
• The Worship Phenomenon by Robert Webber
• Worship Seeking Understanding by John Witvliet

So have you read any of these? There are some classics on here as well as some newer books. Any books that you think should be on the list?

Orthodoxy – G.K. Chesterton

I’m not an avid reader but in keeping with my stereotypical artistic brain I usually have at least a couple of books on the go. This summer I’ve been reading some good stuff including one of the classics that I go back to every couple of years.

G.K. Chesterton is a favourite author of mine – I love his seemingly casual style of writing that almost conceals these deep, hard-hitting truths until the very last second when they jump off the page. I find myself reading a passage that he’s written, not entirely sure what point he’s trying to make and once the point is made (and made strongly!) I need to go back and re-read the whole setup. Chesterton is a master at convincing the reader to agree with something they would have disagreed at the beginning of the page.

Orthodoxy is a book I’ve read several times but I’m sure it will be a book that will be part of my library for my whole life. It is a quick read but the material is not light. Here is Chesterton’s description of why he wrote the book -

This book is meant to be a companion to “Heretics,” and to put the positive side in addition to the negative. Many critics complained of the book called “Heretics” because it merely criticised current philosophies without offering any alternative philosophy. This book is an attempt to answer the challenge. It is unavoidably affirmative and therefore unavoidably autobiographical. The writer has been driven back upon somewhat the same difficulty as that which beset Newman in writing his Apologia; he has been forced to be egotistical only in order to be sincere. While everything else may be different the motive in both cases is the same. It is the purpose of the writer to attempt an explanation, not of whether the Christian Faith can be believed, but of how he personally has come to believe it. The book is therefore arranged upon the positive principle of a riddle and its answer. It deals first with all the writer’s own solitary and sincere speculations and then with all the startling style in which they were all suddenly satisfied by the Christian Theology. The writer regards it as amounting to a convincing creed. But if it is not that it is at least a repeated and surprising coincidence.

With all of the new ideas, new resources, new songs and new opportunities that come along every day sometimes it’s good to go backa few generations and spend some time with the thoughts of a man who had great impact on his culture at a time when the role of the church was in great decline. Hearing some of the things Chesterton says gives me new energy in my walk with Christ and also re-energizes my conviction that communicating the gospel through art is one of the ways our culture will be transformed.

This quote made my head spin

“The dogma is the drama.” – Dorothy Sayers

I started reading “A Better Way” by Michael Horton last night and only made it through to the end of the introduction and already my life has been rocked. Wow.

I’m going to post more on this book as I make my way through it.

An evening with William Paul Young, author of “The Shack”

On Sunday I had the real privilege to spend a few hours with Paul Young (he goes by his middle name), the author of “The Shack.” If you haven’t read it yet, you’ve probably heard about it and the person who pointed you to the book either told you that you’d love it or hate it – there really is no in between with this book. As far as Paul is concerned, this book truly is a “God thing” – he said last night that they’ve spent less than $300 in marketing and are approaching 500,000 units sold! This is unheard of in the publishing industry and is an amazing story of the power of word-of-mouth marketing.

When I heard that Paul was going to be in southern Ontario this past weekend, I emailed him to see if we could arrange for him to come up to Orangeville to spend some time with our staff, elders and spouses. We’ve all been reading his book over the past several months and wanted to spend some time hearing his story and asking some questions.

I met Paul & Earl for dinner and then we headed over to the church. Earl introduced Paul who then spoke for close to an hour and a half just telling his life story – brokenness, pain, redemption, grace, more grace, more pain, more grace. Hearing his story shed some incredible new light on the book and pulled together some of the loose ends that I still had in my mind around the story.

Paul’s story is – in its simplest form – a story of grace. It would cheapen the experience for me to just type out some of what Paul told us but suffice to say that if you ever get the chance to hear Paul speak where he will be telling his life story, make sure you are there.

After a quick break we did some Q&A – some people asked about specific moments in the book, some asked about some “bigger picture” things and Paul also talked about some of the criticisms that have come up since the book was released. It was clear that there were things in the book that have had significant impact in the lives of some people on our leadership team and to hear Paul flesh out his thoughts a little bit more was great.

The night ended with lots of hugs (if you meet Paul, get ready for hugs!) and he took time to talk with everyone who wanted some of his time. It was so evident that he is incredibly appreciative for every moment that he’s got left and wants to give whatever he can as an overflow of the grace that he has been shown.

After a quick nap (Paul said he got back to his hotel at about midnight), he and I were on the road at 4:00 on Monday morning to head down to the airport for his flight home. Although it was ridiculously early we still had a great conversation on the way down to Toronto and one more good hug before he took off to catch his flight.

FYI – Paul may have let the cat out of the bag a little bit last night but he said he’ll be speaking at the Catalyst Conference later this year in Atlanta. Pretty amazing for a guy who’s first book came out 11 months ago!

Mark Driscoll & The Shack

William P. Young is coming to Ontario this weekend and we’ve got the privilege of hosting him for an evening with our staff and elders. A bunch of us have been reading his book “The Shack” and it’s generated some good discussion. There’s been lots of talk about the book online and most of it (but not all) has been centred around his portrayal of God the Father as an African-American woman.

Some people have seen the portrayal as a bit cheeky, meant to poke holes in our typical view of God the Father as old man, long beard, waiting for lowly humans to mess up. Mark Driscoll has joined the ranks of those who feel that Young’s portrayal is purely heretical.

RSSers – Click here for the video

Responses? Thoughts? I’m looking forward to engaging some good dialogue about this on Sunday night.

The psychology of colour

Interesting article at msn.ca – if you’re responsible for designing the environments in your santuary or worship space you probably want to check it out.

Common colour associations
• Red — arousing, exciting, stimulating. It is also considered to be strong and masculine. It is a warm colour and is often thought of as actually hot. It advances relative to other colours, making it appear closer. Red is associated with passion and vigour.

• Pink — soft, acquiescent, sensuous. As red shifts to pink, it often shifts gender association from masculine to feminine.

• Orange — exciting, stimulating, intense. The liveliness of orange has an almost whimsical quality that is less serious than red.

• Peach — soft, sunny, warm. Soft peach has a feminine quality to it.

• Yellow — luminous, sunny, cheerful. Soft yellows can seem expansive and open, which magnifies the feeling of spaciousness. Intense, pure yellows can seem acidic and irritating in large amounts but whimsical and energizing in smaller amounts.

• Pale yellow — neutral, expansive. As yellow pales, it loses its colour and requires a cool adjacent colour to react with to have any colour dynamic in the space.

There are also lots of pictures and descriptions from a book called “Interior Color By Design” by Jonathan Poore.

Got a question for Rick?

I got an email from the folks at re:create this morning giving us their last push for registration. If you’ve got some extra budget money laying around and you want to spend 4 days with some really creative people and eat some of the best food you have ever had in your life, come to Nashville with us in a couple of weeks. Details are here.

I was checking out the list of registrants and it looks like there’s a whole crew coming from Saddleback to be with us this year including Rick Muchow and Tony Guerrero. Rick is the Pastor of Worship at Saddleback and Tony is the Director of Creative Arts there. Tony also wrote a book called “Attracting Quality Musicians” that I’m excited about starting next week and will hopefully finish before meeting him in Nashville!

So, faithful readers. Any burning questions in your head that you’d like me to ask Rick or Tony? I’ll try and weasel my way in to sit beside them during one of our meals together and will do my best to get your question answered.

The Shack

So this book has generated quite the buzz since the author decided to publish it himself. I’ve heard lots of talk about it and am excited to start reading it this week. My pastor and his wife both read it and he gave me a copy for me & Sonya to read. Sounds like we’re in for a big of an adventure together!

If you haven’t heard about it, you can get more info on the book at these spots:

• WindRumors (the author’s blog)
• www.TheShackBook.com
• Subversive Influence (interview with the author)
• Lo-Fi Tribe

Have you read it?

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