Love, Suffering, and Creativity

If anyone reading this post has been following the blog since I announced my new “content strategy,” they probably will have noticed that I failed to send a signal on Friday. Oops.

Considering that most of the day was spent with a friend driving to Santa Barbara to see Jim Gaffigan, I think my absence is perfectly excusable. I told myself that I would not be dogmatic about this, and that includes choosing not to make friends sit around while I ramble on the internet.

Enough of the apologetic, though. I’d like to share an upcoming event that I’m very excited about. See below. For the vision impaired, click the image to embiggen.

If you’ve read any of my other posts, chances are you’ve seen me mention both Dustin Kensrue and David Zahl (of Mockingbird fame) at least a few times. Brett McCracken is also a great writer, whose blog has some poignant insights to offer about faith, film, and culture. For those familiar with evangelical subculture, or have spent more than five minutes around those who attend Christian universities, his “Anatomy of a Christian Hipster” is worth perusing.

Although the primary intended audience for the event probably consists of young evangelicals, I believe that anyone could benefit from what these gents have to say. As the title suggests, love and suffering are going to be major themes in all of the talks. We believe that much of life is marked by those two experiences. Furthermore, love and suffering frequently operate in tandem, and this is most potently expressed in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. His suffering was an act of love on behalf of his enemies.

For about the last half-century, American Christians have related to art and storytelling in a manner that is uneven at best. There are, of course, exceptions (e.g. Johnny Cash, Marilynne Robinson, Wendell Berry, Flannery O’Connor, etc.), and, remarkably enough, much of their work is also marked by love and suffering. This event exists to help people see the numerous ways stories echo these themes over and over again.

Dustin Kensrue, David Zahl, and Brett McCracken think about and articulate issues of faith and culture in ways that are honest, insightful, and helpful. They’re able to discuss them with nuance and humility while still maintaining their convictions, an ability that is woefully scarce.

Tickets can be purchased here. Coffee and beer will be available for purchase at the event as well.

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