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Podcasts

Know About Creating: Why We Write Stories (And Why You Don’t Have to Rush)

Interview with Chelsea and Jonathan Boes

Grab some coffee and jump into this fun conversation with Jonathan and Chelsea Boes. Chelsea is the editor of WORLDKids Magazine, a culture writer at WORLD Magazine and a columnist at the Asheville Citizen Times. Jonathan is a writer, podcaster, and video creator and the multi-media editor for God’s WORLD News. Chelsea and Jonathan talk about why humans are drawn to stories, how faith informs their creativity, and why the creative process doesn’t have to be rushed. Come back next week for Part 2—a deep dive into Christians’ relationship with literature.

Why Stories Are Significant

Jonathan and Chelsea both believe there is significance in the human drive to tell stories. For Chelsea, it flows from a place of loving people and wanting to capture life. For Jonathan, the inclusion of so many stories in the Bible—as opposed to merely practical information—reveals that stories are important to God.


“God chose to give us stories.” 

Jonathan boes

“As Christians there can sometimes be a sense that we just want to get to the ‘meat,'” he told Know Why. “Sometimes the story can even seem like an impediment to that. But I think there’s something really important in the fact that so much of the Bible is presented in story.”

Embracing the Process

As an extrovert, Chelsea understands how the desire to “be seen” can conflict with the often lonely work of writing and the impatience of not knowing what the outcome of that work will be. But she believes that no time spent writing is wasted—even if some stories never see the light of day. Time spent working on your art is like time spent exercising a muscle.

Making appointments with yourself to write daily can help you grow, and also removes the pressure to create something quickly, she told Know Why.

Listen next week for Part 2 of Know Why’s interview with Chelsea and Jonathan!

Categories
Podcasts

Know About Creating: Why We Love Art

Conversation With Meghan Kitchen and Stephen R. Millar (Part 1)

For the first episode of Know Why’s new series, “Know About Creating,” Liberty is joined in-studio by audio engineer Meghan Kitchen and producer Stephen R. Miller, both of Point of View Radio Talk Show. But for this conversation, Liberty, Meghan, and Stephen are artists. They discuss what they love about their favorite art mediums, why they feel the drive to create stories, music, and performances, and how faith impacts their interactions with art. Enjoy Part 1 of this fun conversation and look for Part 2 next week! 

Art is Life

For people who consider themselves creatives, creating isn’t an option. That’s how Meghan, Stephen, and Liberty feel about their favorite forms of creative work. All three agree that art helps to connect them with other people.

“I love it [acting] because it gives me a chance to open people’s eyes, it gives me a chance to make people laugh or cry and to think deeply about humanity and about how they relate to others, and how others relate to them,” Stephen said.

“Art is to be shared,” Meghan added.

Faith and Art

What does it mean to do art as Christians? Meghan, Stephen, and Liberty share their various feelings on the combination of art and faith, acknowledging that sometimes Christians feel the need to box themselves or other artists in to explicitly and exclusively referencing God in their works.

Stephen argues that even in “dark” stories where the Gospel isn’t explicitly mentioned, people can be pointed to truth.

Listen to the episode for more about how art of various forms points to God, and check back next week for Part 2!

More Resources

  • What Happens in a Dream? Fictional Podcast by Meghan Kitchen
  • Request a free copy of the booklet “A Biblical View on Imagination” by Stephen Miller here, or read an expanded digital edition here.