What if the way you measure your spiritual growth is based on a flawed concept of time?
In our fast-paced, modern culture, we are subtly trained to view life as a straight line. We draw charts, track metrics, and calculate progress on an upward, left-to-right slope. We treat spiritual formation like a ladder: you start at the bottom as a struggling novice and climb toward efficiency, agency, and spiritual perfection.

But when Jesus talks about the Kingdom of Heaven, he rarely uses the language of industrial progress or linear ladders. Instead, he talks about seeds quietly dying in dirt, yeast permeating dough, nets cast into mysterious depths, and tiny mustard grains expanding into sheltering trees.

In this Art Pastor Live session, we explored Matthew 13 alongside reflections on how different cultures understand time. By pairing Jesus’ parables with visual art, we paused to ask a fundamental question: Is life a line or a circle—and how does the Kingdom of God grow within us?

This image is from page 9 in A Cartoonist’s Guide to MatthewThe Gospel of Matthew collects Jesus' parables about the Kingdom of Heaven into one convenient package in Matthew 13:1-53. I want to make an observation about how these parables are structured. Jesus is in...

On Thursday, July 16 at 4:00pm CT I livestreamed on YouTube and Facebook for an hour. This contemplative session reflects Psalm 139:1-24.  The art is created in the Procreate app on my iPad Pro....

On Thursday, July 9 at 4:00pm CT I livestreamed on YouTube and Facebook for an hour. This contemplative session reflects Exodus 34:6-7. Learn more here. The art is created in the Procreate app on my iPad Pro....

I got to be the Artist-in-Residence at Camp House again this summer. It was only for three days, but it was fun. Here are the pieces I created while there. Enjoy!We read the story of Jesus and the Woman at the Well in Samaria. This was my visual meditation on the...

Real Art. Real Time. Real Connection.An 8-Week Summer Series of Contemplative Art & ScriptureIn an age of Artificial Intelligence generating endless content, let this be a refreshing connection to a real person, creating real art, in real time, and contemplating a...

How do we preach about the Kingdom of God that Jesus proclaimed and the so-called American Dream that is celebrated on Independence Day and the Fourth of July? Do they go together?

Happy Father's Day! I am very grateful to have a father who makes it easy for me to imagine God as a loving heavenly father. I love you, Dad. This morning I found two posts from the past that I created in honor of Father's Day and the text I preached for that week. I...

This is my new course at Faith+Lead Academy. It is a FREE mini-course that will help you develop a clearer vision for what it means to be a community of disciples who follow Jesus in everyday life for the sake of the world.

I had the joy of preaching the Baccalaureate service at Luther Seminary on Saturday, May 30, 2026. It seemed appropriate to share my favorite prayer of Paul that he prayed for his friends in Philippi in Philippians 1:9-11.