Hey Creative, 

For 15 years, I have been a (near) full-time professional writer, producing both small-form content for marketing as well as longer-form books for publishers of all sorts. I've written non-fiction Bible studies and fiction from across the genre spectrum. I've been paid for my words, from both clients and customers — publishers and readers. And while I've given of my time and talents to both, there has been a yearning to do more.

To give back. To people who are full-on professionals or hustling toward that end, or those with just the smallest spark of desire who want to create—whether as a vocation, like me, or just simply as a hobby and past time.

After all we've been through the past few years—from the cultural and social tensions to the viral and political conflicts — 2024 seemed like a good time to change that.

First the blog's tagline: The Church Creative. It comes from the Christian term the Church Militant. As the ever-knowing Wikipedia explains, the Church Militant "consists of Christians on earth who struggle as soldiers of Christ against sin, the devil, and 'the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places.'"

The Church Creative is something similar, but also something different. It consists of Christians on earth who CREATE as co-Creators with Christ, unleashing the power of the pen in (all its forms) upon the world in gospel-driven ways—seeking to entertain and thrill, move and motivate, give insight and inspire into the crazy love of God in Jesus Christ.

This is a site with a slew of resources for Christian Creatives. Or maybe it's the other way around: Creative Christians. Either way, I hope to make this a regular part of my daily creative rhythm—if not for you, Christian Creative, then for myself. As a sort of bank of musings and ideas about what it means to a creative person inside the Church, while expressing that creativity for God's glory and human flourishing.

The name itself — CROSS + PEN — should be obvious, which the mission and vision of this space spells out:

CROSS + PEN empowers Christian writers with the insights, inspiration, and skills they need to dream, create, and launch their passion projects for God’s glory  and human flourishing.

You were created in Christ to create. Prayer + passion is all you need to start. But let’s go to the next level to ignite faith in your world.

Through books, courses, templates, and coaching, Christian creators are empowered to write, publish, and market their content to ignite encounters with the risen Christ and radical heart of God.

Go. Transform your world.CROSS + PEN MISSION

I’m here to empower your God-given gifts and wield the power of the pen for the sake of the cross — offering my 15+ years of insights into crafting, cultivating, and connecting books to a wandering world.

In the coming year, look for loads of fresh insights and inspiration to empower you to ignite faith in your world.

Sometimes a quotation, sometimes a verse of Scripture. Other times some advice on craft, business, or the creative life. We'll see.

I want to, in some way, encourage and equip the Church Creative, gospel-ignited Christian creators to do its thing, to be unleashed upon the world with the gospel-mandate to create — whether poetry or prose, stories or studies — for God's glory and human flourishing.

All through the power of the pen in service of the cross.

Seems like a good place to start this year as a Creative Christian myself. So, here's to a creative 2024.

Let's dream of new ways to wield the pen together to ignite a cross-shaped faith in our world. For the glory of God and good of the world.