Rob Bell is the New York Times Best-Selling author of fourteen books and plays, which have been translated into 25 languages. His visual art can be seen on Instagram @realrobbell. His band is HUMANS ON THE FLOOR, and his podcast is The RobCast.

Today on Makers and Mystics, Rob and I are talking about his Interplanetary tale of love, loss, and bread, his sci-fi fantasy novel Where’d You Park Your Spaceship.

In our conversation, we discuss following creative tangents and the long curiosity that keeps inviting us to follow them.

This episode is sponsored by The Breath and The Clay Creative Arts Organization. Our next gathering is March 21-23 in Winston Salem NC. Tickets are on sale now.

S14 E18: Awakening Wonder In An Anxious Age with author Katherine May

Katherine May is an internationally renowned writer, podcaster and speaker whose work touches on nature, spirituality, slow living and neurodivergence.

Her hybrid memoir Wintering was a global bestseller, adapted as BBC Radio 4’s Book of the Week, and shortlisted for the Porchlight and Barnes & Noble Book of the Year. Her most recent title, Enchantment became an instant New York Times bestseller.

In our conversation Katherine and I discuss the common need for rediscovering pathways into enchantment and wonder. We discuss her concept of wintering and how even our most difficult times can become sources of creative and spiritual nourishment.

Patrons of the podcast can enjoy an exclusive segment of our conversation where Katherine and I unpack the phrase “secular mystic” as she’s described in the inner sleeve of Wintering.

I’d like to personally invite you to join us at The Breath and The Clay creative arts gathering March 21-23 2025 in Winston Salem, NC. Get Tickets here.

Author, authors, Enchantment, wonder, storytellingStephen RoachNovember 26, 2024author, Katherine May, wonder, reenchantment, enchantment, Best selling, memoir

S14 E15: Contours of Enchantment with Cheryl Bridges Johns

For many people, and perhaps even for some of our listeners, the Bible elicits a very different response from one person to another. For some, it is a source of comfort and spiritual nourishment, even a great source of creative inspiration, while for others, it brings up difficult questions or even negative emotions and uncomfortable associations.

But as we’ve talked this season about disenchantment and reclaiming wonder, I’m curious if taking a second look at this collection of stories, songs, and spiritual directives may be yet another unexpected doorway into wonder.

My guest today is author and scholar Cheryl Bridges Johns. Cheryl is the author of four books including Re-enchanting The Text: Rediscovering the Bible As Sacred, Dangerous and Mysterious.

In our conversation, we discuss the impact of looking at scripture solely from a didactic viewpoint and what may occur in the reader who instead approaches the Bible as a mystical text with the uncanny ability to change and transform, even re-enchant its reader with a renewed spiritual vitality and understanding of God and the human condition. Cheryl and I also discuss the importance of nature as God’s second book and the role of imagination in creating the world around us.

Patrons of the podcast can enjoy an additional interview segment with Cheryl offering several practices to unlock a renewed vision on your creative and spiritual life.

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S14 E14: Catharsis with Lacey Sturm

Lacey Sturm is a Grammy-nominated queen of hard rock who secured a place in rock history as the first solo woman to top the Billboard Hard Rock Albums chart with her debut album Life Screams. With a career spanning songs like “All Around Me,” “I’m So Sick,” “Again,” “Impossible,” “State of Me'' and most recently “Awaken Love,”

Lacey Sturm has proven herself as one of the most powerful and enduring voices in hard rock. She is also a sought-after speaker and author, penning the autobiographical books The Reason, The Mystery and The Return. Also a dedicated wife and mother, Lacey tours with her family, supported on stage by her guitarist husband Josh Sturm. You can connect with Lacey at www.laceysturm.com

In this episode, Lacey shares openly about walking through devastating experiences early in life and the role music played in helping her find healing. She shares about her life now and how changing seasons bring out unexpected encounters with beauty and hope.

*Also, just a heads up, our talk today includes sensitive subject matter, including mental health, abuse, and domestic violence.

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S14 E13: Van Gogh Has A Broken Heart with Russ Ramsey

Russ Ramsey is an author and pastor with a passion for uniting art and faith. He has been in vocational ministry for more than twenty years and currently serves as the lead pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church’s Cool Springs location. He holds an MDiv and ThM from Covenant Theological Seminary, and is the author of six books, including Rembrandt is in the Wind: Learning to Love Art through the Eyes of Faith (Zondervan 2022), and Behold the King of Glory, recipient of the 2016 Christian Book Award for New Author. Russ was also a founding contributor and member of The Rabbit Room and is a featured speaker each year at The Rabbit Room’s annual conference, Hutchmoot.

In today’s episode Russ discusses his new book, Van Gogh has a Broken Heart. The conversation explores how Van Gogh’s life and art reveal universal themes of struggle and wonder and what Van Gogh reveals about the human condition.

Patrons of the podcast can enjoy an additional interview segment on why the arts are important to communities of faith. Visit Patreon.com/makersandmystics to learn more.

Name Drops: Van Gogh, Norman Rockwell, Paul Simon, Rembrandt,

Books: The Sunflowers Are Mine, Van Gogh Has A Broken Heart

Topics: Suffering, Van Gogh, Wonder, Faith, Honesty in art, mental health, emotional well-being

Van Gogh Letters

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S14 E08: Reclaiming Your Voice with author Shannon K. Evans

Our voice is one of the most uniquely defining qualities of our person. For artists and writers, finding our voice is a foundational and often painstaking process of search and discovery. For many, finding the courage to acknowledge, I am an artist. I am a writer. I am a musician, takes a lot of courage. Speaking it out for the first time can be an act of bravery and overcoming self doubt, imposter syndrome and fear.

In her book, The Mystics Would Like A Word, author Shannon K. Evans says,

“Claiming your own voice - your own perspective, your own experience, your own intuition, your own prophetic call to the world - is essential for artmaking.”

In this episode, Shannon talks about her journey of overcoming imposter syndrome, embracing her whole experience of balancing artistry and motherhood and how six revolutionary women mystics helped her reclaim her authentic voice.

Patrons of the podcast can enjoy exclusive interview segments at http://patreon.,com/makersandmystics

Apply to attend The Breath and The Clay Writer's Retreat. Oct. 25-27, 2024 in Moravian Falls, NC.

Author, contemplation, everyday life, Mystics, Reclaiming Wonder, wonderStephen RoachSeptember 18, 2024author, mystics, women mystics, Shannon K Evans

S14 E06: Learning To See with Paul J. Pastor

When we think of wonder or beauty, we might be inclined to think in terms of an external appearance, a scene of nature or an attractive person. But what if wonder is something that grows from the inside out? What if wonder is way of seeing? And what if wonder is an interior force, one that begins in the hidden recesses of our perceptions?

Today, on the show I’m talking with Oregon-based, poet, writer and critic, Paul J Pastor. Paul serves HarperCollins as senior acquisitions editor for their Zondervan imprint, and also serves as a contributing editor for Ekstasis magazine. He's the author of several books, including Bower Lodge: Poems, and two forthcoming titles: The Locust Years and The Fire Cantos.

In our conversation, Paul and I discuss the importance of learning to see as a means of engaging wonder. Drawing from the work of William Blake, Flannery O’ Connor and stories from the Gospels, this episode takes us on a journey into our perceptions and invites us to reconsider beauty as more than an aesthetic experience.

Author, Faith and Art, Philosophy, Reclaiming Wonder, theologyStephen RoachSeptember 4, 2024Paul J Pastor, Literature, poet, philosophy

S13 E11: A Brutal Love with Kimberly Phinney

Kimberly Phinney is a professor, counselor, poet and writer. She’s been published in Ekstasis Magazine, Fathom, Humana Obscura, and many other publications. She is the editor and founder of the literary community The Way Back To Ourselves. Earlier this year, Kimberly’s poem “An Ode to Hard, Dark Nights” won the Audience Choice Award in our Bright Wings Poetry Contest in partnership with Ekstasis magazine.

In this episode, Kimberly shares how the vision for her creative community and her recent book of poems, Of Wings and Dirt were born out of her journey through an intense season of illness. As a community leader, Kimberly shares her thoughts on how artists and creatives can move against the modern bent toward isolation and disembodiment.

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S13 E09: To Mend The World with Charlie Peacock and Andi Ashworth

What does it mean to be a culture maker in a world of hurt and wondrous possibility? And what does it mean to mend the world, to bring healing and hospitality through our art and the details of our everyday lives?

Today’s episode features multi-Grammy winner Charlie Peacock and his wife and author, Andi Ashworth. Charlie and Andi have recently published a wonderful book together titled, Why Everything That Doesn't Matter, Matters So Much: The Way of Love in a World of Hurt The book draws from their 50 years of marriage and lifelong experience working with artists in community.

In this conversation, Charlie and Andi share from their book on what it means to mend the world through honest, meaningful relationships and a hopeful imagination.

Patrons of the podcast can hear additional interview segments with Charlie and Andi on the power of writing letters and keeping a consistent practice of journaling.

Visit patreon.com/makersandmystics to gain access.

S13 E04: The Art of Lament with Amanda Held Opelt

Amanda Held Opelt is an author, speaker, and songwriter. She writes about faith, grief, and creativity, and believes in the power of community, ritual, shared worship, and storytelling to heal even our deepest wounds.

In today’s episode Amanda discusses the art of lament and how deep-rooted communal practices of shared grief can help us heal and grow through the difficult experiences of our lives.

Drawing from her book Holy Unhappiness: God, Grief and the Myth of the Blessed Life, Amanda shares her journey of grappling with experiences of disillusionment when life with God didn’t feel the way she expected it to feel.

*In just a few weeks, you can join Amanda live at The Breath and the Clay creative arts gathering where she will be conducting a workshop called “Let There Be Grief: Rituals and Remembrances As a Path to Healing.”

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Art As Healing, Author, authors, Community, Culture, Grief, The Breath and the ClayStephen RoachFebruary 27, 2024amandaheldopelt, grief, lament

S13 E03: The Social Instinct with Christa Hardin

Relationships form the heartbeat of community life. The way we interact, the way we understand one another and hold space for the differences between us determines the quality and depth of our societies.

Our guest today is relationship expert and author Christa Hardin. Christa is host of the popular Enneagram and Marriage podcast. She has been working with and researching marriage for two decades, providing hope for couples who are struggling to find their light, love, and mission together in any season of relationship.

In this conversation, Christa unpacks some of the ways she has helped couples foster a deeper understanding of one another through utilizing the Enneagram and her years of research and practice. She shares about our social instinct and how we can move toward finding common ground with those who may see life a bit differently than ourselves. Christa offers ways to cultivate health in our most intimate relationships and how these same dynamics can translate to a larger, cultural level.

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S12 E15: Returning To Eden with Heather Hamilton

One of the core markers of a person’s identity are the beliefs they hold to be true. A person’s faith becomes a fixed point from which they view and understand the world. But what happens when those beliefs are shaken? Or what happens when a person is confronted with a difficult truth that collides with or even contradicts their view of the world?

Our guest today is storyteller and best-selling author of Returning to Eden: A Field Guide for the Spiritual Journey, Heather Hamilton. In this episode, Heather shares what it was like to undergo a nervous breakdown and a subsequent mystical experience that re-ordered her understanding of the universe.

GET TICKETS TO THE BREATH AND THE CLAY

S12 E12: Remixing The Grand Narrative with Tara Isabella Burton

At one time, religious identity and the Christian narrative formed the social imaginary of our western world. To be a part of a local church or to identify with some aspect of the values of traditional faith was an assumed part of American life. But today, autonomy, self-fulfillment and individual expression seem to have taken the forefront of how a generation defines themselves and lives out the search for meaning and deeper purpose.

My guest today is novelist and prolific writer, Tara Isabella Burton. Tara Isabella Burton is the author of the novels Social Creature, The World Cannot Give, and the forthcoming Here in Avalon (S&S, January 2024), and the nonfiction Strange Rites: New Religions for a Godless World and Self-Made: Creating Our Identities from Da Vinci to the Kardashians.

She has written on religion and culture for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and more. She received her doctorate in Theology from Oxford in 2017, and is currently a Visiting Fellow at George Mason University's Mercatus Center.

In our conversation, Tara shares about how modern society has not so much abandoned it’s yearning for transcendence in favor of a secular world view but has rather simply re-mixed the grand narrative to fit the values of expressive individualism. Tara also shares about fiction as a catalyst of embodying truth and how fandom, religious affiliation and art play into the shaping of identity.

You can pre-order Tara’s upcoming novel here.

You can join the Makers & Mystics creative collective here

You can get tickets to The Breath & the Clay creative arts gathering here! March 22-24, 2024 in Winston Salem, NC.

S12 E11: Tell Me The Dream Again with Tasha Jun

Tasha Jun is a Korean American melancholy dreamer, wife, and mom, who grew up in a multicultural and biracial home. She’s spent her life navigating the space between worlds: American and Korean, faith and doubt, family devotion and fierce independence. As a Korean American, she wandered between seemingly opposing worlds, struggling to find a voice to speak and a firm place for her feet to land.

In today’s episode, as we continue our exploration of art and identity, Tasha talks with me about her journey from self-rejection to self-acceptance and how writing her memoir Tell Me The Dream Again served as a means of integrating the multi-faceted parts of her identity.

Patrons of the podcast can enjoy a deeper dive into this topic with Tasha on our Patreon.

Art & Identity, Author, authors, Faith and Art, soul care, storytelling, WholenessStephen RoachOctober 10, 2023Tasha Jun, Memoir

S12 E08: Chasing Rabbits with S.D. Smith

In today’s episode we’re going to hear from a young adult fiction writer whose creative work is fueled by the inspiration of family and who gains tremendous creative energy both from his children and by writing for children.

Our guest is S.D. Smith, author of The Green Ember Series, a bestselling middle-grade adventure saga. The Green Ember has reached hundreds of thousands of readers and spent time as the number one bestselling audiobook in the world on Audible. Smith’s stories are captivating readers across the globe who are hungry for “new stories with an old soul.” Enthusiastic families can’t get enough of these tales.

In our conversation, S.D. (Sam) shares why family and community are important to him as a writer.

This conversation continues the season 12 theme of Art & Identity, offering a meditation on how family and community shape the people we become and the art we make.

We will be talking in greater detail about this relationship between art and family in the Makers and Mystics Creative Collective. If you’d love to go deeper with us in these conversations, I want to invite you to visit Patreon and sign up today.

And since this episode features the work of a children’s book writer, it seems appropriate to tell you here that starting the first Wednesday in October, our collective will begin reading through The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

S12 E07: Landscape of The Body with David Taylor

Today on the podcast, we are continuing our discussion of art and identity by taking a look at the vital role of our relationship to our bodies.

Why is it important that we honor and understand our bodies? Why is having a right relationship to our bodies imperative to the quest of art and knowing our true selves?

Joining us for this discussion is Professor of Theology and Culture at Fuller Theological Seminary, David O. Taylor.

David Taylor has long been a voice and an advocate for the arts within academia and faith contexts.

In 2016, he produced a short film on the Psalms with Bono and Eugene Peterson. His previous books include: Open and Unafraid: The Psalms As A Guide to Life, and Glimpses of The New Creation: Worship and The Formative Power of The Arts.

In this episode David discusses his latest book, A Body of Praise: The Role of Our Physical Bodies in Worship.

Art & Identity, authors, Author, choreography, dance, theologian, theologyStephen RoachSeptember 13, 2023David Taylor, Theology, The Body

S12 E05: Finding Your Place with Esau McCaulley

When we think of identity, we often point to our distinguishing characteristics and individual preferences. But what about our sense of place? How does place impact the people we become and the art we make?

In today’s episode, award-winning author and professor Esau McCaulley talks with me about the impact of place on his life and how growing up in a poverty-stricken Alabama town informs the writing of his upcoming memoir, How Far To The Promised Land.

Patrons of the podcast can enjoy an additional interview segment with Professor McCaulley on finding your voice as an artist.

S12 E02: A Social Imaginary with Karen Swallow Prior

What role does the imagination play in shaping the identity of a culture?

Our collective imagination provides metaphors, stories and symbols that bind people groups together and create a common understanding of the world.

But what happens when those metaphors no longer carry the same meanings? Or even worse, when those stories and metaphors no longer create unity but bring division and harm?

Professor and writer Karen Swallow Prior addresses these concerns in her book The Evangelical Imagination.

She tells us, contemporary American evangelicalism is suffering from an identity crisis - and a lot of bad press.

In this episode, Karen discusses what Charles Taylor called ‘A social imaginary’ and how artists and creatives can respond to the evangelical crisis of identity and bring healing to our cultural fractures.

Transcript

S11 E14: Sacred Strides with Justin McRoberts

The pace of our modern culture doesn’t always accommodate the need for balance between work and rest. We praise the hustle and scorn the burnout the hustle produces and yet we rarely make room for reflection and rejuvenation.

Author and creative coach Justin McRoberts tackles this issue head on in his new book sacred strides: the journey to belovedness in work and rest.

In our conversation, Justin discusses the importance, specifically for working artists to develop a rhythm between work and rest and how to cultivate healthy patterns of practicing meaningful rest.

If you’re a patron of the podcast you can hear an additional clip from this conversation on what the hustle tells us about the things we build and how that impacts our relationship to our art.

Transcript

Artist Profile Series 37: L. Frank Baum

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, written by L. Frank Baum, has been heralded as “The Great American Fairy Tale.” Generations of both young and old alike have been fascinated by this whimsical tale since the early 1900’s.

When the book was first published, it became an immediate bestseller and was translated into multiple languages as well as adapted to Broadway musicals and several silent films. Frank Baum had reimagined the traditional fairytale and created a story so universal, it caught on like wildfire, and still today, over 120 years later, new adaptations continue to emerge.

Today’s artist profile gives a small glimpse into the life of the man who brought this story to life and calls listeners to consider the sometimes fraught relationship between artists and the church as seen in Frank's own spiritual journey.

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S11 E13: Building Bridges with Katherine Paterson

There is a relationship between grief and transcendence that may not be immediately recognizable. But it’s one often expressed within art and in particular, children’s literature.

Whether it’s Lewis’s wardrobe to Narnia, Dorothy’s house transported by cyclone to Oz or a bridge to Terabithia built across a chasm of loss.

Grief has a way of transporting us to a fantastical world of imagination where we can more easily grapple with the difficulties of loss and even find closure to the trauma that sent us looking for relief.

In this episode, Makers & Mystics host Stephen Roach talks with children's book author Katherine Paterson about the motivations behind her writing and why she feels it is important to create a safe space through art and literature for young adults to work through difficult emotions and experiences.

Katherine Paterson is the author of more than 40 books, including 18 novels for children and young people. She has twice won the Newbery Medal, for Bridge to Terabithia in 1978 and Jacob Have I Loved in 1981.

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S11 E11: The Curation of Desire with Luke Burgis

Luke Burgis is an author , creative thinker and entrepreneur. He has founded and led multiple companies. He's currently Entrepreneur-in-Residence and Director of Programs at the Ciocca Center for Principled Entrepreneurship at the Catholic University of America, where he also teaches business and develops new education initiatives. He's the founder and director of Fourth Wall Ventures, an incubator for people and companies that contribute to the formation of a healthy human ecology. He graduated from NYU Stern School of Business and later from a pontifical university in Rome, where he studied theology.

In this episode, Luke talks with host Stephen Roach about the memetic nature of desire and how cultural influences shape the things we yearn for.

Patrons can enjoy an additional interview segment here.

Download The Transcript Here.

Author, authors, business, Creative Process, transcendenceStephen RoachApril 25, 2023Luke Burgis, Wanting, Memetic Desire

REPLAY: Jeremy Begbie on Transcendence In The Arts

Jeremy Begbie is a Scottish theologian, author and musician. We interviewed Jeremy in Season 5 of the podcast on his book Redeeming Transcendence In The Arts.. In this bonus REPLAY episode, we are revisiting a segment from this conversation which ties in perfectly to the theme of Season 11.

More About Jeremy:

Jeremy Begbie teaches systematic theology and specializes in the interface between theology and the arts. His particular research interests are in the interplay between music and theology.

Previously associate principal of Ridley Hall, Cambridge, he has also been honorary professor at the University of St Andrews, where he directed the research project, Theology Through the Arts at the Institute for Theology, Imagination and the Arts. He is a senior member of Wolfson College and an affiliated lecturer in the faculty of music at the University of Cambridge.

He studied philosophy and music at Edinburgh University, and theology at Aberdeen and Cambridge. A professionally trained musician, he has performed extensively as a pianist, oboist and conductor. He is an ordained minister of the Church of England, having served for a number of years as assistant pastor of a church in West London.

He is author of a number of books, including A Peculiar Orthodoxy: Reflections on Theology and the Arts (Baker); Redeeming Transcendence: Bearing Witness to the Triune God (Eerdmans), and Theology, Music and Time (CUP). Resounding Truth: Christian Wisdom in the World of Music (Baker/SPCK) won the Christianity Today 2008 Book Award in the Theology/Ethics Category. Most recently, he has published Theology, Music, and Modernity (OUP). He has taught widely in the UK and North America, and delivered multimedia performance-lectures across the world, from Israel to Australia and Hong Kong.

For more information or to contact Jeremy Begbie, visit jeremybegbie.com.

S11 E09: A Fundamental Antagonism with Peter Rollins

Peter Rollins is an author, philosopher, storyteller, producer and public speaker. Peter gained his higher education from Queens University, Belfast where he earned degrees (with distinction) in Scholastic Philosophy (BA Hons), Political Theory and Social Criticism (MA) and Post-Structural thought (PhD). He's the author of numerous books, including Insurrection, The Idolatry of God, and The Divine Magician.

In today’s episode, Peter talks with Stephen Roach about the unexpected relationship between loss and transcendence or what Peter terms as a “fundamental antagonism at the heart of reality.”

Patrons of the podcast can enjoy an additional interview segment on how art informs our urge for transcendence.

Music for this episode is provided by Thousand Dollar Movie.

Author, Philosophy, transcendenceStephen RoachApril 4, 2023Peter Rollins, Philosopher, Irish Philosopher, mystics