Makers & Mystics

When we lack wonder, we settle for the evening news. When we lack spectacle, we settle for shock art. When we can’t see the burning bush, we set the dumpster on fire. By this point, the Olympics’ opening performance has been discussed ad nauseum.  Most of us have grown weary of the vitriol and moved on. Therefore, I hesitate to add another voice to the fire, but as one who leads a community of mos...

Wonder is all around us. In every moment, in every mundane or grand occasion. The earth and all that is in within it, is an unfolding poem spoken from divine lips in search of an audience. In this introductory episode, Stephen Roach shares the groundwork for this season’s exploration of Reclaiming Wonder. He says, “It is the artist whose work bridges the realm of everyday life with the realm of my...

Around the turn of the century, German Sociologist, Max Weber coined the phrase ‘disenchantment’ as a way of describing society’s transition from a mythical or religious understanding of the world to a rationalistic, scientific view. Advancements in science and technology alongside a perceived decline of religious devotion rendered the world demystified or void of magic.  Religious opponents celeb...

In this live talk, recorded at the Audiofeed Festival in Urbana, Illinois, Stephen Roach encourages listeners that the value of a dream is not contingent upon its coming to pass. The value of a dream, he says, is in the dreaming. For anyone, who has grappled with the death of a dream or the pain of letting go, this talk will encourage you that a dream can take many shapes and forms and that nothin...

In this Season Finale round table, founder of  Ekstasis magazine, Conor Sweetman and essayist, Yi Ning Chiu discuss expressive individualism, various frameworks of community and why physical community remains essential in our modern, digitized culture.  Alongside of Ekstasis, Conor serves as the director of innovation for Christianity today while Yi Ning writes Please Don’t Go, a newsletter about...

If you’re a regular listener to the podcast then you know that we haven’t produced our regular episodes for the past few weeks. And if you follow us on Instagram or get our email newsletters then you know the reason why. On May 27th, my studio laptop was stolen. In light of this event and feeling disoriented, I began to study the word 'orient.' I discovered that ‘orient’ means to arrange...

Hospitality is more than the generous treatment of guests or strangers, but is a way of peeling back the layers of separation and getting closer to the heart of a group or individual.  In this way, hospitality is the heartbeat of community and true friendship.   The word hospitality comes from the Latin hospes , meaning "host", "guest", or "stranger". Hospes is formed...

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 Ekstasi...

Andi Marie Tillman is an Appalachian comedian, musician, and self-proclaimed “recovering Pentecostal.” Her roots in performance began at the early age of 8 when she sang in churches across the Southeast. It was here Andi gathered much of the inspiration for what would later become her well-known cast of original characters.  Andi has acted in numerous shorts, feature films, commercials, and music...

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 Ever...

Film director Chris White and songwriter Daniel Smith of The Danielson Family have crafted an 8-minute short film/music video titled " Come and Save Me, " a poignant exploration of acceptance and community as a cure to the loneliness epidemic of our post-pandemic world. In this episode, Daniel and Chris share about the film’s inception, working with lead actor and comedian Fred Armisen,...

Christen Lien is a multi-disciplinary artist who creates an innovative brand of musical storytelling. She disrupts the classical genre by integrating innovative technology and collaborating with artists and musicians from many mediums. Christen has performed for a diverse network of audiences around the globe, from the Dalai Lama to the Burning Man festival. Through her lifelong devotion to the vi...

I recently traveled to Lancaster, Pennsylvania where I participated in the 2024 Square Halo Conference: Return To Narnia: Creativity, Collaboration and Community. As part of the event, I hosted a live podcast recording on the topic of creativity and community.  Joining me for this conversation is graphic designer, children’s book illustrator,  author , and printmaker, Ned Bustard. Ned is the creat...

This week's episode is a collaboration with Lisa Smith of the Be. Make. Do. Podcast! We are flipping the mic around for this one and inviting fellow podcaster, Lisa Smith to ask MM host, Stephen Roach a few questions about the importance of community in the life of the artist and why gathering together now is such an important part of our creative work and the process of healing from social i...

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....

As we prepare for The Breath & The Clay creative arts gathering, I’m going to be highlighting several of the speakers and performers who’ll be joining us at the event.  For today’s episode I reached into the archives and pulled a segment of my conversation with BC24 headliners, Elephant Heart.  Elephant Heart is the Los Angeles-based electronic duo Jason and Victoria Evigan.  Elephant Heart’s...

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,...

Kaleb Moten is a singer, songwriter, composer, music producer, and musician, dedicated to revealing beauty and meaning, and liberating other artists to do the same. Kaleb has released four studio albums to date and is currently producing two more. In addition to his solo work, Kaleb also works as a music producer, with credits for artists such as Victory Boyd and Abbie Gamboa. In this episode, Kal...

This cultural moment may be one of history’s most interesting times to find home among a community of likeminded people with whom we identify. On the one hand we are more connected than we ever have been (thank you internet) and yet at the same time, people feel more disconnected than ever before. Isolation and loneliness have become an epidemic. So much so, in May of 2023, the surgeon general put...

Community is a vital component to our mental, emotional and spiritual health as well as a formative influence on our creative work. Throughout history, artists have gathered together with other artists for mutual support, inspiration and the sharing of ideas. Despite the overarching digital landscape of our present day, the need for gathering together is no less important. In fact, it could be arg...

In this season finale episode, podcast host, Stephen Roach shares how desire informs our sense of self and how the practice of detachment can help us navigate the journey from a false self to embracing our true identity as the beloved of God. Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary is offering a Doctor of Ministry degree in The Arts, Ministry, and Mission as a part of a new initiative in theology, the...

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 au...

Ours is a fast-paced digital world where technology has become such a personalized part of our daily lives, it’s hard to imagine who we are without it. Social media, augmented reality, and AI-driven personalization each contribute to the formation of a digital identity which impacts the way we connect with others and how we present ourselves online. We’ve grown accustomed to how our smartphones an...

How we show up in the world often takes on a wide variety of expressions. Our public and private lives reflect the many roles we play in society and the varying facets of personality traits we form to cope with different situations. From parent to co-worker, artist or spiritual practitioner, from a social media persona to a dinner guest with friends, even bygone roles remaining with us from childh...

This Artist’s roundtable discussion was recorded live at Loom creative arts event in Spruce Pines, NC. The conversation centers on the importance of building creative community, the embodiment of the creative process and what it means to be an artist of faith amidst a culture in crisis. Joining us for this discussion is long time friend of the podcast, author/illustrator Vesper Stamper, photograph...