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The Creator's Checkup | God and Gigs

The Creator's Checkup is your weekly source of faith-focused encouragement, creative strategy, and resources, so that you can become the creator you were created to be! Join thousands of creators who are being inspired and motivated every Thursday.

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Featured Post

Feeling Old? It's NOT Too Late to Chase Your Creative Dream

I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I'm just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. Joshua 14:11 NIV Do you have a favorite mug or cup? If so, you know how satisfying it is to sip your favorite beverage in that special container that speaks to you. I have several coffee mugs that have all the silly puns written on them you'd expect..."not until I've had my coffee, etc" - but there's one I've had to retire from use. It has three words that I don't want to add...

Person working at a desk with a laptop and books.

Are you your own worst critic? And should you be? Nothing can make you more critical of yourself than subjecting work to being reviewed and edited, which is the process I'm now undergoing with our devotional Your Art, God's Heart. It was 8 years ago that I first published it, and while I'm grateful for the impact it's had, I've always had a feeling that it could be improved. So, I've taken on the goal of doing a 2nd edition - which will be freely available on the YouVersion app in the next...

Two hands reaching out to connect under a tree.

I read the post and couldn't tap "repost" fast enough. While scrolling Facebook trying not to get stuck in the thousands of "documentary" memes (if you haven't seen this trend, be thankful), I saw an amazing discussion from worship leader, choir director and former guest on our podcast Meachum Lamar Clarke. He is constantly sharing great insights about being a creative in the church world, but I needed to see this specific one. In it, he explains how several church music conferences were...

Copy of TGGS 356 THUMBNAIL

Small Steps = Big Faith The most difficult steps in your creative life are often the simplest. Steps like hitting the 'send' or 'publish' button. A rendition of me before actually finishing an application :) Actually picking up the phone to call back that prospect. Making the appointment to audition for the role. Applying for the LLC that legitimizes your creative business. None of these steps are hard in themselves...but the mental battle to follow through with your commitment can be...

a person wearing headphones sitting in front of a computer

What Is A Creator? Before I start, let's make this clear...the LAST thing I want to do is get into a political or cultural debate. So I hesitate to start this conversation with an allusion to a hotly debated issue in our current news cycle, but it seems appropriate to use it as an example. A lot of people are arguing over the definitions of gender, and no matter where you fall spiritually or morally in that debate, there's no denying that the answer you come up with has a profound effect on...

Quote from Allen Paul on Creativity and Faith

Are You Living for Legacy? It would be so much easier if life played fair. Alas, that's wishful thinking. During this past week in my local arts community in South Florida, we have been dealing with a season of sadness as some influential creators and artists have passed away, many of them seemingly much too soon. It's always hard to try to figure out how we are to handle these moments in our lives. For you, maybe it's not a season of loss, but rather a financial, emotional or family struggle...

Putting Healing In His Hands The last two weeks have been pretty scary. And the lesson I've learned has been echoing in my mind the entire time. Last Sunday, I was enjoying an evening barbeque / pool party / get-together with our church's pastors and staff. My wife, son, daughter-in-law and our precious new granddaughter were all in attendance. It was the perfect way to rest and enjoy a blessed summer. So imagine my surprise when after holding little Olivia for a few hours, being a proud...

Mountains reflected in a serene lake with fallen tree.

Has God Finished Creating? If you're new to our community, you might start noticing that we spend a LOT of time in God and Gigs thinking about how God creates. After all, our Ultimate Creator is our blueprint. But it's sometimes hard to connect the dots between what you do every day as a developing creator, and what God does with His infinite power. Consider this - the God who made everything in the six creation days of Genesis (we're not arguing here about literal vs. figurative), and then...

book on top of table and body of water

Your Summer Spiritual Reset We're halfway through 2026, but if you're like me, it feels like January was last week. Where did the time go? If you're not careful, the rapid speed of life can become a recipe for distraction, discouragement and distance from what matter. So rather than digging into more strategies for creative growth, I feel we should take the summer to slow down and check our roots. Are we still drawing from the foundations that make our Christian creative lifestyles secure? If...

TGGS EPISODE 388

You know that sinking feeling when you realize that things aren't turning out the way you thought they would? That was my feeling this week, as I thought about promoting our Saturday Creator Business Deep Dive and continuing our workshop series for our Creator Resource Center. More and more, I've been noticing that our community is seeking out content related to faith and following God's direction for our creator lives. I don't believe this means I should stop sharing the practical and...