Though I'm not incredibly knowledgeable about graphic artists in Hollywood, my guess is that there aren't very many who profess Christianity. Is there are market for quality Christian artists to be successful in this field?

You're right to assume that Christians are under-represented in every entertainment industry but country music and NASCAR. But the problem is not the industry, they didn't keep us out. Hollywood is run on principles that Christians don't feel comfortable working in: fear, greed, vanity and power. Our churches tell us to run from or resist these kinds of jobs because they could not possibly be "Godly" jobs. We should encourage our youth, especially our creative youth that this is a legitimate, "Godly" job to take. That this is what being light in a dark world is all about. That Daniel was able to serve a corrupt Nebuchadnezzar without eating the unclean food...he thrived even more than his secular counter-parts and he held a high position in one of the most corrupt empires of Earth's history. Welcome to Hollywood.


As for quality Christians, the operative word is "quality". If you make quality work, you are welcomed in just about every capitalistic field. The thing that separates the Christian plumber from the secular plumber should be the quality of their work. If a Christian artist makes quality art that reaches the broadest mass-media markets, then yes, he or she will have a better chance of finding work than even a non-Christian liberal. Hollywood must learn that Christian does not automatically equal bad art, while Christians must learn that Christian does not automatically equal good art that everyone should like.

Would you say that Evangelical culture hasn't done well at encouraging quality Christian art? If so, why is that?

A pattern I commonly see is that Christians make the mistake of thinking that art is a spiritual gift and not a skill. No Christian wakes up at 36 years old, gets a gift from God and paints like Norman Rockwell. I hear this kind of talk thrown around a lot in Christian circles and it's just plain bad theology. Gifts cannot be earned, they aren't like skills. Skills are not gifts, they must be practiced and perfected.

I think we also tend to confuse our wishes with God's will. God doesn't need me to tell stories in Hollywood. It's not his big agenda to make me direct the greatest movie of all time. If I hear God tell me this, I'm immediately suspect that he would be obsessed with the same jacked up crap that my culture is obsessed with. It's kind of like wanting to pressure the cute chick in your youth-group to like you so you come up with supernatural mandate from God to date her...I hear this kind of stuff going on in church all the time and it's sickening. It doesn't elevate our culture's trivia to God's will status, it just reduces God to the level of our culture's trivia.

Are there some things churches could be doing to encourage quality Christian art within their congregations?

A church should encourage Christians to be good Christians and do anything they do unto the lord. We have an ugly little thing called grace we like to use to make up for every form of sloth, mediocrity, sin, and low standards. Faith without works is dead.

Last time we talked in person you mentioned that you'll be doing some lectures for the Torrey Honors Program. Why would a "great books" honors program be interested in having you teach?

HAHAHA! Okay, fine, my comics aren't 'great'. I've already lectured at Torrey primarily on showing their students creative ways to break into story-telling. That was a few years ago with Dr. Sanders...who did his doctoral dissertation on the Trinity in comic-book form so maybe having me lecture isn't so far off mark. Plus Torrey kids are exactly the kinds of people that could set their sites on entertainment. They are literate, brilliant, well versed in Western art and have the kind of work ethic required to quickly gain skills.

Assuming you're not the only good Christian artist out there, who are some other Christians who are having a positive impact with there work?

Butch Hartman is a show creator at Nickelodeon who has enjoyed great success on a number of shows like Fairly Oddparents and Danny Phantom. Patricia Heaton is the smashing wife on Everybody Loves Raymond. There are many other men and women of faith that I bump into on all levels of production. But I think their are two key jobs that need more Christians and they are the brain-trust of Hollywood; the writer and the studio executive.

If someone were intersted in becoming a writer or studio executive, what would they need to do to get there?

Executives get to the top using giant 50 pound bags of cocaine...okay, I’m kidding...they use prostitutes. Executives usually get in through “development”. They can be receptionists, P.A.’s lawyers, Literature majors and they end up being good at anything but writing, directing, acting or drawing. They have excellent social skills and could use a business background.

Writing is an easy skill to learn but a hard one to master. It largely comes from working harder at the craft than the next guy. There are hundreds of thousands of writers, but less than 5,000 of them are getting paid to do so. You gotta be on top of your game. If I recommend any formal education to writers it would be a submersion in the classics...which goes back to the Torrey Honors program!

One last random question, what television shows do you watch for entertainment?

I watch Ebert and Roper, Lost, Alias, and Survivor. I hate everything else.