Vonda
here: I’m pleased to share Part 1 of a post from Trevor McMaken, pastor and
artist at Church of the Resurrection in Wheaton, IL.
He has a passion for pastoring artists in the church and equipping them to
grow in their gifts and in their relationship with the Lord, and releasing them
to serve the church and the world with their creativity.
Follow
the McMakens’ writing and music at TheMcMackens.com.
7 Lessons for Creatives from the Life of J.R.R.
Tolkien, Part 1
by Trevor McMaken
Like
many in my generation, I have spent countless hours following diminutive folks
with hairy feet around the magical, yet familiar world of Middle Earth. As an
artist, I’ve often wondered how anyone could create a world so
immersive—complete with millennia of histories and language lexicons—and still
so personal and spiritual. In the face of such genius, I often feel insecure in
my own meager artistic endeavors. How could I ever create something of such
lasting depth and beauty? But after reading J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography by Humphrey Carpenter, I
came away refreshed and recommitted to my own art.
Here
are seven ways in which reading about Tolkien’s creative life has inspired
mine.
