Whenever the government provides opportunities and privileges for white people and rich people they call it ‘subsidies.’ When they do it for Negro and poor people they call it ‘welfare.’ The fact is that everybody in this country lives on welfare. Suburbia was built with federally subsidized credit. And highways that take our white brothers out to the suburbs were built with federally subsidized money to the tune of ninety percent. Everybody is on welfare in this country. The problem is that we all too often have socialism for the rich and rugged free enterprise capitalism for the poor. That’s the problem.

I know you’re supposed to say this…but I mean it. I was honored to have Preston Yancey review Creative Theology over on his blog. A few quotes from the review:

We are taken into a conversation that expects a response, a narrative that we find our very being within, whether we realize it or not.

Sam is careful to identify each and every one of us as creatives, not as artists. The advantage to this is multifaceted. First, he takes care in allowing those called to the discipline of art to find their calling legitimate. Second, while honoring the call of the artist, he also honors the creative call that is upon all of us, upholds it, and recognizes that the children of God by nature create, but their awareness of this beauty is often truncated by self-deprecation and doubt. Sam manages to at once universalize the creative spirit and, at the same time, keep the integrity of the artist’s particular vocation.

Sam envisions what I would consider one of the more realistic hopes for the Church when it comes to its relationship to the arts.

you can read the entire review here. While you’re over there, check out his latest venture, At the Lord’s Table, a conversation with 54 authors, which is an impressive undertaking.

I posted last year:

Martin Luther King Jr. made numerous profound statements that rattled our nation, and continue to inspire us today. It would be a terrible disservice to his legacy if we merely quoted his famous words and failed to act on the convictions that brought, and will continue to bring about, justice in our world.

I posted two years ago:

In honor of a great dreamer today, I encourage you to keep dreaming. Don’t let circumstances stand in the way of the dream you have in your head, and the convictions your hold in your heart. They can change the course of history.

Dream on.

Audio to the famous I Have a Dream speech: http://ia600402.us.archive.org/29/items/MLKDream/MLKDream_64kb.mp3

May you be inspired to dream a big dream, choose hill you’re willing to die on, and push forward. We need your voice and your work. Let’s honor the great man together as we lend our hand to those who are overlooked, and lend our voice to those who go unheard.

• I heard baby #2′s heartbeat yesterday. Can’t wait for our new addition!
• Big things in store for The Move Project this year.
• Best Kickstarter campaign page I’ve ever seen. Love what Shaun King is up to.
• I’ve been keeping an eye on different newsletters lately. Learning a lot. Trying to add value to people’s lives, while discussing faith and creativity in my own newsletter. Do you subscribe to any newsletters? What’s your favorite? Why?
• I got the Steve Jobs biography for Christmas. I was extremely excited (still am) but won’t get to read it until March-ish.
• On a related note, I have to finish a book once I’ve started. I know productivity people say this is wasteful…I can’t help it.
• I’ll be writing two ebooks this year, one on self-publishing, and one on living in the tension of taking your work seriously while getting over yourself. If you had a pick, which would you prefer?
• My next for-purchase book will utilize much more pricing experimentation than I used with Creative Theology. I’ll be testing the Seth Godin concept of starting low (or free) and increasing price as people purchase. It makes total sense…for now, at least.
• Quick rant on book publishing: Publishers want authors with large pre-existing platforms to ensure they sell books. If you already have a large pre-existing platform, sell the books yourself and make 5x more profit per book. Screw the advance. Use the profit to give yourself an advance when you write your next book.
• OR…work with a publisher that truly adds value. This happens almost exclusively outside of the book publishing. If a publisher helps you build a following, and then either uses that following to build your career or hands over the information, they’ve added value.

Jon Fulk recently interviewed me about my book. He asked me what inspired me to write the book…

This is a key concept in the book, and that moment largely shaped my thoughts about creating in response to beauty. I don’t go into this in the book, but the art piece I looked at was a huge Jackson Pollock painting, Mural, at the University of Iowa Museum of Art,and I was sitting in an Eames lounge chair. I’ve been captivated by both Pollock and the Eames lounge chair ever since. It may seem ridiculous, but…

You can read the full interview here.

Here are the top 7 posts of 2011.

7 is a bit arbitrary…but let’s roll with it. Well…shall we?! 

#1 The Relationship Between Art and Pain - I tip my hat to Gary Molander on this one, as he inspired the series of posts that explored the realtionship between art and ____.

The next few were about Creative Theology. I put a lot of time and effort into showing the development of the book. I could have done a much better job, but I’ll do better next time

#2 Sneak Peek (shh…)

#3 Creative Theology on Kickstarter!

#4 Sneak Peek Pt. 3

#5 The Relationship Between Art and Pride

#6 The Relationship Between Art and Fear

#7 Osama bin Laden, Hell, and A Creative Theology - this was a response to the crowds celbrating the death of Osama bin Laden. Yes, he demonstrated incredible evil, but to watch so many people celebrate his death was unnerving to me. The driving force behind the post was the concept I explore in my book, which is: your view of creation (humanity) is a direct refleciton of your view of the Creator. I hope that makes you a bit uncomfortable.

Here’s to a great 2012!

P.S. if there are any topics you would like me to explore here, or in my monthly newsletter, leave a comment or shoot me an email – smahlstadt@gmail.com.

In the dark of the night, behind enemy lines, a child was born.
To us, a child was born.
His cry broke 400 silent years. A great promise fulfilled in the newborn’s tears.
Peace on earth.
Goodwill to men.

Cherish your visions. Cherish your ideals. Cherish the music that stirs in your heart, the beauty that forms in your mind, the loveliness that drapes your purest thoughts, for out of them will grow all delightful conditions, all heavenly environment, of these, if you but remain true to them your world will at last be built.

From As A Man Thinketh (affiliate link). Received the book from my secret santa at work; excited to give it a read. Anyone read it?

The Des Moines Social Club is hosting a New Year’s Eve Bash, and raising money for local charities all at the same time. The Move Project was selected by our friend, Justin Wise, to be his charity. So…if we wins Social Czar of Des Moines, The Move Project will get proceeds from the fundraiser.

Vote here!

I am guilty too. I use the phrase “creatives” even though I claim that we are all created in the image of the Creator. Yes, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, who spoke life into being, breathed the cosmos, filled the land and sea with his word, and created us. In. His. Image.

The problem we introduce when we use the label of “the creative” is that it creates two classes, the creatives and the, of course, the non-creatives. So we have those who are wired to think creatively, and the rest of is are hamsters in wheels.

I refuse to accept this.

I believe that the truth lies in exploring creativity, and recognizing it in our lives. You don’t have to be an artist to be creative. By nature, you already are creative.

Whether you currently put yourself in the creative or non-creative bunch, I hope you would explore the creative nature of God, your nature from being created in his image, and how you can tap into this innate creativity to live a full life. I discuss this in more depth in my book, which you can buy in digital or print format here.