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The Little Things are the Great Things

Michael compares and contrasts the great way that seeks first worldly prominence with the little way of the cross, defending and explaining the priority that Renew the Arts has placed on the little things that actually accord with obedience to God.

Stay tuned at the end to hear “Love Everybody,” a track from Be Alive, the just-released new record from Porchlight artist Brother James.

Exploited Art: Propaganda, Pornography, Pomp, and Product

Michael goes solo to talk about exploited art in its four forms: propaganda, pornography, pomp, and product. He discusses why subjecting art to an agenda undermines the powerful purpose of art, and why the church should be the place artists feel most free and empowered to pursue their callings with integrity.

LINKS

Why Are So Many Christian Artists at Odds with the Church? (article and podcast)

Porchlight at Audiofeed 2025: Mini-Conference on Hospitality

Join us for a generous sampling of the “Porchlight Mini-Conference on Hospitality” we held on July 6, 2025 at Audiofeed Music Festival in Urbana, Illinois. Featuring presentations from Cary Brege and Michael Minkoff, a host panel on art hosting and hospitality, and a selection from Porchlight artists who performed to close out the day, we hope this episode inspires you to pursue a deeper involvement with the beautiful work of art hospitality.

03:45 — Cary Brege, “Hospitality and the Kingdom of God”

Connecting Science and Art (with Ciara Reyes-Ton)

Michael talks with Ciara Reyes-Ton about science, art, and faith. Ciara is a cellular and molecular biologist, singer-songwriter, and founder of Mt. Carmell Worship Collective. In this conversation, Ciara talks about her history as a scientist and an artist, and how both science and art interact in the Christian’s spiritual life.

Stay tuned to the end to hear “To Become Human,” the first song Ciara wrote at the intersection of faith and science.

On “A Kingdom of Tea and Strangers” (with Houston Coley)

Michael is joined by film-maker and YouTuber Houston Coley to discuss Coley’s feature documentary, A Kingdom of Tea and Strangers, which follows five strangers as they spend a summer together at English L’Abri. They discuss the film and touch on community, communal art, hospitality, imagination, Christian art, and more.

A Kingdom of Tea and Strangers will be available to watch on YouTube on the Art Within channel May 10, 2025.

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