Michael explains the popular dismissal of fiction and the imagination, and explores the edifying uses of fiction for overcoming the limitations of one’s own lived experience and to bypass our natural resistance to the truth.
LINKS
“Are Sermons Enough to Preach the Whole Counsel of God?” (Part 1 and Part 2)
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.
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) 12 Years a Slave: History vs. Hollywood Art and the Evangelical Imagination (with Karen Swallow Prior) “The Sentimentality Trap,” by Benjamin Myers Young People are Having Less Casual Sex … Frank Zappa Interview The Artist and the Problem of Fame (Part 1) Patrons and the Problem of Fame (Part 2) Why Art, Like the Gospel, is not a Commodity On Aquinas and the Four IdolsJoin 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”
30:30 — Michael Minkoff, “Artists: The Church’s Unwanted Gift”
58:19 — Porchlight Host Panel Q&A
1:54:03 — Porchlight Artists
Chase Tremaine / “Carseat”
Trailand Eltzroth / “Sophia”
The Local Hang-Ups / “Love Somebody”
Zane Vickery / “Interloper”
Make Sure / “Nuisance”
John Van Deusen / “Jesus of Nazareth”
LINKS
A Kingdom of Tea and Strangers, full documentary
RTA Ep. 66: On “A Kingdom of Tea and Strangers” (with Houston Coley)
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.