People come into their callings and spheres of influence through many ways; it’s often not a direct path, and that’s definitely true for screenwriter and social worker Andrea M. Polnaszek. Read this month’s Inner View as she encourages you through the twists and turns, highs and lows.
BIO: Andrea M. Polnaszek has written many books and is the co-creator of multiple films alongside her sister, Alexandra Boylan, as part of The Boylan Sisters Entertainment company.Andrea’s most recent movie, The Greatest Inheritance, with her accompanying book by the same title, is a study of Ecclesiastes. The film wrestles with the theme, “There is a time for everything and a season for everything under Heaven.”
Andrea is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and has spent her clinical career helping children and their families communicate their feelings. She earned her bachelor’s degree in social work at Gordon College, a Master’s in Social Work, and a Certificate in Theology from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
INNER VIEW
Kathleen:As a filmmaker and writer, you come from a unique position as a licensed clinical social worker with an understanding of the human mind and our choices. What has God revealed to you on how we can make better choices that will sustain our careers and lives, especially during the disruptions of a pandemic?
Andrea Polnaszek: I had the opportunity to write a book and devotional about Ecclesiastes and specifically spent much time meditating on Ecclesiastes 3. During an unappreciated time of the global pandemic, I felt like folks around me, including myself, were asking questions like: “Why?” “What do we do?” “I don’t like this new life?” While exploring the idea of what season this is and what God is teaching me in this season…
God brought a surprising insight. I was invited to perform a funeral service for the first time. The woman who had passed had struggled with mental illness for many years before her death. Her family felt they had lost her many years before she died. The process of preparing for the funeral provided an opportunity to remember. Looking through pictures and reminiscing reminded everyone of beautiful memories. This insight caused me to ask: Why do we wait for funerals to share a eulogy? So, I have begun to tell people what I appreciate about them in real time. I have spent some time thinking about happy memories and sharing those with others. The experience has brought me new insight into what the Joy of the Lord looks like. I believe that joy is born in gratitude. And a heart of thanksgiving is a gift from God alone.
Theodore Roosevelt said: “Comparison is the thief of joy.” God has brought me to a place of hard-fought contentment – accepting that there is good and bad in every season and that He is over it all! I would say that when I look at all that the last few years have thrown at me – the joy of the Lord was my strength. God revealed to me the importance of disciplining myself to put Him first.
Kathleen:It’s not the normal screenwriter’s path to come into the film business from a clinical social worker background. Many might struggle with their career goals and identity and lose their way. Yet God seems to carve us uniquely into His plan and purpose. Why is knowing who you are in Him the essential choice?
Andrea:Boylan Sisters Entertainment just finished principal photography on a movie called: Identity Crisis. I have done a lot of thinking, meditating, and studying on this issue. Our culture seems to be telling us that uniqueness needs to be named and that our core identity, or “created in the image of God,” can or should change. I struggle with this conversation because when I talk to people wrestling with gender euphoria and questioning their sexuality, I see genuine concern, discomfort, and a deep sense of longing to feel whole.
I was one of those teenagers and young adults who always wanted to be in a different stage than where I found myself. I wanted to be grown, married, and have children. I was convinced that when I became a wife and mother, those feelings of longing would be fulfilled. My life experience has taught me that every new stage of life comes with new questions and the opportunity to have even more longing. Different is more than OK. God has created us with an array of personalities, gifts, and various appearances.
I struggle with staying at peace with whom God made me. Ten years ago, when I wrote a book about rest and openly wrestled with being disappointed with God, I took the next step toward being at peace in my skin. I don’t always stay at peace, but I do find that if I am disciplined to be vulnerable and stay real with others and myself, I find the peace that passes understanding.
Kathleen:To sustain ourselves in our 24/7 world, we must have boundaries. But often, we don’t draw the right boundary lines. What’s a boundary you struggle with within your work and life?
Andrea: I am a recovering people pleaser. I find that when my boundaries go down, my people-pleasing increases. I am a lifelong student of John Townsend and Henry Cloud’s book: Boundaries. I discovered the book when I was at a very low point as a pastor’s wife. I found myself sad, lonely, and resentful. This book taught me the difference between walling myself off and having a fence with a gate. The key was that I had control of the gate; I could open it or close it. The Boundaries book reviews each of the main areas of your life – family, marriage, kids, work, church, and family of origin. I often use the book as a reference going back to it to read just one chapter on whatever area of my life I am struggling in.
The biggest lesson I have learned is that when I let my guard down and allow what I think other people want to overtake me, I need to pause and adjust my boundaries. In the past, I would think: “If she would just do this, then I could feel this.” Learning how to hold healthy boundaries has freed me from the thought that someone else can make me feel a certain way. It has caused me to focus on what I can control and what I am responsible for.
I am currently watching the TV series, The Chosen for the third time. One of the things that I am struck with by Jesus’ example in that depiction is that He spent time with God and followed what God wanted, not what others wanted. He paused regularly to seek what His Father had for Him. I wish I could say I do this all the time. I don’t. But I’m a work in progress, always striving to notice how I feel and how I am behaving and stopping to invite God to inform me who I am!
Kathleen:God tells us to GO and be an influence in the world. Why is this important?
Seven years ago, I had a wild experience. It was following our movie Catching Faith which featured a Bible Study I had written called The Elijah Project. I’ll never forget the Saturday morning. My husband was making pancakes, our family was all home, and the kitchen was full of life and noise. My phone rang with a number from Florida. I don’t usually answer numbers I don’t know, but this time I did. It was almost like I had lost myself in the excitement of our home and just spontaneously answered. The voice on the other end of the phone spoke to me in broken English. I removed myself from the crazy family breakfast and sat on our landing while the words poured out. Ingrid Duarte had been brought back to spiritual life through the Bible Study I had written. She was asking permission to translate the workbook into Spanish and take it on her next trip to Cuba. Two months later, this woman, who I still had not met, texted me a picture of her luggage with the Elijah Project workbooks stacked inside. That day, I shared the news with my husband, and he said: “They are going to ask you to go to Cuba.” To which I responded: “No, I don’t speak Spanish.” A little later that same week, Ingrid sent me another text message; this one was a video of thirty women holding up their Elijah Project workbooks and saying: “Gracias, Andrea.” When Ingrid returned from her trip, she invited me to go to Cuba. Three months later, I met Ingrid and her husband at Fort Lauderdale airport, and we flew together to the nation of Cuba. A 45-minute flight from the United States, where we were met by true physical poverty and rich spiritual health. I told my story to hundreds of people who literally sat on windowsills and rows deep outside the doors. God has been so faithful, and we now have over 500 Elijah Project mentors teaching the Bible study across the country. This story is one of the times in my life when I said YES and then God said GO, and I can’t describe the blessing that has come from this ministry.
Kathleen:I am excited that the Elijah Project Bible Study will be what we will be studying online in our Influence Women’s INtogether Bible Study. I know it will be life changing for those who participate.
Finally…We all impact others’ lives. What’s the one thing you’ve learned about influence?
Andrea: Influence is a BIG word. With the rise of social media, becoming an “influencer” is sought after. For me, I feel it is a heavy weight. As soon as “people” are watching, whether online or off, I immediately get cocky and say something I don’t really believe. The thing I have learned about influence is that it is very important to be wise. My heart’s desire is to use my influence to give God glory, and I don’t mean that in a cheesy or churchy way. I mean that I struggle with a form of pride that relates to “getting credit” for what I do.
When I find myself caught up in getting what’s due to me, I have taken my eyes completely off of God and how He has intended to honor me and chosen to focus on how I want to be seen. Influence is something that should be guarded and treated with great respect. For me, I must put my eyes on Jesus so that He is influencing me first before I am influencing others.
Your partnership is having a global impact! Phil and Kathleen Cooke traveled to South Africa this month to participate in a gathering of marketplace and ministry leaders as part of the Global Kingdom Partners Network (GKPN).
Through these meetings, they were able to train and inspire international ministry leaders in strategic uses of digital media to help accomplish their missions.
GKPN members open the gathering with prayer.
Kathleen hosted the opening GKPN marketplace session, introducing new delegates and members and praying for their influence, skills, and talents to be integrated into the group for God’s Kingdom purposes.
As an example of the work GKPN is accomplishing, a leader of a Ukrainian children’s rescue organization shared how he has rescued 85,000 orphaned children, many of whom had been exported into Russia after their cities were bombed and their parents killed. Through the help of GKPN, he has brought many of these children back to the Ukraine where they have been placed in church orphanages and Christian homes for safe-keeping.
With many questions on how to use digital media effectively, Phil and Kathleen were able to offer this leader practical advice and specific strategies.
Kathleen commented, “We were honored to be there to help them with their questions so they can tell these children’s stories and share the love of God in a chaotic world.”
“Maximize Your Influence” helps Russian pastors use digital media strategically to share the gospel.
As of today, the book has been put into the hands of 490 Russian pastors and 720 Russian Christian businessmen, with the remaining 5790 copies to be distributed to influencers in the Russian-speaking world throughout 2023. Because of our sources inside Russia, the book has been “legitimately” published, thus avoiding any trouble with the government.
Leading the publishing project is Matts-Ola Ishoel, the senior pastor and president of Word of Life Centre in Moscow and president of Churches of Faith Russian Association of Christians of Evangelical Faith—an organization of 400 charismatic churches in Russia.
Another driving force for the project is Sergey Martyunichev, the deput president and development director for Word of Life Commonwealth Churches with 356 churches in Russia, Sergey also manages Golden Pages Publishing Centre, 14 business schools and a business club in Moscow.
Phil and Kathleen with Sergey, Matts-Ola and his wife Randi, key leaders in the Russian translation project.
With their influence and outreach in Russia, Matts-Ola Ishoel and Sergey Martyunichev were the key players we felt confident in entrusting funds to for this translation project. Phil’s book will have a far-reaching and long-lasting effect, enabling Russian pastors and influencers to be strategic in their communication of the gospel. The Influence Lab been privileged to have a role in impacting this nation for good.
We’re thankful for every Influence Lab partner who has prayed and given towards our global mission of training and equipping pastors and leaders to use media effectively. You share in the harvest of changed lives as the good news spreads in the digital age.
Phil Cooke’s “Maximize Your Influence” now in Russian!
UPCOMING: Through the GKPN meetings, Phil and Kathleen have been asked to conduct strategic training sessions overseas in the coming months. Your prayers and financial gifts enable The Influence Lab to accommodate these international invitations.
Next international outreaches: June: Amsterdam: Phil is on the Empowered21 Global Council, and he and Kathleen will be participating in Amsterdam2023, an international conference to collaborate and innovate with global ministry leaders with a goal to “launch a new era of evangelism.” August: Brazil(Details to come.) September: Chennai, India(Details to come.)
“The need to share our message never changes, but how we share it does.” —Phil Cooke, Maximize Your Influence—How to Make Digital Media Work for Your Church, Your Ministry, and You
I was late and had run to my college dorm room to grab a book for my next class when the landline phone rang (no cell phones back then). He said his name was “Phil” and he had a couple of tickets to a concert that weekend and did I want to go? When I heard the name of the rock band performing, I couldn’t say “yes” fast enough. But I was in a desperate hurry and told Phil to call me back with the details and quickly hung up. As I did, a sinking feeling suddenly hit me.
I had gotten to know a Phil during college registration day, and it was only after hanging up that I realized what I had done. That wasn’t the Phil I knew. He was a different Phil! I had sat next to another Phil at a chapel service the week before, and it was that Phil who called! Horrified, I turned to my roommate standing there and said, “Oh no, I think I’ve just accepted a date with a guy I don’t know.”
Little did I know this blind date would be my forever husband, my prince, and the love of my life. God knew it, and I believe orchestrated my lack of attention to insert Phil Cooke into my life. (more…)
I remember seeing my first augmented reality (AR) movie years ago. It was a Michael Jackson ride – Captain EO at Disneyland. But somehow, it didn’t have the same effect on me as the one I saw at the Sundance Film Festival years later. The first ever AR documentary produced, Cane Toads: The Conquest, brought to life an invasive amphibian species in Australia. They were swarming the country, killing dogs and cats, and literally covering the ground by the thousands. There seemed no way to stop them. With AR glasses on, we sat in the theater and had frogs pop out at us. We were jumping out of our seats! It was just a little too real for me.
Today, we’ve gotten more use to it. AR is rapidly becoming the choice of escapism. Movies and TV entertainment have matured, and our appetite to immerse our minds in another reality is growing.
We think about virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) differently.
Sometimes the most important person to be truthful with is ourselves. It’s important to look honestly at how well we keep boundaries, where we’ve rooted our identity and the motives of our hearts. Read this month’s INNER VIEW as we dive deep with Andrea Polnaszek into some core truths and the ways we navigate them imperfectly.
BIO
Andrea M. Polnaszek has written many books and is the co-creator of multiple films alongside her sister, Alexandra Boylan, as part of The Boylan Sisters Entertainment company. Andrea’s most recent movie, The Greatest Inheritance, with her accompanying book by the same title, is a study of Ecclesiastes. The film wrestles with the theme, “There is a time for everything and a season for everything under Heaven.”
Andrea is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and has spent her clinical career helping children and their families communicate their feelings. She earned a bachelor’s degree in social work at Gordon College, a Master’s in Social Work, and a certificate in Theology from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
INNER VIEW
Kathleen:As a filmmaker and writer, you come from a unique position as a licensed clinical social worker with an understanding of the human mind and our choices. What has God revealed to you on how we can make better choices that will sustain our careers and lives, especially during the disruptions of a pandemic?
Andrea Polnaszek: I had the opportunity to write a book and devotional about Ecclesiastes and specifically spent much time meditating on Ecclesiastes 3. During an unappreciated time, global pandemic, I felt like folks around me, including myself, were asking questions like: “Why?” “What do we do?” “I don’t like this new life?” While exploring the idea of – what season is this and what is God teaching me in this season…God brought a surprising insight.
I was invited to perform a funeral service for the first time. The woman who had passed had struggled with mental illness for many years before her death. Her family felt they had lost her many years before she died. The process of preparing for the funeral provided an opportunity to remember. Looking through pictures and reminiscing reminded everyone of beautiful memories. This insight caused me to ask: Why do we wait for funerals to share a eulogy? So, I have begun to tell people what I appreciate about them in real-time. I have spent some time thinking about happy memories and sharing those with others. The experience has brought me new insight into what the Joy of the Lord looks like. I believe that joy is born in gratitude. And a heart of thanksgiving is a gift from God alone.
Theodore Roosevelt said: “Comparison is the thief of joy.” God has brought me to a place of hard-fought contentment – accepting that there is good and bad in every season and that He is over it all! I would say that when I look at all that the last few years have thrown at me – the joy of the Lord was my strength. God revealed to me the importance of disciplining myself to put Him first.
Kathleen:It’s not the normal screenwriter’s path to come into the film business from a clinical social worker background. Many might struggle with their career goals and identity and lose their way. Yet God seems to carve us uniquely into His plan and purpose. Why is knowing who you are in Him the essential choice?
Andrea: Boylan Sisters Entertainment just finished principal photography on a movie called Identity Crisis. I have done a lot of thinking, meditating, and studying on this issue. Our culture seems to be telling us that unique needs to be named and that our core identity or “created in the image of God” can or should change. I struggle with this conversation because when I talk to people wrestling with gender disphoria and questioning their sexuality, I see genuine concern, discomfort, and a deep sense of longing to feel whole.
I was one of those teenagers and young adults who always wanted to be in a different stage than where I found myself. I wanted to be grown, married, and have children. I was convinced that when I became a wife and mother, those feelings of longing would be fulfilled. My life experience has taught me that every new stage of life comes with new questions and the opportunity to have even more longing. Different is more than OK. God has created us with an array of personalities, gifts, and various appearances.
I struggle with staying at peace with whom God made me. Ten years ago, when I wrote a book about rest and openly wrestled with being disappointed with God, I took the next step toward being at peace in my skin. I don’t always stay at peace, but I do find that if I am disciplined to be vulnerable and stay real with others and myself, I find the peace that passes understanding.
Kathleen:To sustain ourselves in our 24/7 world, we must have boundaries. But often, we don’t draw the right boundary lines. What’s a boundary you struggle with within your work and life?
Andrea: I am a recovering people pleaser. I find that when my boundaries go down, my people-pleasing increases. I am a lifelong student of John Townsend and Henry Cloud’s book, Boundaries. I discovered the book when I was at a very low point as a pastor’s wife. I found myself sad, lonely, and resentful. This book taught me the difference between walling myself off and having a fence with a gate. The key was that I had control of the gate; I could open it or close it. The Boundaries book reviews each of the main areas of your life – family, marriage, kids, work, church, and family of origin. I often use the book as a reference going back to it to read just one chapter on whatever area of my life I am struggling in.
The biggest lesson I have learned is that when I let my guard down and allow what I think other people want to overtake me, I need to pause and adjust my boundaries. In the past, I would think, “If she would just do this, then I could feel this.” Learning how to hold healthy boundaries has freed me from the thought that someone else can make me feel a certain way. It has caused me to focus on what I can control and what I am responsible for.
I am currently watching the TV series The Chosen for the third time. One of the things that I am struck with by Jesus’ example in that depiction is that He spent time with God and followed what God wanted, not what others wanted. He paused regularly to seek what His Father had for Him. I wish I could say I do this all the time. I don’t. But, I’m a work in progress, always striving to notice how I feel and how I am behaving and stopping to invite God to inform me who I am!
Kathleen:We all impact others’ lives. What’s the one thing you’ve learned about influence?
Andrea: Influence is a BIG word. With the rise of social media, becoming an “influencer” is sought after. For me, I feel it is a heavy weight. As soon as people are watching, whether online or off, I immediately get cocky and say something I don’t really believe. The thing I have learned about influence is that it is very important to be wise. My heart’s desire is to use my influence to give God glory, and I don’t mean that in a cheesy or churchy way. I mean that I struggle with a form of pride that is connected with “getting credit” for what I do.
When I find myself caught up in getting what’s due to me, I have taken my eyes completely off of God and how He has intended to honor me and chosen to focus on how I want to be seen. Influence is something that should be guarded and treated with great respect. For me, I must put my eyes on Jesus so that He is influencing me first before I am influencing others.
