Journal
We all know those commercials with catchy jingles or tag lines that are repeated on our screens so often we hear them in our sleep. But cute, comedic videos that trend on social media, or jingles that are designed to stick in our minds can manipulate the truth. It’s a good idea to keep a list of trusted researchers, stat finders, professionals, and resources in your back pocket. One platform I trust is Barna Research and they have discovered some interesting statistics you might want to consider as you become a seed planter for God’s Kingdom while working on your creative projects, on sets and in production offices.
Are people interested in hearing about Jesus? According to Barna Research, 80% of people say they are certain or somewhat certain that Jesus Christ was real and lived on earth. 70% of all people say they want to grow spiritually. 50% of teens believe that the Bible is the Word of God, 75% say they want to know more, but sadly, 42% say that religious hypocrisy keeps them from engaging in any faith.
Will you be a disruptive seed planter?
Knowing the facts shows us that the culture wants to know who Jesus is and how to connect with Him. They want to engage with God but need trusted, real people to show them that faith in God is the game-changer in life. But how do you begin? As an actress in Hollywood for many years, I know that every eye movement, facial expression, and nonverbal communication is essential if you want to be a successful actor. Keen listening, watching the other actor and staying “in the moment” is even more important than the script or words coming out of the other actor’s mouth. In life, it’s no different. Cries for help and the need for love and prayer are often masked in angry words, bitterness, depression or desperate acts. But if you take time to care, listen, and are a keen observer, I believe God will guide you in asking the right questions and sharing who He is with others. Jesus taught us to love, listen, and pray. His communication was disruptive. He knew He was “the way, the truth, and the life.” Are you also confident in that truth?
Try using the culture’s approach.
In today’s culture, humor and sarcasm are being used like never before to capture, compromise, and change our thoughts and choices. If you laugh at it, you agree with it. It’s why talk shows, skit comedy shows, or comedians use humor to push political agendas, advance anti-Biblical views, and cultural mindsets. They know that humor plants seeds of compromise by catching you off guard, and facilitating a “just want to have fun” mindset. So, use it back. As believers, we often want to be serious about God. How frequently have you heard that “Jesus was a man of sorrow?” This is true, but the Jesus I know is also a man of great joy and laughter, full of grace and love. He engaged with unbelievers and those living with worldly, cultural mindsets. He disrupted their worldview with stories and questions that cut into their thoughts, and then walked away, leaving the person to ponder and think.
As creatives and artists, we know stories and questions work.
Communicating through artistic projects seen on our screens is more important than ever. Research is showing that AI (the machine now quickly turning our thinking into a source of human reason) is being accepted as truth and fact in our culture today. Just look at how we use GPS to navigate where we are going; human nature always wants to take the easy or lazy way. Similarly, we think we have bigger and more important things to do than research. Following cultural trends – how everyone else does things – has become too easy. And if everyone chooses the trending way, it must be right… Right? Or can you pose a question or tell a story that will disrupt the trend?
Plant disruptive seeds.
Use your creative talents. Tell your stories, ask those hard questions, and use curiosity and humor whenever possible. “So, screw your courage to a sticking place, and we’ll not fail” (Shakespeare -Macbeth, Act 1, scene 7). You have great influence! Three out of five nonbelievers today say they haven’t made a decision to follow God. Will your creative project be the seed that changes everything? “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation (compromise). The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Matthew 26:41
For more on sharing Jesus, watch the recent interview that Influence Lab Co-Founder Phil Cooke had with UK Evangelist J.John on his podcast. Listen and watch how simple it can be to share your faith in today’s curious and searching culture!
Journal
Just say no. I hear this a lot from leadership coaches. Know when to say yes and when to say no. Is your NO— really NO? Will leaving the door cracked lead to compromise and a warped journey? Do you fear that the exit sign will lead to emptiness and abandonment?
Be careful who and what you are listening to and how you’re being manipulated!
When I was growing up, I was taught the song, “Be careful little ears, feet, hands what you hear, for the Father up above is looking down in love, (His grace is unending) so be careful little (ears, tongue, feet) what you hear, say, do.” Maybe we should add “mind” to the song?
Your mind and thoughts affect your heart and passions, and your passions affect your choices (a.k.a. your hands and feet). Subversive messaging seeps into subconscious minds and affects choices. We often listen to the people who are telling us what we “want” to hear and not what we “need” to hear. Our ears hear the message, but are we discerning the right message? I give my family instructions daily that never seem to get carried out correctly because they often hear something different, or, frequently, only what they want to hear. The greatest mistake we make is the assumption that communication has been acted on correctly. Cultural influences send us thousands of media messages daily on multiple platforms, and in our 24/7 overbooked lives, we get beaten down and manipulated by the constant noise affecting our choices. Often it comes in first with a dribble – a slow drip – until we realize we have been overcome with a flood and been “hooked, line, and sinker.”
Exit. Get off the hamster wheel, put down your screen, and get off social media.
In artistic careers, it’s not easy to let go of what we set out to do creatively. Passions blind us to messages and signals we should be paying attention to, and we often push relentlessly harder, not willing to give up our dreams. Slammed doors, scripts unsold, auditions never booked, or projects never made create insecurity and depression, leading to desperation. And no one wants to hire or be around desperate artists. Could we have truly heard God’s voice? Is He listening to our prayers, laments, and wails? Could it be that we need to stop and listen to what we need to hear, rather than what just sounds good? The “NO’s” we face are perhaps a place where we can consider exiting the hamster wheel of striving. Are we listening to God’s voice and fishing on the right side of the boat? In Peter’s moment of insufficiency, Jesus told him to cast his net to the other side of the boat. Peter listened, trusted Jesus, and was rewarded not only with physical fish for that moment, but with a whole new direction for his life. (more…)
Journal
Does faith come from hearing? What if, in today’s noisy, media-cluttered and confused culture, what one hears – the message – isn’t digested? John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word (Jesus) was with God, and the Word (Jesus) was God.
Do we believe the Word?
Paul tells us that God’s “grace is sufficient” and that in our weaknesses God’s power is “made perfect” (II Corinthians 12:9). When dry periods come in the rollercoaster life of an arts and creative career, and depression looms and it’s easy to whine about not being enough, knowing enough, having enough connections, or money. Can you believe that God is enough for you? And that when you “seek Him first, He will give you the desires of your heart?” Can you remember that “through Him” you are, with all your imperfections and failures, being “made perfect?”
What we think (our mindset) affects our heart (passions) and will affect what we do with our hands, feet, creative talents, and skills. But James 2:14-26 reminds us that “faith without works” is dead.
Fruit from the vine must be broken open for the juice to be consumed and used.
God allows dry spells – seasons to happen in careers and life. But those difficult seasons don’t have to be devastating when we stay engaged with God in His Word. We can find joy in a desert season because we know where “Living Water” is hidden. It’s in the Word. God’s directions are there giving you instruction and a pathway to forge on. God teaches us to be watchful and to listen. We are being refined in the fire of life so that we can reflect Jesus brilliantly.
Research confirms that you need to read the Bible personally four or more times weekly, or you won’t make different choices than a nonbeliever. Get into the Word and watch your mind be renewed. See your heart grow with passion and your life soar. Then… consider associating with, being mentored by, or following someone who isn’t your equal but is “above your pay grade.” Study their habits and choices. Be observant. Joseph had to be put in prison so he could befriend the king’s cupbearer, which led to him using his God-given talent for interpreting dreams that propelled him into the king’s court. I often wonder how the king’s cupbearer played a key role in giving Joseph instructions on how to approach the king.
Successful men and women deal with adversity. It’s unavoidable. Its’ been said that…
When God gives you a vision, He also gives you “provision.” Claim it today!
Journal
I love writing and producing award-winning programs, or hosting great events that nourish souls. But it is agony for me to get there. I know and see the destination, but it’s the packing and getting there that never stops challenging me. I have a perfectionistic beast inside me that occasionally spews flames in my direction, hissing that I’m not good enough, not worthy, and waking me up in the middle of the night. This can lead to my own procrastination.
Procrastination is a form of anxiety.
Judson Brewer, a psychiatrist, neuroscientist, and the author of “Unwinding Anxiety: New Science Shows How to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear to Heal Your Mind,” said in a WSJ article, “Procrastination is a distraction. Anxiety triggers procrastination, especially for perfectionists, because we worry our solution to the problem won’t be good enough. Procrastination feels better than being anxious or trying to come up with a solution.”
Procrastination is an emotional response to fear.
Procrastination can hold us back, but it’s also a mindset that can be broken. God is a forward-moving God who tells us to “go” and even though we may not be good enough yet, the Bible tells us that we can do “all things through Him who strengthens us.” (Philippians 4:13) The issue is whether we are fully engaged and aligned with Him and His will, or are we just accessing Him when fear sets in. We need a sound and calm mind, otherwise we can become anxious and lose sight of the road in front of us. The Bible tells us that we are to be “anxious for nothing” and to take our requests to God. (Philippians 4:6-7) He will empower us if we stay connected to His will and remain courageous in the arms of Jesus. It’s a message I have had to be reminded of again and again, and why my quiet time with God is essential.
We will be hosting two outstanding women, producer Anna Zielinski and casting director Lisa London at our next Influence Women Hollywood Chapter Brunch on Saturday, February 4th, who have had to lean in and push through uncertainty, fear, and procrastination barriers. They decided to stop being placed in the position to wait and be picked. They stopped waiting for the industry shuts downs to lift during the pandemic, and instead found new ways to turn a disasterous situation into new, positive opportunities.
Want to break through the fear and learn how to gain fortitude?
Merriam-Webster dictionary defined fortitude as “strength of mind that enables a person to encounter danger and bear pain or adversity with courage.” In the world we live in today, we need fortitude and the strength to face the oncoming cultural winds that often bring pain and suffering.
Will you join me on Saturday, February 4th as we learn from women who have discovered the Source of fortitude and learned to silence the anxiety?
Journal
In 1843, John C. Fremont, an explorer (and the namesake for the junior high school I attended), set off to explore the unknown once again. He had just returned from an expedition to Wyoming but was driven to see what was then called Oregon Country. He ended up exploring what is now known as Portland, Oregon, but his journey took him through the Sierra Nevada mountains then south and east to the desolate deserts and the Great Salt Lake in what is now known as Utah. However, this passion for exploring almost cost him his life in the Sierra’s where he and his mate, Kit Carson (who would gain fame in Nevada and whose capital city is named after him), were forced to eat their horses to survive. With Kit’s instincts and keen sense of direction, he would be Fremont’s saving guide. Without him, things would have turned out much different. (more…)
