Mary, Honor and Value: Blue Book of Poetic Theology for Artists

By Christ John Otto

Christian artists and creative people often believe that they are less valuable than others in the church. Christ John Otto, founder of Belonging House, explores how relationships with God and with other people give value and dignity to our lives. Mary is the most extraordinary person in the Bible. Through her, God chose to become

• Language: English
• Publisher: Belonging House Media
• Release date: Nov 13, 2020
• ISBN: 9781736034651

Christ John Otto

In 2006 Christ "rhymes with wrist" John Otto was called by God to begin writing, leading worship, and hanging out in a local coffee shop. His adventure, and the people who joined him, eventually took the name Belonging House. Today after lots of coffee, five books, and thousands of emails, Belonging House has become an international "house" for creative culture shapers. Christ Otto holds degrees from Houghton College and Asbury Theological Seminary. Since 1986 he has worked in a variety of media as a freelance artist including decoupage, faux finishing, mural work, sign painting, commercial and retail design, and catering and pastry. He is a classically trained tenor and vocal coach. Through it all he has learned to be a son, and bring others into a relationship with God.

Book preview

Mary

honor and value

Line

Christ John Otto

Blue Book

in

POETIC THEOLOGY

for ARTISTS

Mary, Honor and Value

Blue Book of Poetic Theology for Artists.

by Christ John Otto, Boston, Massachusetts.

Copyright © 2020 Christ John Otto, all rights reserved.

Unless otherwise noted, scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-7360346-3-7

Paperback ISBN: 978-1-7360346-4-4

E-book ISBN: 978-1-7360346-5-1

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020921498

To the many

Spiritual Mothers

who have walked with me

through many good and bad

seasons.

Ethel,

Sharen,

Brenda,

Dorothy,

and

Martha.

I have learned so much.

Special thanks to

Courtney McDonald,

Nancy Mari,

Peter Lane,

and Jörn Lange

for their invaluable help

in editing, providing feedback,

and preparing this

manuscript for publication.

Table of Contents

Relationships

Ordinary

Real

Unique

The Holy Spirit

Impossible

Let it be to me.

Forerunner

Woman

Who is my Mother?

Behold your Mother

And they were all filled

Clothed with the Sun

Masterpiece

Honor and Value

Relationships

The God of the Bible

is the

Most Relational Being in the Universe.

God revealed himself as Father,

through his Son,

Jesus,

so we could be his children.

We are created to be a royal family.

Relationships are hard.

I lead a tribe of

creative

and unconventional people.

Someone once asked me,

What is it that you do?

I told them I herd cats.

Artists are like cats.

You cannot tell a cat what to do.

If you get too close

they will leave.

If you force them to do something

they will scratch you.

And sometimes cats

like to mark their territory.

But, if you allow a cat come into your space,

and give them

something

nice to eat,

a warm sunny window sill,

or a comfy lap,

they will come

to you

and

purr.

Cats are not really good at relationships.

And neither are many creative people.

There are a lot of reasons for this.

Relationships hurt.

If someone doesn’t hurt you at some point,

you aren’t really in relationship.

Relationships

require give and take.

And often

they require love

and forgiveness.

Love really does

cover up a multitude of sins.

And along with this,

creative people have a unique feature.

Many

would call this a flaw,

but it is a feature.

Creative people

by nature

see what’s wrong

with something

first.

This ability to recognize

a flaw

is what drives creative people

to create.

We see a problem first,

and then we devise a new solution—

this is the creative process.

Professionals know that a good critique

and careful editing

are essential for great art.

The trouble is,

you can’t do that with people.

People have feelings.

You can’t edit parts of people.

When you do this to people

it becomes a Criticism Ray. 

It goes down deep

and it burns.

In addition,

creative people

tend to get their value from

their work.

And young,

(and sadly,

a lot of not so young)

immature,

creative people

have a very difficult time

separating themselves

from their work.

If you get a bunch of creative people

together for too long,

the Criticism Ray

gets aimed at others.

And that Ray,

while excellent at solving a creative problem,

makes everyone feel

like they aren’t valuable. 

And

creative people are very competitive.

It’s the nature of creative work.

That Criticism Ray

is the tool used

by some

to cover up the very low perception

they have of themselves.

Sometimes it is easier

to pull someone