The Best Books for Christian Artists

Created to Thrive: An Artist’s Guide to Living in Divine Abundance by Matt Tommey

Imagine just for a moment, life the way you have always dreamed it could be. Feeling connected to God and hearing His voice, creating with the Holy Spirit, following His lead as you share your art and see it transform people’s lives. Imagine a world where artists are free to thrive spiritually, artistically, and financially in everything they do. Imagine a life where your mind is clear, renewed, and focused on God’s purposes for your life and art; no longer struggling with negative patterns of thinking that have held you back for years. My friend, this is not some pie in the sky dream that will never come true. This is the way God designed life to be lived in His Kingdom. This can be your story, fully alive and thriving in everything you do.

​In Created to Thrive, you’ll learn how to start living life from a new blueprint based on God’s Word and His divine design for your life as an artist in His Kingdom. You’ll begin to see your life without limits as you learn to align with Him and cooperate with the Holy Spirit to create new patterns of living. Your mind will be renewed, your heart will be unlocked, and your imagination will be set free to resonate with the Kingdom that’s already living inside of you. You were made to be more than just a frustrated artist, struggling to make sense of your life and art. Get ready to become the artist you were created to be, get ready to thrive! 

Unlocking the Heart of the Artist:

A Practical Guide to Fulfilling Your Creative Call as an Artist in the Kingdom of God by Matt Tommey Unlocking the Heart of the Artist has been called “The Purpose-Driven Life for Artists” and is a clarion call to a new generation of artists who want to fulfill their unique purpose in the Kingdom of God. At the core of Unlocking the Heart of the Artist is an invitation to begin a journey of healing and wholeness that will yield deeper Spirit-led creativity and personal fulfillment. In addition, through learning practical ways to engage the Holy Spirit in their creative process, the reader will learn how to collaborate with God not only in their chosen artistic medium but in life.

Breath for the Bones: Art, Imagination & Spirit by Luci Shaw
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Imagination, appreciation of beauty, creativity: all of these qualities have been given to us by God. For the Christian artist, the drive to create something wonderful is also a means to glorify and better understand our Lord. Using excerpts from her own works as well as those of writers who have gone before her―Emily Dickinson, Annie Dillard, C.S. Lewis, and others―poet and writer Luci Shaw proves that symbolism and metaphor provide ways for humans to experience God in new and powerful ways.Shaw offers a rich and thought-provoking exploration of art, creativity, and faith. Believing that art emanates from God, she shows how imagination and spirituality “work in tandem, each feeding on and nourishing the other.” Faith informs art and art enhances faith. They both, for each other, are “breath for the bones.”Provocative, enlightening, and above all, inspiring, Breath for the Bones will help readers discover the artist within, and bring them further along the path to God Himself.

Art & Faith: A Theology of Making by Makoto Fujimura

Conceived over thirty years of painting and creating in his studio, this book is Makoto Fujimura’s broad and deep exploration of creativity and the spiritual aspects of “making.” What he does in the studio is theological work as much as it is aesthetic work. In between pouring precious, pulverized minerals onto handmade paper to create the prismatic, refractive surfaces of his art, he comes into the quiet space in the studio, in a discipline of awareness, waiting, prayer, and praise.
 
Ranging from the Bible to T. S. Eliot, and from Mark Rothko to Japanese Kintsugi technique, he shows how unless we are making something, we cannot know the depth of God’s being and God’s grace permeating our lives. This poignant and beautiful book offers the perspective of, in Christian Wiman’s words, “an accidental theologian,” one who comes to spiritual questions always through the prism of art.

The Artisan Soul by Erwin McManus

The Most Important Work of Art Is the Life That We Create
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In The Artisan Soul, Erwin Raphael McManus— author, thought leader, and founder of MOSAIC in Los Angeles—pens a manifesto for human creativity and the beginning of a new renaissance. McManus not only calls us to reclaim our creative essence but reveals how we can craft our lives into a work of art. There are no shortcuts to quality, and McManus celebrates the spiritual process that can help us discover our true selves.

McManus demonstrates that we all carry within us the essence of an artist. We all need to create—to be a part of a process that brings to the world something beautiful, good, and true—in order to allow our souls to come to life. It’s not only the quality of the ingredients we use to build our lives that matters, but the care we bring to the process itself. Just as with baking artisan bread, it’s a process that’s crafted over time. And God is the master artisan of our lives.

With poignant, inspirational stories and insights from art, life, history, and scripture interspersed throughout, McManus walks readers through the process of crafting a life of beauty and wonder.

Art & the Bible by Francis Schaeffer

“The lordship of Christ should include an interest in the arts,” writes Francis Schaeffer. “A Christian should use these arts to the glory of God, not just as tracts, mind you, but as things of beauty to the praise of God.” Many Christians, wary of creating graven images, have steered clear of artistic creativity. But the Bible offers a robust affirmation of the arts. The human impulse to create reflects our being created in the image of a creator God. 

​Art and the Bible has been a foundational work for generations of Christians in the arts. In this book’s classic essays, Francis Schaeffer first examines the scriptural record of the use of various art forms, and then establishes a Christian perspective on art. With clarity and vigor, Schaeffer explains why “the Christian is the one whose imagination should fly beyond the stars.”

Imagine That: Discovering Your Unique Role as a Christian Artist by Manuel Luz

Why are we artists? How does God experience art? What is the artist’s calling in relation to God, the church, and the world? 

Drawing from his experiences performing Mozart, playing “dive bars”, and leading worship and the arts in the church, author Manuel Luz seeks to answer the questions that artists often ask. Laced with humorous and sometimes poignant anecdotes, Imagine That is a thought-provoking journey through the convergence of art and faith. Luz has been a working musician, writer, pastor, and even amateur cartoonist for more than 40 years, and in Imagine That he lays out his case for a uniquely Christian approach to the vocation of artist, using theologically rich and artist-friendly language.

In the end, Imagine That affirms and equips Christian artists for the special kind of ministry that only they can do.

Finding Divine Inspiration: Working with the Holy Spirit in Your Creativity by J. Scott McElroy

God will speak to humanity in as many ways as His people are willing to hear. If you are willing, there are ways to convey God’s word that you may have never imagined. Listen beyond the ordinary, and you will express the extraordinary!
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God wants to infuse a transforming wave of divinely inspired creativity into the culture and the church through His willing partners. Finding Divine Inspiration is full of practical steps and exciting biblical, historical, and current examples to help you collaborate with the Great Creator in your life and work.

Born to Create: Stepping Into Your Supernatural Destiny by Theresa Dedmon

Offering a launching pad for you to burst into the realm of creative expression—that fun, fantasy world where the Creator is waiting to welcome you.
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There is a connection between creativity, your identity, the Church, and the world—and it is an important connection. Creativity is tied to all believers’ identity, all who are made in the image of the Creator, all who are born to create!

Overflowing with many thrilling, modern-day testimonies, Born to Create emphasizes the magnitude of both craft—practice and excellence—as well as anointing. Many who have been freed to embrace their creative ideas and passions, whether in the art fields, business, or education, share their amazing stories with you. Their freedom allowed them to powerfully release healing, the prophetic, and the knowledge of God’s love into the marketplace.

Live creatively, friends. If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself. You might be needing forgiveness before the day’s out. Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. Share their burdens, and so complete Christ’s law… (Galatians 6:1 The Message).

You will learn how the supernatural can be activated through what you create, and you will explore hindrances from understanding your creative destiny—your true identity.

Creativity According to the Kingdom: Connecting with Heaven to Create with God & Release Transformation by Matt Tommey

What if you could walk in the transforming power of God every day by connecting to the creative nature of God’s Kingdom which already lives inside of you? Well guess what? You can! There’s a call going out in this generation. It’s a call to an army of creative Kingdom warriors who, just like the army in the valley of dry bones lay wasted and dormant, full of potential, yet with vision that has died. By the Spirit, they are coming to life again and being equipped for their work of ministry both in the church and in the marketplace. This is what you were made for!

​In this hour, God is raising up an army of Kingdom creatives to declare His Glory and see it cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. Whether your calling is in business or the arts, education or government, family or finance, you’ve been specifically designed for this time and this cause to operate in the fullness of God’s creative nature within your circle of influence to release Kingdom transformation. It’s time to release the Glory. It’s time to live the life you’ve always dreamed possible. It’s time. It’s your time!

How Heaven Invades Your Finances by Jim Baker

Heaven’s Invasion Changes Everything! What if the testimony of God’s goodness on your life brought nations to Christ? What if your faithfulness in stewarding money qualified you to shape the culture over cities? What if prosperity wasn’t selfish? Many are frustrated because they’ve tried the principles of sowing and reaping without first establishing “The Foundation for Supernatural Finances.” That’s like building a financial house with no foundation or frame structure.

​This book will: Give you a Kingdom lens to view your finances, prosperity and the purpose of money through. Equip your head, heart and hands with revelation, activations and testimonies. Enable you to build the financial foundation to partner with heaven and see it released here on earth! Heaven is looking to invade your finances. Will you give them a “Foundation” to land on?

Grace over Grind by Shae Bynes

In the world of entrepreneurship, hustling and grinding will earn you a badge of honor. In the Kingdom of God, it is an inferior substitute for working by the supernatural power of God’s grace.The purpose of Grace Over Grind is to challenge you, shift your thinking, and transform the way that you work so that you can glorify God and experience immeasurably more than you could ask or imagine in your business.With the same relatable teaching style and storytelling used in The Kingdom Driven Entrepreneur: Doing Business God’s Way and Encountering God: A Devotional of the Kingdom Driven Entrepreneur, Shae Bynes provides scripture, testimonies, and application exercises to help you on your journey to receive God’s best and have a greater Kingdom impact in your sphere of influence. *Paperback version includes bonus Companion Journal*

Healing the Orphan Spirit by Leif Hetland

In Healing the Orphan Spirit, Leif Hetland explores a central aspect at the root of much of the chaos and division in the world today–the orphan spirit. Father God is waiting for His beloved sons and daughters to understand who they are and whose they are so that all might live in the fullness of our true identity as co-heirs of God’s kingdom. From the depths of personal experience and a deep knowledge of Scripture, Leif brings clarity to God’s spirit of adoption with answers to questions such as:

• What does it mean to be “adopted” by Father God?
• How is Jesus a perfect example of a son who knows his true identity?
• How does one experience the true nature and heart of God so as to live as a beloved son or daughter?

Leif’s profound teaching and powerful personal testimonies bring to light what it means to live from the place of your God-given identity and enjoy the life of freedom that every heart longs for.

Exposing the Rejection Mindset by Mark DeJesus

Break free by exposing the lies of a rejection mindset. Everyone experiences rejection in their life, but few are equipped to overthrow a rejection mindset. Meanwhile, masses of hearts are held back from experiencing the fullness of love in their relationships while being held under the limitation of spiritual slavery. Rejection is a deeply rooted mindset that seeks to steal your ability to experience love, see the power of your identity and experience fruitful relationships. It keeps your heart from experiencing a healthy and fruitful life as a loved child of God. Many people never experience the fullness that is possible because a rejection mindset held them back.

Through his work as a transformational consultant, Mark has witnessed the effects of a rejection mindset first-hand. Through his own personal freedom journey and helping many to break from personal limitations, Mark will expose this sinister mindset and give you practical tools to live free. Throughout this book, you will learn to see how this root system of rejection seeks to get itself into every facet of relationships. You will be able to: – Get to the bottom of what causes most of our relationship struggles. – See why so many believers feel far from God and struggle to connect to His love. – Uncover why many of the same cycles of limitation keep occurring. – Face personal insecurities and get an identity upgrade. – Develop a healthier lens in how you approach relationships. – Break out of places where you feel stuck and get a fresh start. It’s time to take back who you are and what you were made for. Expose the rejection mindset in your life and walk into your freedom.

The Insidious Dance: The Paralysis of Perfectionism

​When performing isn’t enough, perfectionism is the answer … or so says the system of the world. Need to get out of the MATRIX and start living life without the treadmill? Ready to be able to give your heart to someone or something, without reservation sans the fear of the consequences of failure? Then this book is definitely for you. It explains the reasons we adopt it, the maladies of it and provides a prescription to end its tyranny in your life. Packed with insight into the spiritual consequences of perfectionism if will finally draw a detailed picture for you of what’s been wrong all these years and how to fix it.