Episode 63 - Creating Beauty and Engaging Culture with Aaron Davis

In this episode of the Faith and Family Filmmakers Podcast, Jaclyn talks with Aaron Davis, Producer, Director, and Executive Director of Aletheia Legacy. Aletheia Legacy is a nonprofit focused on discipling Christian creatives by creating beauty, engaging with culture, and inspiring the world. Aaron shares his personal journey from a creative youth to founding Aletheia, and discusses how the organization supports artists in various fields by fostering community, opportunities, resources, and exposure. They also highlight the importance of nurturing creativity within the church and provide details on how Aletheia partners with schools and churches to support young artists. The highlights:

• Introduction to Aletheia Legacy
• Aaron's Background and Journey
• Support for Artists in the Church
• Challenges and First Steps
• Aletheia's Mission and Programs
• Partnerships and Resources
• Encouragement for Creatives
• Resources and Podcast Information

BIO:

Aaron is the executive director of the organization called, Aletheia Legacy. Aletheia Legacy exists to spread the arts by creating beauty, engaging the culture and inspiring the world with Christian creatives. Before jumping into Aletheia’s mission, Aaron served as a discipleship pastor and teacher in the arts for the last ten years.

Aaron and Alatheia on IG, FB, TikTok, & YouTube

@aarondavismedia

@aletheialegacy

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Jaclyn: 00:00:00

Hello, and welcome to the Faith and Family Filmmakers Podcast.

Jaclyn: 00:00:03

My name is Jaclyn, and today I'll be speaking with Aaron Davis.

Jaclyn: 00:00:06

Aaron is the executive director of the organization called Aletheia Legacy.

Jaclyn: 00:00:11

Aletheia Legacy exists to spread the arts by creating beauty, engaging the culture, and inspiring the world with Christian creatives.

Jaclyn: 00:00:19

Before jumping into Aletheia's mission, Aaron served as a discipleship pastor and teacher in the arts for the last 10 years.

Jaclyn: 00:00:27

Welcome Aaron Davis to the show.

Aaron: 00:00:29

Hi, Jaclyn.

Aaron: 00:00:30

I'm so glad to be here today.

Aaron: 00:00:32

Thank you for having me.

Jaclyn: 00:00:33

Yeah.

Jaclyn: 00:00:34

And actually we met at the Christian Worldview Film Festival and you were telling me about Aletheia Legacy and it sounded really interesting to me.

Jaclyn: 00:00:43

So can you Tell me more and, and share with our listeners what it is that you do.

Aaron: 00:00:48

Yeah, so Aletheia is a 501c3 official nonprofit and which basically we say that we are called to disciple creatives.

Aaron: 00:00:59

And we look for creatives who, you know, they might be struggling to find identity or purpose or calling, especially within the church.

Aaron: 00:01:08

And so we like to come alongside the church.

Aaron: 00:01:11

We say that we partner with the church, we equip artists and we exist to cultivate the next generation and kind of our level of standards, I guess we would say is that we wish to create beauty, engage culture.

Aaron: 00:01:23

And inspire the world.

Aaron: 00:01:25

And there's different pillars in which we do that and whatnot.

Aaron: 00:01:28

I won't bore you with all the details, but, uh, yeah, creative discipleship.

Jaclyn: 00:01:33

Well, we might get into those details, actually.

Jaclyn: 00:01:35

I like details.

Jaclyn: 00:01:36

For

Aaron: 00:01:36

sure.

Aaron: 00:01:37

Yeah.

Jaclyn: 00:01:37

I do.

Jaclyn: 00:01:38

So, okay, before we get back into Aletheia, can we just get to know you a little bit?

Jaclyn: 00:01:43

Have you been an artist, like, your whole life?

Jaclyn: 00:01:46

Like, how did you get into this kind of thing?

Aaron: 00:01:49

So, I would say, even with what we're doing with Aletheia, I feel like it's been my life story slowly building up into this.

Aaron: 00:01:57

So, yes, I grew up.

Aaron: 00:01:59

I had a humble background.

Aaron: 00:02:01

I would never say that we had a silver spoon.

Aaron: 00:02:03

There was some time periods where maybe we were bouncing house to house, rent to rent.

Aaron: 00:02:07

I grew up with a teenage mother and her and I are very close even to this day.

Aaron: 00:02:11

And I'm thankful for everything that she laid out for me.

Aaron: 00:02:14

And I would say that I get kind of my creative, artistic background from her.

Aaron: 00:02:19

And with her working several jobs, my grandmother would consistently take me to the church, especially on Sundays.

Aaron: 00:02:26

And that was kind of my, that would create my biblical foundation, my faith.

Aaron: 00:02:31

But I would say that I was never really that plugged in until I got into youth ministry, and I was not interested in youth ministry whatsoever.

Aaron: 00:02:39

But once I was in high school, they started a creative ministry where they were doing, if you remember this, the human videos and like the casting crowns, you know, people would move and motion to basically act out the songs that were played from contemporary Christian music back then.

Aaron: 00:02:55

And so that got me plugged into the church, and I started writing skits and acting, and originally I just wanted to go off into Hollywood and make movies, but I knew that I did not have a good, solid accountability group with fellow disciples in the church, and I knew that was kind of on my own, and I feared that if I were to go off Into, you know, mainstream Hollywood that my faith was going to get crushed.

Aaron: 00:03:20

And so essentially Aletheia kind of came out of that idea of being a source for the young creative who one, doesn't know where to go to next and two, to be, you know, a place for community that we can come amongst each other, assist each other, and so speeding through that.

Aaron: 00:03:38

I eventually went to seminary, met my family, or met my wife, and created our family through that, and started teaching, and through the last decade of pastoral ministries and teaching, we've built fine arts programs, and groups, and discipled creatives throughout this time, We decided to start an official organization.

Aaron: 00:03:57

And so that's pretty much my background and how we got into all of this.

Jaclyn: 00:04:01

Wow.

Jaclyn: 00:04:02

That's incredible.

Jaclyn: 00:04:03

So when you were growing up in the church that you were attending, was there support for you as an artist?

Jaclyn: 00:04:09

Like, were, were they giving opportunities or like, are you creating something that you wish you had?

Jaclyn: 00:04:15

Or are you realizing that you had something and you're building off of that?

Aaron: 00:04:20

Yeah, I would say, so we grew, I grew up in a fairly traditional church.

Aaron: 00:04:25

And when I say traditional, I mean like everyone wore shirts and ties and jackets, you know, the suits and dresses and classic helms.

Aaron: 00:04:35

So I didn't grow up in a contemporary church.

Aaron: 00:04:37

It was a big deal when we brought in like electric drums turned all the way down on like a contemporary surface.

Aaron: 00:04:43

So I would say that my youth minister, his name was Jamie, he provided us the space.

Aaron: 00:04:48

No.

Aaron: 00:04:49

I would not say that it was like there was others like myself at that time, but he provided us a space.

Aaron: 00:04:56

I think he thought it was really cool.

Aaron: 00:04:58

You know, YouTube was kind of on the rise at that point.

Aaron: 00:05:00

And so we were seeing different things from other churches, nothing like now, you know, you can find dozens of these on TikTok.

Aaron: 00:05:05

But back then, you know, we were inspired by a few people that we saw on YouTube.

Aaron: 00:05:10

And I think that the thought was, maybe we could do something like that.

Aaron: 00:05:12

And at least for my story, that had a huge impact.

Aaron: 00:05:16

And.

Aaron: 00:05:17

Allowing me to see that my endeavors on a, as an artist, you know, even as a high schooler, cause within my high school, I was an art major, I participated in the school plays and this allowed me to use my gifts within the church.

Aaron: 00:05:30

And so I would say that the thought of Aletheia came out of something that I felt like I needed more at that time.

Aaron: 00:05:36

Cause we like to find churches like that.

Aaron: 00:05:38

And maybe people like my youth minister who are very open to that thought.

Aaron: 00:05:42

They just don't know where to begin, and they don't know, maybe, the other resources, and so we love partnering with those types of organizations.

Jaclyn: 00:05:49

So, what was your first step when you thought, okay, we want to support artists that are growing within the church?

Jaclyn: 00:05:56

Like, how did you even start?

Aaron: 00:05:58

So, as I said, for the last, Roughly 10 years, I've been doing pastoral ministry, and I was teaching at a private Christian school.

Aaron: 00:06:05

Those were my two worlds for the longest time, and while I was teaching, I was also running a fine arts program.

Aaron: 00:06:09

And I was writing letter of recommendation after letter of recommendation for my students within our, we had a solid program.

Aaron: 00:06:16

And I was sending them off to either secular universities or colleges with an art program that I knew that was not, it, cultivating the heart and establishing a biblical worldview and foundation was not as imperative, I think, that, to them as I thought it would be.

Aaron: 00:06:33

And so, I feel like I'm, I'm writing off these students and I'm sending them off and passing them off to the next person and I would see them over and over again lose their faith.

Aaron: 00:06:43

And so a part of it became, I think, I became disgusted with this and I thought I can no longer just sit here as a high school teacher or even a local pastor and just send these students off.

Aaron: 00:06:55

What am I doing this for?

Aaron: 00:06:56

And so I thought of Alatheia was to be beyond the local church and beyond a local school and maybe we can transcend that.

Jaclyn: 00:07:04

Yeah, well, and like, I think that's one of the concerns with churches, you know, when the youth grows up in the church and then they go off to college or university and then.

Jaclyn: 00:07:16

Now they're in a completely different world and a lot of these young adults lose their faith.

Jaclyn: 00:07:22

So, and I think that as artists, a lot of the time we have this open mindedness where we like to think about things differently and we like to consider.

Jaclyn: 00:07:31

ideas that are maybe challenging.

Jaclyn: 00:07:33

And so when you're not supported in that, you know, in the family of the church to be able to think through something, but through a biblical worldview, it can be very challenging for young adults or youth to be in an environment where people are saying, well, is that really sin?

Jaclyn: 00:07:51

Or is that really a big deal to God?

Jaclyn: 00:07:54

I mean, who cares, right?

Jaclyn: 00:07:55

Maybe that was for back then, but today, and so I think that there is a lot of challenge, especially for artists, because the artistic world is so open in that sense where, you know, there's not a lot of boundaries.

Jaclyn: 00:08:08

And so to teach artists how to be artists and pursue what God's put in them, but to maintain the boundaries that God has given us, I think that What you're doing is, is amazing and so needed because we need to be able to foster

Aaron: 00:08:23

both.

Aaron: 00:08:24

Yes, for sure.

Aaron: 00:08:25

And might I add, you know, I mentioned my youth minister, Jamie.

Aaron: 00:08:28

I was discipled by him and then a, a, a fellow slightly older brother who came into my life.

Aaron: 00:08:34

Neither one of them would say that they're, you know, creative or artistic.

Aaron: 00:08:37

We get to laugh about that often because I stay in touch with them to this day.

Aaron: 00:08:41

And so I'm serious about discipleship.

Aaron: 00:08:44

I mean, it was essential for my faith and, and been doing that in my role within even the church was, you know, pastor of discipleship.

Aaron: 00:08:51

And I think I took my first position in discipleship, I think, when I was like 18.

Aaron: 00:08:54

Discipleship, I would say, is like, is a core heartbeat.

Aaron: 00:08:58

Of what we do, and like I said, we can't disciple and then just send us, throw the fellow creatives or artists into the fire without guidance and being able to mold and help and assist them along their walk.

Jaclyn: 00:09:11

Yeah, and what I liked about the film festival that we met at is that there very much is this understanding of faith first.

Jaclyn: 00:09:19

And then our art serves that, you know, that we are honoring God with our art, with the gifts that he's given us.

Jaclyn: 00:09:26

So what does Aletheia actually mean and why did you choose that name?

Aaron: 00:09:30

Yeah, so Aletheia, actually, so the first time I ever heard of the word Aletheia was when I met my wife, which has not a whole lot to do with the organization in and of itself, but she was on a traveling band named Aletheia.

Aaron: 00:09:44

And Aletheia is the biblical Greek word for truth.

Aaron: 00:09:47

Aletheia And I remember one, maybe it's just because it's synonymous with my wife, but I, I loved that word of truth and that that's what we're seeking after.

Aaron: 00:09:56

And I think whenever I was struggling as a teacher and as a pastor, I kept getting asked this question of, what are you wanting?

Aaron: 00:10:03

What are you longing for?

Aaron: 00:10:05

And I would say, I want to leave behind a legacy of truth.

Aaron: 00:10:08

And I feel that in media is shaping our culture in a way that is changing our legacy.

Aaron: 00:10:16

And so, although in the name it has nothing to do with art or media or culture, which we have other, you know, IPs that, that do, I would say that Aletheia Legacy came out of the original, what do we wish to accomplish, and we would say that we wanted to leave behind a legacy of truth, and in order to do that, We must cultivate creatives in, into society, cultivate Christians into society to change the culture.

Aaron: 00:10:41

And that's ultimately what we're looking for.

Aaron: 00:10:43

So yeah, that's kind of the, the original, uh, intent.

Aaron: 00:10:46

A truth legacy is what we wish to cultivate.

Jaclyn: 00:10:48

Oh, that's beautiful.

Jaclyn: 00:10:49

Yeah, and you know, when I was growing up, um, the church that I attended, at least, Especially in my teen years, it was very supportive for youth and young adults to pursue whatever their gifts were that God had given them.

Jaclyn: 00:11:03

And so, I mean, I grew up in the Salvation Army Church.

Jaclyn: 00:11:05

And so in that particular church, you know, when you are old enough to hold an instrument, they give you one.

Jaclyn: 00:11:11

And so I was seven when I started playing trumpet.

Jaclyn: 00:11:14

And by the time I finished high school, I had learned to play almost all of the instruments that are in the brass band.

Jaclyn: 00:11:21

I couldn't play tuba, my mouth was not big enough, but.

Jaclyn: 00:11:24

I played all the rest.

Jaclyn: 00:11:26

And so, like, I had this opportunity to pursue music on a regular basis, and that was through the church.

Jaclyn: 00:11:32

My parents even saw it before I was seven, but, like, it's something that was in me, and had I not had an opportunity to pursue it, I mean, I guess creativity would have come out of me in some other area, because I can't help but be creative.

Jaclyn: 00:11:46

But what I love is that there was the opportunity and it wasn't just that there was an opportunity to be creative.

Jaclyn: 00:11:52

It was an opportunity to be fostered in my creativity or to be nurtured, I mean.

Jaclyn: 00:11:56

And so I was able to grow in that within that community.

Jaclyn: 00:12:00

And so what you're doing is so valuable.

Jaclyn: 00:12:02

And I love that.

Jaclyn: 00:12:03

Like, what kind of arts do you support within Aletheia?

Aaron: 00:12:08

So, we wish to support any art, any creative, uh, that, that a Christian is trying to go into.

Aaron: 00:12:14

And what I would say is, you know, our standard, once again, creating beauty, engaging culture, and inspiring the world.

Aaron: 00:12:20

That's kind of what we're aiming for.

Aaron: 00:12:22

So, even if someone was to say that they're interested in architecture, you know, it's, we would say, Yeah, as long as you're creating beauty and engaging with the culture and inspiring the world, then you, you align with us.

Aaron: 00:12:32

So my background is more in the visual art and the dramatic arts, and even right now, film as a director and producer.

Aaron: 00:12:40

My wife, on the other hand, as I said, I met her.

Aaron: 00:12:42

Her name's Sarah, by the way.

Aaron: 00:12:44

We've been married for 10 years and on this journey, uh, the entire way.

Jaclyn: 00:12:47

Congratulations.

Jaclyn: 00:12:48

Yes,

Aaron: 00:12:48

thank you.

Aaron: 00:12:49

And she has a music background.

Aaron: 00:12:51

And so with what we have done in the past is what we've established programs.

Aaron: 00:12:57

So like we'll work with schools or churches and we try to help them create and cultivate a path that's going to be best for them, but typically we tried to guide them.

Aaron: 00:13:06

So what we say is we like to build our four pillars.

Aaron: 00:13:10

Which is our core foundation and core is an acronym for we like to build community, opportunities, resources, and then we like to walk with you through exposure.

Aaron: 00:13:19

And so with that we would say, I want to say any art, but I want to say with a proper biblical lens and filter.

Aaron: 00:13:26

That does not mean everything needs to be Christian art necessarily, but we want to say that we like to digest the meat and spit out the bones.

Aaron: 00:13:33

And we want to learn So, yeah, we create opportunities of all sorts.

Aaron: 00:13:39

So currently in May, we have three stage productions through different cities that are going to be occurring.

Aaron: 00:13:47

One high school, one's middle school, elementary, and then one's like a preschool.

Aaron: 00:13:51

And so that just to give you an example is we just look to find ways that we can come alongside these programs in a system in any way.

Aaron: 00:13:58

Likewise, we're also planning Art galleries for this upcoming summer.

Aaron: 00:14:02

We have had concert nights for like Christmas where we've gathered and brought in within our network, other artists and musicians to come together and perform on a stage that they might not be able to normally get to and to collectively worship together and to perform with one another.

Aaron: 00:14:16

So yeah, I would say.

Jaclyn: 00:14:18

So if there's someone from a school or a church that's listening right now and saying this sounds really great because I have students who would be perfect for this, like, what could they hope to get from being involved with you?

Jaclyn: 00:14:34

And then how would they start that process?

Aaron: 00:14:42

Over the last 10 years, another board member of ours, Dr.

Aaron: 00:14:46

Darren Lawson from Bob Jones University, literally that's been his job is, you know, he, he leads and shepherds over the, the fine arts program at Bob Jones over the last nearly three decades.

Aaron: 00:14:57

And likewise, he has also created this opportunity where he goes out and he helps equips them at their schools.

Aaron: 00:15:05

So I would say between myself and Dr.

Aaron: 00:15:07

Darren Lawson, you know, if a school were to contact and reach out to us, we would love to see about having them join within our network.

Aaron: 00:15:14

That could be, mean that we could share within our resources, we continue to create resources with one another.

Aaron: 00:15:19

Just for example, some of the productions that we do within our network, you know, A school might say, we don't have the budget to do something like that.

Aaron: 00:15:27

Where do we begin?

Aaron: 00:15:28

And well, we say, well, within what we've gathered within our resources, we can either come alongside, help you, or we can also utilize the other institutions that we've worked with in the past collectively to, you know, share those resources with one another.

Aaron: 00:15:41

Because I do know whenever I go into a new school, typically they're either struggling with fear of the worldview of, okay, so if we open up the arts, Does that mean that liberalism is just going to take over our school?

Aaron: 00:15:53

So I would say that's kind of like my thing that I like to talk about is how one, we should not be fearful, but we should, this is why we have creative discipleship is that we should train each other.

Aaron: 00:16:04

And I mean, I think of the disciples.

Aaron: 00:16:05

If the disciples were not the 12 disciples that Jesus poured into, if Jesus did not train them, then they should absolutely be feared.

Aaron: 00:16:12

They're going to die for their faith.

Aaron: 00:16:14

Bye.

Aaron: 00:16:15

Until he trains them, equips them, shows them the ways and teaches them, debates between the Pharisees and, you know, those who, the secular, those with a secular worldview.

Aaron: 00:16:27

Jesus displays how to cultivate these relationships and those disciples eventually change the world, you know, through Jesus's teaching.

Aaron: 00:16:35

And so what we would say is that we want to go through and we want to help you make disciples.

Aaron: 00:16:40

So I would say one, there's typically a fear of worldview and a fear of liberalism, but then a lot of times it's where do we begin?

Aaron: 00:16:46

What's the first thing that we should do?

Aaron: 00:16:48

What's our next step?

Aaron: 00:16:49

What about finances?

Aaron: 00:16:50

We come from a small school.

Aaron: 00:16:52

And so within our program, we've worked with programs where they said, Hey, we have the money.

Aaron: 00:16:56

Just work with us, kind of help showcase what we should do or come over here and we create what's called a haven and we, you know, kind of set up a camp and we lead through those, through the resources that that ministry might be providing.

Aaron: 00:17:08

Or we may just start something completely fresh, like we have within a homeschool community here in Louisville, Kentucky, where there was no budget.

Aaron: 00:17:15

It was all just a handful of families coming together and, you know, we, we had like a class fee and whatnot.

Aaron: 00:17:22

And then between that and fundraising and tickets.

Aaron: 00:17:26

We began creating a program and we've seen that over the last year where it started off with about 10 has nearly tripled, uh, in size just, uh, over the last year, that was from a mom calling me saying.

Aaron: 00:17:39

Aaron, we got to do something.

Aaron: 00:17:40

I need my kid who's in homeschool.

Aaron: 00:17:43

They need something.

Aaron: 00:17:43

And so that's just a few things that we've done.

Jaclyn: 00:17:47

Wow, that's awesome.

Jaclyn: 00:17:49

Good for you.

Jaclyn: 00:17:50

Actually, one of the things that I love when, when people are following the calling that God has placed on them, I love to thank them for their obedience.

Jaclyn: 00:17:57

So I want to thank you for being obedient in this call and for stepping out because I know it's never, Easy to start something new and, you know, your legacy with Aletheia is, it's not just that you started something new, but you're constantly helping other people to start something new.

Jaclyn: 00:18:16

And so it's like, no, it's double, right?

Jaclyn: 00:18:18

Like it's, it's not going to be easy, but I, it's so needed and I am sure that the kids really appreciate it.

Jaclyn: 00:18:26

And especially when they become adults and they can look back and see that.

Jaclyn: 00:18:30

You know, their, their creativity was respected and nurtured and that they were able to pursue it in a way that honored God.

Jaclyn: 00:18:37

Cause here's the thing for somebody who is creative, they are not going to, they're going to be depressed if they can't create, right?

Jaclyn: 00:18:45

And so they're going to pursue it one way or another.

Jaclyn: 00:18:48

So either you guide them in the process.

Jaclyn: 00:18:51

Or they figure it out in the world.

Jaclyn: 00:18:53

And I, that's just, it's the way it is.

Jaclyn: 00:18:55

And creativity is not something to be feared.

Jaclyn: 00:18:57

It's something, uh, that God gave us.

Jaclyn: 00:19:00

And I know I'm preaching to the choir right here in this podcast, but the thing is, I, I know that I've come across that where I was in a church at one point where, when I first was realizing I really wanted to pursue screenwriting and I had written this script and I was really proud of it.

Jaclyn: 00:19:15

I took it to my pastor and this was a church that was very conservative.

Jaclyn: 00:19:19

They didn't even want people to have televisions in their homes.

Jaclyn: 00:19:22

And so he was really, really not supportive and basically brushed it off and told me to, you know, pursue something else.

Jaclyn: 00:19:30

And then I set it down and I set it aside and I didn't really, I didn't bring it up again for a long time.

Jaclyn: 00:19:36

Till when I got married to my husband, we've been married for over 10 years now.

Jaclyn: 00:19:41

And about seven or so years ago, I had kind of mentioned that I had written some screenplays.

Jaclyn: 00:19:46

And so around that time, he was like, well, let me read one.

Jaclyn: 00:19:48

So he read one.

Jaclyn: 00:19:49

He's like, you have to do something with this.

Jaclyn: 00:19:50

We can't just do nothing.

Jaclyn: 00:19:51

Right.

Jaclyn: 00:19:52

And so then that's where things started.

Jaclyn: 00:19:53

So it really does make a difference when you have the support, you know, because had that pastor said, wow, this is interesting.

Jaclyn: 00:20:01

How are you going to pursue it for God?

Jaclyn: 00:20:03

I would have already been on that path.

Jaclyn: 00:20:05

All I needed was someone to say, Yes, you can do this for God.

Jaclyn: 00:20:09

You can do this in a way that honors God.

Jaclyn: 00:20:11

And this is a gift from God.

Jaclyn: 00:20:14

And I'd have been off and running.

Jaclyn: 00:20:15

So, I really appreciate that you are helping churches and schools to get over that fear and to be able to give them the resources that they can support these kids.

Aaron: 00:20:26

Absolutely.

Aaron: 00:20:27

Well, thank you so much.

Aaron: 00:20:28

I really appreciate that.

Aaron: 00:20:28

The encouragement.

Aaron: 00:20:30

It does go a long way, and, you know, when we originally started off with this idea, yeah, we got everything, just like, probably, a little bit like what you said, you know, it just maybe wasn't met, um, met that well.

Aaron: 00:20:44

It's a very abstract, we call it like a hybrid of what we're wanting to do.

Aaron: 00:20:49

And so it's difficult sometimes to even convey.

Aaron: 00:20:52

We think that we are the most clear that we've ever been in the past.

Aaron: 00:20:55

It used to be very confusing with what we're wanting to do, uh, just because it's like, okay, so you're doing productions, you're doing.

Aaron: 00:21:01

Music concerts.

Aaron: 00:21:02

Okay, but then you're teaching at schools.

Aaron: 00:21:03

What does that mean?

Aaron: 00:21:04

And so we, we really like the phrasing of, uh, creative discipleship.

Aaron: 00:21:08

And, and with that, we provide opportunities.

Aaron: 00:21:11

So when we met at Christian Worldview, the reason that we were there, one, we want to get to know those creatives and, and build community and network with them.

Aaron: 00:21:19

Um, but also we had a music video that was in the festival that, uh, we actually provided the opportunity for through our summer art camps in the community of, uh, Vine Grove.

Aaron: 00:21:29

And so we had students who, who made that music video, helped us make that music video.

Aaron: 00:21:35

And, and basically we represented them whenever we took them to the Christian worldview.

Aaron: 00:21:39

And so it's definitely not about myself and like, Oh, look what we've done now.

Aaron: 00:21:42

You know, I have my own projects.

Aaron: 00:21:44

Someone can call me up for, you know, maybe directing or producing.

Aaron: 00:21:48

But with what we're wanting to do with the Lathe, we're really serious about providing those opportunities to allow those students to, to find maybe a place of belonging or maybe identity.

Jaclyn: 00:21:57

Okay, but before we finish this one right now, do you have any final thoughts for our listeners?

Aaron: 00:22:04

Yeah, I would say, you know, for anyone and everyone listening, which I know this has to do with faith and family, and there's fellow creatives who are listening, and some maybe just who are within the church, and I would say, Definitely open up the door to those who are creative.

Aaron: 00:22:18

You know, the world spins on the minds of the creatives, those who are innovative and find problems that are out there and come up with solutions.

Aaron: 00:22:26

You know, maybe it's not always with a paintbrush or writing out a song, but it's finding new ideas and, you know, creatives think a little bit differently.

Aaron: 00:22:34

And I think that there's been a lot of fear within the church, uh, for quite some time on thinking abstract and for those who, you know, might just.

Aaron: 00:22:45

Think a little bit different than them.

Aaron: 00:22:46

And my encouragement would be that the church really needs to foster and take in these, these creatives and pour into them just like you would anyone else, whether it's a carpenter or an accountant, a lawyer.

Aaron: 00:23:02

We need Christians in those fields as well.

Aaron: 00:23:04

But what we find is that those who are creative essentially shape culture.

Aaron: 00:23:09

And if, you know, as Francis Schaeffer says, You know, those who lose the arts loses the culture.

Aaron: 00:23:15

And that's why we exist is because we do not want to lose the culture.

Jaclyn: 00:23:20

Amen.

Jaclyn: 00:23:21

And you have a podcast also.

Jaclyn: 00:23:23

Tell us about how people can listen to your podcast.

Aaron: 00:23:26

Yeah, so any of our resources can be found on our website, uh, alathealegacy.

Aaron: 00:23:31

com.

Aaron: 00:23:32

and one of our resources is our podcast where we get on here, And, you know, we're talking to other individuals.

Aaron: 00:23:41

Our podcast is called Cultivating Truth, and it is a place where we say faith and creativity collide.

Aaron: 00:23:47

Sometimes myself, I'll talk about maybe a major issue that's going on, and so I'll just hop on myself and we'll dissect that.

Aaron: 00:23:53

But a lot of times I try to talk with other creatives that are out there.

Aaron: 00:23:57

Film directors, uh, actors, producers, uh, musicians.

Aaron: 00:24:02

And we talk about their creative journey as well.

Aaron: 00:24:04

Very similar to with what you guys got going on here.

Aaron: 00:24:08

And so, yeah, Cultivating Truth podcast.

Aaron: 00:24:10

Uh, you can google it.

Aaron: 00:24:11

Find it on any podcast anywhere.

Aaron: 00:24:13

You can also watch it.

Aaron: 00:24:14

If you would prefer to watch, you know, on YouTube or through our website.

Aaron: 00:24:18

But yeah, you can find all of our resources at our website, alathealegacy.

Aaron: 00:24:21

com.

Aaron: 00:24:22

And we were on, I think, all the major social media platforms, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok.

Aaron: 00:24:28

So yeah, you can find some of our resources there as well.

Jaclyn: 00:24:31

Yeah.

Jaclyn: 00:24:31

And we'll have all of those links in our show notes.

Aaron: 00:24:34

Perfect.

Jaclyn: 00:24:35

Thanks for being on our podcast today.

Jaclyn: 00:24:37

I look forward to talking with you more in the next episode.

Aaron: 00:24:40

Thank you, Jaclyn.

Aaron: 00:24:41

I appreciate it.