Forefront 360

In this lively episode, Cody, Rich and Nate explicate the Gospel themes (whether intentionally present or not) in Star Wars, Harry Potter, and The Lord of the Rings — and debate which tale best evokes the beauty of the Great Story.

Rich and Dan talk to Adam Bannister, the founder of the band Songs for Revival and a full time missionary with Inca Link. He is currently serving in Honduras to raise worship leaders and assist youth programs until August 2021. Afterwards, he will be moving to the mountains of Guatemala to serve as a worship leader. Songs for Revival was born in January 2020 during a trip to Guatemala. Adam was unsure of his next steps after college, but he had recently begun writing music for the first time. He was inspired by the words of the Gospel of Luke, and by January 2020, he'd written 17 of the 20 songs of what would become the first album, It Is Finished. Songs for Revival consists of six members: Adam Bannister, Brooke Bannister, Katie Shaw Ficker, Giovanna Johnson, Mollie Landman, and Peter Stauffer. Over the past year they have continued to write and share their music and see the Lord bring healing, joy, and revival through the singing of His Word. They will be releasing an album telling the story of Moses late

Forefront chairman Rich Christman talks to artist Josh Tiessen. Born in 1995 in Moscow, Russia, Josh Tiessen is an international award-winning artist based near Toronto, Ontario, Canada, He was listed as one of the world’s top ten prodigy artists (Huffington Post) and recognized as the only known male art prodigy in North America (Dr. J. Ruthsatz, international child prodigy expert). His hyperreal shaped oil paintings, which take up to 1700 hours to complete, reflect the interaction between the natural world and human-made structures, drawing upon his studies in philosophy, theology and intercultural aesthetics. Click here to learn about or preorder Josh's new book, Streams in the Wasteland.

At a recent Forefront virtual event, we screened the short film "Identity" featuring internationally known tap dance artist Andrew Nemr. The film joins Andrew as he navigates being the only son of immigrants, a trusted keeper of the oral tradition of tap dance, and a follower of Jesus Christ. Through many challenges we see Andrew as he literally dances his way through questions about family, ethnicity, race, art, community, and where one’s identity really comes from. In this special podcast episode, listen to the conversation that Forefront director Nate Mancini had with Andrew about what it means to find our identity.

Forefront Podcast Director Cody Schweickert talks to Peter Englert, the Adult Ministries Director at Browncroft Community Church. Peter co-hosts the Why God Why Podcast, which explores the questions that matter most in people lives — often the questions people do not feel safe to ask in church.  In this episode, Cody and Peter discuss what it means to look at the Bible as literature instead of as a purely descriptive or scientific text. If the Bible is art, how does that change how we read it, and how will it change our relationship with God?

Rich, Nate, Zack and Dan discuss what they've been creating recently. Subscribe to Forefront 360 in your favorite podcast app so you don't miss future episodes, and be sure to join the conversation on Instagram!

Forefront board member Zack Osinski talks to percussionist Josh Graham about music, church, racial reconciliation, and the joys and challenges of life as a musician.

The Christmans and the Mancinis review "A Week Away," Netflix's new musical set at a Christian camp.

Rich Christman interviews painter Misato Pang. Born and raised in Hong Kong to Japanese and Chinese parents, Misato migrated to the United States during late adolescence. Up until recently, she lived in New York City and relocated to St. Louis in the past year. Misato's works overlap personal narrative and cultural events, some of which allude to current social phenomenon and political discourse in Asia. She has participated in various residencies and exhibitions in the United States and Japan. Her most recent solo exhibition, "Breakdown", was a two-part exhibition that guides viewers through phases of the artist's creative process using verbal and visual languages. The synthesis of visual and auditory cues recreate spaces and moments in time, hence inviting the viewers to reflect and enter these intimate spaces that happened in isolation and solitude. We invite you to enjoy this multi-layered conversation about faith, artistry, and identity.

Cody and Rich review Justin Bieber's new (explicitly Christian) EP "Freedom."

Rich, Cody, and special guest Aaron Lowin discuss whether video games count as "art."

“You can walk on water if you are painting it.”  Forefront leaders Nate Mancini and Rich Christman had the opportunity to speak with renowned artist Makoto Fujimura about the intersection of art and faith. In this far-reaching conversation, they talk about Mako’s routines & practices, his slow process of creation, how artists can bring God’s abundance to a world of scarcity, and ultimately, how Christ is deeply present in our experiences of darkness & trauma.  As a special bonus, we conclude with some audience questions from artists like singer/songwriter Sandra McCracken and tap dancer Andrew Nemr. Makoto Fujimura (b. 1960, Boston) is a leading contemporary artist whose process driven, refractive “slow art” has been described by David Brooks of New York Times as “a small rebellion against the quickening of time”.  Fujimura’s art has been featured widely in galleries and museums around the world, and is collected by notable collections including The Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo, The Hunting

In this new arts review episode: Nate reads a passage from East of Eden by John Steinbeck Zack discusses music by Brenna MacCrimmon and Selim Sesler Rich reviews "Shore" by Fleet Foxes  

Cody, Rich and Nate review Pixar's latest film, "Soul." What were the best moments? Was the film overstuffed? What does it try to "say" about the spiritual realm, and do those ideas align with a Christian worldview? And finally, what are the top 5 Pixar films of all time?

Zack talks to Victoria Moore about all things music therapy — what it is, why it works, and how it integrates with her faith and life experience.

The Forefront team gathers to review Christopher Nolan's new film "Tenet" as well as reflect on Nolan's entire filmography.  0:00 - introduction 3:15 - thoughts on the theatrical experience 14:23 - spoiler review of Tenet 44:42 - Nolan's filmography

At Forefront Festival: Virtual, Dr. Benjamin Myers ran a breakout on "incarnational diction" in writing and poetry. In this special episode, listen to the audio from the breakout followed by a discussion by the Forefront Festival team.

The Forefront team — along with special guest Chris Widmer — gathers to discuss the question "Should Christians watch Tarantino movies?" Along the way they consider what sorts of objectionable content are acceptable, whether Tarantino movies have a sense of justice, and to what extent morality is objective vs subjective...and of course, they rank their favorite Quentin Tarantino movies and sequences.

The Forefront team gathers for a new arts review. Nate reviews the book Adorning the Dark by Andrew Peterson Rich reviews the TV series Avatar: The Last Airbender Cody talks about the song The Cross by Prince (found on the Spiritual Songs playlist by Josh Garrels)

The Forefront team gathers to discuss the art they've been experiencing recently: Abbey on Turtledoves Sean on C.S. Lewis's The Discarded Image Zack on Jonathan Ogden Rich on Montell Fish Nate on The Chosen Cody on Leif Enger's Virgil Wander