Riven.
Theology & The Arts
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Reviving the Christian soul.
The Christian mind has fallen prey to the language of culture. Celebrity Christianity, elitism, and a leadership model built on the pursuit of influence has transformed the Christian voice so much that it is indistinguishable from mainstream culture.
This shift reveals the vacuum of discipleship rampant in our churches—a by-product of a decades-long love affair with the relevance and seeker-sensitive movements. To grab a place at the cultural table, Christianity has exchanged the depth provided through discipleship, for a headline-grabbing shallowness.
We’ve moved away from developing cultural theologies and moved into the postures of secular pundits.
And that’s why I’m founding Rune, to revive the Christian soul, heart, and mind in the world and to reframe our theology on the foundation of beauty.
Crushing the Swarming Darkness with Wonder.
Breaking free from the world’s enchantment.
Our culture shapes us with each bit of content we consume. The emerging generations face unprecedented challenges related to identity, purpose, and worship. A dark enchantment grips our society. How can we break free?
In the summer of 1941, C. S. Lewis preached a sermon at St. Mary the Virgin Cathedral in downtown Oxford, England. Students packed the chapel to hear the always dynamic Lewis give his address. We now know this address as, “The Weight of Glory.”
Lewis’s rhetoric soared as he exhorted the audience of undergraduates to beware of the magical charm that had subtly bewitched society.
“Do you think I am trying to weave a spell?” writes Lewis. “Perhaps I am; but remember your fairy tales. Spells are used for breaking enchantments as well as inducing them. And you and I have need of the strongest spell that can be found to wake us from the evil enchantment of worldliness.”
Lewis wants to fight magic with a deeper magic.
Considering the desecration of the beautiful and holy, and the isolation embraced by the modern West, a loss of the spiritual shape of life, and a vision of the world that dims and reduces, Lewis’s words come to us now as prophetic of our own time.
Indeed, who will stand up and show the world a new way to live?
G.K. Chesterton said it is the great paradox of history that each generation is converted by the saint who contradicts it the most.
Chesterton believed that when a generation becomes too worldly, it is up to the saint, or the church, to rebuke it.
He says, however, that each generation chooses its saint by instinct. The saint is not what the world wants, but what it needs.
A saint writes Chesterton, is someone who runs incongruous with the modern world, like that weird uncle of yours who lives on a farm and seems a little off because he doesn’t use the internet (I may or may not be that uncle).
“We need to feed our souls. We need to chuck our phones, tablets, computers and televisions and visit with things we can touch, smell, hear, and taste. We need to sit on a boulder, by a fire, under a tree. We need to be reminded that we were created to be in this world of ours, not just to passively watch it hum along as we plug into the next season of bingeing silliness.”
— Tim
The Rune Vision
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Rune will publish digital and print content through newsletters, articles, books, and a print journal. It will provide practical resources for Christian leaders who desire to shape hearts and minds by committing to discipleship.
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Rune will establish an annual rhythm of intimate gatherings which include Tim’s 2022 summer book tour, spiritual retreats, and The Rune Fellowship.
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Rune House represents the longterm vision of Rune. It will be a property located in the wild where retreats, fellowships, and one on one discipleship can take place in the nourishing environment of solitude, wonder, and adventure. It will also serve as the center for Rune publishing and gatherings.
Rune House will host Rune Fellows for quarterly gatherings focused on one-on-one mentorship, theological inquiry and training, and the pursuit of art and craft.
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Rune will be an embodied space and place where Christian leaders, thinkers, and seekers can find true spiritual rest while being challenged to deepen their spiritual intimacy with God.
It will be a place for the attentive soul. It will stand against the break-neck speed of culture—a place of beauty.
Beauty stands at the heart of the Rune mission: to inspire the human heart and soul toward deep relational intimacy with God through a life lived in contact worship, caught in the wonder of the Father.
The Vision.
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The Beautiful.
I spent two years studying beauty in the works of C.S. Lewis and am publishing a book with Zondervan called The Beauty Chasers. The theology of my ministry centers on God being the source of beauty in our lives and the world, and how to live like beauty matters. My writing and speaking begin here and extend into areas of vocational calling, Christian cultural engagement, and living a life of intimacy with Christ.
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The Adventure.
In my writings, I encourage readers to view their relationship with God as an adventure. We live this adventure daily when we can step into our soul-wiring and vocational calling. Understanding who we are as children of the King gives us the confidence to walk in faith, pursuing the vision God’s given to us. For me, the word adventure relates to how I get this message out to readers. I utilized the unorthodox method of road trip book tours, Avant-guard newsletters, and social media to nurture the hearts of readers with the Gospel.
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The Expression.
We express our faith in the unique ways with which God wired us. The ministry seeks more than the dissemination of teaching and writing. It wants to see Christians using their soul-wirings to honor and glorify Christ through physical expressions whether they be through art, education, entrepreneurship, or parenting.
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
About the name.
The historical word "rune" depicts a Norse letter or inscription of that letter. Norse kings used the “rune” to label holy and sacred objects or places. Rune can also mean "lyric, or poem." But this notion did not originate with Norse culture or Celtic tradition.
The idea of royalty inscribing his or her name upon a place or person reaches back to ancient civilization. God himself inscribes his name upon his messenger angels.
God created each person, inscribing his signature upon their souls. So, like the ancient places designated as sacred, each person represents the sacred beauty of God.
You and I are the rune marks of God in this world. We are living poems, songs of glory—beauty markers of a holy King.
If this is true, then how should our lives reflect this glory?
Partner with us.
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Will you partner with us? We’re looking for ministry partners who share our vision and want to contribute to through the giving of resources. If this is you, please reach out to us by filling out the form below and scheduling a vision session with us.
Get in touch.
We’d love to partner with you. Please fill out the form to schedule a time to discuss how you can contribute to the vision of Rune.