Terry Glaspey is a writer, a teacher, a creative mentor, and someone who finds various forms of art—painting, films, novels, poetry, and music—to be some of the places where he most deeply connects with God. Dr. Glaspey teaches at Northwind Seminary and has a doctorate in spiritual formation from Northwind, as well as a master’s degree in history from the University of Oregon. He has written over a dozen books, including Discovering God Through the Arts (a Christianity Today book award winner), 75 Masterpieces Every Christian Should Know: Fascinating Stories Behind Great Art, Music, Literature, and Film. (a Christianity Today book award winner), Not a Tame Lion: The Life, Teachings, and Legacy of C.S. Lewis (an ECPA Silver Medallion winner), The Prayers of Jane Austen, 25 Keys to Life-Changing Prayer, Bible Basics for Everyone, and others. He has been the recipient of several major national awards for his writing.​

 

Terry enjoys writing and speaking about a variety of topics including creativity and spirituality, the art and craft of writing, the artistic heritage of the Christian faith, the writing of C.S. Lewis and the Inklings, and creative approaches to apologetics. He  is listed in Who’s Who in America and has been the recipient of a number of awards, including a distinguished alumni award and the Advanced Speakers and Writers Editor of the Year award. ​ 

 

SPEAKING TOPICS: 

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THE ART OF FAITH Terry has developed a series of talks that he has presented to churches, colleges, homeschool groups, and other organizations in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Taiwan. Terry uses visual art, music, film clips, and group interaction to explore and celebrate some of the great moments in our creative heritage from the earliest Christian art in the Roman catacombs and Gregorian chant through Bach, Rembrandt, Jane Austen, right on up to U2 and other contemporary expressions of faith. And Terry helps his audiences appreciate how the arts can literally change your life and deepen your faith. You’ll be exposed to some life-changing works of creativity and imagination that will deepen your understanding of yourself, your world, and the God who is the author of all creativity.​This series, which can draw from any of the talks below, has often been given as a series of talks over a weekend at churches all over the United States. Terry encourages that these talks be accompanied by an art show of creative people in your congregation or organization, along with an opportunity to let your local musicians and poets offer their talents as part of the whole experience.  

 

OTHER TALKS AVAILABLE: 

 

A Cloud of Creative Witnesses: Christians are the recipients of a marvelous heritage in art, music, literature, architecture, and film. This fast-moving, multi-media talk explores some of the power spiritual themes in creatives like Rembrandt, Caravaggio, Handel, Sadao Watanabe, Lewis, Terence Malick, Donne, U2, Hank Williams, Van Gogh, and many more.  

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Beauty is My Companion: A practical and inspiring look at how the arts can make an impact on our personal spiritual journey. A life-changing investigation of the power of art to transform our lives.​

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Faith and the Arts: An Historical Perspective: This is a series of eight lectures covering the history of art and its relationship to faith, starting with the early church, and tracing its changes through the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Reformation, the Romantic movement, and our modern world, featuring visual art, music, and literature created by people of faith. 

 

The Spiritual Journey of Vincent Van Gogh: Van Gogh’s personal spiritual journey provides a template for looking at the challenges and promise of creating meaningful work that reflects a spiritual commitment without creating primarily religious art. We’ll dispel some of the myths about this popular painter and celebrate the beauty of his creative work.​

 

The Art of Christmas: Looking at some of the great art produced to illustrate the events of the Advent season will help you appreciate Christmas in a whole new way!

 

​The Art of Easter: Exploring great art of the Passion week will bring the events of the crucifixion and resurrection alive in a fresh way! Very moving and inspiring. 

 

A Creative Life: An exploration of how creativity and imagination can make all the difference in our lives. Filled with practical and spiritual insights for artists, scientists, and anyone who wants to learn to think outside the box.  

 

Art as Contemplation: Some of the most powerful art (poetry, painting, music, film making) is better understood as an object for contemplation rather than an intellectual statement of faith. This workshop will explore how we might feed our souls through this kind of art and how we might create work that reaches beyond the intellectual into the realm of the transcendent. 

 

Tasting the Truth: How the Chronicles of Narnia Prepare Us for the Gospel: There is something very fascinating and profound behind C.S. Lewis' series of children's books, and in this talk we'll explore how he has made the "old, old, story" fresh for contemporary readers through a creative remythologizing of the Good News.

 

​The Creative and Intuitional Apologetics of C.S. Lewis: An examination of how effectively Lewis uses imagination, intuition, and creativity as tools for affirming the truth of Christianity.​

 

The Life and Work of C.S. Lewis: The dramatic story of a man whose faith has influenced the lives of millions.​

 

What C.S. Lewis Taught Me About Writing: What can we learn from one of the greatest modern Christian writers about the art and craft of writing?​

 

Telling It Slant: Finding Fresh New Ways to Tell the Old, Old Story: A practical look at ways to us a more indirect approach to bring more creativity to our writing and this better communicate the essence of faith to our contemporaries. 

 

Awakening: A Spirituality of Wonder: Could it be that the experience of awe and wonder is one of the most powerful ways we have of approaching God? This workshop will explore the meaning of wonder, how we can make more room for it in our lives, and how we might seek to evoke it in our writing and art through pointing toward the transcendent that surrounds us. 

 

What Jane Austen Can Teach Us About Life, Love, and Character:  Jane Austen was not just one of the most entertaining of novelists, but also someone whose novels can deepen our understanding of love and romance and what really matters most in life.

 

​Emily Dickinson: Faith and Doubt in Conversation: An exploration of one of our greatest American poets, a woman whose struggles between faith and doubt are illustrated in her unforgettable poetry.​

 

Writing That Endures: Perhaps the greatest goal for any writer is not to make the bestseller list, but to create work that will be read for generations. Using writers like Jane Austen, G.K. Chesterton, Thomas Merton, John Donne, and others as our guides, we’ll explore what makes their writing so enduring, and how we might incorporate some of their methods and vision into our own writing.​

 

Freedom Train: Issues of social justice and the place of faith in the life of the oppressed are explored through African-American music, from the spiritual through jazz, popular music, and hip-hop.​

 

Art, Faith, and Social Justice: The arts can be one of the most powerful ways to expose injustice and offer a new way forward. In this talk we'll explore visual art, music, literature, and film that challenge the status quo and inspire us to see ourselves and others in a new way. 

 

These are just a few of the topics Terry is prepared to present. Have something or someone you’d like him to address? Just ask!