Be. Make. Do.

Faithfulness as a Christian in the arts isn't primarily about what you add to the work; it's about the person and imaginative world the work emerges from. Too often, we focus on the surface. But there’s always a world behind the work: our beliefs, experiences, fears, desires, and the stories shaping our imagination inevitably find their way into what we make. In this episode, Lisa and Dan explore what might change if we stopped worrying about inserting faith into our art and instead asked a deeper question: How do we become the kind of people from whom faithful work naturally emerges?

Links:

• Nicholas Wolterstorff, Art in Action: Toward A Christian Aesthetic: https://www.amazon.com/Art-Action-Toward-Christian-Aesthetic/dp/0802818161
• Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0478304/
• Martin Scorcese, on Faith and Filmmaking: Filmmaking: https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/the-screen-show/martin-scorsese%2c-the-irishman%2c-silence/11...
• Bono, on the Psalms: https://fullerstudio.fuller.edu/bono-eugene-peterson-psalms/?utm_source=chatgpt.com)

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In the first episode of Season 6, Lisa and Dan begin with a question many artists quietly wrestle with: Why does making art matter when there are so many serious problems in the world?

Lisa and Dan examine some of the assumptions that shape the way we answer that question: production culture, measurable success, the pressure to make “useful” work, and even Christian ideas about what counts as faithful service.

Then they turn to the Gospel story of the woman who anoints Jesus with costly perfume. When the disciples ask, “Why this waste?” Jesus responds, “She has done a beautiful thing to me.”

What if that exchange gives us another way to understand the work of the artist?

Counting Crows Documentary: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt36591196

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Subscribe to Be. Make. Do. wherever you get your podcasts

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Before diving into a new season of Be. Make. Do., Lisa and Dan have some catching up to do—from a sabbatical in the New Mexico desert to a spontaneous trip to the Cannes Film Festival. They talk about rest, risk, creative identity, failure, and what can happen when we make enough space to ask: What’s next?

Dan returns from an intentional sabbatical that took him into the New Mexico desert, the streets of Austin, and an unexpected encounter with a question he’s wrestled with for years: Am I really an artist?

Lisa shares about an almost-impossible-to-plan trip to France that took her and her husband to the Cannes Film Festival, a retreat with Christian artists from around the world, and a conversation with a filmmaker whose years of failures became the very reason his film eventually made it to Cannes.

Together, they talk about what happens when we disrupt our routines long enough to listen: the possibilities we can’t see when we’re buried in responsibility, the creativity that emerges when no one is watching, and the discoveries waiting on the other side of risk, failure, and uncertainty.

It’s a conversation about rest, adventure, perseverance, creative identity—and getting curious about what God might be doing when things don’t go according to plan.

And it sets the stage for where Be. Make. Do. is headed next: exploring what it means to be an artist in a moment of cultural fragmentation, technological acceleration, and spiritual longing.

Links:

• Arcadia Sky Album: https://www.arcadiaskymusic.com/
• Arcadia Sky: Touching the Sky Film: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt41667529/

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Season 6 of Be. Make. Do. a soul|makers podcast explores what it means to be an artist at a moment of cultural fragmentation, technological acceleration, and spiritual longing. How do we carry that responsibility with courage, integrity, and hope? Together we’ll explore what it takes to become who you were created to be, make what you were created to make, and do what you were created to do.

Season 6 premieres September 22, 2026

The Be. Make. Do. podcast is a contemplative exploration of artistic vocation in a time of cultural confusion and rapid change. It invites artists to think less about visibility and more about formation; less about success and more about faithfulness; less about result and more about responsibility.

These episodes are not tips or tactics. They are reflections on what it means to create responsibly, to live attentively, and to bear witness through our work to a deeper story—one shaped by hope, wholeness, and the renewal of all things.

Together we explore what it takes to become who you were created to be, make what you were created to make, and do what you were created to do.

Mark Your Calendar:
✨ Season 6 premiere drops September 22, 2026. Hit “Follow” now so you don’t miss it!

Get Ready:
📬 Sign up at soulmakers.org to join the movement!
⭐ Leave a review to help others discover the show

Stay Connected:                                                                                                                                          Join our broadcast channel to stay connected and get a "behind-the-mic" within our podcast community.

Maybe escaping the Vocation Traps isn’t just about personal creative fulfillment or private spiritual formation. What if it’s about cultural responsibility?

Finding Freedom In Your True Calling

This conversation reframes calling as a way of life rooted in prayerful listening and faithful action—the quiet practices that form artists who can tell the truth, hold ambiguity, and create without fear. And in a moment when culture is shaping the imagination of the world faster than ever, this isn’t just personal freedom. It’s cultural responsibility.

• Download your FREE Vocation Trap Tracker: www.soulmakers.org/bemakedo
• Discover Your Artist Archetype → Take the Free Quiz at soulmakers.org
• Download the Full Artist Archetypes Guide for deeper insight: www.soulmakers.org/bemakedo

• Subscribe to Be. Make. Do. for more in the Vocation Traps series
• Share this episode with a friend or creative you know
• Join the conversation on socials using #VocationTrapsPodcast
• Join our brand new Instagram Broadcast Channel!

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“The anxiety around uncertainty is caused by the belief that we need certainty to act."

Episode 9: Certainty Not Required
Embracing Uncertainty, Setbacks, and Serendipity in the Creative Life

What if the need for certainty is actually the thing keeping you stuck?

In this episode of Be. Make. Do., Lisa and Dan explore how uncertainty, setbacks, and even mistakes can become powerful catalysts for creative and vocational freedom. Drawing from Scripture and lived experience, they look at how figures like Abraham, Sarah, and Ruth navigated the unknown—and what their stories teach us about faithful action without guarantees.

You’ll discover why certainty isn’t required to move forward, how action itself can become part of discernment, and how to recognize serendipity as an “expected unexpected” in the creative life.

• Download your FREE Vocation Trap Tracker: www.soulmakers.org/bemakedo
• Discover Your Artist Archetype → Take the Free Quiz at soulmakers.org
• Download the Full Artist Archetypes Guide for deeper insight: www.soulmakers.org/bemakedo
• Read the article, Vocation's Unbroken Chain: Biblical Call Stories and the
  Experience of Vocation by Chris Keeton

• Subscribe to Be. Make. Do. for more in the Vocation Traps series
• Share this episode with a friend or creative you know
• Join the conversation on socials using #VocationTrapsPodcast
• Join our brand new Instagram Broadcast Channel!

“What feels like the wrong job or the wrong place may actually be your training ground.”

In the last episode of the Vocation Traps series, Lisa and Dan explored how our natural abilities are tools for vocation—not the same thing as our calling. In this follow-up conversation, they flip the coin and dive into the moments when our feelings of inadequacy threaten to shut us down. If you’ve ever wondered, “Did I miss it? Am I in the wrong place? Am I enough for what God’s asking of me?” this episode will help you see your current season not as a dead end, but as sacred preparation.

• Download your FREE Vocation Trap Tracker: www.soulmakers.org/bemakedo
• Discover Your Artist Archetype → Take the Free Quiz at soulmakers.org
• Download the Full Artist Archetypes Guide for deeper insight: www.soulmakers.org/bemakedo
• Read the article, Vocation's Unbroken Chain: Biblical Call Stories and the
  Experience of Vocation by Chris Keeton
• Becoming Moses - Bible Project Classroom, Carmen Imes

• Subscribe to Be. Make. Do. for more in the Vocation Traps series
• Share this episode with a friend or creative you know
• Join the conversation on socials using #VocationTrapsPodcast
• Join our brand new Instagram Broadcast Channel!

Be. Make. Do. is going LIVE! on February 10th!

Join us Tuesday, February 10th, at 3 pm EST for an exciting, interactive discussion with Dan and Lisa. They’ll be wrapping up The Vocation Traps series of the podcast, answering your questions, and hearing from you! Register Here!

“Ability is not vocation. Abilities are tools for vocation.”

Ability Is Not Vocation

What if ability is simply a tool—one that God shapes, deepens, stretches, and even redirects over a lifetime? If you’ve ever felt pressured to “stay in your lane,” doubted whether you’re on the right path, or confused your gift with your calling, this episode will help you breathe again. Discover a more spacious, wise-hearted way of understanding your vocation—one rooted in freedom, not fear.

• Download your FREE Vocation Trap Tracker: www.soulmakers.org/bemakedo
• Discover Your Artist Archetype → Take the Free Quiz at soulmakers.org
• Download the Full Artist Archetypes Guide for deeper insight: www.soulmakers.org/bemakedo
• Read the article, Vocation's Unbroken Chain: Biblical Call Stories and the
  Experience of Vocation by Chris Keeton
  
  Connect & Share:
• Subscribe to Be. Make. Do. for more in the Vocation Traps series
• Share this episode with a friend or creative you know
• Join the conversation on socials using #VocationTrapsPodcast
• Join our brand new Instagram Broadcast Channel!

Be. Make. Do. is going LIVE! on February 10th!

Join us Tuesday, February 10th, at 3 pm EST for an exciting, interactive discussion with Dan and Lisa. They’ll be wrapping up The Vocation Traps series of the podcast, answering your questions, and hearing from you! Register Here!

Up Next: Join us as we explore the flip side of the coin and bust free from feelings of inadequacy.

Episode Summary:

"You don’t have to monetize every gift. Creativity is something you steward, not something you have to prove.” -Steve Brock

In this special episode, host Lisa Smith talks with Steve Brock, the author of "Brand Something Beautiful: A Branding Workbook for Artists, Writers, and Other Creatives." Together, they discuss the intersection of faith and artistry, exploring what it really means to create as an act of grace. They also dive into the challenges of calling, the process of getting unstuck, and how to build a brand authentically.

• Download your FREE Vocation Trap Tracker: www.soulmakers.org/bemakedo
• Discover Your Artist Archetype → Take the Free Quiz at soulmakers.org
• Download the Full Artist Archetypes Guide for deeper insight: www.soulmakers.org/bemakedo
• Steve Brock's brand new book, Brand Something Beautiful
• Steve Brock's website: https://www.exploreyourworlds.com/ 

• Connect with Steve Brock:
  stevebrock.substack.com
  www.instagram.com/StephenWBrock
  www.facebook.com/MeaningfulTrav
  www.pinterest.com/ExploreYourWorlds
• Subscribe to Be. Make. Do. for more in the Vocation Traps series
• Share this episode with a friend or creative you know
• Join the conversation on socials using #VocationTrapsPodcast
• Join our brand new Instagram Broadcast Channel!

Up Next: Join us as we discuss setbacks and mistakes of the vocation traps.

Ever feel like your calling has to be epic to matter to God? The Chosen Trap seduces us with grand visions and spiritual pressure—but often leads to burnout or disillusionment. We’ll talk about how to discern between God’s quiet invitations and our own need to be “important” in the Kingdom.

In this episode of Be. Make. Do., hosts Lisa Smith and Dan ABH explore the trap of trying to control your calling, and how to find freedom in faithful, creative partnership with God. Through biblical reflection, personal insight, and powerful film examples, you’ll learn how to discern between divine invitation and performance anxiety.

• Download your FREE Vocation Trap Tracker: www.soulmakers.org/bemakedo
• Discover Your Artist Archetype → Take the Free Quiz at soulmakers.org
• Download the Full Artist Archetypes Guide for deeper insight: www.soulmakers.org/bemakedo
• Read Samuel Wells' book, Improvisation: The Drama of Christian Ethics
• Read the article, Vocation's Unbroken Chain: Biblical Call Stories and the
  Experience of Vocation by Chris Keeton
• Read the article, Understanding Vocation: Discerning and Responding to God's Call by Don Thompson

• Subscribe to Be. Make. Do. for more in the Vocation Traps series
• Share this episode with a friend or creative you know
• Join the conversation on socials using #VocationTrapsPodcast
• Join our brand new Instagram Broadcast Channel!

Up Next: Join us for a conversation with author of Brand Something Beautiful, Steve Brock.