Moments like this just make me grateful to work with such thoughtful, brave, and dedicated collaborators.
So I’m going to take a moment here and thank a few people who have invested in my work, inspired and challenged me, and played essential roles in the achievements that the Spiritus Award represents.
Many thanks to Mark Moring, editor of ChristianityTodayMovies.com, for giving me so many opportunities to write and share my perspectives on film there.
Thanks also to the whole Christianity Today organization, who strive to keep a vast and complicated community informed and inspired. Growing up, I searched for Christians who would bravely engage the arts and interpret them with insight and eloquence. CT has shown me that it can be done, and that it can be done without elitism or alienating readers who are just beginning their journey into the arts.
Thanks also to Ted Olsen, who gave me that first opportunity to write the Film Forum column several years ago; and to Steve Lansingh, who recommended me for the job.
Thanks to Linda Wagner, Beth Harris, and the Promontory Aritsts Association, who were such inspirations and provided resources and encouragement in the years that I developed Looking Closer.org.
And to Mike Demkowicz, who inspired me to look closer in the first place.
I love Looking Closer. I hope I’m still working on it in twenty, thirty, and forty years. And I’m glad that it has proven to be useful and meaningful. That’s been a pleasant surprise.