Patronage: Making Good Art Possible {A Podcast Episode!}

The internet is an amazing place, isn’t it? I’ve met some great people through this medium, been encouraged and challenged, and learned so much. I’m thankful for technology and I recognize the high responsibility to use it for good.

Two of my favorite ways to use the internet—listening to thoughtful podcasts and encouraging others—have come together this week, and I’m honored to read an essay and share a prayer for the audience of Matthew Clark’s podcast, One Thousand Words. I am a total novice at making an essay sound conversational (aka, I’m annoyed at the sound of my own voice), but I believe in the content. Here’s an excerpt:

I often feel stretched to meet every need and paralyzed by the sheer number of good causes there are to support. But a patron doesn’t support every artist. We aren’t called to spread our love thinly over the masses, but to encourage, honor, and support those whose art we benefit from and believe in. We enter in and become a partner to those who don’t have the support of a big platform or record label or agency. We can even replace those businessy words altogether with a family, because we are. So let’s make “being a patron” something more than being just a customer. Let’s make it an honorable work that supports our brothers and sisters. Just as prayer is interceding for another, patronage is a real way to participate in and perpetuate Kingdom work. 

You can give it a listen here or find Matthew’s podcast in your favorite podcast app—it’s one of my favorites and I recommend you catch up with his past episodes!