davegipson@hotmail.com

CHRISTIAN ART?

belief, EntertainmentMay 24, 2025209Views 0Likes 0Comments

Several years ago when I was pastoring a church filled with new Christians who’d never grown up in church, I was trying to teach the importance of having a grateful attitude. It was November, so a lesson on the power of thankfulness was in order. But I was looking for a visual aid that would…

The True Story of HOME BEFORE DARK

beliefApril 30, 2025662Views 0Likes 2Comments

Even while my new show Home Before Dark was in rehearsals, I received quite a few questions about it from the cast. People noticed a great deal of similarity between me and the kid “Danny” in the storyline. After the show finally premiered this past weekend, those questions have only become more frequent and persistent. …

Castle On A Cloud

beliefApril 1, 2025176Views 0Likes 0Comments

Around 13 years ago, I played the role of a lifetime. I was cast as Jean Valjean in the musical Les Miserables. And it changed my life. Playing a hero was never something I expected to do. My specialty had always been comic roles where I could comfortably make fun of myself. But this role…

Another Day in Paradise

beliefMarch 11, 2025307Views 0Likes 0Comments

I remember the first time I fantasized about retirement. I was in my early 40s, and the church I served was thriving. In the 5 years I’d been there, we’d grown from around 900 to over 2000 in worship each Sunday. My choir loft had over 100 people crowding it each Sunday, plus an orchestra…

MASQUERADE

beliefMarch 6, 20251KViews 0Likes 0Comments

From hanging out with lots of pastors, worship leaders, and stage actors, I’ve been blessed to have lots of friends who are performers… Yes, performers: each one of those groups are quite skilled performers. I know that may make some people bristle, because they consider performing to imply something is fake. But every person who…

Kind, Powerful Words

beliefFebruary 27, 2025456Views 0Likes 2Comments

I’m looking back now on this picture taken two years ago, when I was sitting in the room pictured above. I had been working on a full-scale musical in that chair, in front of that keyboard pictured for about 10 years at that point. Writing a show is a long process of stops and starts.…

The Age of Opinion

beliefFebruary 13, 2025241Views 0Likes 0Comments

You may not have noticed a huge shift began in news media back in the 90s. Instead of reporting the news, whole channels were created to tell you what they thought about the news. These channels, on all sides of the political spectrum, grew and have now overwhelmed any pretense of simply reporting facts. In…

A Mountain Every Morning

beliefJanuary 30, 2025124Views 0Likes 0Comments

I loved to run when I was younger. Just a 30 minute run could give you quite a rush of endorphins. That short amount of aerobic exertion could make me feel pretty peaceful for the rest of the day. And peace is a commodity of which I could always use more. But the older I…

Fathers, Sons, Grandfathers, & Friends

parentingJanuary 28, 2025258Views 0Likes 0Comments

Most men don’t have friends. If you mention that to them, they'd argue they do. But what they are calling a “friend” is what women would call merely an “acquaintance”. Most of us have loads of acquaintances we “shoot the bull” with, matching that last guy’s tale with our own similar story or observation. You…

Caution Tape

beliefJanuary 22, 20252KViews 0Likes 0Comments

There are some folks you meet at church who really should have traffic cones set up around them as a warning. Or at least the sign, “Speed bump ahead”. Or perhaps even “Slow Children at Play”. One of the “teachable moments” church provides us is learning to love unlovable people. Church is really the only…

Why I Post

beliefJanuary 17, 2025182Views 0Likes 0Comments

I thought I’d take a moment and explain why I post some things I do, especially on my personal Facebook page. You may not realize most of what I put there is quite intentional, with a purpose. I’m sure you’ve noticed I post a lot of humor, and I do that for a couple of…

Where we’ll never grow old…

beliefJanuary 15, 2025100Views 0Likes 0Comments

Pastors get letters from time to time, and the trick is knowing what to do about them. What’s so strange is some of the more angry ones come from people you barely even know. If you read one of them, you’d probably ask me, “What exactly did you to them to make them so angry?”…

Author page: davegipson@hotmail.com

davegipson@hotmail.com