Belonging House Fellowship

What was your metaphor? Nancy Lane grew up seeing life as a jigsaw puzzle — some pieces clicked in, some loose, some upside down, some missing. Then, in a season when God was changing absolutely everything else, He kept saying one thing: dwell in my changelessness.
This teaching from the Belonging House archive traces what Nancy calls a grid shift. Taking every thought captive never worked for her as a memory verse against each lie — because thoughts don't float freestanding. They come in grids, shaped by family, culture, and trauma. Nancy tells her own story: a faith built on reaction, years of seminary Greek that produced information about God but not knowing Him, and a trauma-release prayer prayed in her living room that began a healing she had never seen anyone receive. Her guide through it all is Jesus' own self-description in Matthew 11: "I am gentle and lowly in heart."
What we cover
p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Why replacing lies with quoted truth didn't work, and why thoughts come in grids, not loose pieces

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Life metaphors — a deck of cards, a jigsaw puzzle — and what yours says about your grid

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Reaction formation: faith built on what you're rejecting has no love in it, and no fruit

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> From a purgatory question to seminary Greek and Hebrew: information about God vs. knowing God

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Victim, villain, welfare, and perpetrator thinking vs. thinking in line with the kingdom

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> 1 Corinthians 3:1–4: a church full of the Holy Spirit can still be infants

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> The Kingdom Grid chapter in Christ John Otto's Artists at a Shift in Time

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Obed-Edom and the Ark: the visit she almost said no to

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> The trauma-release prayer: "I forgive you, I bless you, and I send you to Jesus"

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Symptom management vs. actual healing, and trauma as a bungee cord to the past

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> The out-of-season fig tree, and the authority to tell trauma trees to wither

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> A sense of being: the cup that holds the milk and the wine

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Compliance vs. submission, and the two "I am" statements of Matthew 11:28–29

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Listening for the written word and the spoken word; "Who do You want to be for me today?"

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Grid shifts in scripture: Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Joshua at the tent, Saul and David, Nazareth, and leeks from Egypt

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Mother Teresa: "We can do no great things, only small things with great love"

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> The Presence Prayer that closes the teaching

Scripture and references
2 Corinthians 10:5 · 1 Corinthians 3:1–4 · Matthew 11:28–29 · Galatians 5:22–23 · Mark 11:12–14 · Luke 1:18–20 · Exodus 33:11 · 2 Samuel 6 · John 6:29 · Numbers 11:5 · Leanne Payne · Mother Teresa · Artists at a Shift in Time (Christ John Otto)
Listen to the Lord and do what He tells you
Our message is the ministry. So don't just listen to this teaching. Do it.
This week, bring to mind one person or situation that still has a hook in you. Picture them, and pray: "I forgive you, I bless you, and I send you to Jesus." Then wait and watch what He does with them. Do that once a day for seven days, and write down what happens.
Come under the roof
Belonging House is a movement of artists and creative people, now reaching thirty-eight nations, learning to listen to God together. We are not trying to survive the storm. We are the storm.
p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> The Friday email is the thread that holds us together. Sign up at belonging.house and you get the full archive, your very own private library.

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Make the Belonging House Commitment, the Twelve I Wills, and you're welcome to join our Mighty Network community.

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Pray with us daily at 7am ET / midday UK, and gather with the House of Artisans each week at 1:00 ET: Belonging House on Zoom.

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Real Mail: original artwork in your mailbox every month, crafted with Human Intelligence.

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> We are a 501(c)(3) through the Missionary Church International. Give to Belonging House here.

Follow and pass it on
Follow Belonging House Fellowship wherever you listen so each week's teaching comes to you, and leave a rating or review if your app allows it. It's how another artist finds us. Then send this to one creative person who can tell you exactly what they're against but goes quiet when you ask what they want. We aren't recruiting. We're raising up, one person at a time.
People like us do things like this.
Fear not God can be trusted

I will live a life of expectation, knowing Christ will come again. This is the last of the Twelve I Wills, and it puts the other eleven in perspective. What we see around us is not it. History is going someplace, and God is raising up an army of artists to prepare a way for the coming of the Lord.
Christ John Otto closes the series on All Saints' Day, the day he planned it to end. People like us are disciples of Jesus, formed by the Bible, going low and serving, full of the Holy Spirit, artists who sparkle with eternity. Not a nice Christian arts ministry, but a band of holy warriors. He unpacks what it means to be "a holy," a new creature made for eternity, and how your life and your work become a sacred image that points forward to the One who is coming.
What we cover
p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Twelve weeks, twelve cultural values, not rules: People like us do things like this

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Not a nice Christian arts ministry with "Color Me Inspirational" Bibles, but a band of holy warriors

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> All Saints' Day and two errors about saints: "everybody in the pews is a saint" and "saints are superheroes you'll never become"

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> The New Testament word for saint: "holy" used as a noun, and learning to live into being "a holy"

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Vernon Staley's The Catholic Religion and the church as a Christmas tree lit from above, with the Morning Star at the top

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Why contemporary Christianity is so earthbound and secular, and why this last I Will puts it all in perspective

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> 1 John 3: children of God now, unknown to a world that does not know Him

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> The tragedy of chasing relevance: when you play the world's game you become like the world

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> "Already, but not yet" people: when Jesus appears, the mask comes off

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory: there are no ordinary people, and you have never talked to a mere mortal

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Making a way for the Lord inwardly: becoming a master copy of Jesus, the icon of the Father

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Making a way outwardly: your work and your life point to the mystery of faith

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Pope Benedict XVI, The Spirit of the Liturgy: every sacred image says crucified, risen, coming again

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Don't get weird, don't get religious: keep a Kingdom perspective and ask Jesus what His is

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Facing East: the One coming in the clouds with His holy ones, and making this place a place of welcome for Him

Scripture and references
1 John 3:1–3 · Matthew 5:11–12 · Luke 10:20 · John 3:5 · 2 Corinthians 5:17 · Romans 12:1–2 · 2 Corinthians 3:18 · John 14:9 · Colossians 1:15 · Isaiah 40:3 · Matthew 24:30 · Revelation 1:7 · Revelation 22:16 · C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory · Vernon Staley, The Catholic Religion · Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI), The Spirit of the Liturgy · Philipp Nicolai, "How Brightly Shines the Morning Star" · Seth Godin
Listen to the Lord and do what He tells you
Our message is the ministry. So don't just listen to this teaching. Do it.
This week, find a quiet place and turn everything off. Take your notebook and the daily Gospel reading. Read it three times: with your head, with your heart, with your hands. Then ask Him what's on His agenda today. Do that for seven days.
Most people who actually do this start hearing from God in less than a month. Seven days is enough to know something has moved. Your inner life determines your creative output, and this is where the inner life begins.
Come under the roof
Belonging House is a movement of artists and creative people, now reaching thirty-eight nations, learning to listen to God together. We are not trying to survive the storm. We are the storm.
p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> The Friday email is the thread that holds us together. Sign up at belonging.house and you get the full archive, your very own private library.

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Make the Belonging House Commitment, the Twelve I Wills, and you're welcome to join our Mighty Network community.

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Pray with us daily at 7am ET / midday UK, and gather with the House of Artisans each week at 1:00 ET: Belonging House on Zoom.

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Real Mail: original artwork in your mailbox every month, crafted with Human Intelligence.

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> We are a 501(c)(3) through the Missionary Church International. Give to Belonging House here.

Follow and pass it on
Follow Belonging House Fellowship so each week's teaching comes to you, and leave a short review. It's how another artist finds us. Then send this to one creative person who has told you God doesn't speak to them. We aren't recruiting. We're raising up, one person at a time.
People like us do things like this.
Fear not. God can be trusted.

I will embrace my vocation as an artist, artisan or creative professional, no matter my medium, knowing that God wants to transform the kingdoms of this world into the Kingdom of our Lord through the arts and creativity. Ten of the Twelve I Wills form the disciple. This one sends the artist out.
Christ John Otto begins with a verse that bugged him in Morning Prayer: Zechariah's vision of four horns and four charashim, a word usually rendered "smiths," "carpenters," or "craftsmen" that points to artisans and master craftsmen. Facing opposition from the whole world, God raises up artists from the four winds. Twenty years after God called him to raise up an army of artists, he explains why Belonging House is not a nice Christian arts ministry but a community of trained warriors, why being an artist is not second-rate work, and how free people making beautiful things build Jesus a throne in the earth.
What we cover
p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Zechariah's dated vision (February 15, 519 BC), the four horns, and the four winds as the whole created order

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Charashim: the craftsmen of Zechariah 1:20, Bezalel and the artisans of Exodus 35:35, and the Valley of Craftsmen in 1 Chronicles 4:14

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> 2006: the call to raise up an army of artists, and why it was never a commune of folk songs and lentils

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> How the church has misunderstood and mistreated its artists, and the spiritual block that keeps the message from going in

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> A big call and a small paycheck: quitting the job, no fundraising, no ministry-building, a life as a parable

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Why ten of the Twelve I Wills are about discipleship, and the difference between Christian artists and worldly artists

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Why artists are the first to be silenced when tyranny takes power

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Not an army of mid-level managers in cubicles, and why he never uses the word "creatives"

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Rachel, an art teacher in Brooklyn, and what it looks like to be a warrior artist

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Yeltsin, a painter who paints like an old master, and the cleaning lady who said his painting cleaned the atmosphere

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Jesus the artisan, and the kings bringing the glories of the nations into the city coming down out of heaven

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> "The kingdoms of this world," Handel's Hallelujah Chorus, and a home where God and man live together in love

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> The weapons of creativity, freedom, and the Good, the True, and the Beautiful

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> The days of struggling artists in the back of the church are coming to an end

Scripture and references
Zechariah 1:7–21 · Exodus 35:30–35 · 1 Chronicles 4:14 · Proverbs 18:16 · Matthew 14:29 · John 1:3 · Romans 8:29 · Mark 6:3 · Romans 8:19–22 · John 14:2 · Revelation 11:15 · Revelation 21:2, 24–26 · Handel's Messiah · Artists at a Shift in Time
Come under the roof
Belonging House is a movement of artists and creative people, now reaching thirty-eight nations, learning to listen to God together. We are not trying to survive the storm. We are the storm.
p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> The Friday email is the thread that holds us together. Sign up at belonging.house and you get the full archive, your very own private library.

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Make the Belonging House Commitment, the Twelve I Wills, and you're welcome to join our Mighty Network community.

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Pray with us daily at 7am ET / midday UK, and gather with the House of Artisans each week at 1:00 ET: Belonging House on Zoom.

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Real Mail: original artwork in your mailbox every month, crafted with Human Intelligence.

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> We are a 501(c)(3) through the Missionary Church International. Give to Belonging House here.

Follow and pass it on
Follow Belonging House Fellowship wherever you listen so each week's teaching comes to you, and leave a rating or review if your app allows it. It's how another artist finds us. Then send this to one creative person who knows they should be painting, writing, or composing but never seems to find the time. We aren't recruiting. We're raising up, one person at a time.
People like us do things like this.
Fear not God can be trusted

Christ John Otto explores generosity as a sign of mature discipleship: knowing who you are in Christ, trusting the Father's goodness, and living with open hands. Stories of sacrificial hospitality, daily giving, and his own experience of provision challenge the poverty mindset that keeps artists waiting for enough. This is not giving to get, but giving as Christ gave — with money, time, and above all love.
What we cover
p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> The Twelve I Wills as becoming a living master copy of Jesus, the icon of the Father

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> What actors mean when they call a fellow performer "generous," and why the generous ones were the best of their generation

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Why every conversation about generosity is a conversation about poverty

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Graham Cooke: "Poverty is not a lack of resources, poverty is a lack of possibilities" — and the rock in the road: "I would become a full-time artist, but I need _"

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> The monkey trap and the clenched fist: how "it might not be there tomorrow" keeps you from the fullness of the Kingdom

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> The elderly couple in Shinglehouse who slept on the living room floor so an eighteen-year-old could have their bed

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> "Pennies for Jesus" and the old preacher's rule: give something away every day

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> A $100 bill in the offering plate, denied financial aid, and the Lee Christian Service Grant full ride

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Living by faith with no fundraising, income-contingent payments of zero, and student loans forgiven after twenty years

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> "Fear not. There is more where that came from."

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Giving as Christ gave to you: money, time, and most of all love — not give-to-get

Scripture and references
John 14:9 · John 17:21 · Matthew 23:11 · Proverbs 18:16 · Graham Cooke
Listen to the Lord and do what He tells you
Our message is the ministry. So don't just listen to this teaching. Do it.
This week, find a quiet place each day, take your notebook, and ask the Lord what He wants you to give. Give something away every day — money, time, attention, or a kindness — as He leads. Do that for seven days and write down what you notice.
Most people who actually do this start hearing from God in less than a month. Seven days is enough to know something has moved. Your inner life determines your creative output, and this is where the inner life begins.
Come under the roof
Belonging House is a movement of artists and creative people, now reaching thirty-eight nations, learning to listen to God together. We are not trying to survive the storm. We are the storm.
p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> The Friday email is the thread that holds us together. Sign up at belonging.house and you get the full archive, your very own private library.

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Make the Belonging House Commitment, the Twelve I Wills, and you're welcome to join our Mighty Network community.

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Pray with us daily at 7am ET / midday UK, and gather with the House of Artisans each week at 1:00 ET: Belonging House on Zoom.

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Real Mail: original artwork in your mailbox every month, crafted with Human Intelligence.

p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> We are a 501(c)(3) through the Missionary Church International. Give to Belonging House here.

Follow and pass it on
Follow Belonging House Fellowship wherever you listen so each week's teaching comes to you, and leave a rating or review if your app allows it. It's how another artist finds us. Then send this to one creative person who keeps waiting until they have enough money to start. We aren't recruiting. We're raising up, one person at a time.
People like us do things like this.
Fear not God can be trusted

I will become more aware of Christ in me, the hope of glory. It sounds theological. It's not. It's the most practical of the Twelve I Wills.
Many people think Christianity means believing the right things and then trying to live up to a moral standard. That's a recipe for failure, and adding a spiritual experience on top only makes the ride more uneven. Paul gives a completely different vision: if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Christ John Otto shows what that means in practice. Jesus lives in you, there is already a whole and healed place in you where He is, and His life can move through you from the inside out.
### What we cover
- Why "right beliefs plus right morality" fails, and why lowering the standard doesn't fix it
- 2 Corinthians 5:17: in Christ you are a new kind of creature, something that never existed before
- Lee Strasberg's method acting, healing prayer, and why God works from the inside out
- Leanne Payne: "There is a healed place in you already"
- What worship in Revelation pours back into Christ's presence in us
- "My grace is sufficient for you": charis, chesed, and practical love, not a stiff upper lip
- Paul left for dead after a stoning, then getting up and going right back to teaching
- Stories from the field: standing in Boston, a hacked bank account in Israel, a border guard at Gatwick, and a weightless bag in Hyde Park
- Graham Cooke on moving from a visitation culture to a habitation culture
- Trusting Christ in you in the audition, the gallery, and the classroom
### Scripture and references
2 Corinthians 5:17 · Colossians 1:27 · John 3:5 · John 15:7 · 1 Corinthians 2:16 · 2 Corinthians 12:9 · Acts 14:19–20 · Revelation 5:12 · Matthew 6:10 · Matthew 10:19–20 · 1 Corinthians 6:19 · Leanne Payne · Lee Strasberg · Marilyn Hickey · Graham Cooke
Next week: I will live a life of generosity.
---
## Listen to the Lord and do what He tells you
Our message is the ministry. So don't just listen to this teaching. Do it.
This week, when you hit a weak place, pause before you push. Say, "Jesus, You live in me. You are the strongest person in the universe, and I am weak. Show Your strength here." Do that every day for seven days and write down what happens.
## Come under the roof
We will receive new members into the house on November 1. If you would like to make the Belonging House Commitment, renew your baptismal covenant, or join the community, let us know.
Belonging House is a movement of artists and creative people, now reaching thirty-eight nations, learning to listen to God together. We are not trying to survive the storm. We are the storm.
- The Friday email is the thread that holds us together. Sign up at [belonging.house](https://www.belonging.house/welcome/) and you get the full archive, your very own private library.
- Make the [Belonging House Commitment](https://www.belonging.house/become/), the Twelve I Wills, and you're welcome to join our [Mighty Network community](https://belonging-house.mn.co/share/HjIDhis2OirTPR6r).
- Pray with us daily at 7am ET / midday UK, and gather with the House of Artisans each week at 1:00 ET: [Belonging House on Zoom](https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8766320130).
- [Real Mail](https://www.belonging.house/real-mail/): original artwork in your mailbox every month, crafted with Human Intelligence.
- We are a 501(c)(3) through the Missionary Church International. [Give to Belonging House here](https://www.zeffy.com/donation-form/raise-up-an-army-of-artists).
## Follow and pass it on
Follow Belonging House Fellowship wherever you listen so each week's teaching comes to you, and leave a rating or review if your app allows it. It's how another artist finds us. Then send this to one creative person who is worn out from trying harder. We aren't recruiting. We're raising up, one person at a time.
People like us do things like this.
Fear not God can be trusted