Derek Flood

Q: Are you the same Derek Flood as the animator?

A: Yes. I am an "artist, writer, and thinker" and try to let all of those mingle together. Sometimes you can't really get theology until you encounter it in the drama of a story or sing it at the top of your lungs in a song or hymn. Art is by nature made for communicating meaning, for speaking to the depths of a person's soul. So I use my background in story and film-making and apply that to how I do theology. Doing "theology as art" allows me to go beyond the merely academic and speak to the heart, to move. Tony Campolo once said "Artists are the best theologians. They feel things that are true before theologians can jargonize them into obscurity". At the same time being an artist is about seeing things differently, creatively, and being unafraid to declare that boldly. So my focus is speaking to people on the fringes, who aren't afraid to face the hard questions of life, and who are willing to be honest with ourselves and with God. You won't find any easy answers here. The essays are not meant to stop you from asking why, but to encourage you to question- to break the status quo, to step out of line and think for yourself.

As far as my religious background goes, I am a born again spirit filled Christian. Since I care about the poor and marginalized and believe in grace over law, I don't relate to the religious right. But since I believe in a real heaven and resurrection I don't relate to the religious left either. I prefer the "radical center" of the post-conservative Neoevangelicals. That manages to get me in trouble pretty much anywhere I go, but Jesus got in alot of trouble, so I figure I'm in good company. :)