Your church is full of what I call artists of culture.
Most of them are tormented by things like fear, rejection, and unworthiness.
Creatives often have a really mean inner critic.
The inner critic is a snarky voice in your mind that sounds like your own thoughts. It whispers things like:
Ha, you think you're good enough? Yeah right.
You're too much. You're not enough.
You think God would have you do that? You're a loser.
Look at her. Look at him. They are obviously better than you.
They would never pick you.
I can't believe this is all the further along you are.
This will never change. You will never change.
The inner critic is when the father of lies collaborates with your own pain to keep you stuck.
And he is freaking mean. (I call him a he because the Bible refers to him as the father of lies, John 8:44.)
And when you're created to create, that vulnerability exposes every insecurity, rejection, disappointment, place of comparison, and painful belief hiding inside of you
A creative can have a gift, a genius idea, and a massive calling, and yet still be stopped by the voice inside of them.
Ephesians 5:13 says that when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible. That’s what we’re going to do with the inner critic: bring what’s been hiding into the light so it can no longer quietly run the show.
When the inner critic hides inside our souls, especially as creatives, the song stays a demo. The book stays a draft. The idea stays in the notebook. The opportunity gets overthought, delayed, and abandoned.
Scripture does not tell us to outwork fear, outthink fear, or pretend fear is not there. It tells us:
"Perfect love drives out fear." 1 John 4:18
That perfect love is God's love.
Until we learn to receive God's love, we remain stuck in fear, shame, rejection, and self-hatred, even while loving God and trying to follow His calling.
Self-hatred does not always announce itself by saying, I hate myself.
It can look like perfectionism. Comparison. Hiding. Striving. Procrastinating. Sabotaging our work. Constantly questioning whether we have anything worth offering.
Jesus said that a house divided against itself cannot stand (Mark 3:25). We are the house of God (Hebrews 3:6). When we are against ourselves and hate ourselves, we can't stand, and we definitely can't walk forward.
This is the enemy's ploy against creatives.
Before we can love God and love people, we must learn to receive His love. Like it says in 1 John 4:19, "We love because he first loved us."
We Can't Give Away What We Don't Carry.
Culture Follows Stories
Jesus knew what culture needed to shift and change, and He chose to teach through story.
Culture follows stories. If you look back, even just in television, look at the stories that were being told in very fun and humorous ways, and how the culture then followed.
As my favorite mentor, Karen Covell, founder of the Hollywood Prayer Network, says:
"Hollywood is the world's most influential mission field. Washington, D.C. is the seat of power, but Hollywood is the seat of influence. We are the City of Angels, and angels in the Bible are messengers."
That's why the enemy has come after creatives, keeping them stuck in fear, rejection, and unworthiness.
Churches, we need to equip our creatives so they can go tell the stories that shape culture. And a storyteller can be self-identified. It's anybody who has something they want to put into the world.
Let's set them free from fear so they can create with their Creator, fulfill their God-given assignments, and impact culture through what they make.
"I need missionaries in Hollywood."
Nearly 15 years ago, I told God I wanted to be a missionary and I would go anywhere. I was thinking Africa. I heard God say back to me, "I need missionaries in Hollywood."
I didn't even have a TV in my house at the time, and I'd probably watched about 20 movies in my entire life. Hollywood was the last place I was thinking.
But for the past 12 years, I've lived in Los Angeles, working among creatives in the story capital of the world. I have seen some of the craziest miracles and experienced some of the most intense hardships of my life. As Karen Covell says, "This is not a playground, this is a battleground."
But Hollywood is becoming decentralized. Now everybody has the kind of influence Hollywood has had for many years, and we need to equip these creatives for the mission.
That's why I feel called to go into churches around America and set the creative captives free.
A Speaker Who Truly Moves Her Audience
“Both of Lindsay’s sessions—including her captivating interview with renowned Master Fine Artist Akiane Kramarik—were at full capacity and drew an extraordinary response.
Lindsay is the rare combination of professional, deeply engaging, and genuinely hilarious. Her insight is remarkably deep and clearly born of lived experience. I would wholeheartedly recommend her to anyone looking for a speaker who will truly move their audience.”
Michelle Nehme
Chief Creative Officer, Belóved Gallery
What Happens in the Room
First, we become aware of what's going on inside of us and learn to connect with ourselves. Then we learn to connect with God, get to the root issue, which is usually self-hatred, and flip it over. We learn to receive God's love so we can love ourselves, and then love our neighbor and the world.
Mind Mapping. Get your mind in order and discern the voices in your head.
Rewriting the Negative Narrative. Find out what's going on inside of you, what pain is there, and what the enemy has been lying to you about.
The Scripting Method™. Bring that to God and connect with Him emotionally, so you can get freedom in your soul.
Finding Your Value. Discover your worth and step into a future full of confidence and purpose.
The mean voice begins to lose its power, and the voice of love becomes the voice we learn to trust.
You'll leave with a tool you'll use for the rest of your life, one that will help you continue to process your emotions with God, kick fear out of your life, and gain further freedom, healing, and love.
Participants bring a journal that speaks to them and a favorite pen.
"I have talked with God in my journal for many years, but this is different. This helps me connect with God on an emotional level." Bob, Storyteller
“This is an incredible tool, especially in times of doubt and questioning. Invaluable." Emory, Actor & Author
“Nine months later, I'm still scripting. I see the Lord more clearly than I ever have, and I see myself through His eyes. It has persisted and increased, unlike a lot of Bible studies or programs I've done.” Desiree
Invite the creatives within your church, and the creative friends they want to reach.
"I thought Lindsay was a little crazy the way she talked about God until I took her program, and it forever changed my perspective and life."
Professional Dancer
About Lindsay
Lindsay Morgan Snyder is the author of Letting Love In: How God Renews Relationships by Crushing Your Inner Critic and the creator of The Scripting Method™, a faith-centered framework that helps people uncover the painful beliefs beneath their inner critic, let God’s love into those places, and learn to love themselves as He loves them.
Her YouVersion Bible plans have reached more than 150,000 readers. She has taught and spoken at churches and creative events, including serving as a keynote speaker at Belóved Gallery’s Fall Affair, where she interviewed renowned Master Fine Artist Akiane Kramarik.
"I have been to ministry school and never found something so simple that takes me from intense anxiety to complete peace."
Kate Hamilton
Bring This Workshop to Your Church or Creative Community
Available as a Half-Day or Full-Day Workshop
Half-day workshops for up to 100 participants begin at $5,000, plus travel when applicable. With 100 participants, that’s just $50 per person.
Each workshop helps creatives recognize the voice of the inner critic, uncover the fear underneath it, and learn practical tools for creating from God’s love instead of fear.
Churches may offer the workshop as a free event or offset the investment through participant registration. Opening the experience to creatives beyond your congregation can also make it a meaningful opportunity for outreach.
Interested in bringing Crushing the Inner Critic for Creatives to your community? Submit an inquiry below. Lindsay personally reviews every request and will follow up within one business day.
Let's Set the Creative Captives Free
Your church already has artists of culture in the room.