Studios are mercurial kind of creatures. A lot of the times getting a movie out can be as much luck as anything else.

That's the thing about the writer's life is that you have to have self-discipline. Otherwise you'll never get paid.

What I need more in my culture and in my life right now is hope, and so I tend to write to that. I'll always end up bending more toward optimism.

As my contribution as an artist and a storyteller, I have to have some hope. I have to have some beacon of good at the end of it.

Those who criticize the innovative concept of multi-site churches must also remember that at one point stained glass and hymnals were new as well.

I don't have any superstitions, but what I always travel with is my pillow and my coffee.

There is something in the heart of man which will bend under moral suasion. There is a swift witness for truth in his bosom, which will respond to truth when it is uttered with calmness and dignity.

If you've got just a little bit of faith as a grain of mustard seed, and begin to praise God - that faith will mount up, until fear won't be able to stay in your heart.

In the heart of the slaughterhouse -- always -- enough room to nourish the awe.

Working for a big company is, I believe, much risker than it looks.

Punctuation is a deeply conservative club. It hardly ever admits a new member.

Growing up in a house with six brothers and sisters is a lot like being on a tour bus. There's not a whole lot of private space, so you figure out how to make it work.

I always use primary sources, in addition to reading biographies and other materials.

Write your own songs. It helps you to mean what you're singing, which will then make it mean something to listeners.