013 - Confession Interrupted

In this special episode, Mark asks Cameron about the church experience that inspired a poem he wrote: “The End of Confession.” Why is there always more sin left to confess when the moment of silence is over, and what does the interruption of pardon teach us about God’s grace? Our commenters unpack the collaboration between poet and painter embodied in Cameron’s Vanora Project, and tell you how to experience the art for yourself.

To read Cameron’s poem and see Zach’s accompanying painting, visit the Vanora Project online. The exhibition of their work at Coffea Roasterie in downtown Sioux Falls begins May 2 and runs through Summer 2021.

THE COMMENTARY is a weekly conversation about vision, worship, and life at Grace Presbyterian Church.

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J. MARK BERTRAND

J. Mark Bertrand is a novelist and pastor whose writing on Bible design has helped spark a publishing revolution. Mark is the author of Rethinking Worldview: Learning to Think, Live, and Speak in This World (Crossway, 2007), as well as the novels Back on Murder, Pattern of Wounds, and Nothing to Hide—described as a “series worth getting attached to” (Christianity Today) by “a major crime fiction talent” (Weekly Standard) in the vein of Michael Connelly, Ian Rankin, and Henning Mankell.

Mark has a BA in English Literature from Union University, an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Houston, and an M.Div. from Heidelberg Theological Seminary. Through his influential Bible Design Blog, Mark has championed a new generation of readable Bibles. He is a founding member of the steering committee of the Society of Bible Craftsmanship, and chairs the Society’s Award Committee. His work was featured in the November 2021 issue of FaithLife’s Bible Study Magazine.

Mark also serves on the board of Worldview Academy, where he has been a member of the faculty of theology since 2003. Since 2017, he has been an ordained teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church in America. He and his wife Laurie life in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.