L.B. Graham — author of the series "The Binding Of The Blade"

It's my real pleasure to post about Christopher Hopper, one of the Motiv8 authors I'd never met before until I hit the ground in Seattle. Wayne Batson had told me the night before I met Christopher, when we met up in Seattle before joining the rest of the Tour after their jaunt to Canada, that Christopher was the kind of guy who made everyone feel like they mattered to him, the kind of guy that it was impossible not to like and enjoy, and I found that to be very true on the Tour. Christopher and his wife Jenny were great to tour with.(By the way, the scenery photos I've copied here and mixed in along with some of Christopher's cover art, and personal photos, are pictures Jenny took on tour!)

Rather than giving a brief bio & overview for Christopher, as I have the others, I'd like to go right to the questions I asked him, as his answers are comprehensive and Christopher will do a better job introducing himself than I can. So, here we go...

LBG: I know that you have a big heart for kids, tell us a bit about the work you do with teens when you’re not writing great stories?

Christopher: I'm the Teen & College Pastor for a really dynamic church in the 1,000 Islands region of Northern NY (www.newlifenny.com / www.33live.org). I've had a deep heart for my generation since I was in high school. It's always been my desire to see them saved and discipled into such a strong relationship with Jesus that they are not only "going to heaven" but radically affecting their culture, too. I know that much of my writing comes out of that same heart. Being a preacher has also opened doors for me in the public school system as a motivational speaker where I can't talk about Jesus, but I can certainly talk about Biblical principles and make them relevant for youth.

I also preside over a two-year international discipleship school called DIBOR (www.dibor.org). If you're readers are familiar with Rise of The Dibor, then they will understand that this a real-life Isle of Kirstell where young people from all over the world come to dedicate their lives to Jesus, master the disciplines of the Christian faith, and devote their lives to advancing the Kingdom. I feel so honored to be a part of it, to know so many outstanding individuals, and to lead such an amazing staff.

LBG: It also became clear on the Tour, that you have some strong opinions about the church and the arts – care to share some of your thoughts on the matter?

Christopher: Strong opinions? Am I that obvious? ;) First off, I love the Church. Not because she is perfect, but because she is imperfect. It's full of people who are doing their best to live holy lives and seek after God; Pastors who live far below their means and sacrifice day in and day out; mom's who lose it with their kids and have to repent; dad's who fail and get back up; sinners who are saved by grace and realize that all of their righteousness is as filthy rags and are in desperate need of a Savior day in and day out. I'm pretty protective about her, recognizing that God is jealous for her and is keen on seeing her built up. Therefore I have little tolerance for people that throw stones cross-denominationally and at leaders. People come to me all the time making sweeping, broad generalizations like, "The Church does this," or, "The Church thinks that." But then I'll ask, "Well, who? Name individuals." And they inevitably can't. When you ask people to be specific, they can't. If they can name someone, it's usually one or two people, which is fine; but don't pin it on the whole Church. I've seen too much of her and know she's amazing. The Church is God's idea, not yours, so either get on board with contributing to her increasing beauty, or go somewhere else, because when you criticize her, you are ultimately criticizing God.

That does not mean I won't address issues that need changing, but I do so with a deep understanding that I am a culprit to both her error, as well as to her potential betterment. While I may have strong disagreements or assessments about where she is currently (and where she needs to go), I am fully committed to working with the churches in my county to see souls saved and the Kingdom of God advanced. It's awesome to be a part of. I count it one of my greatest privileges after knowing Christ.

One of the issues I believe that we, the Church corporately, are coming back to is ownership of the Arts once again. There was a day in generations past where the Christians were the culture influencers of the day. Not only were Godly men like Rembrandt, Handel and Bach creating art that moved nations, but they were funded by benefactors within the Church, people who housed them, feed them, and paid their bills so they could dedicate themselves to creating the next masterpiece. I believe that the Church is being called upon again to provoke such art to be created, pieces that will then become catalysts from dynamic change in culture. Artists tell the story of life as it should be, and who better than those who are Divine Dreams and have a heavenly perspective on the world. We need those artists to step forward...the world is crying out for hope.

LBG: For the record, I absolutely agree. We can focus on getting legislation passed which reflects our values all we like, but if we actually want to influence and change the values of our culture, art and story and music and movies are much more influential arenas. And it isn't like we have to choose between these methods, the church could easily invest in both if it regained a vision for it.

Given your busy life with marriage, work, music, etc., why did you decide to enter the writing arena as well?

Christopher: As most writers, I suppose I felt I had a story to tell. And the draw of writing a novel seemed like such a monumental task, I wanted to prove I could actually do it. As they say, why climb Everest? Because it's there. But beyond the ambition side of it, I believe that we are able to communicate to people in a powerful way through stories. Jesus' parables are a prime example of this. But I also saw that people who read books give far more of their lives as an investment into the art form than just listening to a CD. A song is a 3-minute experience (unless you're a Classical listener), and a CD, a 60-minute experience. And "listening" is a fairly passive action, at least as far as modern music is concerned. But when people read your stories, they are investing their lives into what you are saying, and journeying with you over a longer period of time (unless you're one of those speed readers I cringe at...do you have any idea how long it takes us to write these books?). ;) The point being that I feel I'm able to communicate truth to a whole other demographic on a whole other level when I write than I am when recording or speaking. It's not better than music, it's just different.

LBG: Any moments or memories from the Fantasy Fiction Tour ’08 you want to share with us?

Christopher: Well, I suppose one of my favorites was seeing you get so dog-on excited about Jack In The Box! I had never eaten at one before and can truly saw you have GREAT taste in cheeseburgers. Thank you for enlightening me. ;) And overall, I just felt so privileged to be a part of a real-life team of adventurists who dedicated themselves to one cause and lived life together. It was an honor, LB, and I hope we can do it again.

Thanks for the interview!

Thanks to Christopher, really, for taking time to talk with me. For more information about Christopher, visit his website, linked in my sidebar. He's a great guy and I'm glad to count him a friend.