The Problem with the Dot: A Holistic Approach to Christians' Care and Cultivation of Global Culture Through the Theatrical Ecosystem

The Problem with the Dot is rooted in the idea that culture is a garden to be tended (Gen 2:15) rather than a war to be won and uses the analogy of an ecosystem to expand the details of the individual components of the theatrical ecosystem to: 1.Help those with minimal exposure to theater understand the indivisible construct of the theatrical ecosystem; 2.Identify areas of Christian neglect within each component; and 3.Emphasize strategic corrections that will result in the holistic restoration of a healthy global culture. Each chapter strengthens the case for a long-term holistic approach to the care and cultivation of global culture through the theatrical ecosystem, culminating in a call to action that is magnified by the unique opportunity presented by the 2020 global pandemic that forced a hiatus on all theatrical productions. The market will reset, and artists will revive theaters. It is my prayer that when this grand reopening occurs around the globe, Christians are an integral part of the new beginning.

Bruce D. Long produces on Broadway, Off-Broadway and on London's West End. His affiliated productions have garnered four Tony Awards and two Olivier Awards. He is the Executive Director of CITA (Christians in Theatre Arts), a college professor, has served as the director of fine arts for a variety of secondary schools, and provides consultation services. Bruce graduated from the University of Mobile, Regent University (Alumnus of the Year), and the Commercial Theatre Institute.



Makoto Fujimura is a leading contemporary artist whose work has been featured in galleries and museums around the world, including The Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo, The Huntington Library in California, the Tikotin Museum in Israel, Belvedere Museum in Vienna, and C3M North Bund Art Museum in Shanghai, China. His process-driven, refractive "slow art" has been described by David Brooks of New York Times as "a small rebellion against the quickening of time." Fujimura is the author of 4 books, Refractions, Culture Care, Silence and Beauty, and Art+Faith: A Theology of Making. Fujimura is the recipient of the 2023 Kuyper Prize for Excellence in Reformed Theology and Public Life as well as the American Academy of Religion's 2014 "Religion and the Arts" award. From 2003 to 2009, Fujimura served as a Presidential appointee to the National Council on the Arts. He has also received notable recognition as a speaker, with one address selected by NPR as among the 200 "Best Commencement Addresses Ever" and by CNN as one of the top 16 "Greatest commencement speeches of all time" and is a recipient of four Doctor of Arts Honorary Degrees from Belhaven University, Biola University, Cairn University, and Roanoke College.

Wesley Vander Lugt is Lead Pastor of Warehouse 242 in Charlotte, NC. He is the author of Living Theodrama: Reimagining Theological Ethics (2014) and the coauthor of Pocket Dictionary of the Reformed Tradition (2013).