Belonging House Fellowship

About Belonging House Fellowship

Christ John Otto is the founder of Belonging House, an international fellowship of artists and creative people. Beth Charashim, the House of Artisans, is our Sunday online worshipping congregation. We are a community called to raise up an army of artists who will build Jesus a throne in the earth. Each week Christ John Otto teaches on the Big Ideas relevant to being a disciple of Jesus who is also a culture shaper.

Publisher

Christ John Otto

Category

arts · religion & spirituality

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

20 Feb 2022

Latest episode

26 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

231 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   26 Oct 2026

   Your Art Is Not Second-Rate Work: Embracing the Call as an Artist

   I will embrace my vocation as an artist, artisan or creative professional, no matter my medium, knowing that God wants to transform the kingdoms of this world into the Kingdom of our Lord through the arts and creativity. Ten of the Twelve I Wills form the disciple. This one sends the artist out. Christ John Otto begins with a verse that bugged him in Morning Prayer: Zechariah's vision of four horns and four charashim, a word usually rendered "smiths," "carpenters," or "craftsmen" that points to artisans and master craftsmen. Facing opposition from the whole world, God raises up artists from the four winds. Twenty years after God called him to raise up an army of artists, he explains why Belonging House is not a nice Christian arts ministry but a community of trained warriors, why being an artist is not second-rate work, and how free people making beautiful things build Jesus a throne in the earth. What we cover p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Zechariah's dated vision (February 15, 519 BC), the four horns, and the four winds as the whole created order p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Charashim: the craftsmen of Zechariah 1:20, Bezalel and the artisans of Exodus 35:35, and the Valley of Craftsmen in 1 Chronicles 4:14 p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> 2006: the call to raise up an army of artists, and why it was never a commune of folk songs and lentils p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> How the church has misunderstood and mistreated its artists, and the spiritual block that keeps the message from going in p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> A big call and a small paycheck: quitting the job, no fundraising, no ministry-building, a life as a parable p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Why ten of the Twelve I Wills are about discipleship, and the difference between Christian artists and worldly artists p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Why artists are the first to be silenced when tyranny takes power p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Not an army of mid-level managers in cubicles, and why he never uses the word "creatives" p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Rachel, an art teacher in Brooklyn, and what it looks like to be a warrior artist p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Yeltsin, a painter who paints like an old master, and the cleaning lady who said his painting cleaned the atmosphere p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Jesus the artisan, and the kings bringing the glories of the nations into the city coming down out of heaven p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> "The kingdoms of this world," Handel's Hallelujah Chorus, and a home where God and man live together in love p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> The weapons of creativity, freedom, and the Good, the True, and the Beautiful p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> The days of struggling artists in the back of the church are coming to an end Scripture and references Zechariah 1:7–21 · Exodus 35:30–35 · 1 Chronicles 4:14 · Proverbs 18:16 · Matthew 14:29 · John 1:3 · Romans 8:29 · Mark 6:3 · Romans 8:19–22 · John 14:2 · Revelation 11:15 · Revelation 21:2, 24–26 · Handel's Messiah · Artists at a Shift in Time Come under the roof Belonging House is a movement of artists and creative people, now reaching thirty-eight nations, learning to listen to God together. We are not trying to survive the storm. We are the storm. p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> The Friday email is the thread that holds us together. Sign up at belonging.house (https://www.belonging.house/welcome/) and you get the full archive, your very own private library. p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Make the Belonging House Commitment (https://www.belonging.house/become/), the Twelve I Wills, and you're welcome to join our Mighty Network community (https://belonging-house.mn.co/share/HjIDhis2OirTPR6r). p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Pray with us daily at 7am ET / midday UK, and gather with the House of Artisans each week at 1:00 ET: Belonging House on Zoom (https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8766320130). p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Real Mail (https://www.belonging.house/real-mail/): original artwork in your mailbox every month, crafted with Human Intelligence. p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> We are a 501(c)(3) through the Missionary Church International. Give to Belonging House here. Follow and pass it on Follow Belonging House Fellowship wherever you listen so each week's teaching comes to you, and leave a rating or review if your app allows it. It's how another artist finds us. Then send this to one creative person who knows they should be painting, writing, or composing but never seems to find the time. We aren't recruiting. We're raising up, one person at a time. People like us do things like this. Fear not God can be trusted

2. 

   20 Oct 2026

   I Will Live a Life of Generosity: Poverty and Living with Open Hands (12 I wills)

   Christ John Otto explores generosity as a sign of mature discipleship: knowing who you are in Christ, trusting the Father's goodness, and living with open hands. Stories of sacrificial hospitality, daily giving, and his own experience of provision challenge the poverty mindset that keeps artists waiting for enough. This is not giving to get, but giving as Christ gave — with money, time, and above all love. What we cover p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> The Twelve I Wills as becoming a living master copy of Jesus, the icon of the Father p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> What actors mean when they call a fellow performer "generous," and why the generous ones were the best of their generation p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Why every conversation about generosity is a conversation about poverty p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Graham Cooke: "Poverty is not a lack of resources, poverty is a lack of possibilities" — and the rock in the road: "I would become a full-time artist, but I need _" p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> The monkey trap and the clenched fist: how "it might not be there tomorrow" keeps you from the fullness of the Kingdom p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> The elderly couple in Shinglehouse who slept on the living room floor so an eighteen-year-old could have their bed p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> "Pennies for Jesus" and the old preacher's rule: give something away every day p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> A $100 bill in the offering plate, denied financial aid, and the Lee Christian Service Grant full ride p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Living by faith with no fundraising, income-contingent payments of zero, and student loans forgiven after twenty years p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> "Fear not. There is more where that came from." p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Giving as Christ gave to you: money, time, and most of all love — not give-to-get Scripture and references John 14:9 · John 17:21 · Matthew 23:11 · Proverbs 18:16 · Graham Cooke Listen to the Lord and do what He tells you Our message is the ministry. So don't just listen to this teaching. Do it. This week, find a quiet place each day, take your notebook, and ask the Lord what He wants you to give. Give something away every day — money, time, attention, or a kindness — as He leads. Do that for seven days and write down what you notice. Most people who actually do this start hearing from God in less than a month. Seven days is enough to know something has moved. Your inner life determines your creative output, and this is where the inner life begins. Come under the roof Belonging House is a movement of artists and creative people, now reaching thirty-eight nations, learning to listen to God together. We are not trying to survive the storm. We are the storm. p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> The Friday email is the thread that holds us together. Sign up at belonging.house (https://www.belonging.house/welcome/) and you get the full archive, your very own private library. p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Make the Belonging House Commitment (https://www.belonging.house/become/), the Twelve I Wills, and you're welcome to join our Mighty Network community (https://belonging-house.mn.co/share/HjIDhis2OirTPR6r). p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Pray with us daily at 7am ET / midday UK, and gather with the House of Artisans each week at 1:00 ET: Belonging House on Zoom (https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8766320130). p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> Real Mail (https://www.belonging.house/real-mail/): original artwork in your mailbox every month, crafted with Human Intelligence. p]:pt-0 [&>p]:mb-2 [&>p]:my-0"> We are a 501(c)(3) through the Missionary Church International. Give to Belonging House here. Follow and pass it on Follow Belonging House Fellowship wherever you listen so each week's teaching comes to you, and leave a rating or review if your app allows it. It's how another artist finds us. Then send this to one creative person who keeps waiting until they have enough money to start. We aren't recruiting. We're raising up, one person at a time. People like us do things like this. Fear not God can be trusted

3. 

   11 Oct 2026

   I Will Become: Christ in You, the Hope of Glory (Twelve I Wills)

   I will become more aware of Christ in me, the hope of glory. It sounds theological. It's not. It's the most practical of the Twelve I Wills. Many people think Christianity means believing the right things and then trying to live up to a moral standard. That's a recipe for failure, and adding a spiritual experience on top only makes the ride more uneven. Paul gives a completely different vision: if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Christ John Otto shows what that means in practice. Jesus lives in you, there is already a whole and healed place in you where He is, and His life can move through you from the inside out. ### What we cover - Why "right beliefs plus right morality" fails, and why lowering the standard doesn't fix it - 2 Corinthians 5:17: in Christ you are a new kind of creature, something that never existed before - Lee Strasberg's method acting, healing prayer, and why God works from the inside out - Leanne Payne: "There is a healed place in you already" - What worship in Revelation pours back into Christ's presence in us - "My grace is sufficient for you": charis, chesed, and practical love, not a stiff upper lip - Paul left for dead after a stoning, then getting up and going right back to teaching - Stories from the field: standing in Boston, a hacked bank account in Israel, a border guard at Gatwick, and a weightless bag in Hyde Park - Graham Cooke on moving from a visitation culture to a habitation culture - Trusting Christ in you in the audition, the gallery, and the classroom ### Scripture and references 2 Corinthians 5:17 · Colossians 1:27 · John 3:5 · John 15:7 · 1 Corinthians 2:16 · 2 Corinthians 12:9 · Acts 14:19–20 · Revelation 5:12 · Matthew 6:10 · Matthew 10:19–20 · 1 Corinthians 6:19 · Leanne Payne · Lee Strasberg · Marilyn Hickey · Graham Cooke Next week: I will live a life of generosity. --- ## Listen to the Lord and do what He tells you Our message is the ministry. So don't just listen to this teaching. Do it. This week, when you hit a weak place, pause before you push. Say, "Jesus, You live in me. You are the strongest person in the universe, and I am weak. Show Your strength here." Do that every day for seven days and write down what happens. ## Come under the roof We will receive new members into the house on November 1. If you would like to make the Belonging House Commitment, renew your baptismal covenant, or join the community, let us know. Belonging House is a movement of artists and creative people, now reaching thirty-eight nations, learning to listen to God together. We are not trying to survive the storm. We are the storm. - The Friday email is the thread that holds us together. Sign up at [belonging.house](https://www.belonging.house/welcome/) and you get the full archive, your very own private library. - Make the [Belonging House Commitment](https://www.belonging.house/become/), the Twelve I Wills, and you're welcome to join our [Mighty Network community](https://belonging-house.mn.co/share/HjIDhis2OirTPR6r). - Pray with us daily at 7am ET / midday UK, and gather with the House of Artisans each week at 1:00 ET: [Belonging House on Zoom](https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8766320130). - [Real Mail](https://www.belonging.house/real-mail/): original artwork in your mailbox every month, crafted with Human Intelligence. - We are a 501(c)(3) through the Missionary Church International. [Give to Belonging House here](https://www.zeffy.com/donation-form/raise-up-an-army-of-artists). ## Follow and pass it on Follow Belonging House Fellowship wherever you listen so each week's teaching comes to you, and leave a rating or review if your app allows it. It's how another artist finds us. Then send this to one creative person who is worn out from trying harder. We aren't recruiting. We're raising up, one person at a time. People like us do things like this. Fear not God can be trusted

Who has been a guest on Belonging House Fellowship

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Arlene Brown
• Val Davidson
• Nancy Lane

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

6 ratings

Contact Belonging House Fellowship

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.