This was recorded live at our annual Baccalaureate Service on May 8, 2026.

In his role as Campus Pastor, Evan Tinkenberg reaches out to students, faculty, and staff to encourage the integration of learning and faith. He grew up 30 miles south of Chicago in northwest Indiana, where he was raised in a generously loving family and a rich community of Reformed churches. He enjoys drinking good coffee and reading eclectically; ask him for a book recommendation. Evan graduated with a B.A. in Theology from Trinity Christian College and an M.Div. from Covenant Theological Seminary, where he was awarded the Exegesis Prize. Kim, Evan’s wife, is a nurse who loves baking and cooking new foods. Together they enjoy going for coffee or bookshop dates, hiking, kayaking, and bike rides. They do much of this with their two young kids in tow.

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Upper House Commons gathers the university community for spiritual, intellectual, and vocational formation.

We explore big ideas and engage in conversations that matter within arts and humanities, justice and society, leadership and vocation, science and technology, spiritual formation, and theology. Whether you are a student or faculty member at UW–Madison or beyond, working in the marketplace, or serving in the church, we see you as part of our university community. Gather with us for one of our programs —our “commons”— each a pasture for shared spiritual, intellectual, and vocational formation.

Head over to our events page to see what's coming soon, or mark your calendar for these upcoming programs.

Find out more slbf.org/upperhousecommons

This was recorded live from our annual Baccalaureate Service at Upper House on May 8, 2026.

Michael Knapstad is the Pastor of College Ministry & Internships at Blackhawk Church, where he has faithfully served for nearly eight years. A graduate of Fuller Seminary, Michael previously served in ministry in San Francisco. He's known for his creative and thoughtful approach to inviting students into meaningful community and encounters with the gospel. You'll often find him in the space with students on Tuesday nights and Sundays.

Send us Fan Mail

Upper House Commons gathers the university community for spiritual, intellectual, and vocational formation.

We explore big ideas and engage in conversations that matter within arts and humanities, justice and society, leadership and vocation, science and technology, spiritual formation, and theology. Whether you are a student or faculty member at UW–Madison or beyond, working in the marketplace, or serving in the church, we see you as part of our university community. Gather with us for one of our programs —our “commons”— each a pasture for shared spiritual, intellectual, and vocational formation.

Head over to our events page to see what's coming soon, or mark your calendar for these upcoming programs.

Find out more slbf.org/upperhousecommons

At the heart of the 5th annual Let the Art Speak conference — held at Upper House, a Christian study center near the University of Wisconsin–Madison — visual artist Tim Lowly and United Methodist minister and writer Rev. Sherrie Lowly delivered the Saturday plenary session: "Trying to Get a Sense of Scale."

Their talk began not with art theory, but with a life: their daughter Temma, now 40, who has lived with profound cognitive and physical disabilities since a cardiac arrest in the first days of her life. For Tim, Temma has been the center of his artistic practice for decades. For Sherrie, she has been the subject of a memoir and a guide into mystery. Together, they asked the question every artist must eventually face — Who, or what, is truly at the center of your work?

Rooted in resurrection theology and the writings of N.T. Wright, this session reframes artistic vocation as participation in God's ongoing work of new creation. No sketch, no song, no poem made in the Spirit is "mere." Every act of beauty and care, Wright argues, finds its way into the world God is making.

Tim Lowly — who spent nearly three decades as gallery director and artist-in-residence at North Park University in Chicago — walked through his paintings, collaborative works, and a current drawing series, each one a meditation on human dignity, presence, and scale. Sherrie read from her memoir-in-progress, offering a rare and unflinching portrait of what it means to raise a child the world would rather set aside, and to find God precisely there.

The session also engaged Rebecca Solnit's Hope in the Dark, exploring how history-changing movements often grow unseen — like mushrooms underground — until the right moment. A message for artists who wonder whether their work matters.

This recording is an invitation to artists, makers, writers, musicians, clergy, and communities of faith who are wrestling with hope in a divided and often discouraging world.

ABOUT Let the Art Speak: is an annual conference for artists, writers, musicians, makers, and all who believe that creative expression is essential to hope and human flourishing. Hosted by the SL Brown Foundation at Upper House — a Christian study center near the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

🌐 Learn more: https://slbf.org/ltas 📍 Upper House | Madison, Wisconsin

Send us Fan Mail

Upper House Commons gathers the university community for spiritual, intellectual, and vocational formation.

We explore big ideas and engage in conversations that matter within arts and humanities, justice and society, leadership and vocation, science and technology, spiritual formation, and theology. Whether you are a student or faculty member at UW–Madison or beyond, working in the marketplace, or serving in the church, we see you as part of our university community. Gather with us for one of our programs —our “commons”— each a pasture for shared spiritual, intellectual, and vocational formation.

Head over to our events page to see what's coming soon, or mark your calendar for these upcoming programs.

Find out more slbf.org/upperhousecommons