Bart is always looking for authenticity: ”My vision is; Discover who you are, change the world”

Bart Morée (35), husband of Anna (42) and father of Lieve (9) and Roan (2) was born in Rotterdam-Oost. Bart: ”My childhood was not very spectacular, and actually quite quiet. I was the youngest of our family, so I had a lot of freedom.”

Bart grew up in a large Pentecostal church in Rotterdam. He says, “A lot happened there around the gifts of the Spirit, and I found that very interesting. Spectacular even.” At a young age Bart experiences that God is there, speaks and comes close.

It becomes clear during this time how independent his character is: ”My parents let me walk to school alone at a young age, and that’s kind of indicative of how individualistic I was raised. I enjoy that freedom, being on my own and being given responsibility. I like new things, variety and taking life by the horns. ”

He feels at home in the church, but he doesn’t just get carried away with the crowd. “I never wanted to just do things because others did them or because it’s tradition. Not in church or in high school. There I often thought, ‘Just be yourself.’ I preferred to avoid groups. I felt good about this.

”Just be yourself.”

This drive for independence and authenticity caused him to miss connection with the church youth group and the church. “Despite the many miracles, gifts and beautiful moments, I felt less and less comfortable in the church. I slowly distanced myself more and more.”

Separation

Bart is 18 when his parents divorce. At that time, he is still living at home. The divorce impacts young adult Bart. “It was a crazy situation. Suddenly my father was gone and unavailable for a while. I felt a lot of misunderstanding and the suddenness of it was bad. God is often put down as a father, but I couldn’t do anything with that at the time.”

The drive for individuality, combined with divorce, puts his faith at a low ebb during his studies. Study, a girlfriend and other discoveries mostly drew his attention, but the door to God always remained ajar. “I found church boring, but I had also experienced and seen too much to deny God,” he said.

“I found church boring, but I had also experienced and seen too much to deny God.”

Christformation

“When I was 21, I found my faith again overnight. After college, I thought, ”Now what? Now what am I going to do with my life?’

Someone from the church challenged him. “He said, ‘If you don’t know what you want with your life; why don’t you ask God? It had been a while since Bart had prayed. He asked God that night, and to Bart’s surprise, He answered. “I immediately heard ‘Ecclesiastes 2.’ A thought came clearly to me. ”I had no idea what that said, because I never read Bible.” Ecclesiastes 2 is a section where Solomon lists everything in his life but realizes that without God, it’s all air and emptiness.”

And that comes in to Bart. ”I realized: if I want to give my life meaning, I will have to return to God. Then I actually immediately signed up for a Bible school in Rotterdam: Christformation.”

“If I want my life to have meaning, I will have to go back to God.”

For two years, Bart was taught five mornings a week. “At the beginning it was really a culture shock,” Bart says. “I hadn’t been involved in the faith for years, and suddenly I found myself among all these young people talking exuberantly in Christian jargon.

He quickly got used to it, but remained himself. ”I didn’t quite get into it, and I also sometimes wondered why certain things were said. I’m good at that I guess, kicking a little against sacred cows and pulling people out of their comfort zone.” For example, Bart sometimes challenges his fellow students at Christformation to pray without saying “father” in every sentence. “And that’s really complicated for some; praying without jargon, automatic stop word or silence filler,” Bart says with a laugh.

One of his fellow students is now his wife: Anna. “Yes, meeting your wife in such a place: that’s a great basis for your relationship. We are both very different and experience God in very different ways and yet we find each other in that foundation.”

Own Adventure

Bart does not run with the mob but, even in his faith, is looking for what works for him; for his own way with God. “I’ve learned that the church service, for example, is not the place for me to meet God, and that’s okay for me. These days I do enjoy the music and the inspiring word again, but am easily distracted and preoccupied with the drummer, the mix of the music and the look of the worship leader instead of being engaged with Jesus. I actually encounter Him when I take a walk through the woods. Alone and at peace.” He adds:”In this great adventure with God, I also rediscovered Him as a father and learned that I don’t have to compare Him to any earthly father. It is really something different and at the same time so much love, encouragement and an involved advisor.”

Individuality

Pure authenticity: that is his passion. ”I have made my search for authenticity my work with my company NOBLY Creative. My vision to help entrepreneurs starts with the question: Who are you? Or who are you? Are you embracing yourself? Based on those questions, I believe I can help people find their passion. Together, we then make the world a more beautiful place using a generous dose of creativity: Logos, websites, texts, video, etc. This is how we make dreams come true with NOBLY Creative!”

”My individuality is my strength, I believe that. I’ve felt since childhood that I like to stay myself. I think that’s very important, but it can cost a bit.”

”My individuality is my strength”

For, being himself sometimes came with a price. ”I cried about it at times. I was a misfit at school, and then I felt lonely. Still, it was never a reason for me to move along with the mob.”

Hard rock and brainstorms

Bart is a man with a love for the world and he has been a big music fan all his life. ”I love music. In my teens I listened to hard rock endlessly, and I still love to do that.”

You might think this chafes with his being a Christian, but for Bart it works differently. ”I don’t worry about that so much. Then again, I really didn’t get rid of all my music and movies when faith started living more for me. I’ve seen that a lot with others who came to faith.” After thinking for a moment, he continues, ”Maybe I’m more of a ‘blender.” I am a completely new being through Christ and, as the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:17-19, ‘No longer of this world.’ At the same time, not everything in the world is bad or keeps me away from Jesus. I think it is important to stay in touch with the world. Also to show non-Christians that God is for everyone. God completely changes your life when you find him and at the same time you don’t lose yourself. God made you and life with God is fun!”

”God completely changes your life when you find him, and at the same time you don’t lose yourself.”

A creative jack-of-all-trades, Bart enjoys passing on his passion for authenticity through the many projects he takes on with NOBLY. ”Besides the graphic and communication part of my work, I also like to have God in a prominent place. He is part of my business. Sometimes I am brainstorming, and then I give God space to give certain pictures or images in my head, for example. I see my creativity as a talent given to me by God, but I am only really creative when I do it together with God.”

With NOBLY, he feels he can do his part in this world. “Shaping the world as God intended,” Bart says, “where people stand in their own power and start doing what they are meant to do. That’s what I want to help people do. And together make the world a more beautiful place.”

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