About the Artist

Joel at work

I grew up in a family with a great sense of humor. However, we were expected to check our laughter at the sanctuary door.

But to me, laughter seemed a gift from God. Humor lowers tensions, breaks down walls, and creates windows that allow individuals to consider another point of view.

So I created Pontius’ Puddle to see if I could give the combined forces of faith and humor a common voice. I set two goals: 1) Every strip should be faith-affirming, and 2) My own shortcomings, not those of others, should be the bulls-eye of each barb.

I view Pontius as a creature who shares our collective strengths and shortcomings. As a cartoonist, I tend to ignore the strengths and hone in on the shortcomings, such as our tendency to see the small, shallow, mud wallows we inhabit as the center of the universe!

I chose “Pontius” as my protagonist’s name “because the biblical Pontius Pilate shares our most human trait: the desire to do good, but the failure to follow through.”

When not working on Pontius, I spend much of my time writing screenplays. Two have been produced for Disney Channel: Miracle in Lane 2 with Frankie Muniz and Full-Court Miracle. I also penned The Radicals about the founding of Anabaptism.

I’ve served as program designer for three visitor centers: Menno-Hof in Shipshewana, Indiana, Nazareth Village in Israel/Palestine, and the Amish & Mennonite Meetinghof currently in development at Bird-In-Hand, Pennsylvania.

My spouse, Nancy Kauffmann, is a denominational minister for Mennonite Church USA. We have two sons: Justin, a graphic designer and urban folk artist; and Julian, an animator for the Nickelodeon series The Wonder Pets.

Contact me to use Pontius in your church or publication: JoelKauffmann@aol.com