Scott Hamilton—I Am Second

Home – I Am Second.

I tell you a lot about telling a better story. Sometimes the best story we can tell is our own true story. Olympic Gold Medalist Scott Hamilton, shares his story here and it is amazing. The video is from a site where many famous people share their stories of God’s victory in their lives and gives the viewer the chance to come to Jesus. The name of the site is I Am Second. What a great reminder. When we keep God first, He can do amazing things in our lives.

What’s your story and how can you share it?
How do you keep God number one in your life?
Are you Second?

IllustrationFriday.com Challenge: Forward

The challenge this week was the word forward and the first thing that popped into my mind came from the evangelical vernacular, “going forward.” It’s what happens at an altar call when the evangelist extends an invitation to turn from sin and follow Jesus. To go forward is to “come to Jesus” and give Him control of your life.

Some may think that’s old fashioned, but I will tell you this: My life was radically changed for the better and forever when I heard God calling me (through the voice of an evangelist). He extended the invitation to come to Christ. I could have resisted, but I didn’t. I knew I needed what Jesus offered and it was time to cross the line and go forward, so I went. My life has never been the same.

I believe God calls to us all, because He loves us so much.
He might be using this post to call you right now. God loves you so much He gave His only Son for you and me to free us from the stuff that’s hurting us (sin) and to give us eternal life. Jesus died on the cross to save us from our sins and rose again to set us free. He is the way to a full and meaningful life in this world and eternal life when this life ends.

Coming forward was the best move I ever made. What about you? Is it time for you to come forward?

My friend Jessie Nilo from the amazing Vinearts Boise posted this to her site and I thought it bears repeating here. There is amazing power in an encouraging word. Who have you encouraged today?

Great Stuff Coming Up…

I had a great weekend in Easton Maryland. I presented part of my Be the Body Workshop at Easton Church of the Brethren. I did a worship painting, left the congregation make their own art project and preached on 1 Corinthians 12. I set a goal to do 15 events this year outside my home church, and that was the first one.

So what else is coming up this year?
2. My first stop is the Snowflake Gala February 11 2012 at Mulberry Art Studios in Lancaster, PA. I’ll have two paintings on display and I’ll be doing a short performance painting as part of the festivities.

3. March 10, I will be at my home church New Creation Fellowship in Reading, doing the first live performance of A Night A.M.O.K. Pix of JC A night of art, music and ministry at 7:00 p.m.

4. March 16-18, I’ll be in Chattanooga, TN presenting at the Call 2 Ministry Conference.

5. May 4 I am scheduled to perform A Night AMOK, Pix of JC at Mt. Zion Rd Church of the Brethren

6. May 17-19, 2012 I will be participating in and presenting at the Church of the Brethren Church Planting Conference in Richmond, IN.

7. May 20, I will be preaching and painting at Pleasant Chapel Church of the Brethren In Ashley Indiana in their Sunday Morning Service and looking at another possible Event in Western Ohio that evening.

8. July 7-11 I’ll be painting at the Church of the Brethren Annual Conference in St. Louis as part of one of the worship services (tentative)

9. October 6 I’ll be presenting God and the Creative Process at a Christian Writer’s Conference at Country Cupboard in Lewisburg, PA. Plus a possible event in the evening in that area.

10. October 7, I will be doing a version of A Night AMOK, Pix of JC for Sunday Morning Worship at St. Thomas Independent Church of the Brethren, Mt. Pleasant Mills, PA

Of course all of these are Lord willing. I am grateful to God or all these opportunities and am hoping for many more. If you would like to bring me in for your church or event, I would welcome the opportunity to talk with you further.

Is This Too Harsh?

I drew the above cartoon a few days ago and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to post it. The truth is, I really love people on both sides of this issue an I don’t want to hurt anyone, but I am also really tired of seeing people fight. My denomination has been fighting for a long time about how we deal with the gay community. I think we’ve really overcomplicated it and I get why. When you stop dealing with issues and start to realize that real people are involved things, get dicey. But what would happen if we took the full counsel of Scripture into account?

We’d have to deal with the fact that the Scripture calls the behavior sin, that’s not too tough because we all deal with sin and this one is not worse than yours or mine, it might be different, but that doesn’t make it worse. And then what if we dealt with the fact that Jesus died for sinners and we are called to love everyone and come at people from a position of love and humility.

We need to stop fighting each other, follow the Lord and get back to doing what we’re supposed to be doing, helping others, serving others, loving others and bringing people to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Is that too harsh?

Political Disputes in the Body

I may beed to define this one a little better. When I am talking about this kind of political dispute, I’m not talking Democrats and Republicans and elections and all that other stuff, though that can be equally destructive. I’m talking about when our churches get caught up in the issues of the day and begin to take sides against each other, within the body. Rather than consulting the teachings of Scripture, we go all liberal or conservative and start to fight among ourselves.

That’s not the way it should be. When an issue divides us, we need to gather together around the Word of God, discern what God is saying in the Word, pray, reunite and get back to the business at hand, sharing the Gospel and being the Body of Christ.

Satan doesn’t hate everything. He just hates us and God. He loves when we squabble about stuff, especially when God’s Word is clear, because that will keep us occupied on things that don’t involve advancing God’s Kingdom.

My denomination has been doing this exact thing with one issue longer than I have been a Christian. Nearly 30 years. It’s time to say “thus sayeth the Lord” and get back to work. Our mission is too important to be sidetracked.

My Thoughts on the Election: The Apolitical Response

With all the hoopla surrounding the election, I can only guarantee one thing. The winner will disappoint you at least some of the time. I’m not really sure I could vote for anyone with a clear conscience so this year I am nominating my own candidate:
Jesus Christ

Here are the reasons to elect to follow Jesus this year (And every year).
1. He’s the only candidate who has never lied to you.
2. He’s the only one who can actually deliver all the things the other candidates are promising you, since what they are promising are the blessings of God.
3. He’s the only candidate who actually knows everything that is going to happen.
4. His way leads to the life you really want, not just the life you think you want.
5. He’s always right.
6. He hasn’t run one negative ad.
7. He values truth more than His political party. Come to think of it, He doesn’t have a political party.
8. He wants what’s best for every person on the face of the earth, and He actually KNOWS what that is.
9. You can have access to Him, 24/7/365
10. He loves you and knows your name.
11. He will never steer you wrong!
12. He sacrificed Himself for you.

Now you might think I’m being a little facetious here, but I’m not. I don’t believe most politicians lie so much as I believe they promise us the blessings of God, but God alone decides who and what He will bless. If we want to be a nation blessed by God there is no substitute for following God and we do that by following the teachings of Jesus.

Am I suggesting a write-in Jesus campaign? No, that would eliminate the votes of Christians, which would only make matters worse. Am I suggesting that you don’t vote? No and for the same reason. What I am suggesting is that you do is throw away your political party affiliation and pick up your Bible. Compare the lives of the candidates to the teachings of Jesus, pray and ask God who He would have you vote for and vote for that person. Then pray for the person who wins, believing that God is in control and gives us the leader we need or deserve, whether that is to bless us or to punish us ’til we turn back to the Lord as a nation and get back to living lives that demonstrate that we follow Jesus. Living to the glory of God and our neighbor’s good.

This year, vote for whoever you believe God wants to lead the nation and elect to follow Jesus.

By the way this doesn’t just apply to elections, our families, our churches (especially our DENOMINATIONS) and every individual also needs to elect to follow Jesus.

Also if you think you’d like to wear this on a shirt, click the image.

A Great Article and an Amazing Video

Relevant Magazine Online ran a fantastic article called “Is There a Place for Creative Christians? Please take a few moments and check it out. Here’s the link.

One contributor to the article was Linnea Gabriella Spransy. I had not seen her work before but it is amazing. She shot a video of the making of one of her pieces, which I found mesmerizing. At the risk of being too derivative, I may have to try this technique in one of my future videos.

Have you found your place as a creative Christian?
Tell us about it in the comments.

In the trenches…

A friend of mine and I were having a discussion the other day. He is a Christian but does not have a “home church.” He was telling me of listening to a message online from a church he has attended a few times. The message was on the tithe which he felt was in error as it did not take New Testament teaching into account. I am not sure where I stand on that. I get where he’s coming from on one hand, (God owns and deserves everything) but on the other hand I know how many churches struggle financially because the members of the body do not even come close to the tithe. I found myself getting too emotional in the conversation because as a pastor, I need all the help I can get. Believers foregoing corporate worship is a sore point with me.

Yet part of me understands it. A wise man one told me that ministry is easy, except for the people. It’s true we come together with lots of baggage, rough edges and wounds and we often manage to hurt each other. We have difficulty coming under authority, humbling ourselves and forgiving. All those traits are relational time bombs waiting to go off. Yet I maintain the answer is not to give up gathering for corporate worship.

I guess the thing that hits me the hardest is the fact that while I acknowledge that in some ways the church is broken, I also feel a call to do my part in fixing it. For that, I don’t need people who will wander in as consultants, tell me what’s wrong with me and then bounce out of my life again. I’ve been pastoring the church of the revolving door for too long.

Don’t tell me what’s wrong with my church, or even how to fix my church and then walk away. That’s not what I need. I’m not infallible and I do make mistakes, but I don’t need a consultant and I don’t need a critic. I need some folks who will climb into the trenches with me, come to the word with me and hash it out with me, battle by my side and help me. I need people who care about the vision God has given and the Kingdom of God enough to get their hands dirty. Your idea may be perfectly valid, you may even be right, but don’t expect me to change anything I do in the name of God before you show me with your faithfulness that I can trust you. Don’t give me an idea or something to do unless you are willing to put your own effort behind it, and for pete sake, don’t tell me I have to do something because God told you I do. The people I trust most are the ones who will join me in the trenches.

Funny my friend would tell me the church is not the building, it’s the people and he would be right about that but I don’t believe that the church will ever be fixed from the outside. I believe the church is a body that needs all the parts to function. We can’t amputate ourselves and really make a difference.

Plug back in and join us in the trenches.

My Brooklyn Art Library Sketchbook Project is Done

As usual I wanted to do a project that would share the Gospel. From their list of approved themes, I chose the theme Villains and Heroes, because as any long-time reader of this blog knows, I believe all heroes are patterned after the attributes of Jesus. I did this very simple project to show what some of those attributes are. I hope you like it. This project was a lot of fun and if you have a spare $25, I heartily recommend giving the next one a try.
For more information on the Sketchbook Project go to http://www.thesketchbookproject.com

Can’t see the images? Here are the links:
http://www.amokarts.com/hnv/hnv1.jpg
http://www.amokarts.com/hnv/hnv2.jpg
http://www.amokarts.com/hnv/hnv3.jpg
http://www.amokarts.com/hnv/hnv4.jpg
http://www.amokarts.com/hnv/hnv5.jpg
http://www.amokarts.com/hnv/hnv6.jpg
http://www.amokarts.com/hnv/hnv7.jpg
http://www.amokarts.com/hnv/hnv8.jpg
http://www.amokarts.com/hnv/hnv9.jpg
http://www.amokarts.com/hnv/hnv10.jpg
http://www.amokarts.com/hnv/hnv11.jpg
http://www.amokarts.com/hnv/hnv12.jpg
http://www.amokarts.com/hnv/hnv13.jpg
http://www.amokarts.com/hnv/hnv14.jpg
http://www.amokarts.com/hnv/hnv15.jpg
http://www.amokarts.com/hnv/hnv16.jpg
http://www.amokarts.com/hnv/hnv17.jpg
http://www.amokarts.com/hnv/hnv18.jpg