Artists MUST Fail!

Probably not what you wanted to hear first thing this morning but it’s true. I posted a picture a few days ago that said something to the effect of “In order to live the creative life we must lose the fear of being wrong.” Artists need to fail. We can’t help it. We create things that have not existed before. It’s like the old saying, you have to break some eggs to make an omelet. Fear of failure will cripple us creatively. Fail boldly. Give your best, create with conviction and know this, it’s not always going to work, but you will be very limited as an artist if you only do what’s safe.

Don’t be afraid to fail! Remember the Bible tells us that we were not given a spirit that makes us a slave again to fear. What we were given was a Spirit of Sonship. We are God’s children, He’s our Abba, literally our daddy. When we set out with all our hearts to please and honor Him, I have a feeling even our failures hang on Daddy’s refrigerator door.

Create with great love and fear no art.

How can we spread the word?

Hi all,
I would really love to expand the reach of this blog. You may have noticed that I have made the blog the amokarts website now to keep it new and keep it fresh. I basically want this blog to do two things (besides glorifying God) I want it to be a place where Christian creatives can come for support, ideas, help and encouragement and I want it to be a place church leaders can come and find resources to reach their communities and empower the creatives in their midst.

One of the best ways to do that is for those who are regular readers to tell their friends about the site. Share the posts, repost them, retweet them, email your friends and tell them what you get out of being a part of this community.

Also please remember, I am here to help you. Whether you want me to come to your event in person or just have a question that can be handled via email please contact me.

Lastly, if you have ways I can be more helpful to people, I’d love to hear them and will do what I can to put them into action.

My Vision of Art Ministry

I have a dear friend and true brother who has started an art ministry. It warms my heart to see another jumping into the fray of trying to use his gifts to serve the Lord and help others to do the same. But there’s a problem, and it’s a problem many of us will run into. The problem is a different vision. Some folks in his circle want to take the ministry in a different direction. They desire a more cultured high art approach. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that and it is also a wonderful mission field but it sort of goes in the opposite direction.

My friend’s vision is more like mine. I’m not really about judging and jurying and all that other stuff. I’m not really about the excellent artist, I’m about the person who wants to do art and needs a place to fit and a way to let out what’s going on inside them. It’s very similar to evangelism for me in that I want to meet people right where they are, artistically and spiritually. I can’t ask someone to be the best artist in the world after all, Rembrandt is dead. I want to help them connect with their creator as they create. If God wants to make them great artists, He will, I just want to connect them with the source of their gift.

Does that mean I’m not about excellence? Yes and no. I want everyone to give their best and so does God. It’s entirely possible and hopefully probable that your best today will not be as good as your best tomorrow. I want to see people grow and mature. The other thing is with art more than possibly anything else we learn from our failures. If we only do those things at which we excel we’ll be very limited. It’s two different philosophies, both are good but in my vision,to quote my friends Dean Estes and Jessie Nilo from VineArts Boise, everybody gets to play.

Check out this video. Simon Cowell almost didn’t let this kid play.

The arts are a great equalizer. It allows those of us who have a hard time fitting to find where we belong, but that will only happen if everybody who wants to gets to play.

The arts are so subjective, one man’s great is another man’s garbage. They allow us to show what’s in our souls. Everyone has art inside them. Everyone can create. Everyone has a gift from God. We only really find them when we are allowed to release them. There has got to be a place where the gatekeepers are restrained to maintaining the social order, leaving quality control in the hands of the creator and the Creator. What I put on the canvas is secondary. I want to paint on people’s hearts. There has to be a place where we can give our best with what we have today and grow into what we can be tomorrow.

That’s my vision. Everyone can play.

Confidence Without Guts

Seth Godin posted this, and while he posted in for business folks it definitely applies to artists as well…

Too many MBAs are sent into the world with bravado and enthusiasm and confidence.

The problem is that they also lack guts.

Guts is the willingness to lose. To be proven wrong, or to fail.

No one taught them guts in school. So much money at stake, so much focus on the numbers and on moving up the ladder, it never occurs to anyone to talk about the value of failure, of smart risk, of taking a leap when there are no guarantees.

It’s easy to be confident when you have everything aligned, when the moment is perfect. It’s also not particularly useful.

Story (A Creative Challenge)

Think about your favorite story ever. What makes it your favorite story? Is it the setting, the characters, the conflict, the way the hero rises up to save the day? Now let me ask you another question. What kind of story are you living? Blue Like Jazz author Donald Miller, found himself in a strange place. He wrote a memoir about his life as a Christian and someone decided to make a movie about it. Turning the memoir into a movie with a plot and action, heroes and villains, led him to that very question—what kind of story was He living and the follow up, how could he live a better story? Miller defines story as “a character who wants something and overcomes conflict to get it.”

Look at the story of your life right now. What is it you want (the goal)? What stands between you and your dream (the conflict)? How can you overcome the conflict to reach your goal? Create something that expresses you reaching your goal. What will it look like to reach your goal?

Take the challenge yourself and submit links in the comments below, I can’t wait to see what you come up with.

(Excerpt from Dave’s Upcoming Book, A Year in Art—52 Creative Challenges, Coming soon!)

IllustrationFriday.com Challenge: Swamp

The first thing I thought of when I saw the word swamp was swamped, perhaps that is because of my level of busyness lately. Here’s my response.

If you’re in a place where you feel swamped, maybe it’s time to pull back a little. Remember what Jesus said to the weary and burdened?

He said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

He doesn’t want us running around overburdened and miserable. He wants us to live lives filled with joy and peace. He knows we all have our limits. It’s part of the reason the Lord instituted a Sabbath. Hey, God even rested at the end of creation. If he took a break what makes you think you don’t need one.

The world will keep turning if you take a break.

Take one… It’s good for the soul…

When Your Vision and Your Reality Don’t Match

I had a vision for a major project several years ago. The project is ongoing, and I’ve worked really hard at it, but it looks nothing like what God showed me. What should I do?

Well the first thing is pretty simple, did you hear from God? In my case I believe with every fiber of my being that I did. So the next thing to explore is why the gap between the vision and the reality?

Disobedience? Have I strayed from God’s call? Am I in sin doing something which God cannot bless? I’ve searched my heart and while I am far from perfect, I don’t think that’s the case here. I’m trying to serve the Lord with honor and integrity.

Am I not doing something I need to do? I think this is part of it…

Do I not have everything I need? This is absolutely part of it but here’s the thing. Am I being faithful with what I have right now or am I wasting my time lamenting what I do not have? I do get stuck there sometimes, but I have to move on in faithfulness. My father has everything and everyone I need and my suspicion is these things (and people)will be released as I am faithful.

Am I just impatient? YES!!! but God’s timing is perfect so I have to trust that if I am doing what I am called to do, God will act on my behalf until the vision becomes reality.

The time between a vision and that vision becoming reality can be frustrating or invigorating and the choice is largely up to us. God always knows what He’s doing. In those places of frustration, I have a choice, I can quit or I can persevere. I can blame others or I can examine myself. I can be faithful or unfaithful. I choose to press on, giving God my best each day. That’s really the only thing we can do.

Trust God with your vision and keep walking toward it.

Step by step, faithfully…

IllustrationFriday.com Challenge: Shades III

What can I say? This one spawned a lot of ideas.

IllustrationFriday.com posted a challenge to illustrate the word shades. I kept thinking about window shades which led me to think about the things we keep hidden. Shades keep things hidden and they keep the light out. The cure to the stuff we hide in the dark is exposing it to the Light. That’s what this video represents. Music: Monster by Skillet.

Help Needed

I was out this past weekend at the Call 2 Ministry Conference. It was amazing. I had the opportunity to speak into the lives of young people exploring a call to ministry. It once again cemented something in my heart. This ministry called A.M.O.K. is my calling and what I want to do with the rest of my life. It’s a lot more than painting pictures and telling stories for Jesus. I want to use my gift to spread the Gospel and encourage believers to find and use their unique gifts to serve the Lord and spread the Gospel. I want to be able to go wherever I’m needed and help as many as I can.

You see there is a huge need. First of all, the majority of the people in this world are still in need of a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. The harvest is ripe and the workers are few. I feel a call to the harvest and the workers. I want to be out there sharing the Gospel, but I also want to be showing and encouraging others to use their unique gifts to serve the Lord. I want to be out there helping congregations to find and create ministries for the people in their midst so that they’re better equipped to reach their communities.

The arts and the media are one of the most powerful tools to spread a message in the history of the world and while I believe my call is to the whole Church the way God has gifted me puts me in a unique place to reach these often underutilized people. The next C.S. Lewis may well be in the church now. The next Coppola, Rembrandt, Beethoven and Van Halen may maybe out there too, not to mention the geniuses and the masters of the new media. We need to reach them to put their gifts to work for the good of the Kingdom. Again the harvest is ripe and I want to be used to bring it in. I need your help.

How can you help:

1. Pray.
I am building a prayer list and a prayer team for this ministry. If you’d like to be a part of it, please contact me at amokarts@aol.com.

2. Spread the Word.
I post this blog and create the videos and resources I post here to further the Kingdom and the Gospel. The more people that know about it the better. Repost it, tweet it, share it on your Facebook page, email it to your friends, use the videos in your worship services. It’s been freely given, so freely give. The more people that know what we’re doing here, there better.

3. Bring me in for your next program/service/etc.
I love to paint in worship and do creative things to bring forth a message from the Word, and I’d love to paint for your conference, concert, service, etc. And I don’t just paint, I do workshops on a variety of topics, including using the creative arts in ministry. I create evangelistic programs, youth retreats, revivals and more. I’ve been a pastor for nearly 10 years and was a youth leader for five years before that. I’m a story teller/parable maker. I’m an experienced preacher/speaker who believes that the Bible is the unchanging Word of God. These opportunities help to support and further this ministry. You can see the recommendations of some of the people I’ve worked with here.

4. Donate
Donations will also help further this ministry and help me to reach more people and congregations. I’ve not yet incorporated this ministry, instead for now, it’s a ministry of my church, New Creation Fellowship in Reading, PA. If you’d like to donate, you can mail a check to New Creation Fellowship, 3646 Pottsville Pike, Reading, PA 19605. Please designate AMOKArts on the memo line. Thanks for the way you have supported this ministry over the years. I appreciate your support more than you could ever know.

I’ve told you how you can help me, now here is the bigger question.

How can I help you? Because I want to.

IllustrationFriday.com Challenge Shades: Part II

Christians are called to be the light of the world and to let our lights shine. Now let’s be clear on this, we have no light of our own. Instead we reflect the light of Christ. That’s our ultimate job and our calling. Sometimes though we don’t do a very good job. Our actions distort the light and shade it so that the light doesn’t shine as it should and we end up not reflecting the light Jesus would have. It’s time to clean up our act, put off our SHADES and shine. That’s what this illustration represents.