Consensus

My denomination is in a strange place right now. There is some division going on among us and it is really heart breaking. At the core of it all is an issue of consensus. We are constantly taking votes to see who is right, but there is a problem with that, the minority side refuses to back down from their position and so we have disunity and distraction. In a way I don’t blame them, they’re convinced they’re right. As a result of this conflict, we have been dragged away from what the church should really be doing for over 30 years because we can’t come to consensus.

Who said we had to?

Here’s the thing. In America we love democracy, and in government that is a good thing, but the church can never be a democracy. In case you don’t believe me, ask yourself this question: Has the majority ever really followed Jesus?

The church is not a democracy. The church is called to follow Jesus. He speaks we obey. He says, “Jump,” we say, “how high?” He commands and we say, “Yes, Lord?” It’s the only proper response, after all if we say not to the Lord is He really Lord (in our lives)? We don’t need consensus, we need obedience.

I know what you might be thinking, “Didn’t Jesus pray we’d be united? Isn’t consensus really about finding unity?” Looking at the results before me, I would have to say it isn’t working. A closer look at John 17:21-23 reveals the key to unity, “that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: 23 I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” Does Jesus pray for complete unity in the Church? Yes, but there are terms to the unity. We may be one as He and the Father are one. Jesus and the Father are one because they Jesus was fully obedient to God (anything less and He could not be our Savior). If we are to be One like that, we need to be one IN CHRIST, in other words we need to be united in obedience to Jesus and His teachings. It’s not enough to be united. We need to be united in Christ. We need to be united in following the Word. Consensus is not enough. We need to follow Jesus.

In 1 Corinthians 11, the Apostle Paul gives a chilling indictment of the Church he founded there. He says “17 In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good.” I wonder if our meetings do the same as we fight over the issues of the day instead of saying, thus sayeth the Lord. If you move onto verse 18 you see he is displeased with their division. “In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it.” Then he seems to show the one good grounds for division. “19 No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval.” In other words, sometimes there will be divisions because sometimes someone will be wrong and you can’t just unite with them for the sake of unity.

We need to be united in Christ. Consensus is not enough.

Bring my Christmas Presentation “The Gift” to Your Church

I’ve been developing this presentation for a few years now and am excited to offer it to churches. Due to the amount of equipment needed to do this presentation, I can only do it in places within driving distance.

Here are the details…

Help your community receive The Gift.

Dear Pastor,
I am writing to offer you my evangelistic Christmas program, The Gift. It’s a unique way of telling the Christmas story through live visual art (painting), video, drama, and the Word of God. This 90 minute to 2 hour program explores why Jesus came, what He came to do and what it means to you. It will be a blessing to established believers and could be life changing to those who have not yet accepted God’s marvelous gift, Jesus Christ. An outline of the evening includes;

The Gift: An introductory video which tells the story of Jesus from birth to 
 resurrection.

The Names of Jesus: Prior to His birth, angels came to Jesus’ parents and tell them three names for their soon-arriving son. They say He should be named Jesus, He is Christ the Lord and He will be called Immanuel. Each of these names has clues into why He came. During this part of the presentation, I will explore these names and their meaning while creating two works of art related to the names.

The Cross of Sin: This part of the program takes us to Good Friday, a crucial part of why Jesus came. The Bible says, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for , so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 

(2 Corinthians 5:21) Using a large wooden cross, I will demonstrate what the gift cost our Lord, a major key to appreciating His worth.

The Collector: Using live painting, video and drama, I will tell the story of an art collector who loses his only son in a war. This fictional story demonstrates the importance of receiving the Gift, God’s only Son, Jesus.

As the evening comes to a close, I will sum up the evening and give an invitation to receive God’s Gift. It should be a very memorable evening for all involved. I will create three original paintings (two in ten minutes or less each and one slightly longer). Two of those paintings will be available for purchase at the end of the evening. (This can be handled a number of different ways.)

Due to the amount of materials I need to bring, I am only offering this presentation to churches within driving distance of my church in Reading, Pennsylvania (2-3 hours, 100 mile radius, I will possibly go further than this if I can arrange for three services in an area.) It is available weekend (Fri, Sat, Sun) evenings between Thanksgiving and Christmas (contact me as to the availability of other evenings). Costs for the program are $100 for materials and a free will offering. If the location is beyond 50 miles (100 miles round trip) from Reading, PA, travel expenses of 50 cents a mile will be added. Churches beyond the 100 mile radius (200 mile round trip) should also include one evening’s lodging and breakfast.

I realize that many churches already have a Christmas program in place for the season. Think of this as a supplemental program, an additional community outreach and an evangelistic meeting. It’s another way of sharing the Good News and helping people to receive The Gift. I hope we can work together to bring God’s greatest gift to many in your community.
Thank you,

Dave Weiss

AMOKArts.com

589 Stone Road

Mohrsville, PA 19541

610-926-0488

amokarts@aol.com

To download a printer friendly version of this letter to share with your church or pastor, please click here. For additional details, click the logo above.

Was I Too Harsh?

The other day I posted a posting that bordered on a rant about church signs. It’s a peeve of mine and perhaps I should know better than to post the peeves. I am in no position to be critical and a critical spirit definitely came out in that post. I do apologize.

I should say this a different way. Your sign is one of the ways you introduce your church to the world, correct? You spend your time out there in the sun and the wind and the cold and the rain fumbling with all those little letters for a reason, right? What is the reason? Is it to get a little chuckle or is it to get the people who pass your church every day to look at it and say, “I wonder what’s going on in there” until they eventually come in and check you out? My guess is, because I’ve never met a pastor who doesn’t care about the souls outside our walls, that the second one is the motivation.

So let’s give it our best. Giving it your best might mean giving it to someone else. Have someone impartial check out your postings. Are they working? Do they do what you want them to do? Then ask yourself is there someone in the congregation that has a gift for writing, maybe a gifted Tweeter? Could the sign be a ministry for them? The upside of this is they get to fumble with the little letters in the heat, wind, rain, cold, etc.

The guiding verse of this blog (and AMOKArts in general) is 1 Peter 4:10: “Each one should use whatever gifts he has received to serve others…” Helping someone to use his or her gift, even in such a small way, will help to get him/her to be more invested in the ministry of your church, take something off your plate, and help to put your church’s best foot forward.

My New Presentation

Defeating the 20/80 Rule with Be the Body
• Does your church have enough people to get everything done?
• Does your church have a small group of people who do most of the work?
• Does your church have a large group of people on the fringes and barely connected?
When you call upon your congregation to do the kinds of service Jesus commanded do they look back at you with a look that says, “Isn’t that what we pay you for?”
There’s a rule in most human organizations including, unfortunately, the church, which states that on average about 20 percent of the people do 80% of the work. This leaves your most faithful servants doing many things for which they are neither called nor gifted and nearing burnout while the rest of the congregation is only slightly invested in the work of the Kingdom. This is not the church that God intended.
I was in danger of becoming one of those 80 percent people and then something amazing happened. I went from struggling new believer who could barely read scripture aloud with a profound fear of public speaking to ordained minister, pastor and speaker. It wasn’t all a smooth ride and it didn’t happen overnight but it happened and I can trace it all back to one event. My pastor found a Kingdom use for my unusual gift and it changed my life. I’m convinced that there are thousands (maybe millions) of people in the church of Jesus Christ who are in the same boat. They have tremendous, God-given potential to do great things—things that will tremendously expand the Kingdom and they’re just waiting for someone to find their gift, ignite their passion and show them how to be what they were created to be to the glory of God. We are all “God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do!”
That’s what my new presentation “Be the Body” is all about. Through the use of my story, artistic gifts, interactive projects and preaching the Word of God, I will challenge the “many parts” in your congregation to become fully invested members of the “one body” of Christ. Topics covered include:
• What it means to be the body of Christ? 

• How to do and be your part.

• What to lay down and what to take up.

• Maintaining unity and more.


This can be anywhere from a single message, a series of revival/Spiritual renewal services even a weekend retreat. I really feel a strong leading to go out into the church and call people into their God given calling. The guiding verse of this ministry is 1 Peter 4:10, Each one should use WHATEVER GIFTS he has received to serve others. I would love to come to your church or event and share with your congregation. Contact me, Dave Weiss at AMOKArts@aol.com
God bless,
Dave Weiss

www.amokarts.com

Anyone need a speaker/painter?

Dave Weiss Speaking Ministry Flyer

AMOKArts.com founder looking for opportunities to speak and/or paint, paint and/or speak in worship, conferences, etc. See my booking page or contact amokarts@aol.com for more information.

Offense

Sometimes one needs to reassess one’s purpose. The purpose of this blog has always been to help creatives to use their gifts in ministry as well as their Spiritual lives in general. For that purpose, a few days ago, I posted my cartoon reflections from our recent church conference. I sketched the cartoons as I listened to some very difficult business sessions. They expressed my emotions in the moment and posting it was sort of like sharing my diary with the world. These were honest impressions of the things I was feeling, a sort of journal, if you will. My hope in sharing this was that the folks who regularly read this blog would see ways to use their gift to deal with their internal struggles in a positive outlet. That was the purpose. Now here’s what happened.

The cartoons were posted to at least one website for my denomination. That’s okay with me, I post these ideas in the hopes that they will spread. The good news is the previous record number of hits in one day for this blog was tripled and we had some really good interaction as a result. The bad news is several people were offended by my cartoons. Offense was not my intent but it happened.

So what can we do about offense? Well the first most honest answer is almost nothing. Nearly anything we do in this world is going to offend someone and the only way an artist can be completely inoffensive is to do work that will please everyone. I doubt it’s possible and if we tried the work would probably be completely bland and say nothing. When it comes to creative self expression, with few exceptions, everything you do will offend someone. Add a faith component to your work and the potential for offense goes up exponentially.

Perhaps the best advice I can give is to avoid being intentionally offensive for the purpose of being offensive. Don’t be hurtful. Adhere to the golden rule and love others. Speak the truth in love. From that point on, realize almost everything will upset someone. Listen to your detractors with an open heart and make a decision. If you’ve been wrong, take it down (I did that with one of my cartoons) but if you feel you’re right, sign your name to it, own it and stand by it. We can’t always be inoffensive but we must always be loving. Sometimes speaking the truth in love is offensive. Neither truth nor love can be omitted. Truth without love is mean and love without truth is a lie.

Offend as rarely as possible but sooner or later if you are true to your calling, you will offend. Jesus couldn’t avoid it, neither can we.

The Passion of the Christ(ian)

Wow, what a day! First of all, I want to thank whoever posted the link to my conference cartoons on your site. Please tell me who you are and about your site so I can share it. When I awoke this morning at 5:00 I was amazed to see that we had passed 150 hits for the day and at this moment we have surpassed the record number of hits for the day. What’s funny is I almost didn’t post those cartoons. It was sort of like posting my diary for the world to see. The conversation it has caused thus far has convinced me it was the right move and I thank all those who have joined the conversation. The conversation has led me to a topic I have been thinking of for some time. That topic is passion.

The denomination I am a part of is called a “traditional peace church” and to be really honest, the peace position always drove me a little crazy. It’s still a struggle of mine. My passion is evangelism and in this world it just kind of seemed that there were too many people who had to be reached to deal with an “unattainable goal” like world peace. I used to say things like “lay down your peace sign and take up your cross” and “World peace? We don’t have peace in our families and in our pews and you want to talk world peace?. The pacifists really drove me crazy. Why were they so emphatic about peace? There are more important things to be done.

Lately though I’ve been seeing something that has helped. It’s called passion. I’m coming to believe that passion is something God puts in us—something that fires us up and motivates us—something that causes us to need to act. Maybe God has made me passionate about evangelism and them passionate about peace and someone else passionate about something else and on and on and on. What if instead of being frustrated by one another, instead of wondering why they can’t be passionate about what we are passionate about, we cheered each other on? What if we realized we’re all on the same team with the same ultimate goal? What would happen if we all gave our best to our God given passions and loved each other? What would happen if diversely passionate people worked together for the good of the Kingdom of God? Seems to me we might just have a better functioning body of Christ. After all a body is not made up of one part but of many.

Don’t follow your passions, follow Christ, then let Him use your passions to further His Kingdom.

The Conference Art Videos

While I am recapping things, I wanted to share the videos I made for the conference. I posted these individually as they were finished but I thought I would put them all together in one post in case anyone missed them. For those who don’t know, I was asked to paint some paintings for the arts association booth. These were then silent auctioned and the money was given to a charity to help the hungry. I did six paintings, five of which were based on the texts for the speakers’ messages and the sixth was just my thoughts on the things that divide us over what unites us. I call it the tie that binds. I decided to make videos of each of the paintings in progress so they could be shown at the booth to increase interest in the pieces (and money raised at the auction) but there was really no room to set up my personal DVD player there, so they went unseen. I hope these bless you and show you another way to use your gifts to communicate the truth of the Gospel. Please feel free to share them if you like in any way you like. If you’d like a DVD containing all six of these videos, I can send you one, the cost is ten dollars which includes shipping and handling. Contact me at amokarts@aol.com to order.





A sixth video based on the resurrected Jesus meeting his disciples on the sea shore is also included.

Post Conference Reflections

I apologize for not posting in a little while. It’s taken some time to process all I saw at our conference. This was my first experience and it was really memorable for me. Over all I enjoyed it. It was great connecting with people from all over the country, reconnecting with old friends and meeting new ones. The Worship was great, as were the training sessions. And then there were the business sessions. While I found them informative and well run, it was hard to see the division that exists between us. These kinds of things feel very political and I hate politics. Because I never leave home without my sketchbook, I was able to sort of cartoon the journey. See if you can find the image where I just lost it. In the end, this conference was a microcosm for all of Christendom, there are many things that divide us, but there is One that unites us. When we turn our focus off our division and on to Him, He sets all things right. Blest Be the Tie that Binds.

The First Follower

An interesting point on leadership and following from Derek Sivers, founder of CDBaby.com Check out the video here.

There is a great lesson here in starting a movement. I praise God for the people in this little movement called AMOKArts.