One of those God Moments

I was preaching at a meeting not too long ago and I got the opportunity to share one of my favorite stories. I found the video online of me sharing the story and thought I would share it here.

Sometimes God asks us to do things we don’t want to do. The painting in this video is one of the best images the Lord has ever given me. I love to paint it, but I was in a place working with all these really creative artists and I wanted to do something really cool and different. I was praying for a new image but I kept feeling like God was pushing me to paint this piece again… The video tells the story

The end of the story is I gave the painting to the girl. I’ve painted that painting probably a dozen times now, and I have never kept it more than a few days. The image of Christ as lion and lamb, king and sacrifice, savior and Lord is not meant to be kept, it’s meant to be shared.

Responding to Controversial Art Part 2

A few days ago I posted what I thought our response should be to controversial art. This video is the story of a young pastor who lived it out. It”s a little long but watching it til the end will give you a real blessing. Please check this out and spread it around. This is a true image of what it means to speak the truth in love and the impact it can have in a world where love can be hard to find. It’s not my own work so I can ask this without hesitation or fear of self promotion… Please, please, please take this video viral.

We often talk about how to deal with people with whom we disagree. While others protested and attacked, this guy shared the Gospel and it made all the difference.

What to Do With Offensive Art

A new friend wrote me to tell me of her concern over a controversial art exhibit in her nation (the Phillipines) You can see the article here.

This was my response. I looked over the article you sent and it is quite upsetting. These kinds of things happen so often here in the U.S. that they seem to rarely get noticed. As artists and Christ followers we have two choices, we can either join the protest against this type of stuff (which in some cases is necessary) or we can do what I think is better which is to create more and better art that brings God glory and encourage others to use their God given creativity as well. The church used to be the number one patron of the arts, I believe it’s time for this to happen again. We are servants of the true creator, why should the church not be the most creative place in the community?

I usually shy away from censorship because I feel like if we back it we will receive it and the church in the US has already received more than it’s fair share. The better move is always to use our God-given creativity to give people something better.

IllustrationFriday Challenge: Swell

I’m late getting this one up mainly because this was the final weekend of my run in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. What was funny was IllustrationFriday.com posted the challenge word for the week and it was “SWELL.” My son joked every time I got a compliment that my head would swell. I’ve received applause before in my life, but the crowds for this show were incredible. They really supported us. It’s the kind of thing that could go to a person’s head so I thought this was a good time to go tongue in cheek. My head didn’t actually swell, this cast was so great and it was so much fun. So Chris, this one’s for you.

P.S. Were I struggling with a swelled head, I would probably have to remember this verse. Romans 12:3 3 “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.”

Reflections on Joseph II Being on a Team

This one is more of a thank you note on an old dream realized. Performing is something I wanted to do from early childhood but then life happened. I spent a lot of my childhood as a human target for the other kids and I buried the idea of performing. I became a visual artist and it’s been a great life, but I always sort of wondered if I could perform. The last few weeks I’ve been “living the dream” in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat with Alpha Omega Players. Today marks the last of the performances of this show and I have to say I am so glad I did it.
Being a visual artist can be a very solitary existence but being in a show allows one to be part of a team—part of something bigger than yourself. I really encourage every artist to try some outside your comfort zone and something that allows (or forces) you to be part of a team. The rewards are endless. Thanks to Mark and everyone else for putting up with me as I learned this show. It was an experience I will never forget.

Two Events I Am Really Excited About

I wanted to alert you about two events in which I will be participating. These are put on by the Crossover Group. The first is Snowstorm 2011 Dec. 27 to 30, 2011 at Winterplace, WV

and the second is Saturate 2012 at Great Wolf Lodge in Concord NC.

If you’re anywhere near these venues or if you’d like to plan a trip check out the websites by clicking the images. I hope to see you there and if you have an event you’d like to have me paint and or speak at, contact me at amokarts@aol.com.

The Challenge Continues

On January 1, I set out with a goal to do a piece of art every day. Well I missed days here and there, but I made them all up and more. It’s amazing what one can do when he is inspired. What could you do if you put your mind to it? What do you need to do? What steps must you take to accomplish what you have set out to do? Pray about your goal, follow God’s lead and do it.
Here’s what I’ve done so far. http://www.amokarts.com/ayearinart.html

Who Do You Say That I Am? #5 Lamb of God

Who Do You Say That I Am? #5 Lamb of God

The Bible tells us “the wages of sin is death.” From the time God put the law into place, He gave us a visual reminder of this fact. There had to be a sacrifice for sin, an atoning sacrifice had to be made. We sinned, now something had to die. His selection to pay this price? One of the most beautiful, innocent things He ever created, a perfect lamb had to die because of the sins of the people. Something of value reminded them that sin had a cost, but it goes beyond that. The innocent paid the price for the guilty. Whether they knew it or not, it was a symbol of what was to come.

John the Baptist knew what was coming. When he pointed out Jesus to the surrounding crowd, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the Sin of the World.” The sacrificial system prepared us to receive out Savior—the innocent Son of God who willingly laid down His life for your sins and mine. He is the Lamb of God. Have you accepted His gift of salvation? He paid a high price for you because you were worth it to Him. Receive Him today.

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.

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.