Too Busy for Politics…

So one of the things I am really struggling with right now is social media. I have sort of a love/hate relationship with it. One one hand, I have made so many wonderful friends and contacts through social media. I mean my arts ministry probably would not have gained nearly what it has were it not for all the things I have been able to share on social media. When I think of how hard it was to get the word out at the start of my art career compared to now, it’s unbelievable. A keystrokes and clicks and I can send a message to the world or at least the people who want to hear from me.

Of course the downside is everyone can send a message to the world with a few keystrokes and clicks. Not that I would want to deprive anyone of their free speech, but I used to teach my sons that they don’t have to say everything they think. That lesson seems to be lost on social media. We may also want to check in on what this really smart guy once said, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” By the way, that was God. This has been exacerbated ten fold since the U.S. presidential election. Man it is getting ugly out there.

But here’s the thing, to quote a semi-famous internet person, “Ain’t nobody got time for that!” or at least I don’t. I cast my vote and the choice was made. At this point I have two choices. I can either allow myself to be distracted from my calling to lament a bunch of stuff I can do nothing about or I can buckle down and do the things I was called and created to do. I choose the latter because at the end of the day, God has this world under control. Leaders rise and fall. We always assume that the leader we get are there to make us happy and comfortable. Sometimes we get leaders because we are being judged by a loving God who wants to turn us around. God is sovereign and He commanded us to pray for our leaders. I am not called to politics (thank God), I am called to sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I am not called to get one man out of Washington. I am called to share the message that keeps people out of hell and that, my friends, is a full time job. I’m too busy for politics.

If you’re called to politics, run for office. If you’re called to something else, don’t get distracted. Do the work you are called to do, the best you can, to the glory of God. You have very little control of what happens in the White House and a whole lot of control over what happens in your house.

Be the best you you can be. Help all the people you can. Do the best work you can do and trust God. He will never steer you wrong.

The Mundane

Well today is one of those days. I love what I do, I love preaching, teaching, writing, creating, pretty much everything I do, but of course in order to keep doing those things, there are some things that just need to be done. I call those things “The Mundane.” For example I have several live painting opportunities over the next few weeks, and I am really excited to get back in the swing of my speaking ministry. In order to paint though, I have to have something to paint on. So today will require a trip to Home Depot to get my boards cut to size. I paint on Masonite because canvasses the size that I paint, in the volume that I paint would cost an insane amount. When I finish that mission I have to bring them home and paint them all. No this won’t be fun art painting, just covering them all with a coat of either or white paint. Boring! After that, there are a few more household chores on the agenda. I also need to update my calendar and prepare for a few meetings. Basically this is the “not fun” stuff in a pretty fun life.

So why write about something that is quite literally as interesting as watching paint dry? Because it has to be done and the worst thing we can do is put it off. The thing you need to remember about the mundane is it becomes very important especially if you neglect it til the last minute. Don’t do that. Take the boring stuff on and get it out of the way. The sooner you do that, the sooner you get on to the fun stuff, and I think we can agree…

The fun stuff is awesome!

The Most Creative Thing I Do Every Week

Nearly every week I am blessed with an awesome opportunity to be creative. There are a lot of other people who get what I get to do every week too, and quite a few of them don’t see what they do as creative. I respectfully submit those people are wrong. I’ve seen people bring such amazing perspective to their work week in and week out and yet they don’t believe they are creative. What is this activity? Preaching the Word of God.

Maybe it’s because they have a skewed perspective of what creativity is. A lot of people can see creativity only in the realm of art, yet preaching and especially preparing to preach is an art. Others would shy away from calling our work creative because they fear that people will think the are straying from the unchanging Word of God if they consider their work creative. Nothing could be further from the truth. Some also don’t want to say they’re creative for fear that their work will be seen as frivolous and some worry that if they see their work as creative, they will attract attention away from the Creator. I think this perspective is skewed as well.

Here’s how it happens for me. I pray seeking God for the idea, the text, etc. When I am led to something I study and I pray some more. God gives me all I need, and then I seek Him for the way to help the people He has given me to take the message He has given deep into their hearts. I don’t want to do this just so people are entertained. I desire life change and I think God does as well. I bring all the creativity (which God gave me) I can muster to the task at hand and through the Work of the Spirit, I try to bring my people the best message I can. I don’t mess with the message itself. God’s Word is perfect. I just do my best to bring the best presentation I can to what God has given. Preaching is the most creative thing I do all week. God and my congregation deserve no less.

God made you creative. Use it to His glory!

Attention!

I spend a considerable amount of time on this blog talking about how God uses our creations to draw attention to Himself. He uses us to create things that draw people to Him, so to speak. I know this is somewhat flawed but God’s grace to and through us is sometimes put into words, but what I am about to say next is not.

How much of YOUR attention does He have? How is your connection to God? How is your relationship with Him? How are your devotions and other Spiritual disciplines going? This is something crucial that cannot be overlooked. I’ll be the first to confess that this can be an issue for me. There are times where I feel a real disconnect. What that usually means, at least for me is that I am spending too much time trying to do for God and not enough time with God. My focus drifts to things that I need to get done and I usually get them done and I believe that is by God’s grace. Also by His grace, He allows them to be effective (though I do wonder how much more effective they would be if I were a little less driven and a little more focused on Him). I wonder how many people have been take off track with God because they are over busy and out of touch.

Guys, it’s this simple, He is the vine and we are the branches. He is our power. He is our source. Can we make it on our own? Probably for a little while, but it’s not what He desires and it’s not what I desire either. If you feel like your connection with God has faltered it’s time to take a look at what you’re doing and make some adjustments. Maybe you need a retreat, or just a day or two in prayer and the Word. If it’s gone on for a long time, you may need more.

One of the great things about His grace is, in that grace, I believe He makes us more sensitive to this happening. Does He have your full attention? Do you need to refocus? As Christian creatives our best work will always be born out of our connection to our Christ. Anything less is really not worthy of your time. always remember the One who created the universe took a Sabbath. And if He, having no need of rest took one, maybe your should. Do I have your attention?

Does He?

Memes Are Nothing!

So every day when I go on social media (anti-social media of late) I see all these people posting all these passionate memes about causes that just seem to keep these people awake at night. I’m sure I’ve been guilty of this too at times, and the irony that I made this post in the form of a meme is not lost on me, but here’s the thing. Anyone with a computer, or other web enabled device, and it’s even easier to repost someone else’s meme, but what does that accomplish.

I’m increasingly aware of the fact that we live in a generation that lives under the mistaken impression that talking about something is the same as doing something. It’s NOT. Posting something is easy, and maybe it will generate a little awareness, but more than often it just adds to the ugliness, but what if we took our passion and actually did something that would help someone else? Wouldn’t that be better? I think it would.

You might be asking what I am doing? Well the answer is probably not enough (I always feel like I could do more) and yet I am doing some things. I am not going to list them here that would sound like boasting and that’s not what I’m supposed to be about. Suffice it to say I am putting feet to my faith in the ways that present themselves and you should too. Everybody talks about how someone should do something. I’ve been in this world long enough to realize that someone is usually me and you. Maybe we need a few less memes and a little more me… You know, like in “”Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

Creativity in Church

Okay at the end of the day, that’s what this blog is all about, but some might ask “Do we really need it?” and “Can it be dangerous?”

Let’s answer the last question first. Of course it can be dangerous. Creativity is a wonderful thing, but when you are dealing with a world where absolute truth is reality, what we get creative with matters. So long as we kept creativity to the methods of delivery and never, ever get creative with the truth itself, there is no danger. The danger comes when we attempt to manipulate truth for the sake of creativity. We have the Word of God. It says what it means and means what it says. It’s perfect as it is and we have no need to alter it to fit any context or any whim of culture. Truth is truth and God’s Word is the truth that sets men free. Don’t mess with the truth.

Now to answer the question that will most likely be expressed as we attempt to bring our creativity into the church. Do we really need it? The answer to that question is a resounding yes. We live in a world of rapid change. We live in a world that is bombarded with messages and images on every side. The amount of messages people are confronted with on a daily basis is staggering and one of those messages is the Gospel. Now admittedly the message of the Gospel is empowered by God and therefore it has a huge advantage and yet I a convinced that a big part of the reason God has anointed some of us with creativity is that we might be used as tools to take that message forth and put it front and center in our world. What does it take to do that? God, the Holy Spirit’s anointing, literally God triggering our imaginations, inspiring us, and Him helping us to do the work required to bring it forth. This can manifest in a multitude of ways, but here’s what we need to do. Seek the Lord and do what He says. It’s nothing new but it works.

Go to God and get to work. All creation waits in eager expectation for the sons and daughters of God to be revealed.

Regrouping a Little

As you know, last year I did a piece of art every day for a year. This year my plan was to one up that by making a marketable product each day. I’ve succeeded in getting most of that done for the month, but here’s the problem, it’s hard to getting other things done. Oh I’m taking care of my church things and I’m doing what I need to do, but what am I gaining?

You see, I said marketable products and the idea behind making marketable products is to market them, to earn some money which I would love to apply to some of the projects I would love to do. You can see what I’ve got so far at dweisscreative.com. What I am seeing is the problem’s not in making the products. I love to create and I alway will. The problem is in the marketing. Getting the word out tat things are available. The project is not accomplishing what I was hoping it would and so I will need to regroup a little.

You see I already have a “marketable product.” It’s my speaking ministry and it’s more than a product, it’s a calling… It’s my calling and I need to devote more time to letting the world know about it. I need to apply my creativity to letting people know I have something to offer that will bless them and help me to do the thing God has called me to do. Will I stop making products? No, but I will view that as more of a hobby and get back to the work at hand. I have two books in the works right now and I have a few more things I am really feeling led on that will most likely happen this year.

Why do I share this? Because goals are great, but sometimes your goals can become unrealistic or counterproductive and they need to be adjusted. Sometimes we all need to regroup. A good way to assess this is to look at your calling and ask the question, “Will this (activity, project, etc.) help me live out my calling or is it a distraction. There’s nothing wrong with tweaking your goals for maximum effectiveness.

Sometimes you just have to regroup.

We Need Jesus!

I’ve been trying to express the way I’ve been feeling lately and that usually comes out in cartoons, So here’s a preview of this week’s Creacher.





Sometimes the best way to vent is to hit the old sketch board. Guys there is hope. We just need Jesus!

Anxiety

There have been times over the course of my life where I really have struggled with anxiety. This really came to a head a couple of years ago after a mild heart attack. I finally broke down and saw a psychologist. We only had a few sessions but it was very helpful. She brought out the idea that anxiety was usually the result of our fight or flight response. Namely when we feel threatened, the most primitive parts of our brains will take us to one of two places, fight or run (flight). The real anxiety comes when neither of this options is appropriate.

I remember this from being bullied as a kid. What was I going to do? If I ran from the bullies they would catch me, if I fought they would just beat me down, so instead I would just deal with anxiety that would manifest itself in a variety of symptoms.

My confession is, I’m kind of feeling that way again. I went on social media today and saw a post that was just horrible and blasphemous, maligning my God and my faith. I responded and was soon corrected by a friend asking me to understand where the people were coming from, basically blaming my faith for the existence of this kind of behavior and hatred. It wasn’t personal, but it sure felt like it. To be honest that really hurt me, because for the last 18 years I have devoted my life to helping people in the name of Jesus and I have met literally thousands of people trying to do the same thing. Are we perfect? No! Have we made mistakes? Yes! While we might disagree, we don’t hate, and no matter how many people try to position it that way, disagreement and hate are not the same thing. All those old feelings came flooding back. I made what to my mind was a very polite stand and really felt knocked down for it and to be honest, for the rest of the day I have kind of felt those old feelings. The stuff that’s going on in our world right now has me feeling like I don’t have a choice but to take whatever people dish out, because otherwise I’m the bad guy. And that’s when it hit me. This is the new bullying.

So what am I going to do in a world where I can’t fight and I can’t run? Well I’ve had enough of anxiety for at least one lifetime and I refuse to go back. So what am I going to do? Well, first of all I’m going to take the advice that I would give anyone else, which is forget about what you feel, go with what you know. I know who I am in Christ. I know what I am called to do and I know what I am commanded to do. I am called to speak the truth in love and creatively communicate His Gospel and I am commanded to love. If I’m doing those things and people still hate, it’s on them. Jesus told us this wouldn’t be easy, so I’ve got to stop expecting that it will. I’m commanded to love, even to love those people who could call themselves my enemies.

I guess what I am saying is this. Life is to short for anxiety. I have to do what’s right and trust God. You probably should do this too.

Heathens by Twenty One Pilots

Okay, first of all a disclosure. I do not like this song and after watching the video below, I feel kind of bad about that. It probably wouldn’t bother me that much but I go to a gym nearly every day and they play a top 40 pop station that seems to have the song on infinite repeat and I never really got the opportunity to take the lyrics in. To me it just sounded like one of those ear worm pop songs. I didn’t even understand the lyrics for quite a while and to be truthful, I’ve started to become one of those people I swore I’d never become, i.e. someone who doesn’t like the new music very much. There’s just something about the tone of the song that bugged me when I heard it.

When I finally understood that the first line of the chorus is:
“All my friends are heathens take it slow” I wondered, “What is he talking about?”
Could it be? As it turns out it looks like it is.
He appears to be talking about sharing your faith and how Christians approach non-Christians and now I have to admit, I’m intrigued. Consider how the Pop Song Professor Clifford Stumme explains the song.

I have to admit I agree with the approach presented here to some degree. When Peter instructs us to always be prepared to give the reason for the hope we have, he also instructs us to do it with gentleness and respect. If that’s what twenty one pilots are advocating, I am on board at least to some degree. Stumme gets it right when he uses that old adage people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care and a big part of sharing faith is meeting people were they are. We often can’t just barge in with our faith. Often instead we need to do the hard work of earning the right to be heard through forming genuine friendships or at least relationships, serving and being a blessing.

Sometimes you have to take it slow, especially with “heathens.”