I am beginning a large project that will Lord willing end up being a book, workshops and more. Today and tomorrow’s posts serve as an introduction to the project.
Introduction
“A spirit with a vision is a dream with a mission…”
Lyric from the song, Mission by Neil Peart of Rush
I start this book with a realization. I, Dave Weiss, am blocked. It’s true. The “creative ministry guy, finds himself in a season where he’s not feeling incredibly creative. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still doing a lot of creative work, and it’s fun, but I’m not sure it’s incredibly creative and right now the area I about which I am most passionate, is the area I feel least creative.
What started this line of thinking was a dream. No, not a dream in the visionary sense, but an actual middle of the might, closed eye, sleeping dream. Dreams of this nature, as you know, can be quite disruptive. I dreamt I was with my wife and son in a nearby city in this really cool coffee house (I have no idea if this place actually exists). In this space I just felt creative. I remember speaking to my wife saying, I should come here to write because I feel like I could create something really cool here, and my wife suggested I come there and write a play. We then adjourned to this really nice lighted porch/open air space sat down at a table, and then I woke up.
As I woke from my dream, my mind was flooded with thoughts. The first of which is the line I started this page with, a line from one of my favorite songs by my all time favorite band, Rush. It got me thinking of the author of the lyric, their drummer Neil Peart. He was someone I always wanted to meet, but there was a problem. His lyrics were always so thought provoking to me. It’s part of whatever had made his band the soundtrack of my early life and why they are still a favorite four decades later. That being said, it is also clear from some of their content that we would not see eye to eye on everything, and I wondered if we would get along. A similar problem occurred to me as I considered if a place like the place of my dream actually existed and if so, could I go there and would I fit.
You see for a long time I’ve lived in two worlds. I love the arts, and I am quite passionate about them. I also love creativity and creative people. That being said, I am also a minister of the Gospel. I tend toward conservatism, while the world of the arts tends toward liberalism. This didn’t used to be a problem, and it’s still not for me. I have learned how to disagree agreeably and my God calls me to love everyone, especially the people with whom I disagree. The question though is will this still work. In these totalitarian days of cancel culture and an attitude of disagreement is hate, can we still function in this way? Conversely is this trepidation just a limiting belief on my part that will keep me from pursuing something good. I told you dreams can be disruptive.
Tune in tomorrow to hear more…
AMOKArts 