Introducing AMOKFilms

Over the last two weeks I have created two new short simple animated videos. I shared them online and ended up having a great conversation with a friend online about them. I mentioned that I have done a lot of these short videos over the years, but that my channel on YouTube has become sort of filled with all the sermon videos I have been posting since we began virtual worship at the beginning of COVID, making it difficult to find my short subject videos. My first thought was to move the videos to a new channel, but unfortunately there is no easy way to move a YouTube video to a new channel, besides reuploading them which has been rendered impossible by the fact that I had most of them stored on a terabyte external hard drive that has since crashed. Then I had an idea, I decided to create a Facebook page where I could embed them all. I decided to call it AMOKFilms. You can see it here. I would love for people to be able to use them in Christian teaching and I am even considering making teaching resources for some of them eventually. In the mean time the page is a clearing house for 13 years worth of videos, that I would gladly allow people to use for free. I am considering adding a Patreon link to the page in case anyone wants to donate, but this is not so much about the money. I just want to help people spread the Gospel and help people share Jesus. Please check it out, follow the page and share with friends. Of course I would also love it if you would subscribe to my YouTube channel. I’d like to think the sermons could be useful to some as well.

What’s Your Diversion?

All work and no play makes Dave a dull boy, but the reality is, I do work a lot. It can also leave us blocked creatively. Please don’t get me wrong, I love what I do, and even that can be a little problematic. The truth is I love what I do so much, I could probably do it 24/7 if I could stay awake that long. The artwork is a blast, and the ministry is the most fulfilling thing I have ever done for a living in my life. The truth is, though, sometimes I need to get away from it for a little while and redirect my focus, otherwise I feel like my work gets stale and I worry that it will not be the very best I can deliver. Every once in a while I need a diversion. That is something I enjoy doing that is outside the realm of creative ministry. For me it’s plastic mode building. Here’s why:

Model building is something I have done since childhood and I have always enjoyed it. It is creative, but it employs different “creative muscles.” There are instructions to be followed which means some of the decisions have been made for me. I don’t have to think through every step, unless I want to. I can just create for personal satisfaction. How it looks for me is pretty simple. When I am blocked creatively, I can sit at my table, paint a few parts and redirect my thoughts. It can almost always break a block. Then sometimes later in the evening, my creativity feels spent for the night, I will often sit down and paint or glue a few pieces in place to wind down before I go to bed. I have a unique situation in which I spend two nights a week alone in a place with no TV or internet and my diversion is just the right wind down before a good night’s sleep. At the end of the process, I have something to put on my shelf that I enjoyed. I harbor no illusions that I am particularly good at it, it just relaxes me (at least most of the time). I usually build models that I had when I was a kid or replicas of cars I had in real life, and so there is a sense of nostalgia as well.

I am convinced that my diversion makes me better at the things I do for a living. What is your diversion?

Here are two models I have recently finished. I had both of these as a child, and they are creations of one of the best artists of the genre, Mr Tom Daniel.

Introducing AMOKFilms

Around the time COVID kicked up, I began recording my weekly sermon. In a choice that may have been wrong, I started posting them all to the AMOKArts YouTube channel. The problem being I had a lot of creative arts videos posted to that channel and they started to get buried by my sermons. For this reason I have established a Facebook page where I have posted and will continue to post all my creative arts videos. In this way people can find what they are looking for. It’s funny, but in the 13 years that I have been creating art videos, my work has improved dramatically. My eventual hope is to create other teaching resources to go along with them. I may also start a new AMOKFilms YouTube channel, but for now please see the Facebook page for links to my videos. Please consider following the page and sharing it with others who might be able to use what I have been creating. I am allowing anyone to use my work for ministry purposes, and am considering placing a link where people can “tip” to provide for future video creation.

Here’s a sample from the archives.

Whatever Gifts A New Video

Here’s the finished product. It took about a week to make it in my spare time and one long day to put the finished product together. It’s a lot of hours for four minutes, but it was fun and hopefully it will help me to make my point. 

The Message of the Week

This week we continue our Red Letters Series, looking at how Jesus fed the 5000. It shows us that God can do a lot with what He has given us.

Stills from Whatever Gifts

I’ve been making a video called Whatever Gifts and it required a lot of drawing and digital painting and a little elementary animation. It’s a simple talking heads piece because I didn’t have a lot of time, but I think it got the point across. Here are a few stills.

Sowing Into Others

Last night I finally got to meet an old friend. Only in the online world is this a possibility. He and I connected via Facebook years ago, over a mutual interest in Creative Ministry. We followed each other’s stuff and chatted every once in a while as we both went about developing our gifts and our ministries. He has started a new ministry online for the purpose of connecting and inspiring Christ-following artists. We live over a thousand miles apart, so we connected via Zoom and I have to tell you it was fantastic. I could really connect with his vision and he really encouraged and inspired me with what I am doing. It was also kind of cool to see how our circles were interconnected by mutual friends.

My point in sharing this is pretty simple. Most of the people who do what we do are people who love to sow into others. We love to connect, encourage and even collaborate, so if you are at a stuck point, ask. There is probably someone out here that can relate to your struggle, have ideas for ways to solve your problem and more. We have to remember, we are not in competition with each other. We are the creative hands of the body of Christ, and these types of connections one to another cannot help but advance the Kingdom. I’m reminded of an old ministry chestnut, which states, we should each have a Paul, a Barnabas and a Timothy. What this means is each of us should have someone in our lives who is further into the journey than we are, who can teach us and help us to keep moving forward. That’s the Paul. The Barnabas is someone who is on about the same level as us, who can keep us accountable and help us to stay motivated. Lastly the Timothy is someone who is not yet at your level this is the person you serve as a Paul, helping them to learn and grow. Make no mistake, in these relationships there is a whole lot of sowing going on. We are sown into and then we take that and sow into others. It’s a win-win for us and the Kingdom.

Sow into someone today.

Olga Soby

One of the things that I truly find mesmerizing is the concept of paint pouring. I started following an artist named Olga Soby some time ago and I have to admit I have a really great time watching her videos on Facebook. You really should check out her page if this stuff interests you at all. She features a lot of technique. She creates some truly stand alone pieces but part of what I find intriguing is how would this work as backgrounds for some of my pieces? I expect I will try it pretty soon. Check out here page here.

Here is one of her videos to get you started.

Idea Overload

Believe me when I tell you idea overload is a good thing to have. It is great when the ideas are flowing and you just have to capture them and then try to get them done. Believe me, it beats creative block every time.

I was out walking this morning and two more really good things popped into my head. Now the question is how to get them done? Again the first thing is to record them. Getting them down on paper (or pixels) will help me to remember them. Next is to prioritize them. One of them is for a little way down the road, the other one will fit pretty perfectly with my worship service this weekend. Problem is there are a couple really busy days between here and there. Dr. appointment, wedding rehearsal, wedding. Bottom line there is a lot going on, so what am I going to do? The first idea would be to bump the idea to another, less busy week, and that could still happen. While it does fit well with what I am doing this week, it also has multiple applications. Another possibility is to simplify the idea. If I work carefully, and I leave my inner perfectionist at the door, I should be able to put something out that will more than make the point and probably touch some hearts and minds. It won’t be perfect, but perfect isn’t needed, and the bottom line is, I’m likely the only one who would know the difference. This is the way I am leaning.

One other thing, because I am honestly unsure if I can finish the work, I am not going to announce what I am doing ahead of time. That way no one will miss it if I can’t get it done. Bottom line as I have said many times ideas are the currency of creativity, I will not waste them. At the same time, none of us have more than 24 hours in a day. Do what you can. Store what you can’t and in everything, glorify God.

Late Night Ideas…

Some days I lament it, but I often get my best ideas in the middle of the night. As a person blessed with a flexible schedule, I’m usually okay with that. for example as I write this, I just finished a major project, it is almost four a.m. I’m grateful that I went to bed early last night and I am about to go back to bed for a few hours. I went to bed thinking about this project, and woke up realizing exactly how the elements should come together. When the idea would no longer let me sleep, I got up and started writing. Now there are a few things to be considered.

First, I know that my flexible schedule is unique and not everyone can do this. I also know that idea induced insomnia is very real for creative people. If you don’t have a flexible schedule, I recommend having a way to quickly capture your idea so you can get it down and go back to sleep.

Second, if you are someone who gets late night inspiration, get yourself to bed earlier, so at least you have a few hours sleep under your belt when inspiration strikes. Your body needs rest. Some creatives (including myself back in the day) seem to take a great deal of pride in their ability to go without sleep. Remember what the Bible says, pride comes before a fall. Take care of your body and give it the rest it needs.

Third, I am under no illusion that when I am this tired that my work will be flawless. When I wake up, I will revisit my work and likely end up editing it quite a bit.

In all honesty, the amount and quality of the late night ideas I get is such that I tend to believe the Lord is involved in what is happening here. As such I take these ideas very seriously and want to make sure I record them if at all possible, but once again I remind us all that our bodies need rest. Remember the Lord instituted Sabbath in the Old Testament and enforced it with a death penalty, probably because He knew if He didn’t we would work ourselves to death. People who say they work best under pressure are likely just trying to excuse their own procrastination. The best way to do what we do is to bring our best to the project every day, and getting the rest we need. I thank God for our late night sessions, but I also realize He prescribes rest for us as well. And with that, I am going to bed.