Big Week Coming Up.

I’m just two days away from the biannual Church of the Brethren Church Planters Conference. Just to be clear, I am not planning on planting a church and I m very happy in my current church. This year I am going for two purposes: 1. To learn as much as I can about outreach strategies and anything else that will benefit the church I pastor. 2. To sow into church planters some of the creative ministry things I have been learning over the past 18 years. My week will consist of doing some live painting in worship, an arts ministry presentation and two workshops.

I’m also really excited to see some old friends who I don’t get to see nearly often enough and I am going to get to sit under the teaching of Mandy Smith, author of Making a Mess and Meeting God. This was one of the first true arts ministry books (in 2010) I got to read and it fired up even more ideas in my already agitated, creative mind. I’m really looking forward to it.

Of course as with most things in this life, before I get to what I am looking forward to, I have to get through something I am not looking forward to at all. Tomorrow I have a medical test. It’s very routine and no I’m not having any problems that I know of. This is a test that people my age should all have and while the preparation is becoming unpleasant, I know this is the right thing to do. So why do I share this?

In this life, there are things that are both unpleasant and necessary. The best thing we can do is get through these valleys of life and get back to the mountain tops. After all, the mountaintops prepare us for the valleys and the valleys help us to appreciate the mountain tops. I am going to try to post from the conference so stay tuned. In the mean time, remember, mountaintop of valley, God is good!

To get your copy of Making a Mess and Meeting God, click the image!

Examine Yourself

My faith tradition has a very special service called the Love Feast. It’s a communion service with a difference. Modeled after John 13, the service starts with foot washing, followed by a simple mean and finally bread and cup communion. It may sound odd, but it builds unity in the body and it can be quite beautiful. In addition, the service takes quite literally the scriptural call to self examination and relational examination before taking communion.

1 Corinthians 11:27-29 says “So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves. That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.” Paul is basically saying, “Check yourself before you wreck yourself.” Communion is all about union, in other words unity. It is meant to remind us we all have a part in Jesus death because He died for our sins. In the same way, all who have received Christ, share in His resurrection. Communion puts us all on a level playing field, sinners saved by grace. From this pride should be replaced by unity, love and gratitude. Any less and we’re not doing it right. Look at the condition of the church today. We can do better. We can be more humble, more loving… and on and on and on.

In the past, the deacons in a church would visit every family and ask three questions all designed to build up and strengthen the body. That tradition doesn’t happen much any more, so I decided to do it digitally.

This video is part of a new presentation I will be offering soon on communion and the Love Feast. Contact me for more details.

Wonderful Week of Ministry

I just returned from a tour of Western MD and West Virginia. I spoke at Pine Grove Church of the Brethren in Oakland, MD. Then I did a five session revival series at Sunny Side Church of the Brethren (false advertising, it rained every day, but at least the people were warm hearted) and finally I did Pictures of Jesus at Hazelton Church of the Brethren in Bruceton Mills, WV. All of these stops were really pretty wonderful and many people enjoyed the combination of art and ministry. One of the thrilling things for me to hear is people saying they had never seen anything like it before. I love to see God opening new doors and expanding people’s ideas of ways they can use their gifts to spread the Gospel. Ultimately that’s what it’s about. Not so much that we help people to become artists, but rather that they look at what I do, look at what they do and wonder if there was a way to use what they do to serve the Lord. I love to see God planting seeds.

Thanks to all the people involved with getting me out there and to the amazing worship band Grains of Sand from Danville Church of the Brethren for adding their wonderful music to the series. God is good.

Now go out and use your gifts to be a blessing.

On the Road Again

On Wednesday morning at an ungodly hour (should ministries work at ungodly hours?) I will be leaving Pennsylvania for Indiana. I’ll be doing live art and a workshop for the Church of the Brethren Church Planting Workshop Thursday through Saturday, then heading to Northern Indiana to Pleasant Chapel COB in Ashley IN to preach and paint for their Sunday Morning worship service, then picking up and driving to Dayton OH for a Sunday Evening Youth event with my good friend Todd Pearage (Lord willing). I am so looking forward to this trip and I would really appreciate your prayers.

Prayer Request

Hey everyone, tomorrow night I will be doing A Night AMOK, Pix of JC as a benefit for Sarah Parcell, a young missionary who is planning on heading to training with YWAM and then off to the Sudan. Please keep this benefit in your prayers and if you’re in eastern PA, please consider attending. I’d love to see you there!

For details, click here.

To bring A Night AMOK to your Church, click here

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

Controversial cartoons…

When Iposted cartoons that some found controversial, Ihad over 500 hits. When I post images of Christ and who I say He is… 39 hits. No wonder the tabloids do so well. lol. Tempts one to do conntroversy to controversy’s sake.
Better to stay on mission. Be what you’re called to be.

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.

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.