amokarts

Today, October 4, is the anniversary of a huge day in my life. October 4, 1997 is the day that the Lord used to change my life forever. When I climbed on the bus that morning, I was a backslidden Christian, consumed with a passion for a career that was bordering on idolatry (okay bordering is me being charitable) and failing as I worked a job that I hated, deep in depression, wondering if life had a point and in severe danger of losing my marriage and family. The bus was headed to Washington DC. I was with a bunch of guys from church, not really sure what I would get out of this. I was okay and life was going to turn around as soon as the right person saw how brilliant my cartoons were, then I would create the next Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (I was freelancing for one of their licensees at the time) make a bazillion dollars, quit my day job and give my wife and kids everything they ever wanted. Then I would be happy. I didn't have time for things like this, but it was okay God would understand, after all it was my God-given gift (and the only thing I ever considered myself to be good at) and as soon as He started providing I'd have time for him again. So in a way my distance from Him was his fault. That's where my head was at.

We got off the bus and onto the metro and headed to the mall in Washington. I was wearing this sort of pale yellow hat they gave me on the bus so I wouldn't get lost. What had I gotten myself into? We got off the metro and there were these guys handing out paperback Bibles from huge boxes. What struck me was the sheer number of men in this one place, over a million of them from all over the world. It was Promise Keepers' Stand in the Gap. When I look back on what happened that day, I almost feel arrogant because it seems as though God got all those guys together just to get my attention. That arrogance is quickly tempered by the thought that I was that far from God that He had to do something that big just to get my attention. I know there are probably tens of thousands who felt the same way that day. That day, God convicted me of my idolatry with my art and I had to lay it down. On the day I laid it down I said I would never pick it up again until I was doing itt for God. For six months I did none. During that time, God rebuilt my marriage and called me to the ministry.

I started off by taking a group of kids to Creation East, where I spent my days in youth leader training under Ken McCoy from the youth ministry resource Interlinc, even though I was not an official youth leader yet. The following fall I became an official youth leader, began to use interlinc's resources. I eventually began writing my own lessons, approached interlinc about writing for them and today I am one of their regular writers. In the mean time, I began praying for ways to make my teaching stick with the youth group and God began to show me that I could use art as a teaching tool. He gave me my art back and A.M.O.K. was born. While working with the youth, I began to train for ordination and felt the call to plant a church, which became known as New Creation Fellowship. Today I am a pastor, I work with kids through our district and I have a vision that is both exciting and big and scary and in spite of all the struggles that come with ministry, I still praise God for all He did for me that day. It truly is an awesome adventure.

As I look at the list I am sending this too, it is a list of several hundred people many of whom have touched my life in amazing ways and I thank God for all of you. As I look back, I realize that I've come to know virtually all of you because of what God did in my life that day. If anything God has allowed me to do has touched your life, please join me in celebrating this day.
I thank God for each of you,
Dave Weiss