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

The Running A.M.O.K. Podcast is Back, Thyatira and Sardis

After some difficulties, the Running A.M.O.K. Podcast is back with two new messages from our series on the seven churches from the book of Revelation. These are messages four and five, the letters to the churches in Thyatira and Sardis.

The message to the church in Thyatira is called The Jezebel Spirit. The church in Thyatira is being misled by a false Prophetess called Jezebel. In this message we look at this Jezebel, the original Jezebel and what happens when spiritual attacks come against the church.

The message to the church in Sardis is called Wake Up! If you thought the church in Thyatira was a mess, Sardis is worse. It's a church that looks like it is alive and thriving but Jesus said it was dead. In every other passage so far Jesus commends the churches for doing something good before he brings them correction. He has nothhing good to commend Sardis for. Jesus message to them is simple wake up and repent or else. This message teaches the believer how to be wake up and be children of light.

To listen to these messages go to http://www.radicallyreal.com and click the Running A.M.O.K. Podcast button or go direct to the podcast at http://runningamok.mypodcast.com

Thanks for listening. If you check it out don't forget to leave a comment.

This weekend.

This weekend was a great one for me artistically. I went to a coffeehouse with my friend Tom on Friday night. http://www.tompostjr.com/musicpics.htm for a photo of me working with him. Tom is a former youth pastor and a singer songwriter. Tom plays a lot of secular venues and I go with him about once a month to paint while he sings songs about His journey through life. They are tales of struggle and redemption, and so I paint images to go along with that set of songs. Afterwards I get to share a short message about the painting which always has some scripture. The picture on the link becomes a man walking on a road in the darkness carrying a lantern and heading toward the sunrise. The message behind it is thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.

The one I did on Friday night was a butterfly that had just emerged from his Chrysalis I call it ready to fly. In the message I tell the story of a man who found a butterfly that was struggling to emerge from his chrysalis so he slit the chrysalis to help the butterfly. The butterfly came out easily but his wings were under developed and his body was bloated and so he was unable to fly and died. The struggle made him able to fly. I then spoke about 2 Corinthians 5:17. It was a great night.

Then last night I did something quite "scary." I call it art without a net. One of my friends has a small worship gathering that he holds in a coffee house. The subject of his evening was creativity. I placed a canvas on the easel with a palette with black paint and a few brushes. Every person was invited to add a brush stroke or two to the blank canvas, however they saw fit. Then while the rest of their service was going on I took their lines and painted a painting with them. I hadn't intended to do a painting of Jesus, but as I began to look at their collection of lines that was what popped out. The point of this exercise...Sometimes in life we have the luxury or having a plan to follow, we can take our time, plan things out, etc. But many times in life, God asks us to "play the cards we're dealt." To take the circumstances that occur in our lives and make something out of them. To not live out of our plan but rather to work with what we get. What emerged from this exercise was a slightly abstract painting of Jesus. wearing the crown of thorns. When I say slightly abstract, it's because I tried to use the lines everyone contributed. The verse backing this painting is Romans 8:28. I will do this again.