Tuesday, September 23, 2008
A.M.O.K. Creative Arts Ministry Ideas
Have a God Given Idea
By DC Weiss
I know this is probably going to seem like a DUH! moment for some readers and yet I feel at the start of a column for people who want to serve the Lord in the arts I think it’s important to touch on this fact. The best ministry is ministry that was actually inspired by God. I know that should be obvious and yet too often I find that artists who truly desire to serve the Lord are asking Him to bless what they’re doing and while that’s a great idea, there is a better one. Ask God to make you a part of what He is doing. I know that may seem like I’m playing word games but I’m not. There can be a world of difference between the two. There are so many things that I want to do in this world but if my heart is truly submitted to God then it’s not about what I want, it’s about what God wants to do through me. It’s not about the way I want to be used, it’s about the way He wants to use me. There’s a verse in the Bible (Psalm 37:4) that says delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. This is a huge key. If we delight in the Lord then what He desires will become what we desire because we delight in Him. Once our desires and His desires line up, once we find ourselves on the same page with God, He can give us what we desire because it will also be what He desires us to have and it will fit in His plan for the universe of which you are a part.
You might be asking yourself how to delight in the Lord. The best, most fitting way I can describe this is to tell you about my wife and my marriage. We have been married for just over twenty years and I delight in her. I want to know everything about her. I spend time with her, I talk to her, I want to know what she desires and as far as it depends on me, I want to make it happen for her. Why is that the most fitting example, because Jesus is often described in scripture as the bridegroom and his Church is His bride. To really delight in Him is to spend time with Him in prayer, to get to know Him, by reading His word and make your prayers a conversation rather than a monologue. A big part of prayer is an often neglected part, listening. Ask God to guide your steps, ask Him to give you the ideas and then listen and do what He says.
The best ideas are the ones He gives. The best most effective projects and ministries will be the ones He inspires so before you put brush to canvas, pen to paper (or finger to keyboard), hand to pick, or foot to stage floor spend some time with the Lord and find out what He wants, because the bottom line is His idea will be better than yours and it will be the most effective work that you can do because it will be part of His plan for the universe. Remember He created it, He knows how it works and He knows where you fit. So ask Him to make you a part of what He is doing. We can have all kinds of great ideas but the best idea is always a God given idea.
DC (David) Weiss is pastor of New Creation Fellowship in Reading, PA and has been a professional in the graphic communications/visual arts field for over 20 years. A few years ago, he felt led by the Spirit to combine his love for art and ministry and A.M.O.K. Arts Ministry Outreach for the Kingdom was Born. A.M.O.K. is a ministry dedicated to helping people of all creative disciplines and ability levels to use their God given gifts to serve the Lord in preaching, teaching and reaching. More information on A.M.O.K. in-cluding free and low cost resources for preaching teaching and reaching can be found radicallyreal.truepath.com/amok.
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Have a God Given Idea
By DC Weiss
I know this is probably going to seem like a DUH! moment for some readers and yet I feel at the start of a column for people who want to serve the Lord in the arts I think it’s important to touch on this fact. The best ministry is ministry that was actually inspired by God. I know that should be obvious and yet too often I find that artists who truly desire to serve the Lord are asking Him to bless what they’re doing and while that’s a great idea, there is a better one. Ask God to make you a part of what He is doing. I know that may seem like I’m playing word games but I’m not. There can be a world of difference between the two. There are so many things that I want to do in this world but if my heart is truly submitted to God then it’s not about what I want, it’s about what God wants to do through me. It’s not about the way I want to be used, it’s about the way He wants to use me. There’s a verse in the Bible (Psalm 37:4) that says delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. This is a huge key. If we delight in the Lord then what He desires will become what we desire because we delight in Him. Once our desires and His desires line up, once we find ourselves on the same page with God, He can give us what we desire because it will also be what He desires us to have and it will fit in His plan for the universe of which you are a part.
You might be asking yourself how to delight in the Lord. The best, most fitting way I can describe this is to tell you about my wife and my marriage. We have been married for just over twenty years and I delight in her. I want to know everything about her. I spend time with her, I talk to her, I want to know what she desires and as far as it depends on me, I want to make it happen for her. Why is that the most fitting example, because Jesus is often described in scripture as the bridegroom and his Church is His bride. To really delight in Him is to spend time with Him in prayer, to get to know Him, by reading His word and make your prayers a conversation rather than a monologue. A big part of prayer is an often neglected part, listening. Ask God to guide your steps, ask Him to give you the ideas and then listen and do what He says.
The best ideas are the ones He gives. The best most effective projects and ministries will be the ones He inspires so before you put brush to canvas, pen to paper (or finger to keyboard), hand to pick, or foot to stage floor spend some time with the Lord and find out what He wants, because the bottom line is His idea will be better than yours and it will be the most effective work that you can do because it will be part of His plan for the universe. Remember He created it, He knows how it works and He knows where you fit. So ask Him to make you a part of what He is doing. We can have all kinds of great ideas but the best idea is always a God given idea.
DC (David) Weiss is pastor of New Creation Fellowship in Reading, PA and has been a professional in the graphic communications/visual arts field for over 20 years. A few years ago, he felt led by the Spirit to combine his love for art and ministry and A.M.O.K. Arts Ministry Outreach for the Kingdom was Born. A.M.O.K. is a ministry dedicated to helping people of all creative disciplines and ability levels to use their God given gifts to serve the Lord in preaching, teaching and reaching. More information on A.M.O.K. in-cluding free and low cost resources for preaching teaching and reaching can be found radicallyreal.truepath.com/amok.
The Body of Christ
I also have created an arts based resource for teaching the concepts in this video, called Many Parts One Body.
For more on A.M.O.K. go to www.radicallyreal.com/amok.
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I also have created an arts based resource for teaching the concepts in this video, called Many Parts One Body.
For more on A.M.O.K. go to www.radicallyreal.com/amok.
Refocussing slightly
For some time now I have been feeling a call to minister to artists and to help artists to use their gifts in the service of the Lord. I believe there are a lot of artists out there in the church who could be used mightily by God but we either don't know how, our churches don't know what to do with us or a little of both. For a while now I've been feeling like I should serve as sort of a "pastor" to artists of all disciplines (visual art, drama, music, writing and more) serving as a sounding board, an encourager, an equipper, at times a challenger, and a liaison between artists and the church.
I'd like to help people to examine their gifts and their call, help to hold them accountable for they way they are using their gifts and help them to start artists small groups and ministries in the church and in the world. No I don't see this ministry as a replacement for involvement in a local church, because I believe that every Christ follower needs to be plugged in to a body of believers, I merely want to help artists to follow the admonition of 1 Peter 4:10 which says that each one should use whatever gifts he has received to serve others and to walk out the call God has on each of our lives. What qualifies me to do this? Other than the call of God, I am both a pastor and a person who has been involved in the arts and graphic communications for over 20 years, and in that career I have made every possible stupid mistake, got my priorities out of whack and learned a lot the hard way. At one point I had to lay my art down and God gave it back as a tool to be used to His glory.
If you're interested in learning more about this, check out the latest Running A.M.O.K. Podcast called Creative Arts Ministry, The Running A.M.O.K. Podcast Relaunch at http://runningamok.mypodcast.com
God bless,
Dave Weiss
A.M.O.K. Arts Ministry Outreach for the Kingdom
Ministering to artists, ministering through art
http://radicallyreal.truepath.com/amok
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For some time now I have been feeling a call to minister to artists and to help artists to use their gifts in the service of the Lord. I believe there are a lot of artists out there in the church who could be used mightily by God but we either don't know how, our churches don't know what to do with us or a little of both. For a while now I've been feeling like I should serve as sort of a "pastor" to artists of all disciplines (visual art, drama, music, writing and more) serving as a sounding board, an encourager, an equipper, at times a challenger, and a liaison between artists and the church.
I'd like to help people to examine their gifts and their call, help to hold them accountable for they way they are using their gifts and help them to start artists small groups and ministries in the church and in the world. No I don't see this ministry as a replacement for involvement in a local church, because I believe that every Christ follower needs to be plugged in to a body of believers, I merely want to help artists to follow the admonition of 1 Peter 4:10 which says that each one should use whatever gifts he has received to serve others and to walk out the call God has on each of our lives. What qualifies me to do this? Other than the call of God, I am both a pastor and a person who has been involved in the arts and graphic communications for over 20 years, and in that career I have made every possible stupid mistake, got my priorities out of whack and learned a lot the hard way. At one point I had to lay my art down and God gave it back as a tool to be used to His glory.
If you're interested in learning more about this, check out the latest Running A.M.O.K. Podcast called Creative Arts Ministry, The Running A.M.O.K. Podcast Relaunch at http://runningamok.mypodcast.com
God bless,
Dave Weiss
A.M.O.K. Arts Ministry Outreach for the Kingdom
Ministering to artists, ministering through art
http://radicallyreal.truepath.com/amok
