earlier this year i was reading Donald Miller’s blog and came across this post on creativity. this week i am teaching twice on the place of arts and creativity in the church and as i remembered this post i became curious about what you think about how it fits. here is the post from Miller:

When Solomon wrote Song of Songs, a dramatic opera about a young, poor woman who fell in love with a Shepherd king, do you think he had “the voice of the church” in his head? Do you think he was worried about what a group of people might think? Of course the evangelical church didn’t exist, then, and neither did the collective evangelical consciousness, but what I mean by that question is that if Solomon were writing today, and were writing an Opera for young kids about the ways of love, he would no doubt be attacked. My guess is the criticisms would be listed as such:

1. His opera does not mention God. Why wouldn’t he use this opportunity to bring people to God? He’s a Godless man.

2. His opera is erotic, filled with sexual imagery and even sexual instruction. It’s unfitting for any person to read, much less young couples.

3. It’s confusing. We don’t know where the acts begin. It isn’t structured. It’s amature.

4. He never mentions sex should be saved till marriage, so he must be endorsing pre-marital sex.

5. There seems to be no point to the work. If he’s trying to teach something, you can’t figure out what it is, and if he isn’t trying to teach something, what’s the point of reading it or listening to it as an opera?

And so on and so on.

Here’s the point of this blog post: There is a difference between what “the church” wants you to do and what God wants you to do. Do what God wants you to do. Go and create, even as you were made to create.

so what do you think? is church stifling or encouraging creativity and the arts?

READ: Read the passage noting the word approval

^3-5God tested us thoroughly to make sure we were qualified to be trusted with this Message. Be assured that when we speak to you we’re not after crowd approval—only God approval. Since we’ve been put through that battery of tests, you’re guaranteed that both we and the Message are free of error, mixed motives, or hidden agendas. We never used words to butter you up. No one knows that better than you. And God knows we never used words as a smoke screen to take advantage of you.

^6-8Even though we had some standing as Christ’s apostles, we never threw our weight around or tried to come across as important, with you or anyone else. We weren’t aloof with you. We took you just as you were. We were never patronizing, never condescending, but we cared for you the way a mother cares for her children. We loved you dearly. Not content to just pass on the Message, we wanted to give you our hearts. And we did.

THINK: It is tempting to promote ourselves, to see ourselves more highly than we ought. If we examine ourselves honestly, we will have to admit that we are often trying to win the approval of the crowd. Think back over the past week. What decisions did you make solely to look good in the eyes of others? What would it take for you to go through today without making decisions based on trying to make yourself look good? What would it take for you to live today for “only God approval”?

PRAY: Confess those recent circumstances when you were tempted to seek approval from other people. Ask God to help you be “Free of error, mixed motives, and hidden agendas.” Ask him to help you focus on your desire for acceptance and approval entirely from him.

LIVE: Before every decision, before every comment, ask yourself, What is my motive? Is it to get approval from the crowd or to get approval from God? Let these questions make you aware today of how– and why– you make decisions.

As I looked down at my leg this morning there was a feather ever so gently kissing the denim between it and the skin of my thigh. I didn’t really notice it until it caught my eye.

Why?

Because it was not weighing me down. There was no burden it was asking me to carry. It was light, soft and simply taking a short journey through my story of life. That’s the funny thing about feathers of life…they are easy to carry!!! Their burden is light and asks nothing of us.

However…

Sunday I hopped a plane from DFW to Colorado. For the lack of wanting to pack a suite case that would need to be checked and go through the process of possible loss I packed all that I could into my backpack. There was also another backpack filled with camera gear. I had friends out here who wanted new photos done and so at their request along came backpack number 2. As I walked through the airport I realized what a load these bags were. They were burdensome to me. Every fifty feet or so I found myself having to stop and reposition these two bags of burden. They slowed me down and were constantly asking me to stop and adhere to them. The freedom came when I finally was able to shed those pieces of baggage.

No listen to this:

Hebrews 12:1-2

¹ Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. ² We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.

As I read this I realized that my life needed a definite feathering. I know there are things, weights, that I need to shed to move forward. I need to focus on the main thing, not the little things that so easily distract from it.

I need to shed my anger and apathy.

I need to shed my complacency and worry.

I need to shed my consuming and coveting.

Life must become more joy filled and simplistic if I am to recover my life. Now as far as the sin that slows us down. I am sure there are many in our lives that we could point to, but my guess is, is that if you are like me you have that one bowling ball filled bag of that one sin that must be left in he middle of the woods and never to be returned to.

Today I want to leave that bag unattended in a remote location never to be found or picked up again. May we all find that our lives are filled with feathers instead of bags full of 15 lb. Brunswicks.

However, what actually happened was that I began to absolutely fall in love with group of guys they had assembled. They were all so legit, so real, so humble, and so willing to pour into others they had ever met. Out of this my heart began to soften. I felt much like the Grinch when the Who’s accepted him. I longed to be in relationship with them. I longed to hear their stories. I longed to pour into them as well.

So here I sit three years later, having traveled to Estes Park, San Diego and now Crested Butte, CO to do life with these incredible men. At the end of the first year they gave us all T-Shirts with the attributes that they saw in us that stood out the most. Out of this journey I have gained 19 new friends, but two of them have become those that I would call close friends. In fact the post below this one is of those two incredible men. Josh and Kyle. Josh is a guy from Nashville who is changing his story each and every day in order to be more like Christ. Kyle is a man who three years ago was ready to be done and today is a man of confidence and great faith. He loves people unconditionally and is now at a really great place in life. On the backs of their shirts there were two phrases written that have been key in the Rhythm of their lives.

Here they are:

So what word or phrase would be used to describe you and the rhythm of your life?

Hope you are having a great week.

From the top of the mountain…

CASE IN POINT…TODAY!!!

We are usually anywhere from 4-6 weeks ahead in our writing. But let me give you a snapshot of what that really means…Here we GO!!!

• 6 weeks in advance everyone gets a writing assignment.

• 3 weeks out your rough draft manuscript is due…it is at this point that we as a team strip it apart and bleed red ink all over it to make it better. You cannot come with your feelings attached to it. You have to know that the team makes you and your message better.

• 2 weeks out you come back with version number two. Again we bleed, cut, and add new material. At this point it almost becomes therapeutic to cut the fat away.

• The week of the message you come with the final draft. At this point that baby is ready to be born. We have labored and toiled over it and now it is time to see that bad boy come into the world. This is where we see the payoff of all the hard work we have put into what God has instilled in us

So back to yesterday. We start a new series on Sunday called “Worldview.” We are going to be starting with Judaism and we have LABORED…I mean LABORED over this one. We started with a 32 page manuscript…cut it down to 17…cut it down to 13…and after yesterdays weed wack fest we have it down to 9 1/2 pages. For an hour and a half yesterday we cut almost three pages and 2500 words. After this whole process, lots of input, a monstrosity of cutting, and praying that what we have is what God wants his people to hear, we will preach this message with all our heart this weekend.

To hear the finished product of what God is doing in us as a team join me this weekend at Compass Roanoke at one of our two services…

9am or 10:30am at our new location in the NEW Roanoke Elementary School. If you cannot be with us go to the media section of our website and start this series with us there.

Here is to life.love.and creativity!!!

Many of you know that one of my favorite things to do is take photos. So much so, that I have a side business in photography. This is what I have come to love about taking photos…I can control light. I control how much I let in. I control how much I allow to hit my subject. I control where the light goes. I control the intensity. I have the ability to control light. I love that I can make a seemingly dark area come to life with just a little bit of light. I love that there are different ways and different modifiers that help you produce different kinds of light for different settings.

I LOVE LIGHT!!!

As I began to think about this the other night I was reminded of John 12:46 where Jesus says, “I have come into the world as light, so that no one who believes in me should live in darkness.” The reality is, is that if we love THE light, then we get to control the light that is given to the world around us. We control how much light we let out. We control where light goes. We control the intensity of the light to the world we come in contact with. We can take seeming dark areas of the world and bring them to life with just a little bit of light. Just like photography, we have different ways and different modifiers that we can use to produce light to all kinds of people. Your modifier may be music, the arts, sports, conversation, or a myriad of other things but the reality is that all of these modifiers produce good light to a seemingly dark world. I LOVE LIGHT!!!

Where do you need to bring light to? Also, what is your unique modifier of light to the world and how can you use it?

His story is one that I am sure Hollywood would love to have for a script. It would be a number one box office hit. It is full of intrigue, famous people, drugs, and glitz. There is a dramatic conversion experience that almost makes Paul’s conversion in the book of Acts look like a typical Sunday walk down the aisle. I have to admit that I have been completely entrenched in listening to this story this morning. It is an incredible story. The life change is unreal. He is now a pastor and God’s used his story I am sure to lead countless people to Christ. Here is what made me stop and wonder if the approach was to much for the one he was sharing it with.

When he finished the individual looked at him and said, “There is no way my story compares to that. I just want to know that Christ loves me. Does he Love me?”

WOW!!!

It made me stop in my tracks as I tried to not stare or look up from my table. Now listen I am all for dramatic stories of life change. Parts of my story have been that way too. But I wonder if sometimes we tell the over the top story thinking that it will draw people to Christ or if we tell it in hopes that it will draw them to us. The reality is that what the world really needs to hear is not how dramatic our story is, but that Christ simply loves them dramatically.

I have been guilty of trying to allow my story to overshadow the story of Christ. It has never been intentional, but if I were to really examine my heart I know it to be true. In fact my guess is, is that many of us have done the same. Today my hope and prayer for all of us is that we would simply show and tell the world that Christ LOVES them and their story…drama or not!!!

How can you share with the world that Christ loves them today?

I would like to call up my 16 year old self and have coffee in some vintage little nook that you can only find in one of those little eclectic towns. I would love to look myself in the eyes and just search my soul. I would love to guess what I am thinking. I imagine my younger self’s first thought would be, “Wow, that is me 15 years from now. When did I get so old?” Then I imagine I would be thinking what kind of things do I want to know from the older me?

I would like to join me for coffee.

I would love to see the anticipation in those eyes 15 years prior to today.  I would love to hear what he is so excited about. I would love to hear about the girl he is dating, the classes he is taking, the job he has, and the relationship with his family and friends. I would love to see what gets him stoked and amped up. I would love to ask my younger self why he wants to change the world. I imagine he would have a lot of wisdom to impart to me. However, I could not let him think that, because I am sure he is a pompous little know it all. I guess some things never change huh?

I would like to join me for coffee.

I would love to see how respectable he would be to himself. He was quite a schmoozer back in the day and my guess is that he would still be one, even with himself. I would love to ask him what he plans to do with all those crazy dreams he has swirling around inside of him. I would love to talk to him about his faith and when he is going to finally decide to grow up and live it out. My guess is that he may ask me the same thing. I would love to ask him why he thinks that the acceptance of others is more important than grades, God, and family.

I would like to join me for coffee.

I would love to tell him that he is going to grow up to be a preacher. I imagine that he would laugh at me when he heard me say it. He would spout something off to me about wanting to be a lawyer, but I would just smirk. He would know by that smirk that it was real. I would love to tell him that he would be moving to Illinois and then to Texas. Man I bet he would think that was the funniest thing he had ever heard. Illinois maybe, but he cannot seem to fathom Texas. He would look at me like I am an idiot for even saying Texas. I would love to tell him that when he gets to college he will be smitten with a girl that will change his life. He will laugh really hard at that, because 16 year old me has no desire to stay with one girlfriend yet alone one person. I would love to tell him that he will have two little girls that will rock his world. I notice when I say that, that his face gets a little more serious. He cannot seem to get his head around the fact that he would ever be a father and have the responsibility of someone else’s life. Finally I would love to tell him that he will have the opportunity to reach literally thousands through speaking the truth about Christ and his word, but some things I will simply let him figure out on his own.

I would like to join me for coffee.

But for now…I would just like to join you for coffee!!!

What would you say to your “15 years ago” self?

Monday…

What is in a name like Monday?

Today there are a lot of things in that name. Today I am tired. I think in a good way, but a delirious good way for sure. Yesterday was an incredible whirlwind. I cannot express the things that I continue to see God doing in my life, the life of others and the life of the church here in Roanoke and across the nation. Yesterday at Newspring Church in South Carolina they had over 500 people give their lives to Christ. Elevation Church saw the same by way of first time decisions for Christ. In Compass Roanoke we saw one…AND IT WAS GLORIOUS!!! What I realized again yesterday was no matter if it is 500 or 1 the celebration is the same. Whether it is 500 or 1 God is still rejoicing over them all. Whether it is 500 or 1 the angels throw down the rock show of all rock shows for them..EACH AND EVERY ONE!!! I am thankful for the movement of God that is taking place right now across the Kingdom of God. The awakening that is coming from its slumber. I am thankful for Perry and for Steven and the many other churches that are speaking truth and life into people. I am thankful for the fruit of all their labor and efforts.

Today instead of being the church that is jealous of the bigger and seemingly better church, find refuge in being the church and beacon of light to the community you have been placed in. Instead of being indignant that you are not the church of hundreds of decisions, be thankful that your church had “A” decision this weekend. Don’t look to compete, but look to complete the body with your work. Pray for those that are having mass decisions, because I know that they are praying for your one. I pray that churches across the globe have thousands of decisions for Christ. I pray that Newspring and Elevation Church have 2000 plus next weekend. I pray that we at Compass Roanoke have two or more next weekend. More than anything on this delirious Monday morning I am simply thankful that God is moving in his Kingdom. Thankful that life is evident and victory is being proclaimed.

What are you doing today to encourage the body of Christ? Who are you praying will know the love and salvation of a God that we have not always accurately put on display? Are you taking light into the darkness or simply hanging out with other light bulbs where you light has no real impact?

With all that said here are a few highlights from our day at Compass Roanoke Yesterday:

• Yesterday we saw Megan baptized in the pool at the hotel we meet. IT WAS GLORIOUS!!!

• Her boyfriend  jumped in the pool fully clothed afterward to celebrate and immediately regretted that decision, but did not regret celebrating.

• We had a young man named Greg join our church first service. Seeing his joy and love for a place of acceptance was incredible

• We finished up our series on Proverbs and I believe that it has changed the face of our campus in Roanoke

• We saw people find HELP from God for the first time in a long time. BEAUTIFUL!!!

• I saw people offer HELP for the first time in a long time to people around them yesterday.

• I know that I say it all the time, but our set up and tear down teams are UNBELIEVABLE!!!

• We had to add more chairs in our second service for the second week in a row.

• People cheered again this weekend when we told them we were moving to the new elementary school in Roanoke.

• I saw more new faces today than in any other weekend we have had in a long time. People are bringing people.

• The message this weekend was my favorite one I have preached this whole series. Reminding people of when, who, and how to offer help is riveting.

• Mark 4:35-41, John 6:60-69, and Mark 9:17-29 are three of the greatest examples of Christ showing and bringing help!!!

• Jesus calls us to higher living and though his teachings are easy to understand, living out his teaching are hard.

• GOD IS ALREADY MOVING THIS WEEK. WHO ARE YOU MOVING WITH YOU TO BE A PART OF THE JOURNEY!!!

So there you have it. That is just a little bit of what happened this weekend. Know that you are all being prayed for and loved this week. Cannot wait to see how God moves this next weekend not only here at Compass Roanoke, but all throughout the Kingdom. Have a great week!!!
LIVE AS LIGHT!!! John 12:46