Someone posted to Facebook, as has been posted from time to time, asking what their readers wanted to be when they grew up. Whenever I see that I get a sense of gratitude. You see from my earliest memories, there were two things I knew I wanted to do, make art and tell stories and after all those years, I find myself in a position where I am doing both. So my response to the post was “Making art and telling stories,’ says Dave for the win.”

It’s true, now to be clear, if you had told me in those years that those things would come together with me being a preacher and pastor, I would have run away screaming, but God knew. I was an artist and a storyteller a long time before I became a believer, and by the time I came to know Jesus, I didn’t really see how what I did was useful to the Kingdom, but God knew that too. And that’s the thing, God made you and me, and He knew us long before we knew Him. 

Now before I go any further, you might wonder, am I saying that our childhood dreams are always what we should be doing in the Kingdom? No, but our gifts and talents and even our godly desires, even from the earliest years, might just be a clue to how God has wired us. 

Looking back over my life, I tried to be virtually every part of the arts. I thought about being a visual artist, graphic designer, puppeteer, ventriloquist, actor, writer, even a rock musician and when my musical talent came up lacking, I was even a mobile DJ for a while. I tried virtually everyone to get close to the dream, I had some successes, and had a fair amount of fun at times. At other times, I was depressed and defeated and did a lot of dumb things that probably held me back or even moved me backwards. Here’s the thing though. All of that stuff, in one way or another prepared me. Some showed me what I wanted to do. Some showed me what I didn’t want to do. Some showed me my gifts and talents and abilities. Some showed me my need for Jesus, and through it all God was with me and never gave up on me, and through it all, He brought me to where I am today, praise His name. 

Why do I share this? You were created by a loving God. You were created on purpose for a purpose, and all along the way, God has been showing you things, a dream here, a vision there, bringing out this gift ,that talent, providing positive and negative experiences, and if we will seek God throughout the journey, trusting Him faithfully, and moving forward in Christ, He can and will take you to where you belong. 

King David in Psalm 139 reminds us, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”  This was not just King David. It’s also you and me. God made you as part of His plan for the universe. Seek Him, follow Him and let His Holy Spirit lead you into all truth and into His plan and purpose and when you do that, eventually, you win!   

As I write this, I find myself in a bit of a tough spot. I occasionally write book reviews for a Christian publisher, and right now I am reading a very political book and wondering how I will be able to review it with out coming out sounding very partisan. At about the same time some friends of mine, people I value very highly have posted some political posts on social media that just make me want to dive into the fray and challenge their point of view. Yes, the truth is I can be very opinionated and very political, and I hold these views because I believe them to be right. That being said, I am working very hard to practice restraint. Before I go any further, I want to confess that there have been very many times when I have failed at that miserably, and anyone who has followed me on social media will know it. 

So why do I need to restrain myself and by extension, why should you? Because as creatives, we need to realize we are in the “business” of communication. We are here to put forth messages into the world, and as Christians who are creatives, we need to make sure we are putting forth the right messages. Christians are in this world, first and foremost, to represent Christ. Now if you are a Christian and you feel you are called to politics, then God bless you, do it, but be careful, because you are also here to represent Christ and that means Christ is more important than your party and if your party fails to follow Christ, you need to part ways with your party. 

You see, as Christians, our message matters. So what is your message? It’s pretty simple, you don’t have one of your own, and if you do, it’s irrelevant compared to the message of Christ. No politician has ever saved a soul, only Jesus can do that. No political party has ever saved a soul, only Jesus can do that. No political party has ever completely towed the Jesus line on every issue. For that matter, neither has any church. The reason for that is simple. Churches and parties are made up of people and sometimes people sin, and that includes this author. The best politics and elections will ever give you is the opportunity to pick the lesser of two evils and the problem with that is the lesser of two evil is still evil. Perfection is found in Christ alone. There was the time when we had the opportunity to be ruled by a perfect King who always loves us, was always perfectly honest, totally trustworthy, always knew the right thing to do and always had the best interests of everyone at heart. From an earthly point of view, we killed Him. That’s the condition of our society because it is the condition of our unredeemed hearts. We need Jesus, all day, every day, all the time.

So when we are putting forth a message, maybe the best question to ask is whose message are we putting forth, the perfect message of our perfect Lord, or our own? What does our work say? What are we putting forth? What are we telling the world? You see, you and I are flawed and a lot of times when we decide to jump into the fray with our own thoughts and our own opinions, we are just adding to the noise and we don’t end up representing Christ very well. I don’t think, as Christians, we are here to fix the world. I think we are here to point people to the only One who can fix the world. People say to follow your heart, but the Bible tells us the human heart is deceptive in all things. What we need is a change of heart, and that is something only Jesus can do. What’s your message? Now as a follow up question, will that message draw people to the Lord? Because if not, maybe it’s time to change your message.   

I was on vacation. We stayed in a nice rented condo with a balcony that overlooked a nice pond with a large fountain in the middle. Around the middle of the week I received a 3:30 a.m. “wake-up call” from the Lord. I snuck out onto the balcony and spent some time with my Creator. It was a real blessing. As the cascading waters fell into the pond, I began to see all the things that have felt like they were on my heart to do. I’ve been struggling for months, maybe even years with a kind of “creative ADD” where these things would keep me up at night and feeling distracted, and a bit frustrated because I was having a hard time getting any of them done. In this early morning prayer time, it started to all line up.

The Lord showed me that there are things for now and things for later, and how to prioritize these things. He reminded me that it doesn’t all depend on me, and I believe He showed me some things He is going to do through this work to which He has called me and some others. He reminded me of the importance of what I am already doing, and He gave me a vision that seems huge but will be a blessing to me, my family and hopefully a whole bunch of others. I feel He has laid on my heart to begin to work toward it. What is it? At this point I feel like I need to keep it in. It would sound like madness were I do share it, because the only way it can happen is if I have faith and God almost literally moves mountains.

In the midst of this I made a gesture. I purchased something small that will one day be used as this vision comes to fruition. In the mean time I have positioned it some place where it will remind me to stay on task, keep praying, trusting and moving forward. Will it come to pass? I believe it will, or I would not be sharing this. At this point the vision is strong in my heart, but many details remain to be seen. Indeed I don’t have anywhere near what it will take to make it happen, at least as I can see it in the physical, but it’s time to practice what I preach, i.e. taking what is in my hand and putting it to use as faithfully as I can, and trusting God to be faithful. I look forward to seeing God move on behalf of me, my family and everyone else God will use what I am envisioning to bless. 

In the mean time, the question is, what vision has God laid on your heart, and what can you do today, with what you have to move toward it?   

I love that old hymn, I Love to Tell the Story. You know: 

I Love to Tell the Story

Twill be my theme in glory; 

to tell the old, old story 

of Jesus and His love.  

Think about it. It’s more than song we sing. Telling the story is our calling as Christians and especially Christian Creatives. It’s about communicating the Gospel; a message of love and hope. It’s good news for all who will hear it and receive it. It’s a rescue story, a love story and so much more. The gifts and talents we have been given are tools to communicate the story. His story is our glory. The question is, we say we love to tell the story, but do we tell it, and if not, why? 

One of the things that I think prevents many from living out our calling to tell the story is we think we lack the knowledge to do it right. Now to a point that is legitimate, after all, we want to tell the story properly and truthfully, but the thing is, that should not hold us back. First of all, the solution to not knowing something is to study it. Get into the Word, study it alone and with others. Look up what you don’t understand. Pray and ask God to give you wisdom, trust Him and share what you know. 

Also there is a great place to start. As with every other creative pursuit, we can allow ourselves to be held back by what we don’t have, or we can move forward in obedience and faithfulness with what we do have, trusting God to bring the increase. In this case, if you are a Christian, you have a story that no one else can properly share. It’s the story of what Jesus has done for you. As with everything else, start with what you have. Share your rescue story. Express the love you have for Him with what you do. Love others and serve them and then tell them why. 1 Peter 3:15 reminds us, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect… Tell people what you know and if they ask a question they cannot answer, “I don’t know” is a fine answer. It’s much better than making something up. An even better answer is, “I don’t know, but let me go and ask someone and I will get back to you.”It’s not deep theology, though there may be a time for that, but hopefully you have people in your life who can help you with the hard questions, like hopefully your church and your pastor, and if you don’t have one of those, a word of advice, get one. Find a strong Bible believing church and get involved. 

As a side note: Ignore every voice on social media, as well as culture in general, whether inside or outside the church who say you don’t need to go to church. It may be true that church attendance will not get you into heaven, nor is it mandatory to get into heaven, but it’s not that you have to go, it’s that you get to go. You have the freedom to assemble with other believers, and you have the opportunity to learn and grow among a family of believers.

The fact of the matter is few people are argued into the Kingdom. Most people are loved in, so use what you have and share the love of Jesus. Start now, today. Tell people what you know, share the hope and the love that you have found. Will everyone want to hear it? No. But all around you are people who are looking for the hope you have, and when you find one of them and they hear the story, and they receive what you have founding Christ, you will have been used by Almighty God to make a difference in their lives that will last into eternity. That is the end result of Christians who walk out their calling. They do something that matters forever. 

Tell the story. 

In my area, within about ten miles of each other, there are two car dealerships that handle the same brand. In 2003, my wife and I purchased our first new vehicle from one of them. It was a stretch for us, but it was nice to have a more reliable vehicle with lower milage than we had been getting in the past. It was a good vehicle and we really liked it, but every time I took it in for service, something the dealer convinced us we needed to do to avoid voiding our warranty, they figured out a way to make it cost a minimum of $300, which was about what our monthly payment was at the time. We stopped taking the car to the dealership for service, and never bought a car from them again, and when that dealerships name comes up in conversation from people who are considering buying a car from them, I admit, I share that story. 

A few years later the vehicle I was driving stopped meeting my needs. I had started in my traveling ministry and I needed a bigger vehicle, a mini van, to handle my travel equipment. I went to the other dealership and purchased my van. Every other oil change was free and the one that wasn’t was substantially less than $300. Then one day as I was driving down the highway, the transmission of my van “blew up” with about 70,000 miles on it. That really could have soured me on the brand, but something amazing happened. I had the vehicle towed to the dealership, and they began to work on it. I had speaking engagements booked and so when they offered me a “loaner” vehicle, I asked if there was any way I could have a van, and they obliged. The repair took months, because the dealer was working on my behalf. The brand wanted to replace my transmission with a used transmission and the dealership wanted to give me a new one. I felt bad about the amount of miles I was putting on this van. I knew the agreement was that the vehicle not be taken out of state, but every time I asked if I could take it on another road trip they said the same thing. “Use it as if it were yours.” I had that loaner vehicle so long I had the oil changed (at their expense) twice. At the end of the situation, I didn’t have to cancel any engagements and I had a van with a new transmission that I drove another 100,000+ miles. Needless to say, when it came time for my next vehicle, I purchased from that same dealership, and I tell everyone about the amazing service I got from my dealership. As a matter of fact I am doing it now… well, sort of.

Why do I share this story? Two reasons: first because as I was reading The Daily Bread today, they had a similar story, and I became convicted of something. Have I shared the Gospel as often as I have shared about the great service I got from my local dealership? While I do try to share the Gospel, I am convicted that I don’t do it as often as I should. My dealership deserves praise for the way they serve their customers, but my Lord deserves infinitely more praise for all the amazing things He has done, but there was another thought, to be considered. 

Think about my experience with the first dealership. First I wonder if my struggles with them indicate unforgiveness. I tend to be very forgiving of people, but businesses are harder for me. I felt like I was being ripped off, and wanted to spare others that same fate. On the other side, 20 years have passed, and I have not been back to see if anything has changed, so perhaps I am being unfair. 

The other reason I am sharing it is this. 2 Corinthians 5 reminds us we are “brand ambassadors” for our Lord and people have long memories. How we treat them matters and what we do in His name matters. When we claim the name of Christ, we are His representatives and we need to represent Him well. We don’t have to be perfect, but think about my transmission incident. When something went wrong, it could have soured me on that brand for life. Instead I saw people who went out of their way to make things right and that made all the difference. Our God is perfect, but our lives are not. When people see the struggles in their own lives. It is easy for them to blame God. In those moments, it’s up to us, His representatives to represent Him will, by loving and caring and going the extra mile. So that when people see out good deed they will praise our Father in Heaven. (Matthew 5) What we do matters. 

If you’re new to my posts, you may have missed me talking about Haven Camp, if you’ve been around a while you may have grown tired of me talking about Haven Camp, you might be growing tired of hearing about it. I hope not, but please indulge me for a moment. Haven Camp is a camp for adults with developmental difficulties (I just call them my friends) run by Delta Lake Bible Conference in Rome, NY. To put it succinctly I love Haven Camp, but I thought I’d tell you why by describing a typical day for me. 

I wake up in a nice little comfortable cottage about six a.m.

On a sunny day I’ll take a few laps prayer walk around Simpson Circle, before going into our meeting room, Delta A, to finish any last minute set up for the morning session.

It’s usually about then that I realize the most important thing I have to do that day is share the Gospel with some people Jesus really loves, and I’m struck by the idea that that is really the most important thing any of us has to do every day.

Then it’s back to the cottage to shower and review my notes before jetting off to breakfast.

A few minutes after I have been in the dining hall, nicknamed the Stack after one of the coolest people I have ever met, my friends the campers come in.

I finish my meal so I can go and greet the campers, and chat for a while.

When breakfast is over, it’s time for the morning service. 

The services are always fun, the campers’ unpredictable questions keep me on my toes, 

I sometimes wonder if I let them go to long, but then I think about it. These campers deserve to be heard too, and they often end up taking us in good but unexpected directions.

When the service ends the activities begin. Sometimes I get to join them on a boat ride around the lake, other times I will sit and play games with campers, draw pictures for them, color with them, and have the best conversations with the campers and the counselors.

After the activities, we go to lunch, more eating (really good food by the way. Thanks kitchen staff), after which I hang with the campers at their tables until lodge time. This is where the campers go back to their rooms for a little time of rest. I go back to my cottage too, usually to go over the notes for the afternoon session, but sometimes a nap ensues for me as well, (only after I’ve  studied.)

Then I return for one of my favorite times.

They’re called rotations. The group is split into smaller groups and goes between three activities, snack and souvenir shop, some sort of gym activities or a hay ride, and a craft. 

I love having a snack with the campers or chatting on the hayride, or encouraging the campers at their craft. 

After the rotations are over, we have the afternoon service. Which again is a high point for me. 

After service one of the campers prays for dinner and we eat, with more hanging out with the campers before the evening activities. Talent show, banquet, dance party (yes, even I have been known to go out for the dance party.

After that, it’s bed time for the campers and after they get to bed, there’s a little staff meeting where we learn what was happening behind the scenes, are made aware of anything we have to know for the good of the campers. Then we pray and dismiss. This is another of my favorite times, because it is the time when I get to hang out with and hopefully encourage the staff. These are some of the most impressive young people I have ever met. Truly, if you are the parent of one of these counselors, well done! They have a level of kindness, faith and maturity that will restore your faith in humanity. As that winds down, it’s near 11:00 and it’s time to stroll back the cottage, to get some sleep before starting it all over again the next day.

If it sounds tiring, that’s because it is, but it is also amazingly inspiring and fulfilling. These weeks are some of the fastest weeks of my year, and I love it. Sometimes as I am leading a session or watching the campers as they come together and love on each other, I think about my life up to this point, and I praise God for bringing me this far. I love Haven Camp.