In 2018 I wrote an e-book called Drip.
Before Covid, and games with the algorithms,
whenever I wrote something, it seemed to spread quickly,
and Drip was downloaded and shared 10,000 times.
My, how things have changed.
This morning I took out that ebook.
Many of the thoughts and ideas in Drip
are still central to my work and writing.
But other bits need some adjusting.
So this is Drip Revisited.
I have been working with artists for over 20 years.
Before that I was planning on becoming an Episcopal priest,
but my plan was diverted because of a big denominational split.
Actually,
it was a divorce.
Like many children of divorce,
the old Episcopal house is now home to Daddy’s mistresses,
and Mommy is remarried to a guy named Tim and all his Presbyterian kids.
I don’t feel at home in either,
although I spent a decade in school to be a priest.
At thirty I found I couldn’t go home anymore,
and I was broke and homeless.
In order to make money
I took work as a freelance artist.
From that experience I learned a lot.
I learned that God never wastes anything.
Every twist and turn is for a purpose.
Every new adventure
is part of your learning,
and part of your endless becoming.
And eventually,
God called me to be both an artist and priest.
It has been an adventure,
being a free agent.
I have seen arts organizations,
and Christian arts ministries
emerge and multiply.
In the beginning I was excited.
It was great to no longer be a forerunner.
After years of people trying
to make me normal,
I gleefully embraced everyone.
Because it’s no fun
running ahead of the pack,
When you really want to be
part of the pack.
I soon learned an important lesson.
Two people can use the same language,
but mean very different things.
When God called me to this,
I knew there was a specific
“Why”
to the calling:
"To raise up a throne
for Jesus in the earth
to establish the government of God
and prepare the way for the return of Jesus."
That’s the
“Why God is raising up artists today”
for Belonging House International, the organization we started in 2006.
But soon I discovered that the “why” for others
was different than the “why” for me.
We were using similar sounding language
but we were walking on different roads.
Our brains were processing information
using very different grids.
That’s not a bad thing.
It just means we are in different tribes.
Seth Godin wrote a great book on the subject.
The best way to kill yourself is to give 80 percent of your energy
to people who only care about 20 percent of what you do.
Lots of creative people
work hard to please people
in places where they don’t belong.
And the best way for other people
to kill you is to make you join their tribe
even if you don’t fit because
guilt
niceness
“Christian Unity”
or that’s what you “should do.”
I once had a secretary who would say:
“Don’t should on me.”
Jesus never said
should,
try,
or be nice.
I have been walking, often alone,
for twenty years,
looking for those who share my “why.”
Because,
at the end of the day,
Jesus is going to judge you
on how you carried out the thing
He asked
You
to do.
If he called you to make widgets
and you go become a missionary,
you are not fulfilling your calling.
And if Jesus called you to be an artist,
and you go become a preacher,
and go to prayer meetings,
when he called you to dance, and sing,
you did not fulfill your calling.
Good things are your enemy.
They always keep you from the best.
Good things always come with "shoulds" attached.
If you are an artist,
culture is your why.
I believe that God
is calling us to raise up artists
who will establish the government of God.
The government of God is about freedom.
It is for freedom
that Christ has set you free.
And when an artist gets free
they can set other people free.
That’s a powerful thing.
Thats the point.
Full stop.
Jesus wants to fill the world with free people
so he can rule and reign in freedom.
Jesus trusts you.
Yes, that’s radical.
Freedom is not
rebellion or lawlessness.
Freedom doesn’t mean
you get to break all the rules
or
“stick it to the man.”
Freedom doesn’t mean you can do
whatever you want
whenever you want.
No, that’s not freedom,
that’s license.
Freedom is being unlocked
from the shackles of slavery.
Freedom is being able
to make your own decisions.
Freedom requires greater responsibility.
And of course,
Freedom is not free.
Jesus Christ became a slave
so you could become a son.
That means,
male or female,
you have all the benefits of the first born male heir
in a wealthy Jewish family.
Have you ever been
to a New York Bar Mitzvah?
That’s pretty good.
That means
you get a lot of benefits.
And a lot of responsibility.
In other words,
it’s not about you or your destiny.
It’s about the destiny of planet Earth.
The government of God is a family of freedom.
And you have been given
the power of imagination
to put ideas into the minds of others.
You have been entrusted with
the power of “could be.”
You can help others
see the invisible and envision the impossible.
You can tell stories
about things that “normal” people never dreamed of before.
You can show people
what heaven looks like.
You can imagine
new inventions that can cure the ills of society.
You can satisfy the longing for beauty
that is in every human heart.
This is why Satan hates you.
You uniquely bear the image of God and you have
the real power to destroy Satan’s empire.
You see, beauty has the power to destroy lies.
Truth can be twisted.
Goodness can be redefined.
But beauty
is
always
beauty.
When it’s not,
its ugly,
and even a little child
and a fool
knows
what ugly is,
even if an intellectual
calls it “beautiful”
all day long.
That’s why
so many artists have been abused
so many artists struggle with addiction
so many artists believe they will always be poor
and so many artists are waiting for permission.
I’m here to tell you today
you have permission.
Its time to pry open
the “wedge of freedom”
in your heart
and
start
building
a throne in the earth.
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