On the 28th of February 2001, Buck and Luciene moved to the Amazon Basin of Brazil. We lived in Macapá, right on the equator. Why would a web designer give up his career and take his family from their comfortable life in Columbus, Ohio, USA, to live on the Amazon River? We came with a vision to save the Amazon, to tell people about Jesus, and plant a Vineyard church. We have planted a church, and we are turning it over to the national leaders, heading back to the States in Sept. 2009.

 
I have a bookmark in my Bible that helps me remember what the Christian life should be like. The bookmark didn’t some from a Christian source though. It came from the Writer’s of the Future, a science fiction writing contest. But if we as Christians would just learn to follow the advice on that bookmark, a lot of the problems we have reaching others would disappear, a lot of the problems we have retaining youth in the church would become ancient history, and the Kingdom of God would advance much faster.

In fact, the majority of us Christians could do with a big dose of this- we would probably all be a lot happier.

Ok, I don’t want to drag on the suspense any longer. The bookmark says:

Imagine a Place
Where anything is possible,
Nothing is beyond reason,
And everything is an adventure.

Get into their worlds…..

Now, anyone that has spent much time reading the Bible knows a lot of the stories, fantastic stories many of them almost unbelievable. They paint a picture of a God Who is actively involved in human events, a God that moves mountains and the hearts of kings to achieve His purposes, a God that works miracles through simple, devote followers, and changes history through the plea of one person who dares to pray.

Now this whole scenario is a lot different than the reality of Christianity that most people experience. Most see the Christian walk as a staying pattern, living life pretty much “as I please” with the occasional token prayer to God to “bless my plans”, and trying not to fall into “serious sin”, putting up with the weekly church meeting to fulfill the duty of “not neglecting the fellowshipping together of the saints”.

What would happen if every Christian began to live their lives as if anything were possible? If we could just learn to listen and discern the will of God, and then walk out our lives as if anything, anything at all really was possible? That nothing that God showed us to do is beyond reason? Where every day, our Christian walk is an adventure? Man, I get excited just thinking of the possibilities.

I really think that God is doing something new, that He is starting to shake up the status quo and the entrenched religious thinking of what constitutes “His body”. I am not sure what it will look like yet, but I have some ideas about what I think God is doing. I think God desires to use the creative force that is latent within us all. I think that God is raising up a generation that will be passionate about creative expression, art, theatre, media and video, music and music video, creative writing and poetry, film making and dance, and that this explosion in creative expression will fuel the revival among the youth that will spread all over the world.

What will happen when the little David’s of the world realize that they can, with a little pebble, bring down Goliath and take Goliath’s own sword from him to win the victory? When thousands of Christians, passionate about truth, begin to create videos that are seen my millions all over the world? When thousands of David’s, worshipping God, singing His praises, creating new songs and new forms of expression are released on the world, what will be the impact in the heavenlies?

Truly, we should begin to imagine a place where anything is possible, nothing is beyond reason, and everything is an adventure. We serve a big God, and our lives should be a reflection of His glory, bringing His kingdom and His rule to this earth.

Lord Jesus, open our eyes to see the impossible that you want to make reality in our generation! Help us, as Your body, learn to recognize what You are doing, even when it is different from what we have previously known. Help us, as Your body, learn to nurture, train, and release the creative genius in this generation, and put power on it that it might become a wave of revival that rocks the entire world! Help us dream big dreams, and live even bigger realities!

Labels: creative arts, new things, new wine skins

posted by Eduardo Buck at Tuesday, June 17, 2008