But so much of the time, the online profile they’ve created for you to “experience” isn’t complete.

Sometimes, it isn’t even real.

We all do this.  We create a profile of the person we WANT others to see.  Then, we support that false self with our status updates throughout the day.

I know this is true for me.  It’s like Twitter and Facebook have given me the chance to reinvent myself for people who have never met me.

We could argue whether or not this reinvention of an online false self is healthy, or just normal, or just something we need to learn to accept.  But there’s one thing I can do that’s entirely unhealthy, and completely demeaning to the online community I’m a part of…

I can start to believe that I’m really that guy.

I can start to believe that I’m really the guy who always has a great leadership quote, or a consistent deep thought about our journey with Christ.  I can start to believe that I’m the guy who always makes my daughters laugh after a long day at work.  I can begin to imagine that I’m the guy who makes my wife swoon, simply from serving her breakfast in bed on our wedding anniversary.

But I’m not that guy.

Not even close.

It’s one thing to create an online profile of only the good stuff for you to see.  It’s another thing altogether to take that false profile, and imagine it into a false identity.

So to help combat this natural tendency, maybe today we could post something honest and risky about ourselves – about a struggle we’re having, or disappointment we’re experiencing, or about a therapist we’re seeing (or need to be seeing).  Maybe it’s more simple than that.  Maybe it’s just something like, “I’m scared of the future”, or “I don’t want to turn 40″, or “my kids are driving me crazy”.

I’ll start.  Here’s my Update…

Without the online protection of Covenant Eyes, I’d be dead in the water.

As I typed those words, I felt risk, and then joy.  And then fear.  And finally, boldness.

Your turn.

WHAT THEY’LL DO – The community leaders will create and maintain sustainable businesses in their communities.

WHAT I’LL DO – I’ll find the money to help launch these businesses, and then create a plan for them to pay back that money.  But they’ll pay it back to themselves, not to me.

RESTORATION PROJECTS

These projects will help you catch the vision that I’m caught up in…

COMMUNITY #1 – A CHICKEN FARM.   A beautiful woman named Guadalupe (who’s also a stronger leader than most men I know), has a plan to create and maintain a chicken farm.  The money we provide will give her everything she needs to begin selling fresh chicken to her community (and to those outside her community) 8-10 weeks after she’s funded.

Total Cost:  $3000.

COMMUNITY #2 – WROUGHT IRON.   A very humble pastor of a church wants to train young men to create wrought iron art for doors, windows, and gates.  I like the idea of the pastor investing spiritually and practically into the lives of the young men in his care.

Total Cost:  $4000.

COMMUNITY #3 – A FISH FARM.  This is the group that most impressed me with their organization and vision.  They want to create and maintain a fully functioning Tilapia Farm, selling this fish to outside communities, while providing a great food source to those inside the community.  This will also employ people from the village on a full-time basis.  The government of El Salvador is willing to be involved in this project, donating the land, and providing a tractor to dig all three lakes needed.  They’ll do this at no cost, and no expectation of repayment.

Total Cost:  $20,000.

COMMUNITY #4 – SURVIVAL.  This community is too poverty-stricken to possess any capacity to even think about a sustainable business plan.  They’re concerned with stopping the diarrhea among the 1100 people who live there, and with providing their family’s next meal.  While the other community leaders displayed hope in their eyes, the leaders from this community displayed weariness.  So we’re looking at getting them everything they need to beginning growing their own crops by the river (a pump, tools, seed, etc.).  They’ll also need clean water, but previous drilling attempts have failed.  The crops will be grown and consumed by their community.  No sales, no profit.  I hope a business will grow out of this, but these people simply need help, and they need it now.

Total Cost:  $3000 (apprx).

NEXT STEPS

I’m busy developing The Floodgate Foundation -  the non-profit organization through which donations will flow.  As the needs arise in El Salvador, we’ll wire money to an account we establish there.

I’ll also be working with Dave and Jason (my partners at Floodgate) to create The Floodgate Foundation website.  The site will feature pics/videos of each community restoration project, along with the opportunity to donate to each project individually.

Finally, I’m develping a standard for people who want to give financially.  I know this sounds weird (or perhaps even arrogant), but donors need to be doing this for the right reasons, and not for any sort of public acknowledgement.

So here’s the bottom line – If, at the end of your days, you want to stand together with me (and others) and be able to say that you helped restore an entire Third World Community, then please begin praying about getting involved financially.  And if not this, then please do something (anything) for “the least of these”.  If you need a little motivation, watch Floodgate’s latest video (a portion of every sale of this video will go to the El Salvador projects).

Freedom.

Any real artist needs freedom.  And our need for freedom is something we tend to express.

But when most artists express their overwhelming need for freedom, they’re not really talking about complete freedom.  They’re talking about creative freedom.  They’re talking about not being micro-managed, and about not having the scope or the vision of the project changed the night before its deadline.  They’re talking about being trusted by their boss, their pastor.

But that’s not complete freedom.

Complete freedom is the guy who moves to Paris with no money, just to paint.  Complete freedom is the woman who quits her job at the church, and makes a living doing freelance design work.  Complete freedom is someone who’s not only willing to take the risk – it’s someone who enjoys taking the risk.

I find it very rare to discover an artist who is able to manage the gift of complete freedom.  We don’t run into artists who literally have the ability to wake up every morning and creatively answer the question, “What am I gonna create today?”

Because in order for that to work in the real world, that same artist must also be wired as a self-starter, an initiator, or even a leader.

I personally know a couple of people like this.  Rob Thomas (RT Group) is an amazing artist who loves answering the “What am I gonna do today” question.  Pat Callahan (New Covenant Community Church) is an artist/worship pastor, and so much more.

You probably know other people who fall into this category.  They don’t exhibit an absence of fear – they just know how to push through it.  They create AND they initiate.  And the people around them are inspired.

So if you’re thinking about quitting your day job and going freelance, you’ll definitely experience freedom.  But it’s important to prayerfully and reflectively look in the mirror and discover whether or not you’re ALSO an initiative starter.

Because there will come a day when the freelance jobs disappear, but the bills don’t.  And in that moment, an artist with complete freedom needs to relish the opportunity that stands before him.

And that’s a rare thing.

********************

A weary artisan traveler has been wandering in the desert of creativity for days.  Her heart is dry, and her lungs are lined with sand.  She desperately needs to discover some notion of some idea that is, in some way, creative.  Her village elders are counting on her to create – to bring their ideas into emotional existence.

In the distance, she sees the beautiful image of a well. She drags her sand-caked feet toward the image, and reads the hand-carved sign on an old piece of wood, propped up against the well.

The sign reads, “Creativity”.

She places her wind-burned hands against the circular cobblestone wall that surrounds the hole in the ground.

She cups her hands, she leans down, and she fills her palms with…

Nothing.

The air from the empty well whisks upward, through her hands, through her hair, and into the sky.

The Well of Creativity is empty.

She’s desperate, so she continues her journey.  She discovers four, then five more wells.  All have a sign near them that promise “Creativity”.  And all are empty.

And only after severe disappointment and extreme thirst, there appears one well in the distance.  Any hope for finding the Creative Idea has been reduced to ashes, and she questions whether or not to even approach this well.  Her heart is weary, her lips are dry, and her village needs her to return with that sacred gift, soon.

She moves toward the well, and sees a wooden sign, propped up against the stones.  But the sign says something different at this well.  Rather than “Creativity”, this sign says…

“The Living God”.

She leans into the well, barely.   She cups her palms together, reaches down, and is immediately flooded with the cool waters of a Creative Idea.  She’s finally discovered what she’s been searching for all along.  And now, her fruitless searching has borne sweet fruit.

A Creative Concept that will benefit her entire village.

She arrives back in that village, and her elders question her about the creative idea she’s returned with. Her explanation is simple.

She respectfully speaks:  “I found The Well of Creativity to be empty – time and time again. While there were many people seeking to drink from it, there is nothing there.  It may have even been a mirage.”

But she continues…

“When after many days, however, I discovered The Well of the Living God, I was supplied with the Creative Idea I was searching for, and that our village needed.”

Two of the village Elders simply stared, but one smiled.  He had been on the same journey years before.

********************

Some of you actually have the privilege of making your living because you’re creative.  You are the media creators, the storytellers, and the musicians.  You write blogs, you lead people, and you challenge our hearts.

My motivation for writing this short story is simple.  I hope to remind both myself and the reader that we will create the most impacting art when that art is a byproduct of time spent with the Creative Source.   When we run to a well that promises creativity, many are empty.  When we seek creativity, sometimes there is none.  But when we run to deep and intimate interactions with the Living God, creativity is given to us, never as an end…

But as a gift of the relationship.

I’ve always experienced a version of low-grade depression at certain times during my week.  It’s not the kind of depression that encouraged Van Gogh to cut off his own ear.  And it’s not the kind of depression that anyone needs medication to resolve.  It’s not clinical.

It’s that debilitating feeling that I don’t want to be doing whatever it is I’m doing right now, and I can’t really think of anything else I’d rather be doing either.

It usually lasts two or three hours, and on rare occasions, I’ve experienced it for an entire day.  During these times, I lose any notion of mission or direction.  I can also get quiet and inwardly critical.

I thought I was alone until I started hearing similar stories from other artists.  I can’t believe how common this is.

And for me, I’ve figured out what to do when I’m in that pit.  That’s really the problem, isn’t it?  It’s easy to look back and analyze what happened.  But I want to be able to figure out what’s happening sooner than later, mostly because it sucks to be in that place, and it’s good to climb out.

So when I’m in that place, I’m learning to ask myself a simple question: “What triggered this?”  I usually go back to the last time I felt joy, then hunt around that time to figure it out.

* I could have received some bad news.

* I could have created a mini-movie that received harsh criticism.

* I could have been blasted on a blog somewhere.

* I could have been invited to coffee by someone I’m uneasy with.

* I could have experienced the disapproval of an important authority figure or mentor.

There are hundreds of triggers I could list, but you get the idea.  And in the case when I can’t identify any specific trigger, I figure it’s just the Enemy stealing my joy.  The Author of Confusion is just that.

Once I’ve identified the trigger, I can’t just move on.  I need to do something extremely important.  I need to invite Jesus into that trigger.  Something simple like this:

“Jesus.  I invite you into that feeling of diapproval, and ask that you bring healing at my core.”

“Jesus.  I invite you into the feeling of anxiety, and ask that you bring healing at my core.”

That’s what I do.  If you’re an artist and struggle with this stuff, I’d love to hear what you do when you’re at the bottom of this pit.

Every week for months and months, there were certain hours devoted to talking, listening, and praying with people who were sick, dying, or both.

A few weeks ago, a 52 year-old man was electrocuted while trimming a tree.  For 14 days, he struggled for his life.  His family stayed with him.  If you’ve ever had a family member in the hospital for that long, you know how emotionally draining it is on the family members.  At some point, the family just gives up because they can’t handle it anymore.

Last weekend, the man’s family couldn’t take it anymore.  Their father and husband was dying.  So they left the hospital.

There was now a man, lying in a bed in the ICU, waiting to pass.  Alone.

My friend stepped in, and chose to wait with the man until he passed.  He posted this update on Twitter after it was over…

I just sort of felt tonight like no one should die alone. That’s why I sat with a patient and was fully present in that moment.

I would argue that the most honorable moments we have in this life come when we do things that fight hard against our personal comfort levels, and are incredibly draining.  I think honorable actions always cause us to ache.

It’s a basic human right that no one should have to die alone.  My friend helped defend that right in a quite room last weekend.

First, it can communicate truth.  Music can do this.  Video bumpers can do this.  A masterfully crafted story can do this.  Sermons can do this.

I think the North American church has become really good at using art to communicate truth.

Secondly, art in churches can create fresh and unresolved cravings.  I wish churches would become more open to this.

“A work of art introduces us to emotions which we have never cherished before.  Great works produce, rather than satisfy needs, by giving the world fresh cravings.”

Abraham Heschel

At church this morning, we talked about legacy.  Our legacy.  I left with a fresh craving to go create a far better legacy.  It was the result of a masterfully crafted sermon, based on a Scriptural narrative (David and Solomon).  There were certain “how to’s”, but I most likely won’t remember them.  I will, however, remember that I was given a fresh craving.  I felt it deep in my gut.

Paintings and sculptures can do this.  A beautifully designed table during the Eucharist can do this. Silence can do this. Stories, music, or an unsettling video piece can all do this.

And while there are a myriad of qualifying questions to ask in the planning of our worship services, it could easily boil down to just two:

* What are we hoping to communicate?

* What fresh cravings are we hoping to ignite (not to answer, but to simply ignite)?

And the really cool thing is this – God has already hardwired the arts to truthfully, and beautifully provide the answers to both of those questions.

It can be so much more than some music, and a lecture.

YOU SHOULD GO.

Worship pastors.

Media guys and gals.

Techies.

Church volunteers.

Senior pastors who think the Creative Arts aren’t satanic, or irrelevant.

Children’s ministry workers who have a hankering for creativity.

Anyone else who can use the word “hankering” in a sentence.

YOU SHOULD GO.

Here’s why…

The Echo Conference isn’t about giving you a bunch of ideas to go home and copy.  The Conference is about equipping and training you to go home and create the best original media you can envision.

The Echo Conference is a place where artists are in a room full of people like themselves, and where senior pastors and executive leaders can feel the uniqueness of the artist’s heartbeat.

The Conference is more about inspiring, and less about informing.

Donald Miller is a keynote speaker.  I’ve heard him twice, and the guy is brilliant.

The Breakout Session speakers are largely accessible, and you’ll be able to sit down with many of them, just to talk about media, creativity, church, and other stuff.

The Conference will top out at 500-600 people.  It’s big enough to have a party, and small enough to be intimate.

Chick Fil-A Sweet Tea.

Jon Acuff was just added as a keynote.  Acuff blends humor and truth like no one I’ve ever read.

Being a Christian and drinking a beer is more okay in Dallas than in many cities.

The Conference provides a deep well of fresh water for thirsty church workers.

The food is the best at any conference, anywhere, at any time.

I’m no big deal, but I’ll be there, and I’ll be speaking, and I’d love to meet you (seriously – I could be working for you one day).  I’ll be the tall guy with no line waiting.  Scott McClellan, on the other hand, will be the tall guy with a swarm of people around him.

Floodgate will have a booth there, and I’m pretty sure we’ll be giving you something for free.

If you type in “floodgate” during the checkout process, you’ll save 20% off the TOTAL cost of your registration (you gotta do this before July 1).

Here’s the bottom line.  When I was a pastor, I attended almost every conference known to man.  As a media guy, I’ve been to the other ones. And I can honestly say that the Echo Conference is the most unique, and most inspiring Conference I’ve attended in the past ten years.

YOU SHOULD GO.

Really.

Last Friday, as I sat in a Memorial Service – an hour dedicated to honoring my Mom – it was abundantly clear that her legacy was one of loving and serving.  Every drop of every story pointed to a time when she loved, and a time when she served.

It’s a legacy because her children, her grandchildren, and her close friends have become influenced to the point of passing it along to those around them.

That’s what a legacy is.

A legacy happens when we’ve been indullibly influenced by another person – when the residue of their life falls on our shoulders.  Legacy is when we see the world through glasses colored by them.

Leaving a legacy is automatic.  We all leave one, no matter what.  At no point in our lives must we choose to leave a legacy or not.  The only choice we have in the matter comes in the legacy’s composition, hue, and brightness.

Dads are leaving a legacy of anger.  Or power.  Or apathy.

Moms are leaving a legacy of perfectionism.  Or works-based love.  Or detachment.

But we can choose differently.  My Mom proves that.

My Mom told me stories of coming home every day after school, as a little girl.  The first place she’d run to was her father’s wardrobe closet.  She’s check to see if his clothes were there.  If they weren’t, she knew he’d hopped the border into Mexico, and would be gone for weeks, maybe months.  In Mexico, he’d drink himself into oblivion.  He’d awake, then do it all over again.

When he was home, he ruled with an iron fist.  Sober, or not.  And when his job as a ship builder took him to a new city, their family of three would uproot the next day.  New city, new state. My Mom never stayed in any city longer than three years.

Only child.  Alcoholic father. Strong, but fearful mother.  No close friends.  Abandoned.

But when her deep thirst was met with Jesus’ life-giving water, everything changed.  She gave that water away to people by serving them, and by loving them.

No one ever speaks of her upbringing in our circles.  It’s not that they’re keeping a deep family secret or anything; it’s that they don’t even know that part of her life.

It’s because she chose an alternate legacy.

Loving. Serving.  And I am the recipient of that.  So are my daughters.  So is a village in El Salvador.

Everyone one of us is writing a legacy today.  We don’t have the ability to do anything other than that.

Our choice comes when we realize that we get to decide which one to write, and which one to silence.

The bomb seems to detonate when the creator of the media presents the final product to the organizational leader.

Boom.

For years, Creative Artists have been told to come under the authority of the Senior Leader, which means they go back and change (or even recreate) the entire media piece.  And they do it with a smile, in the name of submission.  But if you ask any Creative Artist, they’ll tell you that  even though biblical authority and submission is the goal, resentment can creep in and overtake an Artist’s heart.

I’m more interested in defusing this bomb, than in teaching Creative Artists to be quiet.  So I’m suggesting two questions for the Creative Artist to ask at the beginning of every project.  In a sit-down with the Senior Leader or Teaching Pastor, it becomes more crucial than ever for the Artist to ask these two questions.

Question #1: What do you see? Simply ask that question to the guy in charge.  Do you see images or themes?  Are you inspired from another church, another video, another branding concept?

Question #2: Where do you want this to end? In the case of video (and sometimes music), the Creator of the media needs to know how to end the piece.  Is the piece resolved, or left hanging? Does it end with a question, a bold statement, a series graphic? Should people feel inspired, doubting, wondering?

The Pastor/Teacher’s responsibility is to be prepared to answer these two questions with as much detail as possible.  The Creative Artist’s responsibility is to ask these questions, and take notes as answers and ideas are given (writing things down also helps diffuse any potential explosion).

When information like this is exchanged before the project begins, it heightens trust and builds the relationship between leader and artist.

And in the end, isn’t it far better to defuse this bomb, rather than letting it explode?