RE:FORM

have you ever found yourself in the middle of doing something and you realize that there is something very special happening in the midst of it all? this week was one of those moments for me...and i'm finding it hard to put into words how i feel. what i do know, is that my heart has been impacted in a very profound way due to some very spontaneous and creative events that have taken place at my church recently. this is a picture of what our church is experiencing right now...we've been challenged to WAKE UP and LIVE THE ADVENT-URE. God is transforming our hearts and our minds...renewing our spirits to make a long-lasting impact in our world. we're being called to be active reformers as authentic Christian disciples in an upside-down Kingdom.

last week the director of our vineARTS ministry was commissioned to gather a team of artists and paint a very large mural as a backdrop for the sanctuary stage. the mural would depict the theme of our all-church Bible study in the Book of Acts. our pastor has called us all to be reformers...to make a difference in the world by "engaging in the Spirit-filled advent-ure" (that's "believing for the advent-ure by living a life of daring faith between Jesus' first & second coming"...which is NOW!) he sees reformation like a ripple effect...a rock dropped in water creates ripples that move out from the center farther & farther & farther out...making a bigger impact than the original rock (that rock being Jesus and us being the ripples) so our director called a few of us to task and we set to making this large piece of art a reality. she came up with the design and we all worked on it together. we stretched 3 panels of canvas (equaling 51 feet long and 12 feet high) onto a garage floor to prime. then we hung the canvas & traced the outlines of shapes from a projected image of a multitude of ripples (creating a paint by number on the canvas). then we brought the canvas back to the garage floor to be painted. there were 7 of us artists working for days all hours using large brushes fashioned to long sticks, mops, & brooms to paint the majority of the mural. then the canvas was rehung in it's resting place as a backdrop for the sanctuary stage. and then themed wording was traced from a projector & painted on top. and if that wasn't enough to get us all excited...the director and myself were able to put finishing touches on a strategic part of the mural (the spot where the rock is plunked into the water) by being a part of the worship all 3 Sunday morning services for the paintings' unveiling. the director & myself helped lead worship with the band by painting alongside of them! it was the first time the Vineyard Boise has had that sort of thing take place in a main Sunday service (i know that there are many churches out there who regularly incorporate art in their worship services, so it's not a new thing...but it is a liberating & inspiring experience to be a part of-whether you're the painter or the viewer). and i must say that i was totally honored to be one of the artists who got the opportunity to break it loose in this way. it was an extremely fun experience (unifying & meaningful for all involved). as the band played, as the singers sang, as the artists painted, as the congregation joined in song....we were all shouting praises & clapping in worship proclaiming God's majesty & His faithfulness & His glory....GOD's creativity! and ya know, it wasn't about me. it' wasn't about the music or the vineARTS. in fact, it wasn't about art at all. it was about God...to God, for God. it was truly a moment that transformed us all as a visual & interactive experience representing the beginning of re:form.