I’m not sure if this is going to be as regular as my Saturday Night Jams, but being that I am now in the creative marketing business, and also that there are a lot of notable artists and creators out there, I’m starting up a new category called “Image-Bearer Spotlight.” It’s going to feature someone and their product that I personally endorse. I’m not going to make you spend money or anything (a lot of what I’ll write about is free stuff anyway), but I want to at least help get the word out for the people who are making the difference the world needs — and maybe inspire the artists and creators who read my blog.

One of my favorite authors is touring the continent to share “what none have heard about his journey into the light, which began deep in the jungles of Indonesia.” Here’s the premise:

“What if your light isn’t little?”

This message hits close to home for me as I see my own friends losing interest in the Church. The theory is that my generation, the Millennials, think the church is irrelevant to their lives or their culture. I think the main reason is that, somehow, Millennials are missing something. When they encounter the Church, they are somehow not connecting with the heart of Jesus, the Messiah who was prophesied in ancient times, who died to be with each one of them.

I think a big part of why we won’t let Jesus metamorphose our hearts is because we have lost touch with them ourselves. To be honest, even as I write these words, I long to be more in touch with God, what He thinks of me, what He wants with my life. I long to comprehend on a deep level that the everlasting author of ever dimension and corner of the universe has it all, and yet still thinks the most precious substance in all existence and history is my heart. And I long to rediscover the desires, ambitions, and passions He’s given me so that I might let my light shine.

Mr. Dekker recently came out with a book entitled Eyes Wide Open. It explores the topic of identity, which just happens to be the series on with my pastor just started preaching. The story opens as such:

Who am I?
My name is Christy Snow. I’m seventeen and I’m about to die.
I’m buried in a coffin under tons of concrete. No one knows where I am. My heart sounds like a monster with clobber feet, running straight toward me. I’m lying on my back, soaked with sweat from the hair on my head to the soles of my feet. My hands and feet won’t stop shaking.
Some will say that I m not really here. Some will say I’m delusional. Some will say that I don t even exist. But who are they? I’m the one buried in a grave.
My name is Christy Snow. I’m seventeen. I’m about to die.
So who are you?”

As much as my distracted mind regrets it, I think this identity thing is something I want to investigate further. Yes, I’ve trudged through the depths of my heart before, but my heart has since started to collect layers of sediment. I also want to learn more about how to explore my identity along with others on a corporate level. (Corporate comes from the word meaning “body,” so I don’t mean that in a business sense, but rather in the sense that we’re made to be part of something bigger.)

Ted Dekker is coming to Colorado Springs’ Woodmen Valley Chapel on November 8 for his Outlaw Tour. Tickets AND backstage passes (only 5 available though) are totally free. If I can find enough people who want to go with me, I might take a trip down there to meet him. (Eek!)

Inner fan-girl aside, I’m finding it hard to get myself away from stuff to just be with God and myself. And I don’t know how to help convince others to do so, either. But as my friend Tammy says of culture change, “It’s gotta start with me.”

She’s right. It’s contagious. I’ve seen it. So Jesus, I’m gonna need your strength to discover once again what it means that you love me.

Mr. Dekker, who grew up as a missionary kid in Indonesia, has boldly made the journey to into his own “heart of darkness.” And he is boldly reaching out to our nation to let his light shine, because he knows that the Light that has illuminated his heart can shine brighter than any other substance in the universe. I think he has the right idea. Maybe I can do something like that someday.