Wonder

 "You who dwell in the dust, wake up and shout for joy."   Isaiah 26:19

      With all the possible themes for the annual Arts Conference, why did we choose wonder?  To some, it may seem like a rather lightweight sentiment, given the state of our world.  But I beg to differ.  If there was ever a time that artists and communicators needed to traffic in wonder, that time is now.  "Wonder" is a word that has never grown tired for me, like so many other words have...including the longer form of the word, wonderful, or "full of wonder."  The more I reflect on what it means to wake up and pay attention, to delight in the surprises and beauty and mystery that God has lavished all throughout the world, the more I am convinced that this is the foundation of our calling - to live in wonder and to call others to the same path.
      The early church knew all about wonder.  In Acts 2 we are told that during that magnificent era, "Everyone was filled with awe."  Yet so many of us simply rush through our days, simply trying to survive, overwhelmed by noise, information, deadlines, and technology.  Artists and pastors hold within us the remarkable potential to point to another path, to literally point people toward the God of wonder.  This requires us to devote ourselves to reflection, to observation, to imagination, to transcendence.
      In the midst of the worst economic downturn any of us have ever known, I call you to join me in a return to wonder.  Join me in living life in such a way that we truly seize it and then communicate God's glory in ways that will inspire others and give them the hope they so desperately need.  I hope and pray you will find a way - however much creativity and sacrifice will be required - to join us in June as we rally together and declare that we have not lost our sense of wonder, that we will continue to pursue the God of wonder with all our hearts, and that we will seek to create moments of such breathtaking beauty and awe that others will lift up their heads, wake up, and join us.