When you think about people who inspire you whether it is in your professional or personal life, who comes to mind? I have lots of individuals who have inspired me: parents, mentors, teachers, pastors, friends. Sometimes there are individuals that we engage on the edges of our lives that impact us for a season or for a lifetime. David LaMotte is one such individual for me.
I first met David at a Montreat Youth Conference as a high school freshman, my very first Montreat experience! David was the musician who performed a concert one of the nights at the conference. As is the case with many musicians, especially at conferences or smaller venues, you get an opportunity to greet them, take photographs, get an autograph (I hear people don't do that anymore....I do!) and then you go about your merry way. David is a little different, I think, because he is so genuine in his performances and he weaves life's stories into his concerts in such a way that you leave feeling like you know him already. He also truly takes a lot of time to "meet and greet" people. Luckily for me, I've gotten to experience multiple concerts and a few workshops along the way too. I've had a chance to follow David's musical career as well as support his other endeavors. When David said he was retiring from music to study peacemaking and conflict resolution in Australia I went on a road trip with friends for the "Farewell Concert." I gave what I could to support the kickstarter campaign that led to the publishing of David's book "White Flour." I've followed his blog posts about PEG Partners and the good work happening in Guatemala. I've read and studied (with great anticipation) his book "Worldchanging 101: Challenging the Myth of Powerlessness."
David inspires me in my personal life as a writer. His attention to the craft of writing and storytelling is lovely. I could never put words to music as he does, but all the same, words matter. I took his writing workshop at ARW when I was in seminary and I remember him saying, "The muse likes to be followed, she doesn't like to be pushed." Believe me, that is helpful stuff when it comes to sermon writing some days!
In both my personal and professional life, David's work in outreach ministries as well as conflict resolution and peacemaking have made an impact. David doesn't tell you that you have to do things a certain way in order to make a difference in the world and he doesn't try to change your mind so that your views align perfectly with his own. What he does is create space for you to move, think, and feel your own way through the obvious tensions and difficulties that we experience in the world. David will be one to remind you that you can start right where you are to make a positive impact on the world around you. He always says, "You are changing the world, whether you like it or not."
As Christians, I think the message from Christ for us is clear. You don't really get a choice not to make an impact in the world. Our mission is to love God & Neighbor. To do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God. There are so many instances in our world today where that foundational message of the Bible is being overlooked and forgotten. We are called to address the injustices in the world... we can't fix all of them, or even one of them on our own...but if we begin where we are, with the resources that we've been given....
And now, I get to say that David LaMotte is coming to Covenant next month to perform a concert and lead a workshop on Worldchanging 101! I am so thrilled that this is happening. It has been my pet project almost since the very beginning of my ministry at Covenant. We've had a Christ Connections class meeting this year on Sunday mornings at 9:15 about Peacemaking... about inner peace and social justice. They've been using David's book and talking about public figures who have impacted our lives throughout history. I am proud of this congregation for having those difficult but fruitful discussions and I am excited to see how they will respond to David's visit as well as what steps they will take toward making their own ripples in our community and the world.
To learn more visit www.davidlamotte.com
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