A few years ago I had this massive blackboard wall in my room, by room I mean the garage that I lived in at the time. I would use this blackboard to write up my dreams and ideas, or anything else that came to mind.
It was like a massive 'to do list'; it was a dream board. At one stage I came up with a sentence that I wrote down. The sentence went like this: 'all I need is two hundred thousand dollars.'
I wrote this as a bit of a taunt to myself to believe in and try out, in a capacity that I would be proud of, the ideas that were in my heart. I vaguely figured that to try the main idea I had would require about two hundred thousand dollars.
A two hundred thousand dollar experiment
What was it that cost two hundred thousand dollars you may ask—it was to create this artisan warehouse as an experiment with which to connect people to faith and creativity.
We called this experiment the Mosaic Workshop, because our church 'Mosaic' had been really supportive of the idea.
If you have read any of my previous articles you have likely heard some of the journey with this warehouse. We have invested heaps of money and heaps of time into it.
Along the way there have been some interesting events that have happened, like losing an eye and doing neighbourhood art installations (search #thebigscreenproject on Instagram). We've had lots of pizza, started a skate brand, and done a whole plethora of other things.
The idea for me was that creativity and venture are core parts of a vibrant faith, and I wanted to engage both churched people and people who would never go to church in this experiment.
The recent support we received from both the council and the NZ Baptist Association was an exciting thing for me. The funny thing was that at the beginning we were afraid the council would shut us down because nothing complied (things kinda comply now).
It also seemed that to our Baptist friends we made about as much sense as rambling artists (which is kind of what we are). That said they have recently come on board and backed the Mosaic Workshop in ways that have humbled me.
A sold building
The other week our landlord sold the building we were in. We were told that this would not affect us for at least another year and a half. However, the group that bought our warehouse instantly put it on the market again—the short of it is that we have until the end of the year to vacate our space.
Of all the things that almost shut us down, I did not expect it to be the high investment potential of commercial property, any property for that matter, in Central Auckland. But here we are, now in the closing days of the project.
A principal of faith
But this article is not about the Mosaic Workshop. It is about a principle of faith, and the principle of faith is this: try what God has put in your heart, and life will happen (Matthew chapter 6, verse 33—Jared's paraphrase). In all my years put together I have never earned two hundred thousand dollars.
We had no idea how we were going to pay this bill—someone had to pay it. But the thing is that the bills got paid. Also a whole lot of pain, and loss, and wrestling, and doubting, and worrying, and beauty, and joy, and laughter happened too.
As our warehouse season is drawing to a close, we feel a sense of peace, as well as some other emotions. I do not know exactly what is next. I have learnt so much, there are many things I would do differently next time, but there are still many things that I would do the same.
And as I write this I am smiling, because brewing in my soul is another taunt, saying;
"All I need is two million dollars."
Jared Diprose is a self-employed Artisan and co-director of the Mosaic Workshop. He has a degree in Theology, and believes that words shape worlds. He is married to Sierra. You can see some of his work at www.jareddiprose.co.nz and you can check out The Mosaic Workshop at www.facebook.com/workshopmosaic
Jared Diprose's previous articles may be viewed at http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/jared-diprose.html