One day as I sat reading the newspaper, my then 11 year old daughter tugged at my shirt."Dad, I want to go to France and study acting & modeling. " I vaguely recall saying, "um, that's nice, honey," through my newspaper-induced fog."Yah, and I want to go when I'm 16, ok?" Realization struck hard.No, not the sensible thought of "Not until you're 18, Sweetie." I thought,"I'm free, I'm free!!" I'm sure other parents don't think like this, but please understand that after enjoying a nomadic lifestyle as a professional musician, the ability to return to the lifestyle was quite alluring. My thoughts quickly proceeded to a time when my daughter would be leaving. After an appropriate time of sadness regarding the departure of my daughter, I set about making plans for the future. "Ok, God, I'm ready. What do you want me to do? I'll do anything, really God , I will! Can I play in a fancy-schamcy band in front of thousands of screaming people? That would be cool!
"I WANT YOU TO WRITE A PLAY" was the heavenly response. "Well now that's funny, God," I replied, laughing out loud. "No, really, what do you want me to do? The response was the same each time. After an appropriate time of REALLY feeling sad, I resigned myself to that fact that I was supposed to write a play, despite the fact that I had flunked high school english. I wanted to do the right thing and I started to devise what this play would be about.The ideas started to flood in, but I had no knowledge of how to write. One night as I was running sound for a friend's wedding, my cell phone rang. It was my sister,who informed me "You're not going to believe this, but I'm watching my house burn down."
What a sobering thought! After some debate, it was decided that her and her husband would return to Montana from Arizona to rebuild their lives. "Umm, not bad," I said aloud. Now I know you're thinking, "What a cold, insensitive thought, and you might be right! I, however, was thinking about how my sister had earned her way into the "Who's Who In the Zoo, I...ah... mean, College, using her writing skills. Suddenly it all made sense. I would have help writing this project. The rest is history and rich it is with miracles throughout our first season. I just kept putting it in God's hands and it all worked out!! Imagine that! There would be times we had no actors, be a week or two behind rehersal schedule, suddenly someone would call and take a part. New, original songs kept appearing, thanks to Don Ferguson and the play kept on rolling. The C.A.P. band worked extremely hard and rehearsed endlessly, until things were just right. The actors listened patiently to my tirades and ramblings, nodding at just the right time to keep me appeased. The visible results culminated in an extravagant grand finale and propelled us into the next year.
I would also like to touch on the the reasons Claiming America came into existance. I wanted to have an avenue in which christians could bring their unsaved friends to see a quality performance. In addition, I wanted to refresh long term christians who possibly had forgotten why they accepted Jesus all those years ago. Finally, and most importantly, I believe that America resides on defiled soil. I feel that the #1 reason America is not experiencing the revival other countries have, is the fact that we have unreconciled bloodshed on our land. For example, have we repented and reconciled the brutality of the Civil War? Revolutionary War? Slavery and the horrible ways that we have treated the First Nations Peoples, namely the Indians. I believe that we have some work to do to set this nation square, and Claiming America is all about doing that work. I believe that through persistant prayer, God will again smile on our nation. Restoration and revival will sweep through this great country and the spiritual tennants on which America were founded will be restored.
If you wish to support this cause in any way, please contact us. Thank you and may God bless you and your families richly.
With Love
Terry Brick
Director, Claiming America
Thank You
I have a huge admiration and love for all the people who have caught the vision and were willing to pick up the ball and run the next part of the distance with me. I could never name all the names in this limited space, but you know who you are and my hat is off to you all. I will never take for granted all the work everyone has done to bring Claiming America to the highways and the byways of America. My hat is off to you all and I will tell many humourous stories for years to come.
