A Discussion with David Durham

How did you come up with the name The Crucible?

Artists can talk all day about the arts, their importance and beauty, but the artist must start with him—or herself, and with seeking and understanding God's purposes for them. This invariably involves a purification of one's heart. Because a crucible is designed to heat metals to very high temperatures in order to burn away impurities and bring its contents to a brilliant state, the crucible appropriately portrays our vision and goals.

How does this purification translate into your students' lives?

Our artists find a stronger sense of purpose. On the very first night of The Crucible we tell them, "We don't promise to have the answers to all your problems. We simply promise that we'll get you asking questions you haven't asked previously." And we see people go away with something much deeper and more substantial than knowing how to pay the bills. They depart with a renewed—or for some, a first-time desire—to live life to the glory of God. That's purification.

We've seen hundreds of Crucible students develop more of a connect with the Lord. They begin to see themselves as who they are in relation to God, and they find a more meaningful relationship with Him. Their art, then, transcends what they do and becomes a revelation of their purpose.

How does The Crucible approach these goals?

Our program builds from three elements: worship, teaching, and community.

Worship. Because we are created to be worshippers, we never stop worshipping. The question then becomes—What is the object of our worship? When we discover and spend time drawing into God's presence through worship, we soon realize that we have never been removed from His presence. That's life-altering, and that's purifying.

Teaching. Sometimes people ask us what makes our teaching different from Sunday school classes. The difference is that The Crucible was created for artists. Everything is tooled for this unique and specific subset of society-people who are driven by creative gifts that often seem larger than themselves. We believe that artists desperately need to understand themselves, as well as their gifts. Our speakers know how to relate to them.

Community, or Small Groups. There are two things that helped shaped the format of The Crucible. One is YWAM's DTS, or Discipleship Training School. From that model, we have chosen the three elements upon which The Crucible is based. Each is integral to our program. Our small groups provide the vital opportunity to respond together and collectively, but also to develop relationships and community.

Do you have a personal vision statement or life verse?

My verse is the scene in revelation where the crowd of people from every tribe, nation, and tongue worship Jesus. With the nations inscribed in my heart, I never imagined serving as a pastor at a large American church. It's as though I woke up one day and found myself wearing a pastoral mantle. Ever since, I've experienced a growing desire to see people equipped to live their life to God's fullness and to impact their generation for His glory. I can now say that feel like I'm one of the very few who are doing what they were born to do.

If you could write your eulogy, what would it say? How do you want to be known? What would you like to have accomplished?

It's hard because I consistently have to overcome areas where I fail. In the end, though, I hope to be known as a man who loved well. I don't want to be a bunch of different people—this way with one crowd, and that way with another. I want to be the one man, a lover of God and, in everything, a fearer of God.

How do you try to balance family and ministry?

It's a struggle to keep a sense of family identity—to make sure that everyone is on the same page and same team. I try to verbalize to my family how they are most important to me. They understand how fulfilling my work is, but I think they realize that if it were taken from me I would still count myself a rich man. Being the father of three sons has been the most amazing adventure of my life. It's not a stretch or effort to take them most seriously because they mean the world to me. They have transformed my life. They have taught me so much about myself. I shudder to think where I would be without my wife and my sons' influence.