Perhaps this is a good place to ask readers what place art has in their churches and lives? Do you, and or your church, have any forms of visual art or groups of writers or music composers?
Do you personally know any painters or artists of any type? Does your church promote the arts in ANY way?
I would also be interested to know what thoughts any readers might have on the process of creativity in general?

I am from a small church in Colorado, about 300 people. About four years ago we started a Creative Arts Team. The idea was to involve the arts and in particular, artists in our worship services. This included stage settings, artistic displays, short dramas, monologues, poetry, power point presentations, DVD presentations, a potter, a painter etc. The primary goal was to reinforce our pastor's sermon in some way and more than that to point people to Christ.

We would meet on a Wednesday night with our senior pastor who would provide the portion of scripture he was going to preach on as well as his sermon outline. (Often he'd preach through a book of the bible.) We'd conduct a mini-bible study working with our pastor to identify the key truths he was going to highlight. We would then brainstorm songs and ideas for artistic elements. Then with his guidance we would carefully sift through the many ideas until we settled on a few and then we'd refine those. Each member had a particular set of talents and skills and so we would go to work. We always planned for a Sunday three weeks into the future so we had the time to plan and to pull various elements together.

My goal was to always ensure that it never became simply about the art and that we'd never do art for art's sake, for true art should fade into the background as one is left with a greater, more reverant view of God.

In the beginning we had a good few 'dud's' but also many elements that really moved people and seemed to connect people to the service and sermon in a deeper way. We were concerned about excellence and so always tried to give our best and so we set high standards. The team members probably spent 20-25 hours a week preparing. And for my wife and I this was in addition to 40-50 hour a week jobs.

We gained momentum and even organized and ran an arts conference for smaller churches, tryng to stay away from the grandiose Willow Creek model as much as possible. The conference was well received and we got some good feedback.

Then something happened, quietly and almost unnoticeably. We all felt the pressure to better the previous week and at some point it did become about the art. Our Pastor of Worship and Arts also enjoyed pushing the boundaries and we ended up doing things that never really seemed to serve a greater purpose, except for pushing the boundaries. Some things were cheesy and often distracted instead of focused. Our brainstorming sessions almost always ended up in the gutter. I resigned, our senior pastor stopped attending and after receiving the umpteenth complaint he disbanded what was left of the team a few months after that. I am still trying to work out what happened.

The arts can add a dimension to a worship service that the spoken word cannot. But art can be dangerous to, because it so easily becomes it's own thing so that in the end you yearn for the simplicity of an old hymn (not that they are simple by any means) or a prayer from the heart, or simply hearing scripture being read. And we so easily forget that art doesn't save or change people lives, it's the application of God's word to the heart by the Holy Spirit. Don't get me wrong I still enjoy the arts in a worship service, but my advice would be tread slowly, carefully and prayerfully. If it even smells like it is going to supplant the very purpose for which it is intended, dump it and run.

Wamalo, thanks for responding. I suppose ANY endeavor could end up being about the project rather than the service it intended. Do you think those in creative fields have a harder time overcoming tendencies that artistic personalities may express in negative ways? In other words, could those that work in creative fields do things that put themselves "on display" and therefore thier faults are more evident? Don't get me wrong, I am not excusing those tendencies, I am just asking if that could be the case?
Also, do you think the arts are more susceptible to "becoming its own thing" moreso than say, the preaching, the weekly choir, the ushers, etc.? I mean, when a choir disagrees, they don't disband, right?
I would also be interested in discussing the issue of creativity and its place in the Christian life.
Thanks again Wamalo for your heartfelt response to the topic.

Inkwell,

I definitely agree with your first statement and a comment you made later on. I don't think only the arts are susceptible to "becoming its own thing". I've seen that happen with mission statements, value statements, vision statements as well as missions, Adult Bible Fellowship, even service styles. It's something we have to be on our guard against. Unfortunately the slide is so gradual that you're over the threshold before your realize it.

As far as artistic personalities go, I am not so sure it's a case of being on display and therefore faults are more evident. I think it's because art is often an external expression or extention of one's personality. And in this area I battle with a soteriology that isn't concerned with sanctification and holiness - putting the old self to death. In our case when boundaries were pushed, there was an attempt to defuse the situation with, "Hey dude, I'm just like being authentic man." If I hear that again I'll stab myself in the leg to prevent me from choking that person, especially when what they are really saying is, "Hey, I just want to be self indulgent."

Artistic personalities also tend to lean away from the rational towards the intuitive. This often results in a fostering of the warm fuzzies at the expense of speaking the truth in love. And as far as truth is concerned artists 'feel' it differently at times. Whatver that means. (I am pretty creative but would say that I am far more rational than intuitive.)

Art is also directly linked to entertainment. And without a doubt the media has an impact on the message. Boy has that topic filled numerous pages.

Saying that I still love art. I thoroughly enjoy the creative process, whether it's preparing a Sunday School lesson, or building a DVD or preparing for the Lord's Supper. I am often whisked away in a sense by a magnificent piece of music, the words of an old hymn, a well crafted monologue or sermon, a photo, an image behind a verse. I believe that we are called to a life of creativity reflecting our Saviors creativity. But we need to always hold on tightly to the reigns of this mustang, ensuring constant tension, questioning reasons, motives and always asking that one important question, "Does it glorify God?" Not simply because we think so but because we are drenched in the Word.

"If I hear that again I'll stab myself in the leg ..." rofl!
Thanks for another thoughtful comment, Wamalo.
On a slight side note..have you found that the Christian artists you know are less inclined to be involved in (especially) visual arts unless it has something to do with "working in the church" for something like VBS or Sunday school, etc?
Do Christians place any value on the beauty of art as did previous generations?
Thanks again.

Yes and no. There are many creative people who only put that to use in a church setting and some who feel the only art worthy of anything needs to have strong overtly christian themes. (And boy do I wish a lot of so called Christian artists would go into construction or something similar.) I guess some are fearful of being associated with worldly things or some who know from personal experience how easily it is to get sucked down. I know many commercial artits who are equally at home creating within a secular environment as well as the church.

What the world desparately needs is good christian 'artists' (broadly used) who are passionate about their Savior all the time. Part of the problem today is that we have created this view of church linking it to a building and a gathering. Which is true but it is not the entire story. When we leave on a Sunday we don't cease to be the church. I wonder what difference we would see in our culture (artistically, creatively, aesthetically) if we truly belived that. The church, who no matter where, is concerned with integrity in whatever they do as well as excellence. In essence in the Christian's life creativity should not be localized and defintely needs sure footing.

In answer to your last question, I would say yes. The problem is that with all the technological advances there has been a proliferation of trash passing as art that we have perhaps forgotten what true beauty and art is. Previous generations were more grounded in what that was.

Wamalo, I hope there are more Christians with your outlook in the church.
You seem to have thought about this alot
and have a good sense of humor as well. :)
I pray your artistic endeavors bring fruit and blessing to many.

What's odd about our churches is that we are saturated in art but we don't think of it as art. It's our worship. People labored and even died to establish the tradition of painting, music, poetry, and architecture that we contemplate during our Liturgies. Our art is only the unworthy labor that we offer to God; seeing the faith that causes us to give him our poor best, he overshadows our labors and establishes the works of our hands and mouths. The result, miraculously, is true worship.

When we are standing in church, the walls are covered in beautiful colors and depictions of holy people. If we sing "O Son of God Who art risen from the dead; save us who sing to thee; alleluia" we can look at a depiction of Christ in the flesh, contemplating the stern beauty of his presence. The music is ethereal and because we sing basically the same music every Sunday, we know it well. We harmonize at will; we fall hushed or grow exultant as one body as we enter into the "coreography" of whatever is going on in the service. The arthictechure around us speaks, with its domes and alcoves; its altars and screens before the altar, its royals doors and its cruciform shape, of heaven and earth meeting in the Church, in the Person of Christ.

The arts that we use are only the most noble, and that goes for the materials as well. What I am saying is that art has a place among us because of our theology. Art is the mortar and hearts are the bricks, in the building that God is making for his abode. What evangelicals call art we call worship and it's holy to us.

I don't think evangelicals will ever find a place for art in the church, however sincerely they may want to. Their theology is against them in this endeavor. They are afraid of form and tradition, and both are essential in true art. (I learned that here on Remonstrans.) Also, evangelicals are allergic to the idea that anything belonging to this material nature can be holy...I think that's part of their Puritan heritage. So if evengelical art cannot be holy, how can evangelical worship be holy? And if worship cannot be holy, it might as well be profane - or trite, or self-indulgent, or just plain boring. The further away from this tradition I get, the more insane it looks to me, and I mean that in the most friendly way.

I should add that there are an ecumenical church council and a couple of wars in our tradition, over questions about art in Church. We've never 'dabbled' that I know of.

AR,

If you would, please define the distinction between mysticism and true worship?

Hi, Wamalo.

As I understand it, mysticism is the belief that God can be known directly by humans through a gift of God's grace in the heart. Mysticism is opposed to the belief that only an approximate knowledge of God can come to human beings, mediated through symbols directed to the intellect. Both of these beliefs are prefaced by the definition of God that makes him utterly transcendant and therefore unknowable by his creatures. This makes the claim of directly knowing him a "mystery," thus the name 'mysticism.' There are mystics in many traditions (A. W. Tozer is the great evangelical mystic) but our Orthodox tradition is dogmatically mystical.

True worship is harder for me to define, maybe because I'm not filled in on all the theological questions surrounding it. But I think it is a yielding, a rendering, of a person's being (whether human or angelic) back to their creator, the source of all they are. It must be in truth and in spirit - so you have this dogma to which worship is attached as well as this fervent inner motion of the heart that is the essence of it. But it can hardly involve the whole person without external forms, and the individual person can only attain it with extreme difficulty if he is not learning it in a body with those who have gone before him. True worship must be holy - that is, sacred and unique to God alone, and pervaded by his Sprit.

Ultimately, I'm convinced that worship must involve the disclosure by God to the heart of something of the nature of what is being worshipped, and this is where mysticism and worship meet. I don't think you can ultimately disconnect the two. And this is why, despite my belief that evangelical theology is against the sanctification of any external forms of worship, elements of true worship persist in appearing in many protestant hearts, homes, and churches.

May I ask what prompted the question?