In 2000 God started to point me into Creative Arts within the church. I fought this because I didn’t want to be incubated into mediocrity within a Christian subculture. I didn’t want to be involved in anything resembling a “church skit”. That is why church art has such a bad name and little impact. I began to realize, however, that what the church needed was someone to champion the God given creativity in all of us and to develop that in others. Today much of my time is spent within my church community which I push, taunt, encourage and drag towards more varied expressions of creative arts communication.
I am not always comfortable with that role and unsure if we achieve our purpose, but many times the journey is as important as the end result. It is in the safe community of fellow artists who claim Christ as Savior that we can take steps in the right direction. This blog is an attempt to help us see all of life, 360 degrees, as worship.
worship360 and 
internet elias are discussing. 
internet elias 10:41 AM on April 10, 2009 Permalink |
How very interesting…Creative Arts within the family of God. You are SO correct. We are children of the Creator. Why not ‘CREATE!’ I HOPE someday to put on canvas the BEAUTIFUL things God has shown to my mind and spirit. He showed them to me as a way of revealing or teaching scripture to me. But they are numerous and they are awesome. There is no new word….understand. The things He has shown me ALL have to do with the already inspired Word of God.
You possisble might see my appreciation for even the smallest graphic representations at my blogsite…internetelias.wordpress.com
I taught severely disabled students for eighteen years and had LOTS of experience with picture language, use of icons, graphics, and so forth…as alternate forms of communication. After all, ‘one picture is worth a thousand words’
Keep up the good work!
worship360 8:54 PM on April 19, 2009 Permalink |
Thanks for the encouragement. We are experimenting with images in our worship services. On Easter, we had a painter create a 6′x7′ painting while the whole congregation sang. It was a wonderful way to expand what it means to worship as a church.