The holding back of creative expression of faith in the arts
One of the great theologians who impacted my life through his writings was Francis Schaeffer. In the 70-80's Schaeffer was a force in evangelical Christians and his challenge was unique. He called for Christians to put away their ideas (false ones) that there is a division in the world of secular and sacred. The fact is all things on this earth can be used for evil and to do harm - to promote sin....but conversely -- all things can be used to promote righteousness, to proclaim God's power and grace -- share the gospel. No job or profession is more sacred then another...no activity is more holy then the next.
One of the areas of life he was passionate about was the arts and music. He used to say that the Arts used to be used for worship, to communicate the creative majesty of God and to declare the beauty of God's holiness. It has been hijacked and corrupted by the evil one. It is time we reclaim the arts for the glory of God. If you look in our world today, you have to notice that the world is no longer “black and white” – it is vivid with colors. Things are not shaped square or round – angles, shapes, designs… The world is filled with technologies and gadgets! I think one of the reasons that evangelical Christianity has lost its place at the table of world discussions and lost our influence is because we huddled in churches and did not engage in the creative expression of faith through the arts.
When I say ARTS I mean drawing, painting, music, dance, sculpture, poetry, graphic design, etc… Demographically, the arts are flooded with young people, probably 20-36 years dominate this venue and thus it’s a “twofer” – when you can touch a discipline and demographic if Christians and especially churches would get involved with the arts. Without question it is risky. They paint NUDES! You have to deal with some of moral issues but it is not impossible. Schaeffer made a great case that Paul had to go around some seedy, erotic venues in places like Corinth, Ephesus and Thessalonica to get the gospel to those who were in those places.
Christians feel very uncomfortable around artists because they are always living in the abstract and the dreams. Yet the fact is as Christians we promote FAITH. Is there anything more abstract than that. Yet we can move the abstract to the concrete because there is TRUTH. I believe many artists end up finding God or moving towards spirituality (very broad) because ultimately they want to find truth.
Next week – the Christian church will acknowledge the most holy nights in traditional Christian circles - Good Friday. Our church is using the arts to point people's hearts and minds to the person of Christ. Our church will be transformed into a walking art gallery. Talented artists in the community have been used to create pieces of work to tell the story of the Savior. The culmination of the night will end in the sanctuary for communion. What an evening – and amazingly there will be unbelieving artists who will be seeking truth. I do not believe we can win the war of today without a serious look at the arts and how we can bring our influence to bear on it. As Schaeffer desired the arts would be reclaimed for the glory of God!