By Jim L. Wilson
You could say that Jersey Community Fellowship started like all churches
do-in the heart of its founding pastor. But that's the only way this church
start was similar to all the rest.
Pastor Steven Pace thought of a unique way to launch the new Southern
Baptist church: with a Broadway-style production of "Godspell," the rock
opera based on the gospel of Matthew. The musical would offer them the
opportunity to share Christ in a unique way, and it would show the community
that this is a church that embraces the arts.
"We knew that it was a way of reaching those who would not attend a
church service but would come to see a Broadway musical," says Pace. "We
also wanted to reach out to non-Christian actors in the area-half the cast
were non-Christians. By the end of the production they all had accepted
Christ." At least three of the cast members have gone on to study theater
and are cultural missionaries bringing light to an industry that desperately
needs the gospel.
The church's production helped them add to their core group, but it
served another function as well-embedding creativity deep into the DNA
of the church. A year later, about 40 people gather each week for a worship
service that includes drama, movie clips, music from musicals and other
forms of art.
"The arts belong to God and were created by Him for His glory," says
Pace. "We live in a media-driven society, so we need to reach people where
they are and bring them to where Christ is. If that means putting on a
Broadway musical or painting in the middle of a service-or in the middle
of town-then let's do it."
Connecting
In the dry desert of Tucson, Arizona, worship at The Crossing doesn't begin
at 6 p.m., as the posted time says-it begins the minute people begin transitioning
from the hot desert air into the cool sacred space. People arrive early,
meander over to the café, order their first latte or chai of the
evening, and begin rubbing souls with others who are gathering to take
another step in their pursuit of the God who is pursuing them.
Inside, torchiere lamps and candles provide enough light for navigating
the room, and artistic images are projected onto the screen. The band points
the way toward the Father with a long music set. After five or six songs,
the church takes an intermission to grab another cup, relax, reconnect
with an old friend or make a new one.
One of the pastors, Sean Benesh, a church planting strategist for the
North American Mission Board, takes a seat on a stool and engages the minds
of his listeners. "I've been accused of being too philosophical and heady
in my speaking," Benesh says. "I love to get people thinking." Art can
do that, too.
Most days Benesh spends his message time taking the congregation deep
into scripture, but every couple of months he guides them through an expression
of worship that connects the people of The Crossing with congregations
throughout the ages. On those weeks, the focus of the service isn't the
music the band is playing, the words the pastor is speaking or the art
projected onto the screen-it's the bread and juice sitting on a table with
candles. People come when they are ready, some kneeling and praying before
they take the Lord's Supper.
"There's nothing like watching a 19-year old student worship God in
singing and then come up and pour out his heart before God in the Lord's
Supper," Benesh says.
Worship doesn't conclude with the final prayer. After taking the bread
and juice, the people share a meal
together. "The Lord's Supper is not the Lord's snack," Benesh says.
"It's about eating together, remembering Christ's death and experiencing
community."
Preparing the heart
In Los Angeles, the people of Mosaic gather for a worship experience that
includes drama, music and dance. While Pastor Erwin McManus preaches, artists
work on sculptures and paintings in the audience. McManus doesn't refer
to the artists during his sermon; they aren't props or visual illustrations.
In a way, their activity is incongruent with the sermon. They aren't there
to illustrate or inform-their function is simply to inspire. According
to McManus, witnessing the creative process helps put the audience in the
frame of mind to hear the message.
Creative church services can be earthy and multi-layered. They don't
use a painting or a poem to illustrate a point, or a drama as an element
of a progressive presentation; instead, they weave several layers into
a multi-sensory experience. The music, the art, the lighting effects, the
sermon segments and the visual props form a tapestry that prepares the
congregation for an encounter with the One who created everything-the Creator
Himself.
Experiencing God
One Sunday night the people of Westwinds broke an extended fast during
a service built around the theme "Hungering and Thirsting for God." Worship
leaders intensified the hunger pangs of their people with the smell of
baking bread and the sight of fast-food commercials playing on small monitors
located throughout the room.
The worship service included poetry, photographs of desert scenes projected
on the big screen, several sermon segments and music. The songs used phrases
like, "I'm desperate for you" and "We are hungry for more of you." The
reason for incorporating these elements was to create an environment where
people could experience God. The service was a metaphor: just as we have
hunger pains for food, we also have deep spiritual cravings that only God
can fill.
"Worship experiences are 'moment collections' we design to increase
the incidences of bumping into the presence of God," says Ron Martoia,
the founding pastor of Westwinds Community Church in Jackson, Michigan.
"We hope we're creating moments where people can't help but experience
God."
A thousand words
Churches are using the arts more and more to share Christ with nonbelievers.
Why? Maybe it's because some people aren't "word" people who are looking
for reasons to believe or principles to follow-they are "image" people
who long to synchronize their souls with God's will through beauty, rhythm
and intuition. They prefer the "picture" to the "thousand words."
Certainly, God uses the spoken word to speak to His people. He also
uses painting, sculpture, poetry and other forms of art to whisper to them,
reaching them through the inherent power of creativity, pointing people
to Himself, the Creator.
But, really, does it have to be either/or? Is it possible for a church
to utilize words and art to usher people into the presence of God?
The art might create an ambiance for the words, or the words may create
a context for the art to impact someone's heart. Which one upstages the
other isn't the point. The art doesn't exist for itself and neither do
the words; both elements are signposts that point to Christ.
To put it another way, both are tools God uses to speak to people. Beauty
and truth don't have to be antagonistic toward one another. The one prepares
the heart for the other. When done right, words and images partner together
to instruct and inspire. The arts can be creatively compelling and powerfully
persuasive in proclaiming the gospel.
A legacy of art
At first glance, using a Broadway-style production to launch a church or
having dramatic presentations, video, painting and sculpting in the auditorium
may seem a bit strange, even out of place. But it's the absence-not the
presence-of art that's the historical aberration. "The 20th century is
unique in human history," says Barbara Nicolosi, director of Hollywood-based
Act One, which teaches script-writing and other movie-making techniques
to Christians who aspire to be part of the film culture. "It was the only
century in which the arts and faith were separated and considered antagonistic."
Throughout much of history the use of art as an expression of faith
wasn't the exception; it was the rule. Michelangelo's classic painting
on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel of God and Adam, da Vinci's "Last
Supper," Botticelli's "Adoration of the Magi," and Raphael's "Epiphany"
are cultural icons with deep ecclesiastical roots. The reasons have to
do with cultural realities as diverse as economics and literacy.
In the first 1500 or so years of Christianity, when few people could
read, it was the Church that had finances and the vision to commission
artistic renderings of Bible stories, which were displayed in houses of
worship ranging from grand cathedrals to modest chapels. In short, churches
were the first art museums. After the Protestant Reformation, a greater
emphasis was placed on refining doctrine-putting ideas onto paper and letting
words do the work of pointing to the Creator.
As evangelicalism flourished, so did the notion of emphasizing the authority
of words-or better, the Word. And, as the ability to read became more widespread
(and so did books), churches became less dependent on "telling the old,
old story" through artwork such as paintings, tapestries, stained glass
and sculptures. Worshippers could read the Bible stories for themselves-
and, indeed, the evangelical movement encouraged it.
So, although historically evangelicals have been more prolific with
the pen than with the brush, can't our churches welcome visual artists
back into our ranks? If we do, perhaps we'll see a proliferation of art
that magnifies our words.
Reaching out
Churches that bring the arts back into the church are welcoming artists
and art-lovers, too. "The ability to express faith and love through dance,
through music, through painting is a gift from God," Nicolosi says. "If
we say to artists, 'you have to be a word person like the rest of us,'
they won't have the means to express what's in their heart, so we shut
them down, make them depressed, isolated and, in the worst cases, bitter."
For years, the Chamber Singers of University Baptist Church in Houston,
Texas, have performed classical music as an outreach to the community.
"We feel that people will come to this event who won't come to a regular
church service," says Matt Marsh, associate pastor of worship.
Recently, he expanded the outreach ministry to include an exhibition
of fine arts. In an art gallery environment, University Baptist set up
dozens of areas to exhibit paintings, sculptures and photographs of local
artists. Marsh's goal was to allow the artists in his church to use their
talents while reaching out to the unchurched people on their campus-inviting
them to a neutral event "to get them through the door."
"I feel strongly about the arts," Marsh says. "The church is a great
home for the arts."
Leveraging the culture
Make no mistake, these 21st century churches aren't trying to be hip or
culturally relevant; they are leveraging the culture. "Our goal for using
art at Mosaic is not to be relevant ultimately," says McManus, "but to
cause culture to cause artistic people to say 'Wait a minute, where is
this new way of expressing artistic creativity coming from?'" And when
they come to see the art, they encounter God.
The local church has the opportunity to become centers of cultural change.
Art in its various forms has a major impact on our society. The church
can have a major impact on today's culture by encouraging Christian artists
to use their God-given talents to glorify God and share Christ in an environment
that desparately needs the good news.
The arts can help people discover, experience and demonstrate the transforming
power of Jesus Christ. Whether it's watching a musical or dramatic performance,
participating in a creative worship service, or enjoying a sculpture or
painting, something happens when people's creative juices are primed by
the arts-their hearts open up to their Creator.
Dr. James L. Wilson is the pastor of Lighthouse
Baptist Church in Seaside, California, and the online editor at freshministry.org.
This article first appeard in On Mission
Magazine and was adapted from his book, Future
Church: Ministry in a Post-Seeker Age (Broadman & Holman 2004).
For more info visit www.thefuturechurch.com.
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