Where’s Michelangelo?

And if we knew, who would pay him to really be creative???

I am impressed by the stark contrast between churches of past ages and those of today. Compare the two images below for instance….

 

While each have unique architectural beauty, it’s hard to deny the Sistine Chapel’s emphasis on art vs. the more modern example. I see this reflected time-and-time again today in evangelical churches of all sizes. Now I am very thankful that churches today are not typically built by extorting money out of believers who are lead to trust their eternity to purchased indulgences. But at the same time, the amount of artwork that goes into the design and appointment of churches today has drastically decreased. Many churches are more like sterile convention centers than facilities that evoke a sense of reverence and inspire worship by virtue of their design. I’ve not been in the Sistine Chapel, but I’ve been any many sanctuaries based on old world design. Almost without fail they stir up worship and awe in my heart. Their architecture, stained-glass, artistic depictions of Biblical events, even the symbolism of candles, and the fragrance of incense bring me into worship naturally. This doesn’t happen when I enter a tilt-up concrete structure with a drywall interior, folding chairs and indoor-outdoor carpeting. This doesn’t mean God’s in the old church but absent in the new. In fact, God’s everywhere. But art and design can remind us of His presence.

This goes deeper than just how we design. I think it goes to what skills and talents we value and cultivate in the church. It’s impressive to note that many of the greatest artists, musicians and composers made part or all of their living through the church. Michelangelo, Bach, Mozart and countless others whose names we may not even know.

So what has changed? Why have we gone from frescoes to acoustic tile?Surely there are lots of reasons, some practical, perhaps even theological. One is probably man’s ever-decreasing patience. Remember that many old world cathedrals actually took generations to complete. Those who commissioned, designed and broke ground knew they’d never see the finished structure. What pastor would propose a building project like that today? We’re very impatient. On the theological side, there’s also the fact that Puritan traditions of simplicity still exert a powerful influence on evangelical churches today. But it’s broader than just that. you can see it outside the church too. Compare an old metropolitan bank building to one built in the last few years. Stone pillars and marble floors have been replaced by cheaper, far less ornate structural elements.

So maybe it’s not just the church. Perhaps the world is just becoming a less beautiful place. I believe this is reflected not only in the look of what mankind builds, but also in the fact our geographic expansion is simply paving-over creation — God’s handiwork. In that light, my strong conviction is that the church has an opportunity, even an obligation, to further set itself apart as a haven of beauty, art, music, and all manner of soulful expressions of truth, edification and worship. As the longest book in the Bible, Psalms, is a collection of lyrics and poetry. So the church should elevate the arts to be among the most important and prominent fruits of its efforts. Not the onlyfruit mind you, but a larger part than it currently represents. My personal experience has been that artists are most often treated as “resources” the church can use to set the stage for pastors to teach rather than seeing them as the means by which God can reach directly into the hearts of believers to draw true worship while allowing non-believers to encounter the Holy Spirit directly. Having experienced being a part of both artistic ministries and teaching ministries, I am interested in the differences in how they’re shepherded. In teaching-oriented ministries there is at least some measure of effort placed into building the necessary competence, theological understanding, devotional habits, accountability and discipleship skills. While in artistic ministry there is little, if any, focus on these things. The result of this is that the artistic community within the church is often not equally grounded spiritually, not truly equipped for ministry. The sad result of this is the number of moral failures I’ve seen among the ranks of artists. Crisis proportions in my view. While ultimately these are personal failures, the church bares a degree of responsibility as well. But the natural result of this is for church leadership to place less trust in the spiritual strength of their artists. A sad vicious cycle begins if we’re not careful.

There is hope though… there always is, because God is faithful even when we are not. I am encouraged that church leadership titles like “song leader” or even “director of music” are often being replaced by “pastor of worship arts” and a host of other titles that elevate the position and broaden its scope beyond just that of music. Of course, God cares nothing about titles, nor should we. But it represents a shift in thinking and a resetting of goals. Whether or not actual expectations, practices and results have changed is another matter. Success in this I think is far less common. What is required is not changes of title or even liturgical structure (though that may be a result.) As much as it might sound like I’m pinning the responsibility for change on senior church leadership, I’m not. Actually I think the change needs to start within the community of Christian artists and those who are responsible for music and artistic ministry. Recognize the awesome role you can play in the church. Certainly the support of the rest of church leadership will be needed along the way, but we need to demonstrate the impact we can have as we go. We also need to do the hard work of discipleship within our ranks. Of course, this starts with building habits in our own lives that match the lyrics we sing. Do we live like we’re “in love with Jesus?” Is He the air we “breath?” Do we honestly seek that He “open the eyes of our hearts?” As we seek to live it personally and then to sew it within the community of artists around us, God will elevate the resulting ministry. He loves to receive the praises of His people. No one is better equipped to express His praise than the artistic heart!

What is required of church leadership is to recognize that there is an artistic community around them. By nature, they’re among the least likely to assert their presence. But they have a unique and irreplaceable role in the church. Make sure you are seeking to grow, disciple, nurture, build, and use this community to glory of God.

In comments, I’d love to hear about places where this is going well.

Is God Angry With Us?

As so many did today around the world, I went to church. Statistically speaking, mine is pretty big — 4000-5000 in 4 services on any given Sunday. In order to serve that many, we have a pretty extensive facility. Not particularly extravagant (thankfully), but it’s relatively new and comfortably appointed. As you step onto the grounds you can’t help but notice the tables ministry teams have setup to promote the various things people can be involved with, attend, support and otherwise partake in.

While I think this is a great way to get the word out about these activities, I also can’t help but be reminded of the account I ran across studying through the Gospel of Matthew this month. You’re probably very familiar with the account. In Matthew 21, Jesus anger is raised against vendors and money changers who had setup shop in the temple. He’s ticked-off and kicks them out (in a loving, Jesus sort of way, of course.) But really, this is the only place I know of were Jesus’ anger gets physical! He trashes their storefronts! The reason He states for doing this is that they were turning God’s house into den of robbers, which of course they were. They were also doing so in the outer court, the only temple area where Gentiles could actually come. So they were displacing people who might have wanted to be there for spiritual reasons. They were also being a pretty poor witness.

Now I don’t mean to compare these unseemly folk with the people who rightly promote their ministries to churchgoers, but this passage did make me think. Did all the vendors and money changes know they were doing wrong? Maybe so. But perhaps they were just following the examples of others before them. Maybe their response to Jesus was, “but this is how we’ve always done it.”

This is not to say they were justified, only that they may have simply never thought about what they were doing and the affect it might have on others. Jesus confronted them with reality, as He does like no one else can.

In view of this, it made me think…. What do we do in our churches that would anger Jesus if He visited this Sunday? Do we ever turn parts of His Father’s house into something other than a place of worship? Does anything we do prevent others from entering or worshiping? I think churches would do well to run pretty much anything they do through that filter. How much of our resources and time are going to things other than loving God and our neighbors? Does our church really need another potluck? Or might it be more appropriate that we serve those meals to people in our town who won’t get one tonight?

I have to admit I’ve been thinking about things a lot this way recently. Honestly, it scares me because I don’t think the average church… or the average Christian… or I… actually live this way. Could I live in a way that shows God more love? Yes. Could I love my neighbor more? Yes. You don’t have to follow the logic of Jesus message very far before you realize He taught a pretty radical message. I just don’t think most of our churches, or our lives, are that radical. Perhaps they should be. After reading how He greeted the vendors and money changers, I for one don’t want to tick Jesus off!

Sing a NEW Song the Lord

Psalm 96

I have a pet peeve and today I’m going to unleash it! The world is becoming way too homogenized. While I’m totally on board with multiculturalism I find it’s experiencing the differences between people, cultures, countries and even churches that I enjoy the most. I’ve had the blessing of being able to travel the world a bit. I love travel. The different sights, sounds, smells, tastes, people, customs — everything. But in my travels I’ve often been disappointed at how much is familiar when I land. The shopping. The chain restaurants. The music (and usually it’s the mindless pop I hear most!) Even the language — English is everywhere! While the commonality of English is convenient, I also find it a little sad that it’s displacing other languages in local importance.


The city I probably enjoyed the most was Tokyo, simply because it was SO different. English was practically useless. Though there were too many Starbuck’s, McDonald’s and even AM/PM, most everything else was very different. Very Japanese.

My point is that differences are refreshing. They’re also important because they reflect the different ways people experience life. I think this is very true when it comes to our expressions of worship as well. But I have to say the level of homogenization in the US church is amazing! And I think the commercialization of worship music into a recognized genre is driving this. It’s amazing how similar worship music is from congregation to congregation. Thanks to the dominance of the music churned out from Nashville you hear the same songs, the same arrangements, the same sounds, over and over again. It’s just so boring! Not to knock the major song writers and leaders of our day, I’m a fan. I also enjoy playing these songs and I know congregations want to hear them. BUT, we need to change it up a little sometimes. Use the creativity God gave US. Sing, play, arrange, write a NEW song to the Lord! God wants us to experience him uniquely as individuals and as local communities. As we seek this kind of relationship and expression we will also gain new insight and inspiration from Him that is far more personal than we can gain simply by recreating the creative work of others. As artists this is what can drive true inspired creativity. We need this and our churches need this infusion of the Spirit’s work. Our worship will be more authentic, more heartfelt, because it truly comes from our hearts.

I have a strong conviction that as pastors plan and present “original messages” that God places on their hearts specifically for their congregations, we as worship artists are often called to do the same for worship art. We should be seeking the Spirit’s guidance on this. Similarly, I believe worship artists should seek opportunities to get in sync with our teaching pastors on what the Spirit’s leading them to present. Perhaps God would have us write corresponding songs. This kind of dialog is very beneficial artistic inspiration. But it can lead to an integration of Spirit-lead worship and message that cannot be achieved any other way.

I love the advice to young animators from Disney’s Frank Thomas.  “Observe Everything. Communicate Well. Draw, Draw, Draw!”

Similar guidance could benefit us. “Observe Everything. Pray hard. Write, write, write!”