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 C'mon Church, Take a Risk on Artists!Ministry requires a brave heart and attitude.
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"I confess, I did it." This confession was so remarkable that every newspaper in the country carried the story of Dan Leach's confession. Leach had gotten away with the perfect murder. The motive was simple. His girlfriend was pregnant and he wanted no part of it. The Houston coroner had ruled her hanging as a suicide in the absence of any evidence pointing to foul play. In an interview with Associated Press the Houston detective assigned to the case said, "Dan was very, very meticulous. It was very well-planned and well executed." What was it that caused him to confess to a sin and a crime that no one could prove he committed? What could possibly be so compelling that a guy would rather tell the truth and face life in prison than continue to live a lie? What was it that caused this spiritual transformation in Leach's life? The answer—it was art created by a Christian artist that changed Dan R. Leach's life forever! It wasn't that he didn't know the story of Jesus death and resurrection. And it was not that he couldn't give you the right answer for why Jesus died. It was after Leach experienced Mel Gibson's artistic vision of the last 12 hours of Christ life on film that he contacted a spiritual advisor and said he wanted to come clean. He then walked into a Houston police station and said, "I confess, I did it". This is just the most publicized example of how great artists and good art can impact lives for the mission of Jesus; but what I believe is the beginning of things to come. Here is what the church must not miss—art is the language of experience. Artists were created by God to speak to the hearts of people. In the modern era we needed to take risks on scientists to speak to our heads and give us apologetics with a clear rationale for truth. But in the postmodern era we must now take risks on artists because they are the ones that can speak to our hearts and create the experiences of truth we so crave. U.S. News & World Report recently conducted a survey and asked people, "What was most important when it came to choosing a church, synagogue, mosque, or temple to attend?" The response was fascinating. By a margin of almost 3 to 1, respondents chose "an individual's spiritual experience" (69%) over "doctrines and beliefs" (24%) as the most important part of religion. "Spiritual experiences" were chosen over "doctrines and beliefs" by both non-Christians (73%-15%) and Christians (69%-26%). I don't believe this survey is telling us that doctrines and beliefs aren't important to people; I believe it is telling us that people come to those beliefs in a different way than they have in the past. People are looking for transcendent and transforming experiences to confirm what the belief. The church needs the people who are gifted by God to create and facilitate these spiritual experiences—artists! The church needs musicians, vocalists and actors. We need painters, dancers and graphic designers. We need videographers, producers, directors and filmmakers. The church needs artists! |             |
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