{"id":5718,"date":"2015-09-13T10:09:59","date_gmt":"2015-09-13T17:09:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=5718"},"modified":"2015-09-13T10:09:59","modified_gmt":"2015-09-13T17:09:59","slug":"does-the-church-neglect-the-gift-of-artistic-expression","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/does-the-church-neglect-the-gift-of-artistic-expression\/","title":{"rendered":"Does the church neglect the gift of artistic expression?"},"content":{"rendered":"

I can\u2019t say that I\u2019ve ever been considered creative or \u2018artsy\u2019, beyond decorating and gardening. However, recently, my opinion on art has been shifting and I have begun to more deeply appreciate the personal reflection of the artists thoughts, feelings and ideas as portrayed in their\u00a0artwork. Dyrness, in his book Visual Faith (Engaging Culture): Art, Theology, and Worship in Dialogue, <\/em>writes about the way that art has influenced and can be leveraged by the church. Art is an effective medium through which culture is influenced and people are drawn to a shared vision or understanding about a concept or idea. \u00a0Since it is such an\u00a0effective medium, one would think that the church today would embrace this as a way through which to spread the Gospel message. \u00a0Although there are some individual churches\u00a0where art is supported and appreciated, the\u00a0protestant church doesn’t widely\u00a0support and propagate art.<\/p>\n

Theological reflection is simply the practice of naming and describing the major commitments that guide thought and action.[1]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0Most people are influenced by things that they see, hear, taste, smell and experience. Have you ever walked into a church that is different than your own, and your experience is foreign even when the message preached isn\u2019t significantly different? Like visual art, words and language are also a form of expression. \u201cThere are three ways people are drawn to God: through affliction, religious practices, and by the experience of beauty.\u201d[2]<\/a> Take, for example, the pastor that uses words like \u2018wesleyan-armenian\u2019 and \u2018sanctification\u2019 versus the pastor who uses words like \u2018faith history\u2019 and \u2018transformed by Christ\u2019. People respond differently based on their culture, experience, and exposure. I\u2019ve grown up in both a formal Methodist church with stained glass windows and beautiful artwork depicting pictures of Christ. In many ways, this informed my knowledge of who Jesus was from the time I was a small child. Going to church was a formal affair, and we dressed up to show respect for Christ. Today, our church is very modern and people come to church dressed casually. The experience is musically and emotionally intense, but less visually intense than what I experienced as a child in the Methodist church. While there is a place for musicians to practice their art, there are few opportunities for artists of other mediums to practice and promote their talents.<\/p>\n

Dyrness asserts that \u201cthe church and the experience of beauty and loveliness appear to be estranged and that the role of the church has been supplanted by art galleries (or theaters). The experience of worship\u2014 prayer, praise, and participation in the sacraments\u2014 provides for believers the opportunity of responding to the gracious presence of God with the whole of their beings.\u201d[3]<\/a>. I have a son that is musically gifted and motivated by his visual surroundings. Like his mother, he is inspired by his surroundings. His\u00a0inspiration is found in a distinct connection with certain aesthetics that draw him. Instead of separating the art of the culture and his worship practice, he exercises his expression of art in all contexts and his faith is reflected\u00a0in church and out of church. Faith is personal and therefore his art is an expression of the message the Lord has given him for the world. People\u00a0come and are blessed each Sunday by the form of art that my son practices on Sunday mornings. He may not be painting elaborate murals, but he captures human and spiritual experience through his musical expression. \u00a0He is sixteen and beginning to explore avenues to prepare and help him pursue music as a career. \u00a0\u00a0We have found that very\u00a0few Christian colleges or universities\u00a0offer the rigor and experience necessary\u00a0for him to excel in music as a career beyond that of a worship leader. Those that do, have put many resources into their programs and have recognized that musicians need to connect with opportunities in the greater secular world beyond the church. \u00a0This is the same for other art programs.<\/p>\n

Dyrness addresses an issue concerning the role of the church within the world of art. God has gifted certain individuals with the ability to spread His message through art. \u201cA carefully wrought and intelligent object or painting, when it is patiently observed, opens up windows on the human situation in a way that other cultural products cannot.\u201d[4]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0Over time, support for those gifted in the various forms of art has dwindled. Preachers have the gift of motivating and captivating an audience, and appealing to their emotions through the spoken word. Painters do this through their visual representation; musicians through their song and sound. In all examples, the artist needs time and support in order to practice their craft. This requires financial resources and a venue in which to share their gift. This is where many churches are failing. A couple of years ago, I took a trip through the Vatican and was captured by the beauty of the art, and the way that it captured human emotions and drew me into spiritual reflection. In my own community, the Columbus Jewish Foundation (http:\/\/columbusjewishfoundation.org<\/a>) and the Wexner Foundation (http:\/\/www.wexnerfoundation.org\/blog\/everyone-can-be-an-artist<\/a>) place much importance on art, support artists, and propagate theology through artistic expression. In comparison, the protestant church has failed to adequately support the gifts and talents that the Lord has given so many of His people. Dyrness states, \u201cGod\u2019s people need to recover their visual imagination.\u201d[5]<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0I\u2019m not sure that visual imagination is what is lacking, rather the church hasn\u2019t resourced and supported artists so they have taken their art elsewhere.<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Dyrness, William A. (2001-11-01). Visual Faith (Engaging Culture): Art, Theology, and Worship in Dialogue (Kindle Location 1605). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Dyrness, William A. (2001-11-01). Visual Faith (Engaging Culture): Art, Theology, and Worship in Dialogue (Kindle Locations 388-389). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Dyrness, William A. (2001-11-01). Visual Faith (Engaging Culture): Art, Theology, and Worship in Dialogue (Kindle Location 401). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Dyrness, William A. (2001-11-01). Visual Faith (Engaging Culture): Art, Theology, and Worship in Dialogue (Kindle Location 401). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Dyrness, William A. (2001-11-01). Visual Faith (Engaging Culture): Art, Theology, and Worship in Dialogue (Kindle Locations 3057-3058). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I can\u2019t say that I\u2019ve ever been considered creative or \u2018artsy\u2019, beyond decorating and gardening. However, recently, my opinion on art has been shifting and I have begun to more deeply appreciate the personal reflection of the artists thoughts, feelings and ideas as portrayed in their\u00a0artwork. Dyrness, in his book Visual Faith (Engaging Culture): Art, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[484,289],"class_list":["post-5718","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-dawnel-volzke","tag-dyrness","cohort-lgp5"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5718","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5718"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5718\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5719,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5718\/revisions\/5719"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}