The Arts Alive Conference

First impressions are lasting impressions, and the first thing that hit me about the Arts Alive Conference was the focus on honesty, creativity, and imagination in regards to worship and ministry. It was much discussed how the Church hasn’t really known what to do with artists, favoring spelling every detail out for the audience rather than utilizing the artist’s method of nuance and subtlety, even opposing it in many instances. The conference was focused on creating a merging of the two, giving us nuance and art without sacrificing ministry. There were all kinds of people at the conference, mostly artists including sculptors, actors, painters, musicians, poets, and dancers. They came from all over the world and from all walks of life to learn how to better use their art to reach the world. Over a span of two day, these artists were engaged in a series of general sessions and several workshops.

Each session was preceded with a few words from A.C.T. International founder, Rev. Byron Spradlin. He expounded on the idea that God’s very nature is, “imaginal”, or, consists of an imaginative aspect that is reflected in the world around us. Therefore, he reasoned, we who are made in His image must reflect that as we reflect the other aspects of His character. He went on to discuss how the Church hasn’t really known what to do with artists, so they have been marginalized, partly because most Christians don’t understand the imaginal aspect of God’s character. Thus, many artists have become wounded and disillusioned by the Church, which he hoped the conference would help to heal those wounds.

He also gave his definition of imagination, which is a God-given capacity to see reality that does not exist yet, and talked about the problem of using Biblical reference when talking to non-Christians. The problem being that non-Christians do not have the same context that Christians have and Biblical references are less effective without that context. He suggested we go for a more subtle, more personal route, even using the culture and texts of the people you’re trying to talk to and show them how to use that to worship in their own way. This way the Gospel becomes something all can relate to, without watering it down.

Each session also utilized a different style of worship, from contemporary gospel to liturgy. This was intended to get everyone thinking outside their comfort zone.

The following is a brief breakdown of sessions that I was able to attend during my time at the conference:

Session 1: Christian Artist or Disciple Artist? A Case for a Disciplined Disciple Artist
Speaker: Pastor David Taylor

Pastor Taylor’s talk began with a demonstration. He brought a trained dancer on stage with him and both performed the same short routine. While both did the same moves, his were clumsy and awkward while hers were graceful and beautiful. This, of course, was what he was trying to show. He then proceeded to talk about the difference between conformity and discipline, as a disciplined dancer would have the skill and ability to bring out the beauty and creativity of the art, whereas someone merely conforming and copying the dancer’s moves will meet with considerably less success.

He continued by outlining what he considered to be the disciplines needed for disciples of Christ. These included reconstructing our whole selves and becoming the kind of person who does good naturally, from whom beauty simply flows. Even though this process would be very difficult at first, he stated that it would become easier at time, leading us away from, “I have to do this”, to, “I want to do this”. I could go on for pages about his talk, but to sum up the rest, creativity must be pursued because to seek what is comfortable simply feeds our own selves and doesn’t push us to anything greater. Since God is all about pushing us to be better than we are and shaking us up, shouldn’t we as Christians despise the things that makes us comfortable and don’t challenge us?

Session 3: Three Dynamic Worship Essentials For The Artist
Speaker: Dr. Vernon M. Whaley

Dr. Whaley gave a more straightforward talk about worship and how it relates to the artist. He used the example of Moses and how God blessed him when he worshipped, for instance, God showing Moses a glimpse of just part of him. He spoke about the importance for artists to cultivate a partnership with God, maintaining that relationship, and capturing the power that it brings. He also used the Israelites building the golden calf as an example of what happens when we give into the fear that God’s presence has left us, we allow our relationship with God to fall into disrepair. In the process of repairing that relationship, we can see that worship must be more than songs, but a whole state of mind that consumes every aspect of our lives. If we continue to practice a life of worship, than the blessing of God can flow. He was careful to make it clear that God will bless us as He sees fit, which is often not what we expected or, in some cases, not even what we thought we wanted.

Session 5: Innovation At The Intersection Of The Arts And Mission
Speaker: Dr. Colin Harbinson

The final session began with a piece by the StillPoint Dance Theater. It was a captivating few minutes as the dancers’ movements painted a picture. The Theater performed multiple times, illustrating the redemption of a woman and part of the creation account.

After all of this, it came time for the final speaker, who was also the most interesting. He started discussing why arts get so far removed from missions and how we can reconnect the two. His points were that the Church too often doesn’t know what to do with the subtleties of imaginative art, preferring a didactic approach that leaves creative people discouraged and cynical. He made a mention of what he called the 10/90 principle, that 90% of Biblical revelation appeals to the imagination, whether it is poetry or stories or songs, while only 10% is didactic. His suggested solution was to get rid of the contentment with mediocrity and crave excellence, since God is perfect excellence. Instead of marginalizing artists as a distraction they need to be given more mainstream focus for their ability to speak truth in ways that no one else can. Instead of focusing on preaching at people, we must develop an artistic language to bring the gospel to all nations. This is all really just scratching the surface, as one could go on for pages and pages about this topic.

Workshop 1: Artists Walking Strong In The Arts Industry
Speaker: Rick Cua and panel

The first workshop consisted of Rick Cua and three prominent Christians in the arts industry. The first was Ron Block who is a member of Alison Krauss’s band, Union Station. He told the story of how he got into music, what drove him prior to becoming a Christian, and how his faith influences his approach towards the arts. Tony Patoto, former manager for the band Delirious?, talked about starting a label from the ground even though he had no experience doing so and his first encounters with the Christian music industry. Then Lynn Nichols, who played with Phil Keaggy, is a published songwriter, and has worked with MuteMath and Switchfoot, talked about the rise of rock music in the Church and his experiences trying to gain acceptance. All of their stories wove together the main point they were trying to get across, that Christians within the arts industry must find a balance between God and self, and the difficulty in maintaining that balance.

Workshop 2: Christian Artists: Are You A Voice Or An Echo To Your Community?
Speaker: Sharon Perry

The second workshop was led by Sharon Perry, founder of Stillpoint Dance Theater. She talked about using art to speak to the community as social commentary. She used the example of putting together a dance piece based around the Holocaust in a country where Holocaust deniers were more common. It was met with people being moved to tears and willing to listen in ways that might not have been accomplished any other way. She also discussed how European art tends to be more abstract and layered with a lot more subtlety than American art.

Workshop 3: Art Making & The Dark Night Of The Soul
Speaker: David Bunker

David Bunker, a professor at Trevecca Nazarene University, led the third workshop. He talked a lot about artists using pain and doubt to create art that is honest and can create an authentic ministry. He emphasized that if one hoped to write about a dark night of the soul, one must walk through the darkness and be able to talk about it without trying to gloss over the difficulty. He made sure to differentiate this from self-pity, which is destructive, and gave examples through poetry of using pain to create beautiful art that can serve as a comfort to others, and even to the artist, which will be constructive.

Overall, the conference was a wonderful experience. I felt enriched as a Christian and a renewed sense of passion as an artist. I felt it could have gone on for days more and there still would have been an abundance of things to discuss. Hopefully there will be another one so the area of art and ministry can be given the long overdue attention it deserves.

• www.artsministrytraining.org

↓ One comment

#1 Dad on September 17th, 2008 at 7:24 pm

Great article, well-spoken and insightful. I’m really proud of the job you are doing in this area. Keep up the good work.

For the record, do I have to “despise” everything that makes me comfortable, of can I still “like” a few of them (just a little bit)?

Hope to see you sometime soon.

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