vision
worship and beauty

The Artist steps into his masterpiece.  The Word becomes flesh.  The gospel is not only a story of our Creator, it is a story of our Creator so in love with and for his creation, his artistic masterpiece, that when he sees it threatened with destruction the Word becomes flesh, the Grand Artist steps into his masterpiece and unites himself to earth and flesh and bone, uniting the life and destiny of God with creation.  The transformative restoration of the Masterpiece is promised through the cross and resurrection of the Messiah when all things in heaven and earth will be brought under the life-giving and restorative reign of Christ.  We find ourselves living in God’s masterpiece of creation, his narrative of history, his orchestra of redemption.

 

As the above points to, God is the one in whom the visual arts, story, music and the other broad and various forms of creative expression find their ground of being and grand significance.  The Triune Creator is the ultimate Grand Artist through whom all things were made and in whom all things find their future.  Our Creator God has lavishly displayed his wonder for all to see, and has endowed each of us with the creative powers to express the values, pains, joys and awe of this life.  Through worship we find a way of reflecting back to God his glory, and through arts & culture we find a way of exploring more fully the creative world that God has made and the variety of world perspectives on it.

 

To use the word "worship" is too small; you automatically get the picture of a group singing.  To use the word "beauty", though abstract, embraces the larger picture of what we believe worship truly is.  In regards to the worship service and similar gatherings of the body of Christ, worshipful environments should be places where the people of God can express their adoration to Him through various mediums.  The worship service could contain music, painting, readings, film and more to convey the truth of God.  Just as a family would display the works of art their small children create, so God wants to declare his glory and be worshipped through the creative expressions his children create.  Art allows people to connect to aspects of God that the eye can only embrace and words cannot express adequately.

  

Regarding mainstream arts culture, the arts are more than just paintings in a museum, or a night at the symphony; we are surrounded by movies, music, literature, advertising and more; creative communication is how we ‘talk’ today as a society about what we love, value, desire, find meaning in.  Our desire is to be conversant and engaged in this conversation.  Music, literature, film, painting, photography, design and more are all pathways through which we reveal the beauty and majesty of God and explore his world in its fullness.  As creatures made in the image of the Creator, we find an integral connection to His heart through the arts.

 

Our vision is ultimately that we would be moving as a people towards a God-centered vision of arts & culture, expressing itself in our worshipping life as a people, the discipleship of our artists, our engagement of arts & culture, and our involvement with our city in establishing a vibrant and flourishing arts culture.

 

For more on our value of worship & beauty and a theology of art, check out the following sermon on the arts.

 

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