Worship in the arts
Growing up as a classically trained dancer who loves Jesus, there was a tension in finding my identity in my performance and finding my identity in Christ.
In the world of the arts, one’s skill set is on display and the pressure can be suffocating.
What has saddened me over the years even more than this is when well meaning people in the church have discouraged their own children or others to pursue activities or even careers in the arts for various reasons, some of them being “spiritual” related.
Let’s set the record straight.
God created the arts for His glory, and calls people to such field to display His goodness, beauty and truth in this space. He is delighted when his people create good art as an act of worship.
Author Thomas J. Terry and J. Ryan Lister of Images and Idols: Creativity for the Christian Life summarize the following beautifully:
“Our hope, then, is to help put all acts of imagination and beauty back in their right place - as offerings before God and gifts to the world. Creativity, as God originally envisioned it, follows the trajectory of the greatest commandment. It is from God, for worship, and for service. Vertically, we glorify God through our creativity-we love Him with all of our creative minds, creative hearts and creative strengths. Horizontally, we create beauty in response to God for the love of neighbor and world. In its simplest terms, creativity, from a God-centered perspective, is any and all works of imagination done for God and for good. This is creativity worth reclaiming (pg. 18)”
Art and creativity, then, is a form of worship but not to be worshipped itself.
What is worship?
Worship in its simplest terms is a response. Who or what do you give your full attention or adoration to? What you worship is a direct reflection of what you prize most.
The arts are not designed to be worshiped, but rather are a means and overflow of loving God and worshiping Him alone. When this happens, one is freed up to enjoy the arts in its proper place like it was originally designed to be.
At Art of Hope Coaching (AOH), we believe that “creativity helps open heaven’s doors to let the light of God’s transcendence flood into our head-down, cynic-filled world. We make things to help the world look up (Terry and Lister, pg. 60).”
If you would like to partner with AOH on your journey in living out your life in the arts in a worshipful way, connect with us here.