Three Lies About Your Art and the Church
Photo by Josh Applegate
Misconceptions We Must Address
All too often, we creatives come to the church with a big old bag of hurt. At some point in our personal history, we’ve all felt taken advantage of, not given credit, unfairly paid, or denied creative freedom. Sometimes that’s happened outside the church, and sadly, sometimes it’s happened inside. In any case, this history of pain is often linked to serious misconceptions in how we view both ourselves and the church.
That’s why I want to look at three lies secular society has taught artists which ultimately frustrate our attempts to serve and love the church joyfully, faithfully, and generously. As we look at each misconception, we’ll contrast it with a correct view that enables us to serve the bride of Christ with joy.
Lie: Art Is Ultimately About You
If you ask someone what art is for, the answer will often be: for expressing yourself. As a result, our culture often treats artist like celebrities – like visionaries sharing their brilliant work with the masses.Of course, art is undeniably a form of self-expression. But is the self what art is ultimately supposed to be about?
“As artists, we’re often more concerned with the excellence of our art than with the holiness of our hearts.”
Truth: Art Is Ultimately About Worship
While a secular worldview focuses primarily on the creator of the art, a Christian worldview focuses on the Creator of everything, including art itself. God expressed himself when he created humanity as his image-bearers. So when we create, we are simply reflecting God’s imprint upon us.
A biblical worldview says that art – and indeed, every human activity – boils down to worship. We are called to worship God as we exercise dominion over the earth, including when we’re using a paintbrush (or pen, guitar, etc.).
The majority of my own design career has been in serving the local church and like-minded organizations. Oftentimes I feel frustrated with what I produce because I don’t think it’s good enough. Part of me wants my work to be excellent in order to rightly honor the message it represents — but if I’m honest, another part of me feels frustrated simply because I am prideful about my name being attached to the work.
As artists, we’re often more concerned with the excellence of our art than with the holiness of our hearts. That kind of toxic heart posture can prevent artists from giving themselves fully to the mission of their local church.
So rather than choosing artistic pride over serving our family in Christ, I encourage you (and myself!) to play the long game by using your art to serve the people around you as an act of worship.
Lie: Your Value Comes From What You Do
In pop culture, an artist’s value is based on how well he or she performs a craft. That view brings with it a lot of anxiety, as your personal worth becomes bound up in how good your work is and how well it’s received. But not only is this a form of idolatry, it’s also toxic for your art.
For example, many artists derive their value based on how much they’re paid for their work. So when someone in the church asks a creative: “Hey, can you help us with an announcement slide?” it often touches a sensitive nerve. If creatives believe their value is only affirmed when people pay them, they won’t feel valued if they don’t get paid.
When our art becomes who we are, and that core identity is not affirmed by the church through money, praise, and recognition, we feel taken advantage of.
“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies...”
Truth: Your Value Comes From God
However, as Christians, our value is to be found in being people created in the image of God, made children of God through adoption into God’s family as sinners redeemed by Jesus. Our personal value — our standing with God — is a gift of sheer, unmerited grace. God died so your identity can be ultimately found in his work, not yours.
The things we do are supposed to flow out of that freely received identity. The art we make does not earn us worth, but is a response to God’s goodness in giving us gifts. Speaking in the context of the local church, the Bible says:
“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies...”1 Peter 4:10
We’re called to use our gifts to bless the body of Christ, to be radically generous towards our local church. This is also one of the most powerful ways we fight idolatry in our hearts.
Lie: Communicating the Kingdom Isn’t a Creative Endeavor
It’s surprising to me how often I hear different variations of this statement. I understand what my fellow artists mean by this — and I agree that the church often communicates in boring, non-creative ways. But I believe one of the reasons it does so is because so many artists have abandoned the church. Artists can be very good at criticizing the church for a lack of a creativity, but more often than not, we don’t insist in finding a solution.
“If we’re not passionate about helping society see the creative nature of God and his love for the created, we must revisit our affections.”
Truth: We’re Called to Communicate the Kingdom Creatively
If we’re not passionate about helping society see the creative nature of God and his love for the created, we must revisit our affections. We must spend time with the church — we must invest in it.
We need to dig deep into the gospel, for the more we understand the good news, the more our love for the church will increase. The gospel compels us to serve the local church faithfully and joyfully — and there are so many opportunities to use our creativity to communicate the gospel and edify the body!
I truly believe that when creatives start to sacrificially serve the bride of Christ, the bride will flourish and the whole neighborhood will notice.
This article was adapted by Pip Craighead from content presented by Eleazar Ruiz at the Canvas Conference 2018.
