Although for centuries Christianity inspired much of the Western world’s painting and sculpture, we do a pretty poor job of incorporating visual art (other than video) into our worship services.
Like all creative efforts, it adds work to worship planning and implementation. But like all art forms, it can also be used to glorify God and teach more about him.
For instance, one church I attended showed a montage of ancient and modern paintings of the crucifixion during communion time. The juxtaposition of pictures, different in style but united by theme, contributed more to my communion experience than any spoken meditation has.
Plus, many people learn and remember by seeing rather than hearing. Again, we cater to some of this with our short videos, but there’s lots of room for improvement.
I realized how much room when a friend asked me to recommend churches consistently using drama, dance and visual art in their worship experiences (and doing it well). I had no problem thinking of several in the first two categories, but I found myself stumped when it came to churches either creating or displaying art in worship. Can you think of any?
I was reading today and came across a line that stopped me: “Too many of us live on the level of our irritations rather than our enthusiasms.”
This especially resonated with me today because if it was drop-able, spill-able, tangle-able or misplace-able it seems I dropped, spilled, tangled or misplaced it. Much of life boils down to moving matter from one place to another, and today none of that matter seemed to go my way.
I spent the morning smelling like a Starbucks from having spilled coffee all over two file folders and part of one coat sleeve, annoyed and generally “chuffy” as my family sometimes says. Then I read this quote.
I decided today could be lived on the level of these irritations or it could be lived on a higher level: of enthusiasm and gratefulness for the very fun book project I’m working on, for a new office painted blue, for three nice emails from friends, for money to self-medicate with lunch at a restaurant, for relatively minor financial damage at the dentist (yes, this stellar day even included a dentist appointment. When it rains…..)
Just a small thought, but one that turned my day around. I hope none of your days include spills, lost papers, tangled power cords, dentist visits or chuffyness…..but on the chance they do, consider living at the level of your enthusiasms.
Jennifer Taylor
My Other Sites
Twittering @seejenwrite- seejenwrite: Looking forward to hearing @susanisaacs and @donmilleris tonite. Flexing my fingers in preparation for copious note-taking.
- seejenwrite: Buying tix for trip to Orlando in January!
- seejenwrite: Here are my thoughts about the Twilight craze, from earlier this year: http://ow.ly/E3Vc
- seejenwrite: @FlowerDust See you there!
