cup a joe

For all the controversy regarding the first chapter of Genesis, there is one thing that all of the Christian traditions can agree with. All creation began with God. We have a God who is a creator. Surprisingly, we as Christians seem to forget that. We forget that God is in creation. Oh yes, we remember that when it comes time to fight the local school board regarding evolution. But we forget that when it comes to any type of the arts. We are either against it or we are trying to find way's to "Christianize" it. Usually when that happens, we create a cheap imitation. Funny part is that when you dig into the bible, you see that creation comes from God, and imitation comes from Satan. What's up with that?

I bring that you because of two interesting articles that are out there. First, it seems that Christianity has finally found "American Idol". I guess it has become big enough that we need to make a copy of it. That copy will be called Gifted. Our friends at TBN have created a talent search that is looking for the best in Christian talent.

"It is our goal to wrap God's message -His love- in acceptance, and in a way that blends seamlessly into "pop" culture while still upholding the values we, as Christians, value most. When presented with this gift, wrapped up tightly in respect, we hope that today's youth will open the trendy packaging to release God's love - and realize in doing so that we are all truly "Gifted.""

Imitation all wrapped up in the honorable goal of evangelism. What kind of God are we showing the world? Is it the God that created the universe or it a god that was created by the universe? There is no originality there. Do you ever wonder why most of the world makes fun of us, especially in the evangelical church? We seem to remember that God redeems, but we forgot that God creates. So we go around redeeming things (aka...making them "safe for the whole family") but never truly create anything.

That has not always been the case. One day, take a trip to the Art Institute in Chicago. It is one of my favorite places in all of Chicago. Take a walk up the stairs to the second floor of the main building. On that floor you will see what Christians can truly create. Granted, most of it was created centuries ago. But amazingly, they last through all of time. I doubt Gifted (or most of CCM) will.

Or at Christmas time, walk up the street and go to Symphony Hall. Every year, they perform Handel's Messiah. God working through man to create something great. Or go to some of the neighborhoods of Chicago (or better yet, Europe) and walk through the great old churches. Most of them are works of art...in their architecture, as well as what is in their windows or on their walls. Compare that to one of the Mega-Churches today. There is a church in the near Southwest Side of Chicago called St Paul. You can see it in the background of the movie "The Untouchables". It is a landmark because they built the entire building without nails. Inside and out. Think about what the architects had to do to figure that one out. In contrast, today I get mail every few months for "Church's in a box". Get some land, send the company some money, and they will build you one of several pre-fab church's to fit your every need. Am I the only one who sees a problem with that?

This all came up because of an article written by Erik Lokkesome. In it he describes ten things that we can do to truly redeem the arts. It's an interesting article that challenges us to move away from protesting the arts, to engaging the arts, with our time, money, support, and creativity. It will really get you thinking.

What if, as the church we supported the arts? What if we trusted God to work through us to create something great? In art, in music, in dance, in drama. What if, we used his creative power for evangelism, instead of trying to re-wrap something of the world? What if it was different? What would happen? How would the world respond? How would the church respond? Art was always used by the church to help the world understand the Gospel. Instead of pre-packaging to spread the gospel, why don't we just create? What if, in everything that we do, we remember that it is a form of worship to God? Would we be satisfied with what we were producing?