As a creative person it is hard to take criticism or to be challenged. I can only speak for my self but when I do a project I really feel like it exposes a private side of my life. Art and emotion are so closely intertwined. Judgment about what I have done is difficult to not take personally, because the art is very personal.
I recently did a project for Christmas that I feel is some of my best work. It was received very well by my community. A few people in my community challenged how performance oriented it felt. And a couple of people outside my community challenged it on my blog. The question was brought up “how does this direct people to Jesus?”.
I do what I do in a local church because that is where I feel called to. I could do what I do for secular companies and probably get paid more than I currently do. But I am in the church world. I love the entertaining side of my job but as a Christian everything I do is from a lifestyle of worship. Therefor I consider what I do as stage design, lighting, audio, and video an expression of worship. The creative/technology areas is where I am gifted, I have no formal training and obtained all my experience in the local church.
When people challenge whether or not what I do points people to Jesus I would have to say yes it does based on the foundation of worship that I am doing it from. I like to create atmospheres that people can better connect to God in. Not all my expression is flashing lights, actually very little.
The people who are challenging this are the same kind of people in history that has protested using drums and electric guitars in a church setting, because that is what the “world” uses. God created all things and there for we as Christians have the authority to redeem what the world has corrupted and use it to worship God.
12 comments:
http://www.neueministry.com/2008/12/right-brain-preaching/
You'll like this article. It totally makes the connection you are talking about here between theology and creativity.
Well said! I think this is the intro to your book!
This made me smile a little, Jason. Remember how I used to harass you about this in Bible College? I hope you know that was only because I wanted to make sure you knew that you don't NEED lights and "magic" to find Jesus, and obviously you did and do know that.
But I defy anyone who has ever seen the grand canyon or a meteor shower to say that God isn't into spectacular displays. Beautiful work, as usual.
I just went through all of your posts trying to find the comments from your critics so I could dislike the commenters, a pursuit which does not, of course, come from a place of worship. I don't often agree with the logic that we shouldn't use anything that comes from the world. To say that anything originated there sort of negates the truth that everything actually originates from God. Anyway, I hadn't even told you it was beautiful yet. But I think it is. I think the church is so lucky to have you. And I would defend your twinkly lights any day of the week.
Thank you all. Serenity I actually deleted them and then wish I had not. One came from someone in Chicago that has criticized the church in the past, and the other originated from my old church in Tulsa.
Where is Jesus in all of this light business? Well, let's take out our Bibles to see what God thinks of light. This 1st verse deals with the 2 people whose comments were erased:
John 1:5 - The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
Now, here are just a FEW of the MANY scripture verses on what part LIGHT has in GOD's Kingdom:
Gen 1:3 - And God said, "Let there be Light," and there was light.
Gen 1:4 - God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness.
Psalm 118:7 - The Lord is God, and he has made his light shine upon us. With boughs in hand, join the festal procession up to the horns of the alter.
Proverbs 13:9 - The light of the righteous shines brightly, but the lamp of wicked is snuffed out.
Isaiah 60:1 - Arise shine, for the your light has come, and the gory of the Lord rises upon you.
Matthew 5:16 - In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in Heaven.
Ephesians 5:14 - For it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said, "Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead and Christ will shine on you."
Luke 11:36 - Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be completely lighted, as when the light of a lamp shines on you.
Excellent post, Jason! If anyone criticizes you just send them to Old Testament scriptures about the tabernacle and then the temple in Jerusalem. Obviously God put tons of thought into designs made by man's hand. 'Nuf said! (Then send them to my house so I can bonk them on the head! JK, sorta!)
I am actually the original commenter that inquired, questioned about the direction you had taken concerning your lighting plan. The comments in response are extremely interesting and challenging to me.
i was interested in a dialogue, a Christian conversation that would be mutually beneficial.
I was not criticizing your church but challenging you as a Christian and member of that church and hoping to learn from your walk with Christ. I have no experience with the wealth that is found at Park Community Church and hoped you could shed some LIGHT (haha get it?) on how that extravagance is reconciled with our call to relinquish our luxuries and privilege of this world.
You wished you had not deleted my comment so the recap is it was one sentence long question asking how that design and extreme use of decoration was referring people to the cross of Christ?
I definitely support the drums and guitars in church. Perhaps that was the other commenter you were referring to, I also support Hip Hop in the church- anything that draws people across cultural barriers to see Jesus.
Anyone that commented above wishing to come over to my house or contact me, I would welcome the chance to interact with you and I can be reached at Sarahbsoul@gmail.com
Thanks Jason for challenging me with your work and be willing to address such important issues as our faith and the way we worship.
Sarah
I have been in a situation with my family my whole life where we argued over the method of Christianity. Little was done to reach out to the lost world, their focus was trying to convince other Christians that their viewpoint was the one and only. So that being said I try to stay as far away from the methodology arguments in the Christian world as I can.
We cling to the spiritual truths that Jesus in the one and only way and by receiving him as your lord and becoming a Christ follower you are accepted into the family of God. there are others but basically that is the big one for me.
Methodology can change and will change from culture and region. What is extravagant and excessive for one will not be for the other. The funny thing is that we pulled back and spent less than half of what we had in our original budget. We are being very cautious considering the current economic situation.
I do not believe we have to have technology in our service to worship God but do believe we use it to engage culture and communicate our message with the same tools that our culture is using. The church has created a subculture that caters to long time Christians likes and dislikes. I do not believe this subculture is effective in taking a missional approach to engaging culture.
I do believe there is a balance in the engaging of culture and the message of the gospel. I am very fortunate to be a part of a team that I believe really balances that well. We have the crazy artist type that dreams so big it would take an army to make it happen...that would be me. And we have our elders and pastors that challenge why we are doing what we are doing. We engage in this conversation on a regular basis and are all open to changing and growing in this experience.
Hey which church did you go to in tulsa?
I was on staff at Grace Fellowship for 8 years and regularly attended the Tulsa campus of Life Church for the last year we were in Tulsa. About every 6 months we would visit Church on the Move and after being laid off from Grace visited more often.
I had a conversation with 2 people this weekend who were blown away by what Jason does at church. They look at his blog and want to come check out the church now. If we can get an agnostic and an atheist into the doors of our church with lights and all the pretty colors, maybe when they are there, they will hear something that will make them want to return.
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