Culture Shapers
The Arts Are A Mission Field
By Stan Smith
The Arts Are A Mission Field
By Stan Smith
The elections took place last week, and some of my friends are wringing their hands while others are grimly saying "God is in control." The next national elections are two years away, so many of us are putting all thoughts of culture-shaping on the back burner until then.
And that's too bad, because we have an opportunity to shape the world around us in every season, whether it's election time or not, through the arts.
I'm using the word "arts" very broadly, to include painting, sculpture, writing, poetry, drama, music... The list goes on and on.
As intercessors use prayer and worship to wrestle with principalities and powers, Christian artists are part of the answer to these prayers. The Christian artist injects sounds and images into society, so God can transform the way we think.
The last two decades have brought us a lot of teaching about spiritual warfare. Two passages in Paul's letters define what our warfare is all about:
We wrestle against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12)
For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity into the obedience of Christ. (II Corinthians 10:4-5)
For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity into the obedience of Christ. (II Corinthians 10:4-5)
With these two statements, Paul shows the link between spiritual warfare and the mind. If our intercession is successful, people will start thinking differently.
On the individual level, spiritual warfare can be effective in deliverance and inner healing. True righteousness is not just an outward change of behavior, but also a change in how we think.
On the societal level, spiritual warfare can help us pray for the government. We rightly understand that God will steer the heart of the king -- or Congress, or the Supreme Court -- as we petition Him. But government alone doesn't shape the minds of its people. This is why Paul doesn't command us to pray only for governments:
Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. (I Timothy 2:1-2)
God commands us to pray for all men, not just for governments. And this is why we need to pray for artists and for the media, for they too are culture shapers.
While leaders in government or corporations exert the authority conferred by their positions, artists lead by influence -- by capturing the imagination. Art therefore wields great persuasive power, even when the artist is not part of the power structure.
Christians like to decry the negative influence of the arts and media -- the suicides caused by a rock song, the lust problems stirred up by an advertisement, the lack of family values in most of the sit-coms on TV. But we are starting to realize that the arts are a mission field.
Missionaries have trained to go into the jungle -- they have learned languages, bought specialized equipment, and learned the skills of cross-cultural evangelism. It will take at least as much training to take Christ into the arts. As you pray for artists and for the media, here is what the missionary artist will need:
- The language of the arts is the pursuit of excellence. Nothing substitutes for the labor of taking the talent God has given us and developing it.
- The special equipment for the arts today usually includes digital equipment for CD and DVD production, desktop publishing, print-on-demand, and/or graphic arts. If we are unwilling to buy these tools and learn to use them, we will probably fall behind in our efforts to touch the art world.
- The skills of cross-cultural evangelism in the arts include a willingness to get out there and go head-to-head with secular artists. This means our skill-level has to be competitive, and our work habits must be professional.
God is the ultimate Creator, so it takes a life of proactive abiding in Christ to awaken the deepest wellsprings of creativity within us.
In John 15, Jesus described a lifestyle of unceasing dialog with God. Sometimes we speak to God (prayer) and God acts on what we have said (answers to prayer). Sometimes He speaks to us (commandments) and we act on what He has said (obedience). The inevitable result of this dialog is fruitfulness.
This recipe will make a Christian artist into a culture shaper. It begins with our prayers -- we must ask God for wisdom and inspiration. He may answer by showing us what to produce, or He may teach us principles that tell us how to produce it. Sometimes He simply lets life give us a deadline and we have to do our best, trusting that Christ in us will work through us.
Unquestionably, the artist God can use is the one who fervently seeks His guidance. This is basic Christian discipleship, for Jesus has said that we must deny ourselves, take up the cross, and follow Him. Christian art centers not on self-expression, but on expressing God's heart.
And then, like a missionary, we must ask God how to make an impact with our work. If you write a great book but don't package it in a good cover, people won't read it. Your CD needs the right cover, your painting needs the right frame, your sculpture needs to sit on the right base.
It goes further. It takes one kind of creativity to write a play; it takes another to produce it and to get the word out so people will come to see it. The Christian artist needs to hear from God in both of these areas -- creating the work itself, and getting it before the public.
As I travel in ministry, I talk to artists of all kinds. Many love to produce art but don't want to bother with marketing. This is understandable, but shortsighted. If God has called us to make an impact, we have to get our work out there where people can see it or hear it.
Again, we have to hear from God. There is a right and a wrong way to market, to sell, and even to promote ourselves. God has not called us to deceive or to manipulate. But He has called us to serve, and to let our light shine.
Finally, Christian artists face the same challenges and temptations other ministers face. Our effectiveness demands day-in-and-day-out faithfulness. It often means we must not despise the day of small things; if we are faithful in small things, God will promote us. We won't always be appreciated. If God gives a season of unusual success or influence, make the most of it; but make up your mind to stay faithful when the season ends.
Has God set artists in your church? Begin to back them up with prayer support, just as you would pray for your missionaries who travel overseas. Set apart a Sunday every so often to encourage the artists in your congregation. Pray that they will become culture shapers. And as you pray for governments and for those who are in authority, remember the artists and the media.
(c)2006, GospelSmith
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