Art, Salvador Dali, and Worship

Back in May I traveled to London, as some of the previous posts talk about. One day while in the Tate Modern Art Gallery I was standing before the two paintings above by Salvador Dali. These two pieces of art spoke to me so much. So on July 15 I preached the first part of a 2 part sermon series entitled, "The Gospel According to Salvador Dali Part 1". During the worship time an artist in the Hempfield COB congregation (Veritas is connected to Hempfield) got up and painted the other painting that you see above based on the Scripture that I was using for the sermon.

The first sermon was based upon the painting "Cannibalism in Autumn" and the Scripture Galatians 5:13-15 (but especially 15 which talks about biting and devouring each other). I wasn't sure how it was going to come off but it was received well. Next Sunday after I get back from our Sr. High Mission Trip I will be preaching the second part of the series based on the painting "Metamorphosis of Narcissus" and the Scriptures Genesis 12:1-3 (Abraham's calling to be blessed in order to bless the world) and Philippians 2:1-4 (talking about putting others before yourself) and of course the greek myth of Narcissus who loved his reflection.

I believe we as Christ followers need to be more supportive of the arts, both in worship but also in life. God has spoken to me through music, movies, tv, paintings, etc... and I believe we do a disservice to him and to artists when we don't allow art in our churches, worship, and life. And I don't mean just "religious art" either..... some of the worst "art" in my opinion is "religious art"- Thomas Kinkaide more specifically- but that is my opinion.

Let's be about bringing beauty, hope, life and love into our world.

Travels

Today was the first day back to a "normal" routine since last Monday (Monday the 25th) In the last week and a half I was at the Creation Festival in Mt. Union, PA- billed as the largest Christian festival in the nation and then to our denominations Annual Conference in Cleveland, Ohio.

Here are some reflections about both events:

1. Creation- I become more and more freaked out at the subculture of American Christianity every year I go. The T-Shirts are what drive me up the wall the most. "Silly Rabbit Jesus is for all people" Let's be a little original people. Some are truly offensive like "Liars Go to Hell" and a rip off of Mtn. Dew that is a racial slur (Do the Jew).

2. Speakers- for the most part I am also frustrated with some of the speakers that they get. The one speaker talked about branding, culture wars, etc.. and just rubbed me the wrong way. I'm not trying to speak bad about this person but if we want to make a difference in our world and culture it isn't to call it a culture war which sets up an us vs. them, we are right you are wrong, hate, etc.. If we want to make a difference in our culture we need tv producers, movie directors, actors, teachers, musicians, etc.. to make great art and be committed Christ followers as well. (See the book Roaring Lamb for more info on this idea)
The best speaker- in my opinion- was a guy that took 5 months with a friend to live homeless in 5 cities. It was an amazing story.

3. Music- some of the music was great (Pillar, Disciple, Flyleaf, David Crowder, Kutless) but some of it was just watered down, less talented pop music. We need more bands like Flyleaf who tour with mainstream bands and be salt and light in the darkness- not light in the light.

4. Conference- It was good to meet with some others who are doing/looking into/ and are a part of the emerging conversation. Thanks to Jeff Glass for hosting the discussion time. Also it was good to hang out with people, get to meet others, and hear what is going on in their lives and ministries. That is the best part of the conference- the business stuff is pretty dry.

5. Conference- It was good to have my family along to spend time with. I hope I balanced family time with conference time. The best part of the trip was our trip to the Science Center- really cool hands on activities for little and big kids.

6. Conference- getting some good books to read in the future including "Evil and the Justice of God" by N.T. Wright, "Politics of Jesus" by John Howard Yoder, and "Postmodern Children's Ministry" by Ivy Beckwith. Adds 3 more books to my every increasing pile.

7. Creation- the best part of Creation (in my opinion) was Saturday night after the final band. Our Youth Group went back to the campsite and had a campfire going. We talked about the highlights and the lowlights of the festival. Then we had a time of musicial worship for 30 minutes and included a time to wash each other's feet. That was a spiritual moment for myself and many others within our group.

That's about all the reflections from my last week and a half. The next few weeks are equally busy with a sermon, jr high mission trip, another sermon, daycamp prep, Sr. High mission trip, and a week of DayCamp so I am not sure how much posting I will do in the next few weeks.