Cultural Tax

When we fail to remove these ethnocentric barriers, we unknowingly impose a steep cultural tax on the diverse communities and neighbors living right beside our churches.

These barriers function as invisible tollbooths just to enter the church’s presence.

Many do not know how to pay.

So they won’t even try.

Finding Your Audience

Sometimes, it’s just a matter of audience.

Around age 20, I submitted a drawing to an art competition and it was completely rejected, not even considered worthy to hang up in the show.

The next year, a new batch of judges became the gatekeepers for the same competition. My drawing won second place.

American painter, Henry Turner, was looked down upon back home. But in Paris, he was celebrated.

The elites considered the impressionists the scum of the earth. When the impressionists removed themselves from the elite space, the world opened up to them.

Who are the people of peace in your own world?

Maybe you should create for them.

I See You in the Valley

When life is heavy, we need help lifting burdens.

I believe God gave us such artistic tools to carry us and help us internalize our theology. Sometimes we make to bless a community and other times, we create just to welcome God’s blessing to us.

We couldn’t put this song on our album back in 2014 due to copyright issues. But here it is for free. I took the opening prayer from the Valley of Vision and gave it a musical facelift. Of all the prayers in that book, this one stood out to me for many years as I battled depression.

Lyrically, its helpful to remember the Lord amidst chaos, death, and sorrows.

As hard as life’s valleys are, I have found God uses them to blind us to the things of the world. Our vision for light becomes more clear in a dark room.

Finding Your Domain

The purpose of language in Genesis 2 was to create.

Adam named the creatures. 

Creating names was an expression of his dominion.

The command was, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Rule…” (Genesis 1:28). Naming the creatures was an outflow of that command. 

You get to choose what you rule over, what raw creation materials you mold and fashion for God’s glory.

Metaphorical Christs

Because arts are inherently imaginative, ministry never functions purely on an intellectual level.

A “Metaphorical Christ” refers to living life in a way that embodies the distinct nuances and character of Christ's life.

It requires exercising wisdom in daily decisions and remaining self-aware of the multifaceted ways we communicate God's kingdom.

Your life, actions, and words act as signposts that point others toward the gospel.

This concept emphasizes the "how" of sharing the Christian message, rather than focusing solely on the "what."

Paul captured this idea of a metaphorical Christ when he wrote, “In my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions” (Colossians 1:24b). Since the believers in Colossae could not physically witness Jesus’ sufferings, Paul understood that his own endurance served both literally and metaphorically to make Christ visible to them.

Five Redemptive Artist Archetypes

Let's assume artists possessed the Ephesians 4 APEST-type gifts. Here is how I believe we can discover a redemptive persona of them each:

• Sons of Issachar: this apostolic artist type is a catalyst or blueprint maker. The Beatles, Walt Disney, or Lin Manuel Miranda all have this one thing in common: they are incredibly innovative, paving new artistic nuances that did not yet exist within a society. Just as the Sons of Issachar “understood the times and knew what Israel should do” (1 Chronicles 12:32), so these artists have an intuitive sense for what needs to be put in the world, even when no one else does.
  

• Naked Isaiah: In Isaiah 20:1-4, we see Isaiah the prophet naked…for three years! Isaiah “performed” such a sign as a message from God to the people of Egypt and Cush. Egypt would suffer the same fate at the hands of Assyria’s king. The artistic archetype fears no evil. They care about God’s heart to such a degree that social cues fade into the distance. As an embodiment of the prophetic wiring, they are not afraid to use their craft (in the totality of communication) for the sake of truth.
  

• The Woman at the Well: The woman at the well is like the Johnny Cash or Normal Rockwell of the artworld. She’s a story teller. She has been so moved by Jesus that she’s compelled to tell others as excitedly and wonderfully as she can. She’s unashamed. She makes it so that Jesus is accessible for any who will heed her ear. This artist is not afraid. They’re bold, yet subtle. They’re committed to doing what it takes to make the beauty of the kingdom meaningful. These are evangelistically-minded artists.
  

• David the Soother: In 1 Samuel 16:14-23, Saul is haunted by an evil spirit. David the harp player is brought in and brings a soothing refreshment to Saul, the king. His artistry heals. The evil spirit departs from Saul. The beauty of David’s sound waves refresh the king. So it is for the shepherd type of artists. These are the Mr. Rogers of the artworld. The Van Gogh’s in whose art many find a resonance for their chaos.
  

• Habakkuk & Bezalel: These are those artists who have such vision for God’s beauty, yet translate it in ways to contextualize and inform the learners. Such artists are endowed with craftsmanship alongside a spirit of wisdom (Exodus 28:3). They possess a heart for others to learn the ways of God in all its totality. Such artists understand their craft is particularly suited to shine the light of the kingdom for others. 
  

Not all artists are created equal and not all artists will squeeze into one of the archetypes. But this provides a helpful starting point for artists to see how God may have perhaps prepared particular good works for them which differ from their other Christian artist types.

If All the Bibles Went Away

If all the Bible’s went away, who in your life (not the internet!) would you follow around to remember what Jesus was like?

Perhaps we can all spend our lives attached to someone like that and being someone like that.

Don’t Be Incrediboy

The Incredibles is such a fun movie.

Yet I found Incrediboy’s character, Syndrome, quite sad.

He’s a splash of pride and idolatry. He doesn’t naturally possess the super hero gene. But he wants it so bad that he turns his childhood trauma into what ultimate destroys the city and its real super heroes.

I don’t think Incrediboy is an allegory of one real person. I think part of him lives in us all. It’s easy to compare ourselves with others, hearing that soft whisper, “I wish I had their gifts.” It’s simpler to imitate those we look up to to the degree that we appease the little Mayor Humdinger voice in our heads. It’s devastating to invest your life in cultivating someone else’s traits within yourself.

The better path is to discover those dormant traits already allocated to you. Excavate them. Sharpen them. Breath life back into them. Get that middle-aged belly back into that suit God made for you and you alone.