note -- this class was easily one of my favorites at Fuller.  Again it engaged a part of me when I did not know was so excited about being engaged.  I realized with the Stations of the Cross experience how strong an aesthetic I had as part of my own faith response.  This was uncharted territory for me, and thus very exciting.  

Art and the Contemporary Church

For those of us raised within the broadly Evangelical Church [1] our first exposure to art in a Christian context consisted of figures, with felt backs, posted on a board covered in flannel.  Flannel board figures illustrated the stories the Sunday School teacher was discussing, and often was able to "animate" the action of the story.  For those of us raised within the Evangelical Church this was oftentimes the full extent as well of our exposure to art in a Christian context.  The central aspect of the Christian experience was the sermon, usually framed by some singing.  The act of worship was to sit facing front, listening to the prepared speech of a licensed minister, telling us about the story which we had joined and about how we could fulfill our roles in the story.  In a Pentecostal setting one could expect a bit more excitement from these aspects, but no general difference at the core of this "liturgy".  In the last twenty or thirty years, however, a movement has swept through the Evangelical church, creating what is generally called "contemporary" worship.  Whether in specific services, or as defining entire churches, this style entails a quest for an updated understanding of what church means in today's world.  It is the goal of this paper to first look at the contemporary Church scene, defining it a bit more closely, then seeking to understand how the Contemporary church is exploring the use of art by looking at a specific context.  I will then seek to point out areas of both weaknesses and strengths in the future of the contemporary church in our society in its understanding, use, and appreciation of art in a liturgical context.   Art, we are finding, is more than a Sunday School tool and rumblings of Art are beginning to be manifested throughout the Evangelical world in an ever increasing way.

The contemporary church can be defined as that which is willing to put aside traditional elements of worship, replacing these with elements that reflect in style, if not in content, the wider surrounding culture.  Thus music tends towards being more upbeat, recently written, and utilizing instruments of popular music.  Preaching tends towards being more relational than expository, more relevant than exegetical.  Architecture tends towards being more practical in nature than theological, sometimes intentionally departing from the traditional structures associated with Church buildings.  These elements can be most clearly seen in the various "mega-churches" around the nation, such as Willowcreek in Illinois, or Saddleback in Southern California.  The basic concept is that much of the traditional elements have either negative associations or no longer speak the same way to middle-aged and younger generations.  The driving force of the "contemporary" is to be just that, contemporary, willing to adopt, replace, or adapt in order to most effectively reach out to those within and without the Church.

For these churches much of the driving force of change has been music.  The key element of determining a contemporary church is the style and use of music.  Over the last couple of decades music within the church has increasingly reflected broader cultural influences, realizing that worship is contextual.  The importance of music is now so complete in a contemporary setting that the title "worship leader" simply indicates the chief, usually paid, musician of the church, or the lead of the group of musicians in whatever setting.  Discussions about worship in these settings are almost exclusively about music and/or response to the music by those within the congregation.  To worship is to sing.  This is not surprising given the importance popular music now plays in our society.  In addition to music, drama has recently adopted a place within the contemporary church, almost exclusively being an illustration of the topic of the sermon or a creative announcement of a planned event.  What is surprising is that there has been such a lack of awareness of the broader tradition of Christian worship in using various other arts, especially visual arts, or in using music and drama in diverse ways.

For Easter, 2001 the leadership of NewSong Church in San Dimas decided to adopt the model of the Stations of the Cross for a Good Friday "experience".  An initial group of people got together to create the basic framework of this concept, which included basic research on the individual stations, relevant Scriptural verses, and developing how the Stations were to be situated.   There were some underlying concepts which drove the development.  The first was that this 'experience' needed to engage all of the senses, so as to allow the participant to enter into the Passion scene fully.  The second was that the use of space had to be as creative as the individual Stations, both due to the limitations of the property as well as the desire to make this an unexpected, yet profound, experience for those used to a traditional or typical layout.  The final concept was that the contributions to the Stations had to be broad, encouraging as many people from within the church as possible to contribute their individual gifts, whether that be artistic or otherwise.  Essentially, this "experience" was to create a basic structure upon which a large variety of people could contribute their specific interpretations and gifts, thus letting the Stations of the Cross reflect both the ancient aspect and the contemporary work of the Spirit.

Because of limitations the typical fourteen Stations were limited to eight, with some traditional Stations being combined, and some simply left out.   At the first station, which took place on the steps outside the main sanctuary, those who just arrived gathered, and were asked to simply talk amongst themselves.  Generally, those who arrived talked to those they came with.  Mingling with the crowd, creating the beginning of a context were several actors dressed in the costumes of 1^st century Jews.  As soon as a decent amount of people had gathered, an actor emerged from another door and began a monologue.  The scene was Pilate having just condemned Jesus, and now contemplating the event.  Through the monologue the actor interacted with the crowd, treating them as participants in the original setting, as those who had yelled for Jesus' crucifixion.  The actor went back inside the building, and the participants were then ushered to the doors of the main sanctuary where they were asked to remove their shoes, and place them along the wall before they entered.  Posted over the door were several posters created by a graphic designer, who as part of the church offered up her talents for the task, relating to the first station.  One had the narrative verse of the scene, [2] the second had a prayer which was from the liturgy of the Catholic Church, [3] and the third had a verse which sought to place the narrative in a broader theological perspective. [4]   At each station the participant was asked to read aloud each of these posted readings, pausing and letting the words settle in as they reflected on the scene. 

Upon entering the church doors, and removing their shoes, participants formed a line waiting to enter the second station, which was placed in what is normally used as the nursery.  While the first station was communal, the second was individual, with each person walking separately into a room which was covered from floor to ceiling with a collage of sins.  These were simply the words of the sin, with a description, and sometimes Scriptural reference, but the design made the sins unavoidable, everywhere one looked there was "sin".  The windows were covered, and the room was backlit, lights behind dark coverings, along with a blacklight, with only candles providing direct light.   The participant walked through this room to one of the corners in which there was a box of sand, a small rake, and the three posted readings. [5]   The participant was asked, by printed instructions, to kneel before the sand and read the first verse.  Then they were asked to write with their fingers in the sand their particular sin which was a present struggle, followed by the reading of the prayer.  When they finished the prayer, they were asked to then take the rake and erase the sin which they had written, finishing with the reading of the final verse. 

When they had finished their time of prayer and contemplation, the participant walked out of the room and into the sanctuary itself, which had been transformed for the occasion.  The church sound system was quietly, yet distinctly playing Gregorian chant.  The chairs were removed, and barriers were created which made a circular path through the sanctuary, with a large cross, candles, Bibles, and chairs in the very middle.   As one entered the sounds of the various other stations mixed together to create an interesting, and in fact unintended, sound impression of the Passion scene.  The third station, located at the back wall, was put together by a photographer whose interpretation of the story of Simon of Cyrene was represented by a series of pictures of hands, anonymous and different hands which revealed the role our hands play in serving Christ. [6]  At the end of this station was a large piece of cloth nailed to the wall, with a large variety of paints, crayons, markers, etc. there for each participant to add their hand to the cloth.  Hands could be placed in fingerpaints and leave a whole impression, or simply outlined and decorated.  Thus each person who went through the Stations added their own hand and contribution to a final work, which was then later hung at the front of the church. 

When enough people had gathered at the end of this station they were ushered into another small room, with only the barest of lighting, with candles and incense providing a "holy" atmosphere.   There was a Stereo/CD player with a specially made CD.  One of the people then pushed play.  It began with an Ignatian prayer, with the participants asked to close their eyes, relax, and use their imagination as the narrator related in a creative manner the story of Jesus falling and meeting the women of Jerusalem.  The narration placed the participants in the crowd, watching Jesus walk by, with the end having Jesus fall before the participant and looking into his or her eyes.  The song "Grace Falls Down" then followed.  At the end the participants were asked as a group to read through the three readings. [7]

From here, this group was ushered back into the sanctuary to one of the side walls, where there were chairs facing a large cross placed along the wall.  When they were settled, two actors dressed as Roman soldiers came in, speaking roughly and coarsely, carrying a large cloth between them.  They proceeded to talk amongst themselves, interacting with the participants who were sitting as if they too were included in the crucifixion scene, prompting authoritatively one or another person to read the posted verses and prayers. [8]   One soon realized the cloth was representing the person of Jesus.  They took down the large cross and began to nail the cloth to it, with the heavy sounds of the hammer against the wood reverberating throughout the church.  For the final nail, the actors engaged the participants, asking one of them if they wanted to pound in the nail.  Throughout the day, only about three people actually followed through with this, with most people reacting in shock at the thought.  This was not shock about the art of it, but shock about the reality of the situation, for by this point the participants had been removed, mentally and spiritually, away from their usual daily existence and placed within the context of the crucifixion.  As the Roman soldiers exited, having one again raise the cross on the wall, an actress entered portraying Mary, the mother of Jesus.  She began an emotional, heart-wrenching, monologue about her perspective on the crucifixion of her son. 

The participants then walked through the middle of the church, where there was a large circular area with a cross in the middle.  Bibles and candles were also placed here, making a spot of prayer and contemplation for those who sought to reflect further at any time, for any length during or at the end of the Stations.  Along the other side wall the Sixth station was placed.  Here there were again chairs, and a video projector which showed the crucifixion scene from Zefferelli's Jesus of Nazareth, with the participants prompted to read the narrative verse before the scene began. [9]   Also present were three actresses, dressed in black, crying and mourning throughout the scene.  At the end of this, these actresses then read the prayer and other verse. [10]   By using the actresses, the participants were drawn further into the video scene, and became part of the crowd themselves.

The seventh station, "Jesus is taken down from the cross" was located at the front of the sanctuary.  Displayed on the front wall was a PowerPoint slideshow of visual art from a variety of eras depicting this scene.  On the stage in front of the participants were various items related to the scene, including a crown of thorns, a red discarded robe, a large cross now laid on the ground, as well as a large Celtic cross fountain, creating a scene of meditation.  The participants were simply allowed to ponder the images, and pray, as long as they desired. [11]   Near the door of an office located by the stage was posted an actor dressed as a Roman centurion, who brusquely would lead people into the next station when they were ready.

This final station was placed within the office normally used by the worship leader.  The Centurion posted by the door limited entrance to this final station to one or two people at a time, closing the door behind as they went in.  Inside the office had been redesigned as a tomb, with candles providing the light, and incense providing even more atmosphere.  Placed inside the "tomb" was a wrapped body.  As the person entered the centurion told them they could mourn by themselves for a few minutes.  The door was shut, and the person was alone within the tomb with the body.  Again there were posted verses and a prayer, which the person read through as they meditated. [12]   Having just seen images of the crucifixion, here the person now entered the image of the tomb.  After a few minutes, the centurion re-entered the room and asked the person to leave, for "the Sabbath was coming soon."  Upon exiting out of the office, out of another door that opened to the outside, the person was prompted to take a linen strip, which had been anointed with myrrh, to bring back on Sunday to "prepare the body."  This ended the Stations of the Cross experience, with Jesus left in the tomb, and the tension of that left with the participants.  On Sunday, of course, the participants who came to the Easter Service were told that their strips were not needed, for Jesus had risen, and were prompted instead to wave these strips during the time of singing and praise. [13]

This event at NewSong is representative of what Contemporary churches can do in presenting creatively the message of the Gospel.  Indeed, though not common yet, these kinds of events or other uses of art are slowly increasing in churches, as they realize the impact that can be made.  One of those who participated in the Stations of the Cross, noted that she felt awkward at first, not knowing what to expect from a "liturgical" event, and unsure how to relate to the scenes.  However, she notes that from the beginning a process began which bypassed this awkwardness as she was slowly led to a context of contemplation.  Speaking the thoughts of many she stated she felt "the stations themselves… the creativity that was expressed to interpret the various steps was worship, creating a solemn yet vibrant environment for me to worship and pray and think."  "Another response," she added, "was to be totally aware of my own place in the story… something that doesn't happen if you're sitting in a pew and someone is speaking to you.  The various artistic elements made the story come alive, and the vibe was one that gently forced me to slow down so that I was able to really absorb each step and be able to respond in my soul." [14]  

Another participant, a professor of theology at APU, noted that throughout this experience she increasingly bonded with those in her group, not knowing them prior to this, but now feeling a profound, lasting connection with them.  She notes that while dark and mournful, the experience was not spooky, even in the tomb.  Rather it was beauty filled, a beauty which makes one feel so good it prompts an overwhelming desire to share and interact with others.  The history of the crucifixion came alive, with the art bringing the text of the story into the here and now.   Dr. Sumner also noted that in her group was a five and a three year old.  She was overwhelmingly touched by the response of these children, who “understood” and responded as much as the adults.  Very few present church programs could admit to a transgenerational appeal.  Art can.

The Contemporary church is able, because of its intentional break with tradition, to adapt or adopt anything, any element past, present, or future, which would best communicate the message it seeks to "speak".   It is the case now that our culture is driven by images rather than by words.  We spend hours watching movies, TV, videos, where in the past society could spend hours listening to spoken sermons or speeches.  Knowledge is not just gained through reading or listening, but through the whole range of sensory experiences.  In speaking of "Generation X", [15] Tom Beaudoin writes this generation "generally find the religious in personal experience, particularly in an emerging form of sensual spirituality.  In this turn to experience, there is a constant yearning, both implicit and explicit, for the almost mystical encounter of the human and divine." [16]   Yet with this is a profound distrust of institutions and their leaders. [17]   This distrust leads to an unwillingness to allow a speaker "tell" one what to think. 

Unfortunately, however, the traditional structure of the church is precisely just this.  People now want an encounter with the Divine, but are not willing to be told how and when they should have it, [18] leading to what could be called liturgical conflict.  Wolterstorff writes that in church "For the most part God acts through some human being acting on His behalf, principally the minister or priest; and to some extent the people also act by one or more of the members acting on their behalf." [19]   This representative structure is no longer possible in a society which does not trust the reliability of the representative.  Essentially, this means each person is wanting a direct experience with God, and is more apt to trust their own, even immature, impression than the expressed thoughts of a particular, even well-trained, leader. 

Anything imposed is suspect not because of its content but because of its imposition.  Yet in the Contemporary church, the tendency towards a broader group of leaders results in movements which arise from within a congregation.  The development of Contemporary music was not one of pastoral leadership deciding to write new songs, but often more the case of musicians who wrote new songs increasingly being allowed to share and lead these in a congregational setting.  Tom Dunn, an artist and pastor of Foothill Vineyard in San Dimas, notes that it is the development of art within the church is, and will continue to be, primarily led by those not in official leadership. [20]   It is the artists within the church who are increasingly asserting their insights, and those churches which best facilitate the role of "lay" leadership will find a more rapid development of a contemporary liturgical art.  The role of pastoral leadership, then, is to create contexts in which this liturgical development can blossom, a role which requires both great humility about their own role and great confidence in the broader work of the Holy Spirit.  William Dyrness writes "a study of revivals shows that wherever the work of the Spirit creates genuine revival, the triangle is overturned so that those at the "bottom," that is, the whole people of God, are energized and take control of their lives." [21]

The strengths of the Contemporary church come out in this respect in the continuing development of artistic sensibilities.  Because of a willingness to adapt, impressions from within the church congregation are trusted oftentimes as much as tradition. There is a desire to adapt, so this desire reveals itself in a greater flexibility of expression.  In addition, more often than not this flexibility of expression leans toward reflecting the broader culture.  While aspects of culture may be in opposition to the Gospel, for the most part this is not the case, and the Contemporary church understands that "the Bible contains no criticism of culture as such." [22]   This willingness allows a contemporary church to take what it already has and modify it so as to best relate to those within the church, who are also part of those within the culture.  For NewSong this meant being able to not simply to rely on typical conservative Baptist services, but instead to take a Catholic liturgy, modernize it, and create an experience that enveloped the participant into the world of the Crucifixion.  It allowed the church not to rely on particular staff or ordained leadership, but instead to produce an event which did not highlight any individual at all, but was literally the product of dozens. The lack of a single voice, speaking imperatives to everyone else, allowed the context itself to communicate the message of the Crucifixion by simply seeking to present the story of the Crucifixion.  Thus, those who came were allowed to reach their own conclusions, allowed to respond to the context in the way they needed, and thus the Spirit was trusted to do the right work in and through them.    There was not mistaking the point of the Stations of the Cross, being in fact more bold and "scandalous" than any sermon could, but there was not a "preachiness" which is now so disdainful.  We who walked through judged ourselves, and felt the power of the Gospel reach into our hearts. 

Art is a living thing, speaking to a particular group or situation.  One can appreciate art of all eras, but for art to have a transformational impact, the situation of the art must be realized from within the viewer.  This is the basic foundation of contemporary services, that new liturgies must be produced which speak to and about our situation. [23]   Though valuable and powerful at one time, liturgical aspects of generations past simply do not reflect the hearts and minds of the present.  In doing so conflict is raised, nominality is increased, and indeed the very ability to communicate the present reality of the Spirit is reduced.  Wolterstorff wrote that "if it is indeed true that deep in human beings is a desire for fittingness between their deepest convictions and their art, then one can predict that the zealous young musician fresh from school who steps into a congregation determined to reform its musical taste is probably doomed to fail.  If he is politically adroit and has powerful people supporting him, the music itself may change; but unless the religious self-understanding of the people is also reformed, their taste will alter less rapidly than their resentments build up." [24]   The Contemporary church, however, would assert that it is now the case that the religious self-understanding of people has changed, but the liturgy has not, creating the same building up of resentment.

The traditional liturgy of the church has been for too long accepted as being divinely inspired.  Yet, I cannot find in Scripture any place which indicates that what is now accepted is in fact the standard, with the earliest church exhibiting a wide variety of styles and formats. [25]   We, though, still seek to impose this system, much of which is hundreds of years old or more in its basic structure, on society. [26]   The Church is oftentimes more dedicated to the style of worship than it is to those who have been called to worship, thus preferring people to leave than to make a change within the gatherings. [27]   The Jesuit Frans Jozef van Beeck writes that "I have long felt that Christians who leave the church nowadays do so to a significant extent out of boredom.  In church, you can count on finding some pretty good people and ditto fellowship, and some fine initiatives on behalf of the growing multitude of the disadvantaged, but no amplitude of purview, no ecstasy, no theoria -- in sum, no sense of participation in God, no mysticism." [28]   He continues by saying, "The inner affinity with the Mystery in whom we are alive and move and have being--Father, Son, Holy Spirit--can grow on us only in the experience of God as 'the All'  the God of each of us at the expense of none of us, the God who never comes alone but always with the entire cosmos and all of humanity." 

The pursuit of the "ecstasy", however, does not come through simply seeking to do something because is popular.  Beaudoin discusses one speaker he heard who preached on Joan Osborne's song "One of Us."  He writes that "what could have been an opportunity to discuss the mystery of the incarnation in our culture, however, turned into a simple celebration of pop culture, as the speaker offered no perspective from religious tradition, no creative or ironic interpretations, and no dialogue with Scripture.  In short, there was no richness in her theological interpretation." [29]   If some of the distaste of the broader church comes through the often dated expressions, some also comes through the shallowness or quality of its attempts for modern expression.  This is possibly the weakness of the contemporary church style.  While the method is more up to date, the message is often weak and shallow.  Both of these weaknesses come from the usual shared history of these churches, which developed out of the Fundamentalist, then Evangelical traditions.  Fundamentalism, especially in its popular heyday of the early 20^th century rejected the Catholic, Orthodox, liberal theology, with it a broader church tradition, and popular culture.  This basically removed from the church any connection with the arts and with deeper theology.  Though the Evangelical movement sought to restore the intellectual aspects of the earlier movement, the foundational rejection still held strong. 

This rejection resulted in a simple message, one which has been effective in evangelism to a certain degree (which was its sole goal), but one which did not run very deep.  "Among theologians, overconcern with soteriological and ethical themes has bred, by default, a lack of taste for the mystagogical, liturgical, and mystical traditions." [30]   Thus those who sought a real spirituality did not find it in what the church was saying, and certainly not in what art the church was producing. [31]   It is this situation, basically, which prompts Begbie to write, "To the Church's shame, much so-called 'Christian' art has degenerated into an inoffensive and superficial Kitsch which turns a blind eye to the pain of the world." [32]   This likely could also be said about the basics of popular theology. Paucity of theology has led to paucity of art, and vice versa.   As it seeks to develop, the contemporary church needs to continue to discover the richness of its own past and listen more closely to the depth of theological thought which is being produced in academic circles, and which has been produced throughout the centuries. [33]   The Orthodox Church lacks in its ability, and certainly willingness, to express in contemporary terms the elegance and beauty of its theology.  The Contemporary church, however, has the willingness, but not the depth, and this is something which will need to be addressed.   Especially, if it is the case that the leadership of a new artistic liturgy is primarily led by "lay" artists.

Tom Dunn notes that this is a difficult situation, finding in his experience that those who promote the use of art in churches often are immature Christians, [34] and thus may make theological or ministerial mistakes.  But, those well trained in theology or ministry tend not to think artistically at all.  In its tendency to exclude the artist from participating with a full expression of their creativity, the Church has in fact lost a great deal of its own ability to reach the world and itself.  It is also the case, however, that the world of art has lost some of its own grounding in rejecting the Church as a source of understanding and insight.  "Unfortunately," Langdon Gilkey writes, "the fortunes of art and those of religion seem to rise and fall together, and that means that both are at a low ebb today." [35]   Yet it seems as though a change is going on, a change which will result in a new resurgence in understanding Christianity artistically.  Dunn confidently feels that the church is now undergoing "labor pains" in its artistic sensibilities, with conflict and trials pushing artistic conversation and development into the forefront of Christian thought.   This change though, rather than being fought, should be embraced.  It is really true, as Pastor Dunn pointed out, that nothing God creates is the same – no bird is the same, no blade of grass is the very same—so to expect all our churches to be a paint-by-numbers portrait is to excise the work of the Spirit in filling a fresh canvas in each community. 

In its ability to critique and develop art theologically, adding transcendence to our present reality, the Gospel can be an amazing answer to the hostile, degrading aspects that much self-obsessed culture tends towards.  There is something redemptive in the Community of God, something that erases the illegitimate aspects of human sin which all of us carry with us. [36]   Albert Moore writes, "God as Holy Spirit continues to work in the world and in human lives.  The Church especially is called to express the power of the Spirit in many forms of venturing, reconciliation, and creativity which follow in Christ's way through the changing scenes of history." [37]   In its willingness to change and adapt the Contemporary churches of today are likely going to make enormous strides towards the broader use of the arts in various types of services and events.  Traditional churches can then see these "experimental" uses and contribute their own rich theological and historical depth.  What is clear, however, is that artistic experiences like NewSong was able to develop will likely become more and more common as churches of all traditions realized that the Gospel is not simply heard and spoken, but experienced in power with all of our being, all of our senses, and all of our creativity. 

As those created in the image of God, we worship and understand the creator through our creations, our creativity, celebrating God in viewing and in producing art of all kinds, letting the fullness of the Spirit teach us through manifold ways the infinitely complex truths that pertain to the Three-in-One.  Just as the Contemporary Church revitalized the use of music and preaching to an earlier generation, it seems as though it is now going further in exploring liturgical art, seeking even broader ways of understanding and communicating the Divine.  To restrict the expression of this is to inhibit ourselves.  Churches across the nation, and maybe even more importantly around the world are, like NewSong, exploring art in a renewed liturgy. [38]   Indeed, it is very likely that churches of the not so distant future will in many ways be very different than they are now, in both expression and in appearance. For while the Truth remains the same, the Spirit is constantly active teaching and inspiring towards greater depths of understanding and insight.  What a wonderfully exciting time it is now to be part of this evolving Community, as the stirrings of art and the Spirit begin to manifest themselves!

---

[1] I am using the this term to indicate denominations or specific churches which are "deeply committed to the centrality of the Bible, to its power by the Holy Spirit with special reference to preaching, to its final authority  in all matters of doctrine and life, and to the necessity of interpreting it as naturally as possible and disseminating it widely in the vernacular." These churches are "equally committed to justification by faith in which acceptance with God is received by trusting his loving self-disclosure and not by any human accomplishments, as well as readily confessing that the church is composed of all believers who have thus been incorporated by the Holy Spirit, and who have direct, personal and constant access to their heavenly Father."  I.S. Rennie, "Evangelical Theology", New Dictionary of Theology.  Edited by Sinclair Ferguson and David Wright (Downers Grove:  IVP, 1988), 239.

[2] Mark 15:1-2 (NLT).  The title of each station was also posted, with the first one being "Jesus is Condemned to Die."

[3] "My Jesus, often have I signed the death warrant by my sins; save me by Your death from that eternal death which I have so often deserved."  Of course, the fact that this was from a Catholic website was not mentioned, as there is a distrust of that liturgy by many Evangelicals.  This distrust is often avoided by simply not mentioning the source.

[4] Colossians 1:15-16.

[5] John 19:16-17 (NLT); "My Jesus, the heavy burden of my sins is on You, and bears You down beneath the cross.  I loathe them, I detest them; I call on You to pardon them; Your grace aid me never more to commit them"; 1John 1:6-10.

[6] These can be viewed at http://www.peterschrock.com/hands_frameset.html  The caption for these was:  "This is my body in all its weakness and complexity.  This is what I have to offer.  This is my worship:  a reflection of the grace and glory of God.  This is my will: a choice to allow his strength to work through me.  This is my defense: a safety and a protection to the ones in need of refuge.  This is my work: a labour of love and sacrifice.  This is my compassion:  a place to hold another's pain.  This is my prayer:  a partnership on earth in the holy work of heaven.  This is nothing short of transformation, simple incarnation.  In the everyday moments, great and small, we display the living, breathing body of Christ.  In the midst of the mundane, we become the hands of God."  The verses were Mark 15:21; Matthew 25:35-40.  The prayer was "My Jesus, thrice blest was he who aided You to bear the cross.  Blest too shall I be if I aid You to bear the cross, by patiently bowing my neck to the crosses You shall send me during life.  My Jesus, give me grace to do so. 

[7] Luke 23:27-28; 1 Peter 1:4-6; "My Jesus, Who did comfort the pious women of Jerusalem who wept to see You bruised and torn, comfort my soul with Your tender pity, for in Your pity lies my trust.  May my heart ever answer Yours.”

[8] Matthew 27:33-38; Isaiah 52:13-15.  There were two prayers:  1) "My Jesus, stripped of Your garments and drenched with gall, strip me of love for things of love for things of earth, and make me loathe all that savors of the world and sin."  2) "My Jesus, by You agony when the cruel nails pierced Your tender hands and feet and fixed them to the cross, make me crucify my flesh with Spiritual Disciplines."

[9] Title:  Jesus Dies on the Cross.  Mark 15:33-39.

[10] Psalm 22:1-4.

[11] the verses were John 19:31-39; Philippians 2:6-11.  The prayer was "Oh Father, most sorrowful when you did see Your only Son lying lifeless, taken from the instrument of His cruel death; obtain for me hatred of sin because sin slew Your Son and wounded your own heart, and grace to live a Christian life and save my soul."

[12] John 19:39-42; Revelation 9:11-16; "My Jesus, beside Your body in the tomb I, too, would lie dead; but if I live, let it be for You, so as one day to enjoy with You in heaven the fruits of Your passion and Your bitter death."

[13] See http://www.newsongsd.org/photoalbum/photos.htm for some pictures of this experience.

[14] Mark Torgerson, "Sighting the Unseen:  Theological Reflections on Visual Art and Worship",   Covenant Quarterly 52(1994): 38 writes “Our visual expressions, when incorporated into our public worship, are capable of delivering us to the mystery of God.  We can experience the great and the terrible first-hand, a dubious honor perhaps, but one which is important to realize.”

[15] a term I am actually somewhat loathe to use. 

[16] Tom Beaudoin, Virtual Faith (San Francisco:  Jossey-Bass, 1998), 74.

[17] See Beaudoin, 161.

[18] This reminds me of something Eddie Gibbs said at the beginning of his class on Evangelizing Nominal Christians:  "The world is having a conversation about spirituality, but the church is not being invited to participate."

[19] Nicholas Wolterstorff, Art in Action:  Toward a Christian Aesthetic (Grand Rapids:  Eerdmans, 1980), 188. 

[20] He admits to his own rarity as an  artist in his position, adding that for the most part artists are “peculiar” and not apt to stay during and through conflict.  Plus their natural introversion does not match the pattern of the usually desired extroverted pastor.  Pastor Dunn sees his ministry, especially when it began, as being a canvas which is being painted.  His personal mission statement reflects this creative understanding:  My personal mission is to continue to become a living drawing of God’s transforming grace on display before others to reveal his love for the world; to create what has not been created, to dream o the invisible that it may be seen so that others may know that the Father has sent His Son; to risk the dangers of the undone so as to reap the reward of hearing Him say “Well done”, that the church may be seen in power and truth.

[21] William Dyrness, (Visual Faith  Grand Rapids:  Baker, 2001), 138.

[22] HR Rookmaker, The Creative Gift:  Essays on Art and the Christian Life (Wheaton:  Crossway, 1981), 47.

[23] "Images are more profound not necessarily in the difficulty or complexity of expression but in their importance at the center of the affective life of the whole community."  Margaret Miles, Image as Insight (Beacon Press, 1995), 29.

[24] Wolterstorff, 188.

[25] I especially like Tertullian’s description of his church “service”:  “Our feast explains itself by its name.  The Greeks call it agape, i.e. love.  Whatever it costs, our outlay in the name of piety is gain, since with the good things of the feast we benefit the needy… As it is with God himself, a peculiar respect is shown to the lowly.  The participants before reclining taste first of prayer to God.  As much is eaten as satisfies the cravings of hunger; as much is drunk as befits the chaste… After manual ablution, and the bringing in of lights, each is asked to stand forth and sing, as he can, a hymn to God, either one from the holy Scriptures or one of his own composing.  As the Feast commenced with prayer, so with prayer it is closed.” (Apology, XXXIX)  What fun it would be to do this today, letting each person sing, display art or offer another bit of creativity to those gathered, of his/her own making or something that is particularly meaningful.

[26] Kandinsky writes “Every work of art is the child of its time; often it is the mother of our emotions.  It follows that each period of culture produces an art of its own, which cannot be repeated.  Efforts to revive the art principles of the past at best produce art that resemble a stillborn child.”  Concerning the Spiritual in Art (New York:  Wittenborn, Shultz, 1947), 3.    Could it be liturgy is the same?

[27] Miles, 20 notes that "It has always been apparent, in the boredom of schoolchildren and college students who 'hate history,' that the academic history they are taught is not their history."  This can also be said, I think, about theology and liturgy.  It is not saying their thoughts, reflecting their experiences, expressing their emotions, or indeed telling them about how God is working in and through their own lives.  

[28] Frans Jozef van Beeck,  "Trinitarian Theology as Participation," The Trinity:  an  interdisciplinary symposium on the Trinity.  Edited by ST Davis, D. Kendall, and G. O'Collins.   (New York:  Oxford University Press, 1999)  318.

[29] Beaudoin, 159.

[30] Van Beeck , 318.

[31] Dyrness, 140 writes "When we trivialize art, we fail to appreciate the power that our exposure to art inevitably wields, and as a result, we overlook a vital area of potential Christian growth and witness."

[32] Jeremy Begbie, Voicing Creations Praise  (Edinburgh:  T&T Clark, 1991), 212.

[33] Albert Moore, "Faith and Experience as the basis for arts in Christian Worship,"  Pacific Journal of Theology 9:  3 notes that  “Some churches have music but virtually none of the visual arts.  This may be due simply to the fact that churches have developed over the years with different styles and traditions—some more musical, some more visual, and so on.  If these traditions could be shared, all churches would be the richer in the arts available to express the Christian faith.”

[34] With the implication that those long in the Church have been taught to ignore the arts.  See Dyrness, 139.

[35] Langdon Gilkey, "Can Art Fill the Vacuum?" Art, Creativity, and the Sacred.  Edited by D. Apostolos-Cappadona.  (New York:  Continuum, 1995), 187. 

[36] Fred Whitehurst, "Art and Pastoral Theology,"  Pastoral Psychology 44 (5)1996:  322 writes “Just as Christians turn to Scripture because they are “dissatisfied sinners’, Christians (all ‘religious’ peoples) may turn to art because they are dissatisfied voyeurs.  We peoples of the 20^th century have become flattened snippets of confetti, shredded by the onslaught of information – information that disengages and disassociates us, the viewer, from our experiential moorings to the transcendent, to felt truth.  So, in this sense, art may be see, not only as a confrontation between the self and creativity in a context of pastoral theology, but as cultural therapy, providing access, a window, into the divine mystery that articulates all of us.”

[37] Moore, 4.

[38] The trend of theological developments moving south of the Equator, and in Asia, will certainly result in a new vibrancy of artistic and non-Enlightenment influenced forms of worship.  See Martin Ott,  "African Christian Art:  A Systematic analysis."  African theology in images,   edited by Martin Ott and B. Dialog  (Blantyre, Malawi:  Christian Literature Association), 121-146.

Bibliography

Adams, Doug.  "Theological Expressions through Visual Art Forms,"  Art, Creativity, and the Sacred. Art, Creativity, and the Sacred.  Edited by D. Apostolos-Cappadona.  New York:   Continuum, 1995.

Beaudoin, Tom.  Virtual Faith.  San Francisco:  Jossey-Bass, 1998.

Begbie, Jeremy.  "Christ and the Cultures:  Christianity and the Arts,"  Cambridge Companion to Christian Doctrine.  New York:  Cambridge University Press, 1997.

---Voicing Creations Praise.  Edinburgh:  T&T Clark, 1991.

Dupre, L.K.  Symbols of the Sacred.  Grand Rapids:  Eerdmans, 2000.

Dyrness, William.  Visual Faith.  Grand Rapids:  Baker, 2001.

Gilkey, Langdon.  "Can Art Fill the Vacuum?" Art, Creativity, and the Sacred.  Edited by D. Apostolos- Cappadona.  New York:  Continuum, 1995.

Kandinsky, Wassily.  Concerning the Spiritual in Art.    New York:  Wittenborn, Shultz, 1947.

Miles, Margaret.  Image as Insight:  Visual Understanding in Western Christianity and Secular Culture.  Beacon Press, 1985. 

Moore, Albert.  "Faith and Experience as the Basis for Arts in Christian Worship,"  Pacific Journal of Theology 9:  3-12.

O'Meara, Thomas.  "The Aesthetic Dimension in Theology," Art, Creativity, and the Sacred.  Edited by D.  Apostolos-Cappadona.  New York:  Continuum, 1995.

Ott, Martin.  "African Christian Art:  A Systematic analysis."  African theology in images.  Edited by Martin Ott and B. Dialog.  Blantyre, Malawi:  Christian Literature Association, 2000.    121-146. 

Rookmaker, HR.  The Creative Gift:  Essays on Art and the Christian Life.  Cornerstone Books,  1981.

Torgenson, Mark.  "Sighting the Unseen:  Theological Reflections on Visual Art and Worship",    Covenant Quarterly 52(1994):  26-39. 

Van Beek, Frans Jozef.  "Trinitarian Theology as Participation,"  The Trinity:  an interdisciplinary symposium on the Trinity.  Edited by ST Davis, D. Kendall, and G. O'Collins.  New York:  Oxford University Press, 1999.  295-325.

Whitehurst, Fred.  "Art and Pastoral Theology,"  Pastoral Psychology 44 (5)1996:  321-331.

Wolterstorff, Nicholas.  Art in Action:  Toward a Christian Aesthetic.  Grand Rapids:  Eerdmans, 1980.

Oral Interviews

Tom Dunn, artist and senior pastor--Foothill Vineyard, San Dimas.

Sarah Sumner, Chair, Department of Ministry, Associate Professor of Ministry and Theology, Azusa Pacific University.