creativity...

I must admit, I have been quite frustrated lately. I've come to the conclusion that I'm not at all creative. Although, I long to understand the intricacies of art and beauty, I just don't. God is the ultimate beauty and because I know him, I want to be able to reflect his beauty on to canvas, or a sheet of music. However, God has not given me the abilities to do so. And, as wrong as it may be, it frustrates me a bit. As I observe my generation, I see that it is beginning to express itself more and more through art. It could be that we are growing up and that's just what grown-ups do, or it could be a cultural revolution. I'm more apt to lean towards the second conclusion because my parents aren't very interested in art and never have been. Although I must again admit that could be because I lived in a small rural, country town and art tends to thrive in the city. I'm not sure. Either way I understand that if the church is to keep up with the shifting culture, it must be more involved in art. Not just involved however, but be excelling and leading the pack. I grew up in a period of evangelical art that was horrible. Many of the "Christian artists" that I grew up listening to are terrible musicians. Bands such as DC Talk, MercyMe, Third Day, Casting Crowns, and Kutless to name a few have a great message but leave much to be desired in the musical technicality and quality. They cannot begin to be compared to bands like Radiohead, Coldplay, and Deathcab for Cutie. These guys are the leading musical geniuses of today. The movement of their music mesmerizes hundreds of millions of people all over the world. The problem is that they are not Christians. They don't know the ultimate beauty that is Christ. They are playing for their own glory. The best musicians should be Christian ones. Ones that have savored ultimate beauty. Moreover, they have a deep, intimate connection with It. It's not as though they caught a glimpse one day. For the Christian, God's glory is evident in all things. It frustrates me that art that flows from Christians is so poor. Even though Christians are involved in the art scene, I am scared that it does more harm than good. My pastor recently spoke on this issue. He talked about attending a Beastie Boys/Run DMC concert and then going to a DC Talk/Michael W. Smith concert the next night. He compared the DC and Smitty show to a SNL sketch. The Christian bands were comical and a mockery to him. What's so scary is that he wasn't a Christian at the time. Our art should be engaging to the lost culture around us, but instead mostly, they just mock it. There is a book out called "Rapture Ready," by Daniel Radosh that discusses this exact issue. He is a humanist Jew that evaluates the evangelical subculture of America today and basically mocks it. I think it's one of the great hindrances of the gospel today. So, I want to do something to fix it. Therein lies my problem. As I said above, I'm not artistic. I struggle with the complicated art of stick figures. However, I realize it's not my job to be a good artist. I'm just supposed to make people aware of the problem and beg the great artists out there who know Christ to step up to the plate. Not only that but the church needs be careful of what it produces and promotes. I grew up in a small church and I understand the thought behind letting everybody who wants to sing for Jesus have the opportunity. However, a lost person doesn't. The church simply needs to be careful of what they allow. There are special times and places for those circumstances. An event for lost people to attend is not one of them. Unfortunately, this is only a topic of discussion in a few of the mainline evangelical circles. This is an important issue that needs to be taken seriously. Most seem to approach this issue with passive timidity instead of urgency.

P.S. Derek Webb has a lot of good stuff to say about this issue. He is a artist that loves Christ deeply and longs for Christians to produce better art. His website can be found here.