Stewardship of the Environment -
Some Possible Roles for Christian Artists
Good Stewards of God's Creation
© Grace Wiebe, EthniClay, 2003
Because of the growing reports of global warming and environmental devastations throughout the earth over the past decade, and especially the past few years, it seems God is also increasingly using these to make the Church aware of her need to wake up in this area of God-given stewardship, as He is doing in the arts, business, and in other sectors of society. Thankfully believers are slowly rising up to live out their lives as disciples in this crucial aspect of life in these days, as well, even though it is still an area of life not really being dealt with very much in the Church at large.
As I have been prayerfully pondering the biblical perspective of godly stewardship of what God has created, my responsibility in this regard, and the responsibility of believers, I have also been asking God how we as His artists can work with the gifts He has given us in order to help us to be good stewards of that which He lovingly created for us and for His glory. This is another form of worshipping and loving God.
Also, I have been thinking about how many additional opportunities we as believers/artists could have to share the love of Christ with many spiritually hungry people from many cultures and religions if we did work together to encourage godly stewardship of the earth from a biblical perspective. I think the possibilities are enormous!
As well, I have begun to imagine the various types of open doors there could be for potential entry platforms for artists heading into other nations through a combination of using the arts to help steward the earth. In addition, I have been imagining how artists could reflect God's love to various nations and peoples by helping to support/benefit their environments and peoples as we work together with them and develop loving and God-honoring relationships with them. Artists could work together with environmentalists, relief and development organizations, etc. through church planting teams and ministries - either on short term teams or long-term teams, however the Holy Spirit would lead.
I believe there are going to be growing open doors in this area and I would encourage God's musicians and artists, wherever we are, to seek the Lord to see in what ways He might wish to use us to assist in seeing His creation cared for - whether locally or overseas…in whatever situation He has placed us in.
Some Potential Roles for God's Artists to Consider:
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'Eco-Artist Tourism' Teams - perhaps there could be summer teams or short
term teams that would work in conjunction with Christian environmentalists/ecologists
that have a Great Commission heart. Perhaps photographers, graphic artists,
actors, scriptwriters, singers, dancers, media people, photojournalists, etc.
could work together on these types of teams to develop some good materials
/ productions / resources, etc. that could help to support God's desires regarding
His creation and help to raise up awareness of the needs by presenting accurate
research and specific ways and opportunities in which people could get involved.
These materials / resources / productions could then be made available through
appropriate media and networks (such as the Ethnic Worship & Arts Focus
newsletter and web site, the International Worship & Arts Network, etc.)…Christian
coordinators could coordinate events which would include these productions,
photos, resources, films, etc., to make the Church and others (as appropriate)
aware of what's going on and to encourage prayer and involvement in specific
opportunities.
Some resources to help you begin in these directions are included in the segment below and more here: Environmental Issues - resources, articles, ministries, networks, etc. -
Many or most of the roles above could also be utilized on church planting teams over the longer term, as well. Perhaps some team members, or members of several church planting teams that share similar vision in a particular region, could work together to develop businesses/ministries to address these issues as part of their way of living out their lives as disciples in their regions, and as a result, impacting the lives of others as they glorify God in their relationships and in the ways they honor God through their lives and work.
These teams could also potentially put together Powerpoint presentations, videos, dramas, or other training options which could be reproduced and used to help raise the level of stewardship in the Church internationally, and also to the world. Generally the 'world' seems to have the impression that we as believers don't tend to care much about the environment…how much is this actually true? Perhaps it is time for us to rise up and take our rightful place in partnering with God in this more than we have…?
Here are some Tips and Tools to assist in these directions - http://nacdnet.org/pubaff/stewardship/2003/tips.htm
Example of Powerpoint Presentation about this - from a Christian perspective
- http://nacdnet.org/pubaff/stewardship/2003/Youth2003/index.htm
Are any of you familiar with similar things that have been done? If so, we would love to hear from you! If you are interested in potentially putting together teams like this, we would love to hear from you and to hear how it goes! May God indeed do FAR MORE than we have asked or imagined and in this area, also, encourage us to see Him restore what has been becoming increasingly devastated… (Is. 61:4).
Following are some excerpts and links which will hopefully help to give you some more input on this crucial subject. We hope you find it helpful.
by Grace Wiebe, Jan 2004
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CHRISTIAN ENVIRONMENTALISM - Dr. Ray Bohlin
Excerpts from: http://www.probe.org/docs/ecology.html
"…The news media is full of stories concerning environmental disasters of one kind or another, from global warming to endangered species to destruction of the rain forests to nuclear accidents. It is not hard to notice that the environmental issue receives very little attention in Christian circles. There are so many other significant issues that occupy our attention that we seem to think of the environment as somebody else's issue. Many Christians are openly skeptical of the reality of any environmental crisis. It is viewed as a liberal issue, or New Age propaganda, or just plain unimportant since this earth will be destroyed after the millennium. What we fail to realize is that Christians have a sacred responsibility to the earth and the creatures within it. The earth is being affected by humans in an unprecedented manner, and we do not know what the short or long term effects will be.
The Seven Degradations of the Earth
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Calvin DeWitt, in his book The Environment and the Christian, lists seven
degradations of the earth. First, land is being converted from wilderness
to agricultural use and from agricultural use to urban areas at an ever-increasing
rate. Some of these lands cannot be reclaimed at all, at least not in the
near future.
Second, as many as three species a day become extinct. Once a species has
disappeared, it is gone. Neither the species nor the role it occupied in the
ecosystem can be retrieved.
Third, land continues to be degraded by the use of pesticides, herbicides,
and fertilizers. Just because DDT is no longer used does not mean that potentially
harmful chemicals are not being used in its place.
Fourth, the treatment of hazardous chemicals and wastes continues as an unsolved
problem. Hazardous chemicals seep into water sources from previously buried
dumping grounds.
Fifth, pollution is rapidly becoming a global problem. Human garbage turns
up on the shores of uninhabited South Pacific islands, far from the shipping
lanes, and DDT has been found in Antarctic penguins.
Sixth, our atmosphere appears to be changing. Is it warming due to the increase
of gases like carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels? Is the ozone
layer shrinking due to the use of chemicals contained in refrigerators, air
conditioners, spray cans, and fire extinguishers? Though these questions cannot
be answered easily, they must be asked.
Seventh, we are losing the experiences of cultures that have lived in harmony
with the creation for hundreds or even thousands years. Cultures such as the
Mennonites and Amish, as well as those of the rain forests, are crowded out
by the expansion of civilization.
Never before have human beings wielded so much power over God's creation.
Do we know what we are doing?…
…Christian Responsibility
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I believe that as Christians, we have a responsibility to the earth that exceeds
that of unredeemed people. We are the only ones who are rightly related to
the Creator. We should be showing others the way to environmental responsibility.
Christians of all people should not be destroyers. We may cut down a tree
to build a house or to make a fire, but not just to cut it down. We have the
right to rid our house of ants, but we should not forget to honor the ant
in its right habitat. While there is nothing wrong with profit in the marketplace,
in some cases we must voluntarily limit our profit in order to protect the
environment.
When the church puts belief into practice, our humanity and sense of beauty
are restored. But this is not what we see. Concern for the environment is
not on the front-burner of most evangelical Christians. The church has failed
in its mission of steward of the earth. We have spoken out loudly against
the materialism of science as expressed in the issues of abortion, human dignity,
evolution, and genetic engineering, but have shown ourselves to be little
more than materialists in our technological orientation towards nature.
By failing to fulfill our responsibilities to the earth, we are losing a great
evangelistic opportunity. Many in our society are seeking an improved environment,
yet they think that most Christians don't care about ecological issues and
that most churches offer no opportunity for involvement.
Because the environmental movement has been co-opted by those involved in
the New Age Movement, many Christians have begun to confuse interest in the
environment with interest in pantheism and have hesitated to get involved.
But we cannot allow the enemy to take over leadership in an area that is rightfully
ours. As the redeemed of the earth, our motivation to care for the land is
even higher than that of the New Ager. Jesus has redeemed all of the effects
of the curse, including our relationship with God, our relationship with other
people and our relationship with the creation (1 Cor. 15:21-22, Rom. 5:12-21).
Though the heavens and the earth will eventually be destroyed, we should still
work for healing now…"
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A Christian View of the Environment - Dr. Ray Bohlin
http://www.northave.org/MGManual/Environ/Envir2.htm
LEARNING TO LOVE GOD's CREATION - by Audrey Martin
The Bible on Environmental Conservation: a 21st Century Prescription
From: http://www.quodlibet.net/johnson-environment.shtml
"…The common thread among the different faith groups that have gotten
involved with environmental conservation projects is the belief that the God
of the Bible cares about the environment and holds people accountable for
its sustained management. The Bible serves as the guidebook for Christian
conduct and, if followed, will have a positive impact on the environment.
Surprisingly, the human conduct that benefits the environment the most, relates
less to direct interaction between people and the world around them and more
with how people relate to God and one another. In other words, environmental
improvements are a natural consequence when people are rightly related to
God and one another. This constitutes an environmental prescription for change
as the next millennium dawns…"
The Bible on Environmental Conservation - Old Testament verses
http://egj.lib.uidaho.edu/egj12/johnson1/a1_3.html
The Bible on Environmental Conservation - New Testament verses
http://egj.lib.uidaho.edu/egj12/johnson1/b.html
and sequentially - http://egj.lib.uidaho.edu/egj12/johnson1/c.html
The Music of the Church - Teaching Environmental Conservation
http://egj.lib.uidaho.edu/egj12/johnson1/d.html
Environmental Issues - resources, articles, ministries, networks, etc.
http://disciplethenations.org/EnvironmentIssues.html
Art * Ecology * Kingdom - Steve Scott
Clean Water Note Cards
Rain Forest Note Cards