MUSIC & ARTS ARTICLES
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God is an Artist - Marlene Dickson
INVITATION to participate at the international
PRAYER MAIL AND PRAYER
NETWORK OF CHRISTIAN CLASSICAL MUSICIANS !!
Musicians and Artists as a Part of Church Planting Teams
NETWORKING: A Biblical Model of Cooperation - the Nehemiah Strategy
SOME WAYS TO ENCOURAGE LOCAL CHURCHES
REGARDING THEIR MUSICIANS & ARTISTS - and
SOME WAYS CHURCHES CAN ENCOURAGE
THEIR MUSICIANS & ARTISTS
USING ETHNIC WORSHIP MUSIC CDs TO POTENTIALLY
OPEN UP OPPORTUNITIES TO REACH YOUR LOCAL ETHNIC MUSIC STORE OWNERS, etc.
- G. Wiebe - GCWAC@DiscipleTheNations.org
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For those of you living in multicultural cities, here are
a couple ideas you might wish to prayerfully consider in your region as a
way to see opportunities potentially open up to reach out to local ethnic
music store owners / local small business owners and potentially influence
many more from their ethnic groups.
Over the past year or so I have been beginning to develop a relationship with
the Sikh owner of a local Indian music/video shop in one of Vancouver's 'Little
India' sections of town. It has gotten to the place where our relationship
is such that I felt that he would consider listening to a copy of an Indian-style
Christian worship CD as something to potentially consider selling in his store.
A couple of weeks ago Chris (who was interning with me this summer) and I
prayed, talked to the owner for a few minutes and asked if he'd mind listening
to the CD for the next couple of weeks to see whether he would want to sell
copies of this CD in the future. He seemed very happy to consider it!
We returned a couple of weeks later and he said it was very well done but
that he only sells pop Indian music and not classical as we had asked him
to consider, so he gave us the contact info of another local Indian store
which he thinks may consider it. Though this particular opportunity didn't
lead to more than that yet, who knows what can develop in the future as we
return with other pop Indian (Christian) options or go there for some other
reason!
Either way, whether these store owners decide to sell the items or not, it
is giving them an opportunity to be impacted by Christian worship music in
a style they are familiar with, as well as giving them an opportunity to know
that if they wish to talk further about their spiritual life, we will be people
that they can talk about in this regard in the future.
We are looking forward to seeing what God does as we drop off more ethnic
worship music CDs to other local ethnic music store owners that we develop
relationship with in the future.
Also, over the past number of years I have sensed God
leading me to develop relationships with local small business owners who are
mostly Sikh or Muslim. Over time and as our relationships have deepened, God
has provided opportunities to give most of them copies of the Jesus video
in their mother tongue as the Holy Spirit has led, and/or copies of ethnic
Christian worship tapes in their language and in their traditional musical
styles.
Again, it has been a way of opening up the possibility with them of further
conversations about spiritual things - which it has done in many cases. By
God's grace He has given many opportunities over the past number of years
to share with them what God is doing in my life, to pray for them for healing
or other needs they have (while we're in the store and business is slow),
etc.
Although not any one thing will probably lead them to become a believer, I
believe that as God uses these various opportunities and connects them with
other believers who are praying for and loving them and taking the opportunities
God gives, He can use all of these things in their lives to draw them into
a relationship with Him.
Trusting that these ideas may be of some value to you. Let me know if you
have stories to share with our readers as you see God using these types of
ideas, and please pass on other related ideas which you have also found helpful.
Many thanks!
SOME WAYS TO ENCOURAGE LOCAL CHURCHES
REGARDING THEIR MUSICIANS & ARTISTS - and
SOME WAYS CHURCHES CAN ENCOURAGE
THEIR MUSICIANS & ARTISTS
- G. Wiebe - GCWAC@DiscipleTheNations.org
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Although there are growing numbers of musicians and artists
around the globe who seek to fully live out their God-given role as His musicians
and artists locally or overseas, and although there are a growing number of
music and arts ministries internationally as well who seek to encourage, support,
train, equip and release God's musicians and artists into all that He has
for them for His glory, a major need yet remaining is for many in church leadership
and the majority of our congregations to not only recognize the biblical value
/ necessity and role of the arts in the healthy development of God's Church
and in the expansion of His Kingdom, but for church leadership to encourage,
support and help to nurture the musicians and artists that God has entrusted
to them.
The following is a list of some ideas which you may wish to prayerfully consider
in your situation to help to meet some of these needs as the Holy Spirit leads
you. This list is far from complete, and so if you have other ideas which
you think would be helpful for us to include in a future edition, please feel
free to send those to us! Thank you!
DISCOVERY: Find out who the musicians/artists in your church are. Begin to include their contact info and a bit about them on a database for easy networking/resourcing. Begin to pray for them, and let the church leadership know who they are - ask the leadership to pray for your musicians and artists as a group and to prayerfully consider ways that they may be able to encourage them.
VISION SHARING: Offer to begin to gather your church's musicians/artists together in order to get to know each other, share biblical vision with them, find out what they're doing/have done re the arts, find out what visions God is/has been putting on their hearts, pray together, seek God's direction together re music and the arts in your church and community (and beyond) and prayerfully consider some specific steps that you can take together in those directions, minister to each other; support, encourage and resource each other, network with other musicians and artists in other local churches in your city/region, do ministry trips together, coordinate local related events, etc. pages
LOCAL SUPPORT FOR YOUR MUSICIANS/ARTISTS:
* Link your music/arts ministry web sites to the web sites of others in your
region or elsewhere who share similar vision and helpful resources
* Work together with other local ministries to put together a resource/networking
database of your musicians/artists and their gifts, talents, needs/opportunities,
potential country/ies of interest, etc. in order to more effectively network
with and resource/serve each other.
* Develop a L'Abri type meeting place for Christian musicians and artists
to think through the issues Christian musicians and artists must struggle
with in our society if they wish to be effective lights in the situations
God has them in (for more info contact: gcwac@hotmail.com
* Develop a regional prayer network for musicians and artists
* Walk with your musicians and artists through the spiritual and emotional
struggles that musicians and artists are commonly faced with in this world
and in the Church. Come alongside them with loving encouragement as God also
leads them to repent of wrong thinking and ungodly attitudes and perspectives
as they are continually renewed by the Word and His Spirit.
* Find out what the felt needs of your musicians/artists are and seek to find
biblical, loving ways to meet those needs
* Provide opportunities for your musicians and artists to exercise their musical/artistic
gifts in the church and through the church in reaching out
* Encourage your musicians and artists in their often-developing role as a
prophetic voice through their art
* Encourage your godly, experienced musicians and artists to mentor other
musicians and artists not only in terms of practical skill/experience but
also (and especially) in godly character development, a growing intimacy with
the Lord and a deep love for His Word, and a vision to let God use them to
impact the world around them through their art.
* House churches / simple churches can be a wonderful incubator/disciplers
of godly musicians and artists who can then also greatly impact society around
them through their art, and disciple others.
* Churches can consider hiring a worship & arts leader who is focused
on raising up godly musicians and artists who understand their biblical calling
and are equipped and released into that locally and/or overseas and who desire
to mentor others in these ways as well…
* Develop deepening and vital RELATIONSHIPS with musicians and artists and
music and arts ministry leaders - ministry flows out of relationship…as
you build relationship, you'll be surprised at the ministry He births out
of them as you seek Him and wait for His timing and ways!!
Etc.
DEVELOPING A MISSION STATEMENT FOR YOUR CHURCH: Work with a team of musicians/artists/ theologians/historians/some of your pastoral staff, etc. to put together a rough vision statement for your church re the role of music and the arts within your larger vision of the church. Then share it with your musicians/artists and clarify and sharpen it as a group as you all seek the Lord together and take shared ownership of the vision God births from within you.
MINISTRY EXPOSURE FOR THE CHURCH LEADERSHIP AND CHURCH BODY: Invite your church's leadership team to prayerfully consider and hopefully preach on the biblical role of music and the arts in the Bible, the role of musicians and artists in the Great Commission locally and overseas, to consider God the Artist, to consider ways to encourage the musicians/artists in your church to fulfill their role as God's musicians and artists, to help the church to understand a bit of church history re the arts and to understand some biblical principles on how to judge art, etc. since many people seem to fear art because they do not feel confident in judging it. Offer to provide them with available resources - such as this newsletter or the Global Worship Report here, and the www.worship-arts-network.com and DiscipleTheNations.org web sites.
MINISTRY RESOURCES: Encourage your church leadership by
helping them to implement specific ways in which they, perhaps partially through
you, can help to encourage your musicians and artists - ie. by inviting some
resource speakers that can help to encourage you in these directions…some
initial potential 'coaches'/speakers you might wish to consider are listed
at:
http://www.worship-arts-network.com/net-resource.html
http://disciplethenations.org/index85.html
* Research resource options and make these resources available to the musicians
and artists in your church/ministry. One such option is available by photocopying
our RESOURCE SHEET which you can find via attached file. Most of these resources
are free.
* Potentially develop a book/tape/video section in your church library re
Christianity in the Arts - or work together with other churches in your region
that share similar vision and develop a resource center TOGETHER in order
to cut costs and reduce the need for as many personnel…also helps to
develop unity in joint projects and vision and can enhance networking.
* Do you have ethnic musicians and artists in your church? If so, some resources
to help encourage them are available here
NETWORKING & PARTNERING TOGETHER WITH OTHER LOCAL MINISTIRES
THAT SHARE SIMILAR VISION: Begin to network with other individuals and churches/music
& arts ministries in your region and seek the Lord together on how you
can work together in cooperation with His Spirit to see His purposes accomplished
in your region re musicians/artists and music and the arts, etc. Work together
with other local churches/music & arts/media ministries who share similar
vision as you consider coordinating local events, support groups for Christian
musicians/artists, etc. Some ideas you could consider could include a Worship
& Arts Conference, a Great
Commission Worship & Arts Conference, a Great
Commission Musicians & Artists Resource Networking Center, a Great
Commission Music & Arts Ministry Leaders Resource Networking Retreat -
or a similar retreat for any local or national Christian musicians and artists;
providing Christianity
and the Arts resource ideas for your local Christian bookstores, etc.
* Develop local and regional/national and international partnerships with
like-minded churches/missions/ministries.
ENCOURAGING LOCAL MUSIC/ARTS TRAINING OPTIONS: Encourage local Christian training institutions to consider adding on seminars/courses to their music/arts/missions programs which can encourage musicians and artists to be effective musicians and artists in the Great Commission - locally or overseas…we are in the process of developing curriculum which can be utilized and adapted for your situations and will let you know when they are available in coming editions of the newsletter. Some ethnomusicology training options are listed at: http://disciplethenations.org/Rield/index85.html. Some other training options are also included on the RELATED MINISTRIES PAGE: http://disciplethenations.org/index93.html. Others are included in the TRAINING sections on the ARTS
Musicians and Artists as a Part of
Church Planting Teams
- G. Wiebe - GCWAC@DiscipleTheNations.org
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In talking with a some church planters about having musicians or artists potentially becoming a part of their teams, we discussed some of the following as important things for musicians/artists to consider if they are prayerfully considering joining a team and which church planters tend to look for in potential team members. This is not a complete list, but some things to consider:
It is important for anyone joining a team, whether a musician,
artist or anyone else, to:
· come in with a servant heart, humility
· not to be perfect but to desire/and be growing into godly character
and in interpersonal relationships
· come in as a learner - learning from the team and from the local
people
· come in recognizing that your part of church planting is a PART of
the whole
· come in with a willingness to work together as a team and not be
independent - rather, operate interdependently
· find out how you will work together as a whole - you will likely
be needing to be involved in many more aspects than just music/arts
· find out what their expectations are and tell them yours before you
join the team
· do a scouting trip - arrange with the team to go and visit them 6
months to a a year or so before you might consider moving over so you/and
they can make a more informed decision and so you can get a better feel for
the layout and the situation there, in many ways.
· have a team spirit - have you had experience in working together
with previous teams? If not, you might consider becoming a part of a local
team in your church or city beforehand so you can learn this very important
skill and work through any potential interpersonal issues which might potentially
arise before you go - interpersonal skills are of VITAL importance in any
team or ministry situation
· learn how to deal with a potentially melancholy, artistic personality,
in a biblical way, etc. Consider how you would deal with other melancholy,
artistic personalities in your team or other teams you might potentially work
with overseas
· realize that godly character as a musician/artist is HUGELY important!
Excellence and skill is very important as well, but without godly character
musical/artistic talent will not only not be successful in God's eyes but
also cause problems.
· Colossians 3:23 WHATEVER you do, work at it with all your heart,
AS WORKING FOR THE LORD, not for men.
· Ask God to work with you to raise up a prayer support team before
you go
· Find some local or email coaches/mentors that can help you to move
forward and grow in godly character and in excellence in your musical/artistic
gifts, as well as in your ministry roles
· Do research before you go - on: the country, the people group you
wish to focus on, their history, language, art, music, culture, etc.
· It would be helpful to have had some previous cross-cultural experience
· It would be helpful to have had some missions training - ie. Perspectives
on the World Christian Movement course, for example
· Prepare to go - check out various web sites (such as re missions
resources and candidate preparation, etc. and other related articles on the
process, etc.) - ie. DiscipleTheNations.org
· Pray...pray...pray
· Work at developing your musical/artistic gifts before you're on the
field and while you're there
· Other...(please let us know if you have some other things to add....
GCWAC@DiscipleTheNations.org).
Thank you!
NETWORKING:
A Biblical Model of Cooperation - the Nehemiah Strategy
(Editor's Note) - although this particular article is about networking house churches, the principles and model apply to networking/partnering together as musicians and artists in the Great Commission, as well. This is also the model the Great Commission Worship & Arts Center is based on. --
INVITATION to participate at the
international PRAYER MAIL AND PRAYER
NETWORK OF CHRISTIAN CLASSICAL MUSICIANS !!
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· Do you have an important spiritual concert?
· An exam?
· A personal prayer request?
· A colleague who needs prayer?
· A spiritual project with other musicians?
IMAGINE...
...all around the world people pray for it
...your request is pinned at a fridge in Brazil, is being read in an
underground in Tokyo and is on
the music stand in an orchestra in Berlin! What a fantastic idea!
...if musicians all around the world start praying for each other we
will definitely see God's
miracles! We will hear what God has done and our faith will grow!
...through that, us Christian musicians will move closer together
across countries and
continents!
...perhaps there will be new contacts and projects through this!
BECAUSE...
...from March 2001 onwards there will be a monthly "musicians' prayer
mail"!
The mail is published by Crescendo international. Christof Metz collects
all German requests and
Christina Salomon all the English ones and they are published monthly.
ALL requests concerning musicians (classic and jazz), violinmakers,
piano tuners, concert
managers etc. are welcome. Also non-musicians are welcome to pray with
us!
There are 3 categories:
1. Prayer requests
a) for you (exams, health, concerts)
b) for others (f. i. colleagues, teachers, pupils)
c) for Christian musicians' activities (concerts, meetings, etc.)
2. Thanks (reports of answered prayers)
3. Other information
It is VERY IMPORTANT that YOU join in. You don't have to
think, that
you'll always have to
pray for everything (who could?!)...
...but perhaps you'll print this mail at the beginning of each month and
put it into your music or
take it with you into the underground or in your prayer group! And then
you'll surely pray for
one or the other request. God can lead you in this and ask you to pray
for certain requests. If
you get any ideas, thoughts, impressions while praying you can directly
contact the sender (that's
why there'll always be a mail-address or a telephone number). You can
always send your own
requests!!! No request is to big and no request is too small! Because
God's strength is great and
also small things are important to HIM!
What is your next step?
Send your mail NOW to: CSalomon@cfc.ch
And a copy to: info@crescendo.org
... and answer the following questions:
( ) YES, I'LL JOIN THE PRAYER MAIL. Please send it to me regularly
( ) Please send me only the English mail
( ) Please send me both the English and the German mail
( ) I already have a request:
( ) Remarks:
>From now on you can also send your requests regularly to Christina
Salomon (and also always a
copy to info@crescendo.org).
PLEASE, PASS THIS MAIL FORWARD TO OTHER CHRISTIAN CLASSICAL
MUSICIANS (PROFESSIONALS OR MUSIC STUDENTS), CONDUCTORS, PIANO
TECHNICIANS, ETC. AND GIVE THEM A CHANCE TO BE PART OF THIS
WONDERFUL WORLDWIDE CHANCE OF A PRAYER NETWORK!!! THANKS!
CRESCENDO
Postfach 219
4002 Basel
Tel: 061 763 02 84
Fax: 061 763 02 83
Mail: info@crescendo.org
Homepage: www.crescendo.org
by Marlene Dickson
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When I look at creation I see a world lavished with extravagant beauty and function. In fact, the very first thing the Bible does is introduce us to the God of the universe as Creator. It doesn't say in the beginning God was our father, provider, or one of the many other character qualities we appreciate in Him. It says "In the beginning God created..." God created, and we are created in His image. Human creativity is rooted in Divine creativity. Man, as image-bearer of God, possesses the possibility to create.
Can Art Affect Nations?
For every society there are seven basic areas which shape the thinking of individuals and nations. Those areas are Family, Government, Church, Education, Business, Media, Arts and Entertainment. These spheres of influence have tremendous effect on the direction of a nation. There has been no spiritual awakening in a nation without all seven areas first being affected by revival. If we as Christians are to be a force in shaping the contours of society and evangelizing people in it, we will have to come to grips with the culture in which we live and move and have our being. Knowing how to be in the world but not of it!
During the past 200 years in Western society, secularism
has replaced Christianity as the dominant world view. The result is that more
and more people have grown up under the premise that there is no God - what
they see with their physical eyes is all there is. How do we minister to a
world that thinks this way? How do we tell an orphan in Romania who
has never been held what its like to be loved by a perfect Father? "Telling"
doesn't always work well. We need to be "showing" them and converting
their imaginations so that new pictures of what is true can be grasped. This
is where art can give non-Christian thinkers an
experience of what the kingdom of God is like. Art allows us to come into
contact with things we cannot see, feel, touch, taste, or smell, but are nevertheless
real. Art goes beyond words and communicates what words cannot. It goes past
the walls of a man's intellect and touches
his heart, becoming a physical means to announce spiritual realities.
C. S. Lewis, the late Oxford professor, in his book Surprised by Joy, wrote that when as an atheist he read a book by George McDonald, a 19th Century Christian fantasy writer, something happened in his imagination. He saw a possible world that he had never thought possible. He saw authentic goodness - his imagination was converted.
Is Your Imagination Starved?
We are communicating to a generation that has rarely seen
God's goodness. Ask the people of Generation X if they think there is any
hope for the world and they say, "NO WAY!" Their heroes such as
Curt Cobain and River Pheonix have led them to despair and hopelessness. Their
imagination is darkened and starved. This has laid a stage for the arts, because
reason will not convert this generation. But imagination and faith will, and
the arts are a tool for developing this. Chuck Colson in his book Against
the Night writes, "The only hope that Christians have is if they battle
in the area of imagination, to paint a picture of what
could be instead of what is."
We Can Reclaim
So, how are we Christians to go about reclaiming the arts
so that they can powerfully communicate truth? In 2 Corinthians 5:18 and Acts
3:21 we learn that God wants to see all things reconciled to Himself. God's
heart is to see all things come under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, His kingdom
come on earth, and His will be done in all areas. It starts in
our own lives and goes out into all areas of society. We Christians have known
that the arts need redemption, but many times we have not understood their
value to God, so we've ignored them. The arts are Gods good gifts to us, they
are not to be feared and avoided, only because
they have become wounded and stained. I have
two children. Let's say my husband likes to work with wood, and carves a beautiful
bat for our son because he loves baseball. He is so
excited to receive this gift, and we are excited to give it to him. But when
we go to the other room, suddenly we hear "BAM", "CRASH",
"WHAM"! We run back to see the room destroyed and he with the bat
just an inch from his sister's head. We yell, "STOP! Grabbing the bat,
we say, "Bats are evil, we will never have another bat in this house
again!" That is
what we have done with the arts. We have seen them used as tools of destruction
and have even wondered if they are inherently evil. Not knowing how to redeem
them, we have cast them aside.
We are to be involved in the reclamation process, yet as
a church, we have taken ourselves out of the battle. Often when things get
dim, we, "the light of Christ", are the first to depart. And as
dimness turns to darkness, we sit on the outskirts and look in, refusing to
get involved.
We as Christians have done this with the arts. Knowing they need redemption
but not understanding their value to God, we have feared them. It is time
to rebuild.
It is Time to Rebuild
In the Bible, Nehemiah saw the desolate condition of the
walls of Jerusalem, and God gave him a heart and a strategy to see the restoration
of those walls. His first step was in the place of intercessory prayer. I
believe this is also our first step to see restoration of the arts because
intercessory prayer builds the imagination. It is like erasing a graffiti-filled
chalkboard and letting God write His view of how things could be. We must
let God fill our imagination with what He wants to see done on the earth.
A commitment to intercession will do this. I once heard that a group of Sahara
Desert nomads, who for generations have never let anything disrupt their annual
migration, postponed their travel for 10 days just to watch the last
episode of Dallas. Hollywood is discipling nations! Hey, that's our job! As
Christians, we are called by Jesus to "Go into all the world and make
disciples". Creativity expressed through the arts, whether it be music,
theatre, dance, or any of the fine arts, is an intricate part of shaping a
society that we dare not overlook. Arts communicate....and what they
communicate is up to us!
Marlene Dickson, Director of our Performing Arts Department and the School of Performing Arts, along with her husband Dave, who assists her in the school. They are pictured with their two children, Rachael and Jonathan.