The Art of Worship

Please welcome guest blogger Julie Farmer. Julie is on staff with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship and shares her perspective with us on use visual art as a medium for reaching across divides in worship (all images are hers):

Art is integral to how I worship God and how I understand His master plan to draw all peoples to Himself. Creating and appreciating art leads me to profound awe and fear as I consider the power, majesty, and wonder of the Creator of All. I am humbled at how insignificant my art is compared to any one of God’s creations.

Have you ever considered the intricacies of the human body—the relationship of body parts to organs to the ability to think, feel, speak, and act? Or acknowledged the beauty that a nursing mother is able to produce milk that has just the right fat, protein, and nutrient balance for her child?

Have you ever considered the miracle of a tiny seed growing to be a delicious fruit or vegetable that brings nourishment and enjoyment to your taste buds? Or been awe struck by the beauty of a single flower, only to imagine the countless flower variations?

Art transcends cultures, ethnicities, time periods, and gender, while also representing and expressing each of these things distinctly and uniquely. Art came into being when God created—shedding His glory and majesty on the earth. Art embodies all beauty and provides healing.

Art communicates in the gaps when words are just not enough. The visual arts are a nuanced way for me to dialogue about God’s heart for justice while also worshiping the Creator who gave me the ability to create visual art alongside Him. Throughout the Old Testament, the value of art is clear. Consider the intricate details of the Temple or how it was the trumpet players who led the procession around the walls of Jericho.

I’ve created specific pieces of art to address the atrocities of injustice in various cultures and seen people be moved by my art from complacency and ignorance to passion to see justice on earth as it is in Heaven. I love how visual art engages a viewer often before the viewer realizes the topic of the piece. Once engaged, it is hard to ignore the emotions stirred by the image one is looking at.

The artist worships God when his or her art points to His character, His salvation, His healing, and His value for all His people. Visual art is not just reserved for those who are natural artists. God is a visual and creative God who has made each of His people in His image and likeness. As image bearers of the divine, we are called to reflect Him as we worship Him.

Ponder a photograph or piece of art. Take your camera on a scavenger hunt to see where you can find God’s beauty represented. Try painting or make a collage with your favorite colors and news article. Ask God to show you Himself and pray for His redemption and justice to be had. Look for opportunities to stand for justice through the creation of new life in art.

Friday Fruit: Olympic Edition--Week 2 (08/10/12)

On Fridays, BTSF posts links to some of the week's happenings.  

It's an opportunity for you to read about racial justice & Christianity from other folks, and for me to give props to the shoulders on which I stand...

Weekly Round Up (OLYMPIC EDITION!--WEEK 2):

• An Olympic-Sized Income Gap Among Our World Class Athletes

• Where’s Gabby’s Dad? He’s Right Where He’s Supposed to Be

• Former Undocumented Immigrant Leo Manzano Wins Silver Medal for U.S.

• Sexism, Racism, And Swimming At The London 2012 Olympics

• Olympic Overcomers: Three the Hard Way

• Even as we celebrate world harmony, tragedy strikes: 
• Not Senseless, Not Random: The Deadly Mix of Race, Guns & Madness
• The Difference Between Muslims and Sikhs.. Misses the Point

These are some of BTSF's links of interest this week. What are yours?

Feel free to contribute your own links in the comments section, or submit items you feel should be included during the week. Self-promotion is encouraged. 

Saved from Meritocracy (Part 2)

Now that we've discussed how 'meritocracy' is counter to the Christian concept of grace (see Part 1), let's see how that system holds up in practice in today's world:

Meritocracy: it's be great if it were
how society actually worked

Not only is meritocracy a false idol that divides us from the One who is truly responsible for our successes, but it's not even a reality-based system in the secular world. Anyone whose parents went to college or owned their own home received a head-start. Anyone who lives in stability or maintains consistent access to healthcare has an advantage in their daily pursuits.  

Anyone that networks for a job, or can bring solid letters of recommendation to their interview has benefited from the goodwill of others. Anyone whose culture has been consistently represented in the seats of power has benefited from a tailored system of rules. No one gets where they are on merit alone (see post: Academic Admissions). 

Yet even while we accept help from others, we despise and disparage those that need help from us: people that struggle every day to make it through. Like the Pharisees we proclaim “God, I thank you that I am not like other men–robbers, evildoers, adulterers” (Luke 18:11). Walter Russell Mead asserts that God "made you smart so that you could serve — and the people he wants you to serve are exactly all those people you feel so arrogantly superior to." Will we be like the servant who receive mercy and grace, but will not offer it to others?

Furthermore, do we honestly believe that we work harder than those struggling for their daily survival? Do we put in more effort that the student who is also maintains two jobs to help pay the rent? Are we more tired at the end of the day than the mom that put in a double shift in order to put food on the table? 

When we achieve success, might it be because our hard work went toward getting us ahead, rather just than surviving? If it takes every effort for someone to keep from falling behind, how do we expect that they will move forward? If we are secure in our basic survival, our skills and talents can propel us to great heights. But if adversity creates struggle for basic need, how can one's gifts ever reach their full potential?  And then we all miss out in witnessing the splendor of God's blessings that might have been realized. 

We bristle at giving aid to people that 'don't deserve our help.' But what have we ever deserved? And what if someone happens to be 'undeserving'? So what? Is this not the very definition of grace? 

There are indeed those elite few that have achieved great things in the face of adversity--bone fide 'rags-to-riches' achievement. But we love their stories precisely because they are so rare. The reality is that for millions of people, overcoming systemic disadvantage is exhausting to the point of hopelessness and even resignation. 

But we rigorously maintain the idea that merit is our only currency for success. And in our world, rewarding effort and good work is important for the advancement of society. But it is not what's important for the advancement of Christ's Kingdom.

We know that we aught to work hard because it brings glory to god, not because we'll get stuff. God didn't give you a good education, stable family, safe neighborhood so that you could boast in your own greatness. He didn't make you rich so you could buy a nice car. Every blessing we have is a gift, and it comes with responsibility: "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded" (Luke 12:48). Or do we believe it is better to store up our treasures on earth?   

Saved from Meritocracy (Part 1)

Americans pride ourselves on our system of meritocracy. We believe that if you work hard, you can achieve anything. We affirm that we got where we are because of our own skills and dedication. We accept the implication that anyone who has not achieved such heights simply did not put in as much effort.

But much of what we love about meritocracy is fundamentally opposed to the grace of the Cross. There is none among us who can claim that we deserve what has been given to us, none who can say we have earned our reward. “For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?" (Corinthians 4:7)

Indeed, Christ grants us freedom from meritocracy. We no longer have to earn our reward.  We can let go of our obsession with 'fairness' that simply does not exist in scripture. We are no longer slaves to the rat race of achievement. We can rest in the promise that "it is by grace you have been saved, through faith —and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Every breath we draw in is a moment of grace. So too is every meal we eat, every paycheck we receive, every new idea we have. Each minute we live is every bit of an undeserved gift as is our ultimate eternal salvation. So why do we create an idol out of this 'meritocracy'? 

Certainly, it makes sense to offer rewards in order to motivate good behavior. But to think that we deserve this reinforcement belies our witness as sheep of His flock. We become self-reliant, even prideful in our own making. We determine that we have worked hard, and then demand our reward. This is not the model of the Cross.

Not only is meritocracy a false idol that divides us from the One who is truely responsible for our successes, but it's not even a reality-based system in the secular world. Continue to part 2...

Friday Fruit: Olympic Edition! (08/03/12)

All-Round Gold Medalist, Gabby Douglass

On Fridays, BTSF posts links to some of the week's happenings.  

It's an opportunity for you to read about racial justice & Christianity from other folks, and for me to give props to the shoulders on which I stand...

Weekly Round Up (OLYMPIC EDITION!):

• A Brief Guide to This Summer’s Unexpected U.S. Olympians of Color

• On the Olympics & Being Indigenous

• There Are Olympians Without Countries—And Millions of Regular People, Too

• Who do you root for? Cheering athletes of color

• The First Asian American Gold Medalist: Sammy Lee

• Breakfast of Stereotypes: Not what Champions should eat

• Gabby Douglas:
• Interview at Valley Church
• via Alvin Sanders
• Wasn’t Thinking About The History She Was Making
• Wins Gold, Gives Glory to God

These are some of BTSF's links of interest this week. What are yours?

Feel free to contribute your own links in the comments section, or submit items you feel should be included during the week. Self-promotion is encouraged.