why the church needs artists

an ever growing passion of mine is art and its role in the church. there are dozens of books i have yet to read on the topic, gazillions of artists yet to interview and be inspired by and more importantly, conversations between God and i on the subject that also remain untouched.

that being said, i have been blessed beyond words and exclamations from the following blog post found on The Gospel Coalition website. Here, Kristen Scharold articulates the necessity and impact that art has had in the Scriptures, the Church and artists themselves. She interviews artists as diverse as a rich tapestry, yet as passionate and driven as any artist you might see on the cover of PASTE magazine. (On that note, make sure you play the tracks scattered throughout the article) since i can't and won't regurgitate the whole article for you, i will give you the highlights and let you be inspired yourself- whether as a connoisseur, creator or supporter of beauty.

some quotes:

•  "The church has given considerable attention to Truth and Goodness, to theology and ethics. But too often beauty has escaped us, or we have tried to escape from it. This is partly because of its innovative, experimental aspect, its way of reaching for originality or a new way of expressing an old standard. In many Christian circles this is felt to be dangerous; the pursuit of beauty is seen merely as an option, and a seductive one at that, because beauty can be neither controlled nor programmed." -Luci Shaw
• "In truth, a very wise imagination, which is the presence of the Spirit of God, is the best guide that man or woman can have; for it is not the things we see the most clearly that influence us the most powerfully; undefined, yet vivid visions of something beyond, something which eye has not seen or ear heard, have far more influence than any logical sequences whereby the same things may be demonstrated to the intellect."-George MacDonald

•  “This practical modern world is prone to conceive beauty as an extraneous luxury,” “We do not think of it as an integral and inseparable element of our living, as did the Greeks; or as did the Christians for many centuries. . . . .Beauty is an indispensable and logical part of practice and worship in the religious life.”-Charles G. Osgood writes in “Poetry as a Means of Grace.”

• "... Anyone can submit to beauty and art by simply learning to appreciate it. Learn how to read a novel or a poem. Learn how to listen to music and experience a painting. Support the artists in your community not just spiritually but also financially. Seek out creative and unsolicited ways to do this..."-Kristen Scharold

some inspiring people:

• Hans Norlund- a local christian artist and founder of Tacoma Academy of Fine Art
• Aaron Youngren- now the lead pastor of The Line church in Lincoln Park
• Makoto Fujimura- as his website states "artist, writer, catalyst"

some books/articles to read or show to your pastor:

• A Letter To North American Churches by Fujimura
• Art for from and facing the church
• Christians In the Visual Arts
• For the Beauty of the Church: Casting A Vision for the Arts by W. David O. Taylor
• Visionaries Working to Redeem the Visual Arts Within the Church 

M.K.