The Art of Worship

An article in today's paper caught my eye.

'ART OF WORSHIP.' the big headline screamed.

The smaller headline chanted '....church is part of a trend that urges worshippers to use their creativity to connect with a higher power.' Evidently, there is a growing trend to include various forms of visual art in some churches, especially churches of Protestant descent.


One of the quotes from the article is 'God is the master artist. And if God creates, we are to do it as well, because we were designed to imitate God."


Interesting.


We were designed in God's image, which tells me that we are created to be creators, too. Isn't that cool? Maybe not of worlds or universes in a material sense, but certainly through words, images, and thoughts. C.S. Lewis's Narnia, anyone? Or J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth? Maybe we don't create mountains, but we can certainly photograph or paint one, can't we? Then print, frame and hang the print in an artistically pleasing manner, right?


Whether you bring beauty to a room by an artful arrangement of flowers and furniture or whether you express your love of color in a quilt or garden project or whether you highlight injustice and forgiveness in your most recent film-making project, you are using the talents God gave you.


To not use them seems downright sinful.


But, but, but....you sputter....but I'm not creative. I don't have original ideas. I use patterns in my fabric art. My fiction sounds like a re-hashed plot from someone's else's story.


Please stop!

Ever compared the story lines of King Arthur, Star Wars, and Harry Potter? You'll find Arthur, Luke, and Harry have a lot of similarities. It's okay to build on someone else's ideas. You'll always add your own flair to the project that will make it an original.


You've just let the fear get you. Or you've forgotten the joys of working with your hands, the pleasures of creating. You've let your fresh ideas get buried under a mound of laundry. You've allowed your work, your loved ones, or your own sense of unworthiness to keep you from doing something you love.

Please stop!

Make an artistic date with yourself. Put it on your calendar. Let the Master of the Universe see you celebrate the skills He has given you.