Experiencing Art as Worship
āThey will tell about your mighty deeds and about the majesty and glory of your reign.ā ā Psalm 145:12
āArts help mediate both the story of the faith, that is, the narrative of Godās historically specific āmighty acts,ā and the presence of God in āthe glorious splendor of the kingdom.āā
ā Lisa DeBoer, Visual Arts in the Worshiping Church
We are all creatives because we are created. As works of art, we tell stories of Godās character through our own lives. We are indwelled temples of worship.
In our day-to-day lives, we walk around and forget that we are a joining of art and worship. Often, our sense of the artistās flowāa space where creatives describe losing track of all awareness outside of the work they are creatingācan feel confined to particular moments and spaces, such as within church buildings. We tend to forget that we live within a larger sanctuary where we are invited to create with our entire lives. Art as worship is not just a calling for some, it is an ingrained part of who we are.
When we engage in worship, fully immersed and present, we experience the same feelings and concentration of an artist at work. The depth of this type of experience, this flow, is not something that occurs often unless we pursue it. It comes from a profound, spiritual place.
Our upbringing and traditions likely play a profound role in shaping how each of us views art. When we speak of religious art, Italian Renaissance paintings and sculptures or Gothic Cathedrals covered in stained glass are often the first things to come to mind. āArtā draws to mind epic grandeur, but what of smaller more intimate expressions? Voices joining together in song, a childās drawing, the outpouring of words in our journals and prayers. These too can be significant acts of artful worship.
Some of us are more inclined to label ourselves as artists in the traditional sense. Wonderfulāmay the artists among us always be encouraged in the process of worship while immersed in their craft whether or not the end result hangs in a church. But one need not pick up a paintbrush or master an instrument to worship. Anything we create rightly understood can point us back to the divine Creator.
May the spaces and projects where we find flow continue to be seen for the art forms they are. Let us engage in our making with a worshipful heart, following the example set for us by God, and living into the gifts, skills, and talents we have been given. Our creative actions reflect the majesty of God. For if we are created creatives, each act, from painting to cooking to woodworking to gardening, is an act of worship that points back to the Ultimate Creator.
We desperately need art in our worship just as our worship flow is an art of its own. They are interwoven in the story of creation.
Words: Sabrina Dawson
Images: Steve Johnson
āThey will tell about your mighty deeds and about the majesty and glory of your reign.ā ā Psalm 145:12
āArts help mediate both the story of the faith, that is, the narrative of Godās historically specific āmighty acts,ā and the presence of God in āthe glorious splendor of the kingdom.āā
ā Lisa DeBoer, Visual Arts in the Worshiping Church
We are all creatives because we are created. As works of art, we tell stories of Godās character through our own lives. We are indwelled temples of worship.
In our day-to-day lives, we walk around and forget that we are a joining of art and worship. Often, our sense of the artistās flowāa space where creatives describe losing track of all awareness outside of the work they are creatingācan feel confined to particular moments and spaces, such as within church buildings. We tend to forget that we live within a larger sanctuary where we are invited to create with our entire lives. Art as worship is not just a calling for some, it is an ingrained part of who we are.
When we engage in worship, fully immersed and present, we experience the same feelings and concentration of an artist at work. The depth of this type of experience, this flow, is not something that occurs often unless we pursue it. It comes from a profound, spiritual place.
Our upbringing and traditions likely play a profound role in shaping how each of us views art. When we speak of religious art, Italian Renaissance paintings and sculptures or Gothic Cathedrals covered in stained glass are often the first things to come to mind. āArtā draws to mind epic grandeur, but what of smaller more intimate expressions? Voices joining together in song, a childās drawing, the outpouring of words in our journals and prayers. These too can be significant acts of artful worship.
Some of us are more inclined to label ourselves as artists in the traditional sense. Wonderfulāmay the artists among us always be encouraged in the process of worship while immersed in their craft whether or not the end result hangs in a church. But one need not pick up a paintbrush or master an instrument to worship. Anything we create rightly understood can point us back to the divine Creator.
May the spaces and projects where we find flow continue to be seen for the art forms they are. Let us engage in our making with a worshipful heart, following the example set for us by God, and living into the gifts, skills, and talents we have been given. Our creative actions reflect the majesty of God. For if we are created creatives, each act, from painting to cooking to woodworking to gardening, is an act of worship that points back to the Ultimate Creator.
We desperately need art in our worship just as our worship flow is an art of its own. They are interwoven in the story of creation.
Words: Sabrina Dawson
Images: Steve Johnson
Additional readings
Finding God in Mystery and Wonder
How mystery and wonder invites us to seek God in newer and deeper ways.
On Relinquishing Control, A Prayer for Anxiety
Reflective thoughts and study of Philippians 4:6-7 on how God is in control in the midst of anxiety.
Creativity as Devotional Practice
A reflection on how we can approach the creative process as a devotional practice.
Additional readings
Finding God in Mystery and Wonder
How mystery and wonder invites us to seek God in newer and deeper ways.
On Relinquishing Control, A Prayer for Anxiety
Reflective thoughts and study of Philippians 4:6-7 on how God is in control in the midst of anxiety.
Creativity as Devotional Practice
A reflection on how we can approach the creative process as a devotional practice.