Visual Arts and Worship
We are a creative people. We cannot help but be creative. Even within the walls of the church, where art may be more stringently evaluated, there have been great works of art at display. Of course, I’m thinking of the cathedrals that are studded throughout Europe and paintings inspired by scripture, such as Da Vinci’s Last Supper. With the rise of technological advances, there has been an emerging art form that the church is still yet to utilize fully — the technological arts. I would argue that perhaps the technological arts are the future medium of the church in its ministry and evangelization.
SO, WHAT EXACTLY DO I MEAN BY TECHNOLOGICAL ARTS?
Technological art forms include films, audio or visual or lighting art that can be used, for our conversation, within the church. The church tends to approach any new art form cautiously and rightfully so since any art form used within the church has the power to form its people. In his book Glimpses of the New Creation: Worship and the Formative Power of the Arts, David Taylor states “that no instance of art in worship is neutral.”[1] This means that every choice we make as worship leaders to include or exclude a particular art form is either leading our people towards our stated aim of glorifying God or moving them away. A large part of understanding whether an art form is suitable for our church is to understand our church culture. Each context will allow for a particular set of art forms, while others will be deemed unsuitable.
WHY THE NEED FOR TECHNOLOGICAL ARTS?
There are a couple of reasons why technological arts are a necessity in the church. First, technological art forms are great mediums for communicating. Most people remember a movie they’ve seen before they recognize a sermon they have listened to. Second, making space for technological arts allows those within our congregations gifted in this arena to exercise their talent to benefit the entire church. Third, our congregants and visitors already have much vying for their attention in the realm of technology and media. By using technology responsibly and creatively within our church, we could share our message more effectively.
WHERE DO I BEING?
If you are at a church where technology is limited to the amplification of instruments and speaker and lyric display software, there are some options to get you started on this exploration. One easy way to implement technology is the use of lyric videos. Finding the right lyric video can express the message of the song more powerfully. Here are two websites that can help with this:
If you are interested in stage design, the websites I’ve found most helpful are:
www.churchstagedesignideas.com
Pinterest has some neat design ideas that are easily replicable by smaller congregations with limited budgets. The Church Stage Design website offers ideas for Christmas and special events and even ideas on lighting specifically.
Another way to introduce technology into Sunday services is the use of short videos. These can be used to support the central theme of the sermon or be a call to worship. Websites such as
www.sharefaith.com offers ready-to-go media that are quite effective.
Of course, If you are contemplating using technology, the first place I would turn your attention toward is your own community. Pray that you would discern who might have a gift for creating media and pray about how you can effectively engage them in ministry. Cultivating the talent within our congregation is the biggest blessing to the body. It is a mutually edifying relationship.
[1] W. David O. Taylor, Glimpses of the New Creation: Worship and the Formative Power of the Arts (Grand Rapids, MI (Logos Bible Software): Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co, 2019).
