Why the arts are important to the doober.
My amigo, Manuel, who lives in Ecuador asked me to tell him what the importance is of theater in the church. Manuel and I share the same passion for theater ministry, and he has already been working with the students in his church for a long time, doing sketches and acting out stories set to music and lots of other wonderful things. Manuel, however, has not had the opportunity to work on a four-year theater degree for six years, as I have. So he asks questions, and I try to give thorough answers. In Espanish. haha. Anyway, this one is an important question to me, so I want to give him a good, well-thought-out answer. These are the reasons I have thought of so far:
First, theater (and for the most part when I say theater, I don't think it has to be limited to just theater. I think you can safely substitute any kind of art in here) is important in the church because theater is a form of expression. It is something that we create and share. God created each of us in his own image, and therefore, created us to be creators. I believe that if what we are creating is worthwhile; if it teaches, if it calls attention to things that should be addressed, if it points or leads to God in some way, whether directly or indirectly, or anything else that is good...then I believe that God delights in what we create. And so, theater, I believe, is a form of worship.
Another importance of theater in the church is communication. I believe that speaking direct truths to people is good for the mind. And we need to be feeding each other intellectually through good discussions, etc. But I also think it's important to communicate to the heart. And I don't think anything speaks better to the heart than a story. Jesus told a lot of stories in order to communicate his truths to the hearts of the people who listened. We should do the same thing. Whether through story or song or drawing or photo or theater or any other kind of creative communication, we should be speaking truths to the heart as well as to the mind.
And finally, I think theater is important to the church because it can help to keep the church interesting. Theater and all other forms of art are things that help keep the church connected to culture. If the church is speaking to people through the culture of the day, people will hopefully be able to see more of God in their every-day life. And it can help people to be more interested in and less turned-off by the church. We should not isolate ourselves from the world. If we do that, the world will not want to know God. Speaking through popular culture can help the church be in the world but not of the world. Relating to the popular culture in the church can help us learn how to sift through the things in the world to find what is good and holy in the midst of what is not. We will be better people, and better witnesses of who God is if we speak to the world using languages that are understood by the world.
So tell me what you think. If I have left something out that you think is important too. Or if I've missed the point. Or if you disagree. I want to know. Or if you were reminded of a verse in scripture while reading that, or anything. Help me and Manuel out. Thanks.
First, theater (and for the most part when I say theater, I don't think it has to be limited to just theater. I think you can safely substitute any kind of art in here) is important in the church because theater is a form of expression. It is something that we create and share. God created each of us in his own image, and therefore, created us to be creators. I believe that if what we are creating is worthwhile; if it teaches, if it calls attention to things that should be addressed, if it points or leads to God in some way, whether directly or indirectly, or anything else that is good...then I believe that God delights in what we create. And so, theater, I believe, is a form of worship.
Another importance of theater in the church is communication. I believe that speaking direct truths to people is good for the mind. And we need to be feeding each other intellectually through good discussions, etc. But I also think it's important to communicate to the heart. And I don't think anything speaks better to the heart than a story. Jesus told a lot of stories in order to communicate his truths to the hearts of the people who listened. We should do the same thing. Whether through story or song or drawing or photo or theater or any other kind of creative communication, we should be speaking truths to the heart as well as to the mind.
And finally, I think theater is important to the church because it can help to keep the church interesting. Theater and all other forms of art are things that help keep the church connected to culture. If the church is speaking to people through the culture of the day, people will hopefully be able to see more of God in their every-day life. And it can help people to be more interested in and less turned-off by the church. We should not isolate ourselves from the world. If we do that, the world will not want to know God. Speaking through popular culture can help the church be in the world but not of the world. Relating to the popular culture in the church can help us learn how to sift through the things in the world to find what is good and holy in the midst of what is not. We will be better people, and better witnesses of who God is if we speak to the world using languages that are understood by the world.
So tell me what you think. If I have left something out that you think is important too. Or if I've missed the point. Or if you disagree. I want to know. Or if you were reminded of a verse in scripture while reading that, or anything. Help me and Manuel out. Thanks.
posted by Amy at 1:37 PM
2 Comments:
I think theater is especially useful in the communication/understanding of gospel because that's what the gospels are--stories. And they're stories written down at a time when oral traditions were much more prevalent. John (or whoever wrote it) didn't write his gospel, make 10,000 Xerox's of it and call it done. Rather, the gospels are compendiums of formerly unwritten material. Only the very rich and very educated used written language as primary communication. Think about it-Jesus stood in front of people and told stories--emotional tools for capturing the imagination, causing us to ask questions and become involved without even knowing that's what's happening.
I once had a class where the prof. made volunteers participate, spur of the moment style, in a dramatization of the healing of the hemorrhaging woman. It was so crazy how much more I got out of the story once I WATCHED it instead of just listening to it. It makes the gospels look more alive to viewers and feel more alive to actors. Can't be anything bad about that.
Good stuff. I agree with everything you and Denise said and I only want to add this. There is an untapped source in most churches of theater/drama enthusiasts who are sitting in the pews doodling on the attendance card or twiddling their thumbs wondering how they can serve the Lord. Because of things going on in our church right now, I am all about asking the question, "Sure, we want to know how we can serve the community, but how can we also provide more ways for our church family to serve?" Drama is a way. There are people who don't sing, who don't preech, who aren't good with kids, who want to do more than just sit in church and smile. So a church theater program works at both ends of the believer-seeker spectrum.
We're starting a sports ministry which will include free or nearly free sports camps for kids in the community, obviously a great outreach opportunity. It is also a open door for sportsoholics to actually use what they love for God. Gives them more of a sense of belonging in the active church family.
Post a Comment
<< Home