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Have you been encouraged by the book?
Do you have a testimony, Scripture, or story to share that would encourage other Christian artists on a mission to transform culture and disciple their nation?
Tell us your story!
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For questions, contact info@disciplenations.org
For all the book details, visit acallforballadeers.com
Shawn Carson recently shared a podcast feature with me from The World and Everything In It. The episode talked about the beauty found with intentional farming methods.
The featured Christian community is based in Australia, where it works, lives, and serves together based off their understanding of Acts 2 and 4.
The farm manager says the soil and all components that build fertility are like a “symphonic orchestra. And if all those instruments are playing their own tune, it just sounds horrific. But when you bring it in line, and they’re all playing together to the same beat, it’s something of great beauty… And all of that is when we’re in line with God’s order for creation.”
As someone who appreciates beauty and sees it in nature, I really enjoyed listening to and reading this six-minute feature. If you’d like to check it out, visit https://wng.org/podcasts/farm-dogs-and-lawn-camels-1677549117
Carla asked, what do you think about abstract art connected with the spiritual or prophetic?
Susan asked, how to make money as a Christian artist?
Anna Maria asked, there is a current surge to use art and creativity to promote well-being and healing for anxiety, depression, stress, grief, etc—and many practices seem to have Buddhist and pagan foundations. Do you know of examples of Christian Balladeers who are using visual arts, specifically, such as collage and drawing or painting, and other creative practices, to bring Kingdom light to the healing process. And any thoughts on healing or expressive arts in general?
Jeremiah asked: What is an example of artistic influence in your culture that conflicts with the reality of God that the population has accepted? Are there cultural symbols or traditions that acknowledge God’s reality?
For all of you that joined the LIVE webinar last week there were a few questions that didn’t get responded to. We’ve asked our speakers to address them, and they’ve graciously agreed to do that. This doesn’t mean they will monitor this site and answer all of your questions, so please don’t ask them specifically to respond. We do hope that you’ll be able to share your ideas, questions, etc. with one another and be encouraged.
Here’s the first question.
Naomi asked, how are people building a culture of arts that cultivates both excellence and godliness?
Hi Naomi, thank you for asking that question. I can only speak from my experience. My first response is to say what might sound obvious but that the two really are in some ways the same thing. Excellence comes from setting the highest standards, professionally and ethically, and then working towards equipping oneself and gaining the mastery to be able to achieve those standards. One question may be what our motivation is for setting and maintaining those high standards. But another question can be how do we even understand what those standards are, particularly when it comes to the arts. One of the biggest things I gained from doing an MFA at the age of 45 (after running events for artists for 13 years) was to finally get an understanding of the levels of quality found in serious contemporary art. It gave me an ‘eye’ for understanding what art looks like, in terms of the concepts and ideas, but more so in terms of its quality and its sheer levels of craftsmanship. What the MFA did for me was give me an eye for quality. Perhaps the most important way of building that culture you are asking about is simply to get into the professional world of your given art form–to understand the standards of technical and aesthetic excellence that exist there. A huge help (and a step into that professional world) is to get trained professionally. I don’t know if that answered the question you were asking or not. Do let me know.
I can remember sitting in a LifeWork conference 15 years ago in Ghana when Darrow was first developing this content. While I don’t consider myself much of an artist, I truly appreciate art, music, and beauty. I remember the material causing me to pause, and almost to catch my breath, as I began to imagine and understand for the first time that God was the First Artist and that the creative artistic impulse had immense spiritual value as artists are reflecting the very image of God and His work of creating with incredible beauty. And this is only the beginning!