A Disciplined Disciple Artist from Diary of an Arts Pastor--the "Christian artist" v. the "Disciple Artist." Good thoughts here about spiritual formation and art, living wholistically, and the daily rhythm and vision that keeps us from burn-out. Some quotes:
"A disciple artist is fundamentally a disciplined artist, and such an artist is integrated and fully alive."
"The result of all this? We become disciplined artists who are healed and unafraid, on the one hand, and produce art that is deep and powerful, on the other."
Practice, Practice, Practice in The Church and Postmodern Culture: Conversation--talks about the practice of the artist (and indeed, the Christian). Some good quotes from this:
"One’s one individuality, which is necessary for artistic practice [I would add 'in our present culture' as not all art requires individuality], only emerges in and through the interaction with others, not in isolation from them or their ideas."
"The goal of research, then, is to produce a “living tradition” of ideas and a “cloud of witnesses” of artists and thinkers to facilitate the production of deeper and deeper art."
"A Christian does not merely practice prayer, the reading of the Scriptures, fasting, and the like simply for their own sake, but as means by which she becomes a better Christian, which means, becomes more Christ-like. Communion with God is the goal, not increasing in fasting and prayer."
"Artistic practice is not merely about using techniques to making stuff for people to look at, it’s about making certain kinds of decisions in the studio and it relates not merely to the kind of stuff produced but the development of the individual self that produces them.And so clear but deeply informed thinking is a necessity for mature artistic practice."
Art and Liturgy from Everyday Liturgy--the importance of story in evangelism (in fact, this blog focuses a lot on the way liturgy itself is narrative, which is why I like the blog, and probably why Chris and I now go to an Anglican church)
"Our human tendency is to embed meaning in stories,and all great preachers have been great storytellers. Jesus spoke in parables, not theological discourses."
"For the Christian Liturgy, our story begins at the beginning, with God as the Creator, and our allegiance to our Creator God is realized in our worship of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit."
"We know our story, and it is creational, yet we are brought into the story of God not just through the liturgy as an order of service, but in our very participation in it, both spiritual and physical. We are active in Creation not just because we build the Kingdom, but because every part of us is touched by God, from our souls to the cells in our tonsils."
And David Gorgone started a good discussion struggling with the uselessness of beauty v. the practical needs of those starving around us: What Is the Point?
And, because it's Friday, and Perfect Strangers was one of the original TGIFs (I think--I'm not speaking from researched fact here but from unresearched memory), and because to this day, one of my favorite sayings (which often slips out) is "now we do the dance of joy!" (and, yes, the saying is often accompanied by the famed dance of joy), here's a little treat for you:
I miss him, too! What a great show . . .
One time, I was visiting Slovak friends in Slovakia, and there were Perfect Strangers reruns on, which had been dubbed into Slovak. I wished I knew Slovak so I could hear what Balki's accent sounded like in it . . .
The original TGIF! Was it Full House, Family Matters, Perfect Strangers, and...Step By Step? Man I used to love those shows!
Thanks so much for that beautiful dance of joy.
"Jesus spoke in parables, not theological discourses."
I take exception to this. Yes, Jesus spoke in parables, but He also spoke in heady theological discourses to the Pharisees and the disciples. Just because He didn't use liturgical language (whatever that is) doesn't mean He didn't communicate deep scriptural discussions when He revealed different facets of Truth. As it does today, it depended on his "audience" and environment/location.
I forgot how much I used to like that show!!!
you go to an Anglican church? I want to hear more about that! have you written about that before?
I'm not sure I've written about it before. I know I've written about church as far as leaving the one before and finding this one, but maybe not much more than that.
Here's what I love about my church--the narrative played out through liturgy, the emphasis on the Eucharist every week (the Eucharist rather than the preaching is central to the Sunday morning service), the appreciation for beauty, the balance of Bible teaching, community involvement, and missions work, the connection to the historic church, and the community of the people. I feel like I belong here. What I'm learning is though Anglican is a denomination, all Anglican churches are different. So you may find an Anglican church that's more Wesleyan, one that's more Catholic, another that's Calvinist, etc.
We visited this church because friends that had also left our previous church had become members and encouraged us to try it. The first time we went, they didn't have the contemporary service we attend now. I loved the liturgy, but my husband had a hard time with the traditional music (I'm talking organ, choir, hymns). He didn't grow up in church, so he doesn't know hymns (not to mention that style doesn't connect with him). They also did that Maranatha music mixed in with the hymns, and I have to admit, I can't stand the Maranatha music (though I appreciate it historically). When we visited again about a month later, they had started the contemporary service. I fell in love. I knew (almost like you know about "the one," like I knew when I sat down at my piano for the first time that this one was my piano--but that's a different story) this was our church. My husband's more analytical, and had to make lists and all, but in the end, we agreed that this is where God has us.
That's a really long reply--much more than you bargained for! But I'd love to answer whatever questions if I can.
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