This is an article by a guest, Mark Altrogge, pastor of Saving Grace Church in Indiana, Pennsylvania.
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- My wife Kristi and I were on a Caribbean cruise.
- Which she won in a contest on the Pittsburgh Christian Television Network.
- The cruiser had Christian bands that played shows every night.
- Were there all-day Christian musicians?in the restaurant.
- By the pool.
- Most hanging out together and having little relationship with ordinary people.
- However.
- I didn’t blame them.
- I thought they needed a break so they wouldn’t have to talk to the fans all the time.
The boat made stops at destinations on the island en route, and passengers boarded small tour buses to see local attractions. In San Juan, Kristi and I were taken on a bus with about 8 musicians and a band leader. Unfortunately, they weren’t very interested in talking to us, but my wife managed to involve one of the young women in the conversation. At one point, Kristi asked which church they belonged to, to which she replied: “We don’t go to a church. Is the group our church?.
This was not the time to explore what the young woman meant by her statement, but I’ve been thinking about it for years. I think this reveals a position that many artists have: they don’t really need the church.
I don’t know where this investment comes from. Maybe it’s because spending a lot of time creating things is a lonely quest. Of course, plays, symphonies and films are made by groups, but it was a Shakespeare or Tennessee Williams who wrote the play or a Beethoven who wrote the symphony. painted only in the countryside. Michelangelo had no one with him on top of the scaffolding while painting the Sistine Chapel for 4 years. One source said he had written to his father, “I have no friends and I don’t need them. “
My wife said she thought I might be happy living alone on a desert island, because I would take my time painting and writing songs, to which I reply, “Who would cook for me?”She never laughs as much as I do.
Artists tend to be independent. I’m going to paint whatever I want, thank you, and I really don’t need to answer anyone, I have my own style. And groups are often on the move, so it’s hard to get to a church. “The group is our church. “
But artists need the church. In addition to plumbers, athletes, bankers, cooks, teachers and farmers, maybe I don’t need the church to tell me how to mix phthalate blue and titanium white, but I need the church to know and love Jesus better, so that the Word of Christ is still rich in me, while my brothers and sisters are educated and advised by singing psalms together , spiritual hymns and chants (Colossses 3:16). I need the church to teach me and show me true beauty. church to help me prevent my work from becoming an idol.
Here are some thoughts from a pastor, painter and composer on why artists need the church (more in the next article).
“Should the presiding elders well be considered to deserve a double honor, especially those who struggle with words and teaching?”(1 Timothy 5:17).
? Therefore, I pray to the elders who are among you, I, an old man like them, and witness to the sufferings of Christ, but share in the glory to be revealed: I shepherd the flock of God who is among you, not by coercion, but spontaneously, as God wills; not out of sordid greed, but out of goodwill; Nor as dominators of those entrusted to you, but by becoming role models of the flock?(1 Peter 5. 1-3).
Like all Christians, artists need pastors to preach to them and teach them the word of God. We need shepherds to take care of our souls; pastors who can give us examples of how to trust in the word of God, persevere, obey, be humble, love others, and more.
Be careful, brethren, never have in any of you a wicked heart of disbelief that takes you away from the living God; on the contrary, do you exhort every day, for the time called Today, that none of you may be hardened by the deception of sin?(Hebrews 3: 12-13).
We need brothers and sisters to exhort and protect us; to help us combat the disbelief and hardening of the deception of sin. Once, in my early days as a Christian, I left the Bible study I was going to do with my friends. Until everyone exhorts me and confronts me with love. “Mark, why don’t you come to Bible studies?”I don’t like the style of the new master, ” I said, “I liked the old master better. My friends told me I needed a teaching, even though I didn’t like how it was transmitted. They were right. I came back, began to appreciate the teacher and benefit greatly from his teaching. I needed friends to exhort me.
It’s very easy to want to date people who look like us; with others who share our love of abstract art, jazz or theatre. But we must learn to love those who are not like us. Love bankers and biologists, love those with different interests. We really need to learn to love other sinners like us. He loves those who sin against us. He loves the weak and the immature.
“Wherefore, do you welcome [or welcome] one another, as Christ received us for the glory of God?(Romans 15,7).
In college, I only dated my bachelor’s degree in art or the guys in my rock band, I was basically surrounded by people like me. When I became a Christian, I was part of a church of people very different from me. What was particularly different was that I started dating older Christians and also people my age. And these older believers accepted me?beard, long hair and usually wore a black T-shirt and jeans for Sunday night prayer and worship meeting.
I’m very grateful for the diversity of our church. Blue-collar workers, white-collar workers, students, seniors (wow, now I’m one!)?Well, “older” people. We have farmers, administrators, housewives and filmmakers in our church. I love it! My life is much richer to be in communion with people other than me.
Do nothing out of partisanship or vainglory, but out of humility, considering yourself superior to yourself. Doesn’t everyone have in mind what’s theirs, but also what’s other people’s?(Philippians 2,3-4).
The arts provide an enormous temptation to do things out of selfish ambition and vanity. We can wish for the attention and admiration of others. Before Jesus saved me, I just wanted to promote myself and promote my work, but in the church, we are called to be humble and to consider others more important than ourselves. We are in a place where we can look after the interests of others. We are called to value others, to bless others, to rejoice with others, to mourn with others.
All believers in Jesus need the church, including artists. We may think we are doing well in our studios and in our artist friend circles, but Jesus envisioned us as the beginning of a diverse and beautiful family, most of whom differ greatly. from us, so that we can benefit from it and bless them too. Maybe you had the same mentality as the girl on the cruise: “We don’t go to a church. Is the group our church? I look forward to this article. ” It will encourage you to see the importance and value of a local church and to find your place in one. Will there be more in the next post?