On June 25, 1998, the Supreme Court's ruling on NEA v. Finley showed the brightest legal minds in our country struggling with drawing the line between freedom and responsibility.

Four artists, whose works often dealt with sexual themes and in some cases involved nude performances, sued the Federal Government because of a law Congress adopted in response to criticism of the funding choices of the National Endowment of the Arts.

The law was enacted as a result of several objectionable projects funded by the NEA. One project was a career retrospective exhibit of Robert Mapplethorpe's works, including homoerotic photography, while another exhibit included one of Andres Serrano's work--a photograph of a crucifix immersed in the artist's urine. 

The Supreme Court upheld the controversial 1990 law that required the National Endowment for the Arts to consider decency standards when deciding which artists should get grant money. 

The justices, by an 8-1 vote, overturned a federal appeals court decision striking down the law for violating constitutional free-speech and due-process protections. 

The law required that the NEA use ``artistic excellence and merit'' as the criteria for judging funding applications, taking into consideration ``general standards of decency and respect for the diverse beliefs and values of the American public.'' (http://www.csulb.edu/~jvancamp/doc28.html)

In essence, the court's decision said an artist's freedom to create art does not negate the NEA's freedom not to pay them for creating it. Somebody had to make a judgement call. The standard the law stated is "general standards of decency and respect for the diverse beliefs and values of the American public."

Good for them! The court struck a blow for decency. But is it enough? Is it enough to stop funding dark art, or does the church have a responsibility to replace it with the light?

"The Twentieth Century is unique in human history," Said Barbara Nicolosi, the Director of the Hollywood, California based 'Act One,' "it was the only Century in which the arts and faith were separated and antagonist. Without God's love, art can only speak about one thing with certainty-darkness"

Instead of cursing the darkness, Future Churches are shining the light. They are doing two things, they are welcoming the Arts back into the church and they are sending out missionaries into the darkness.

DRAMATIC ARTS

For Easter 2000, the performance arts team, of Woodman Valley Chapel in Colorado Springs, Colorado dressed in period costumes, and presented a dramatic musical, "The Choice" on an elaborate First Century set. This wasn't a drama skit using wanna be actors, it was a full blown professional presentation, complete with live orchestra music and computer generated special effects.

When "The Choice" ended, the Pastor gave a clear gospel invitation, asking the audience to make a choice themselves-a choice to pray to receive Christ as their Savior and Lord.

For some churches, the dramatic arts are a high priority. The Church at Brook Hills, in Birmingham, Alabama designed their auditorium to welcome the dramatic arts. Their stage is as suited for a Broadway musical as it is for a worship service. At the rear is a set of 35 different batons (backdrops or scenes). In the foreground is a convertible orchestra pit, and overhead is a computerized lighting system that provides limitless options. With a little work, the sound system could be converted to surround sound. 

On their opening weekend, the combined praise teams and band performed the music from their new CD "Whosoever." With the technical staff introducing theatrical fog and smoke during the performance, it was not a typical worship service. 

One Sunday, a potter's wheel joined the pulpit and flower arrangements on the stage of The People's Church in Franklin, Tennessee. The service began with the sounds of Darlene Zschech's "Potter's Hand" rushing into the auditorium. A young woman, dressed in costume, strolled to the ancient tool and began to spin the wheel. The camera zoomed in on her hands, so everyone in the 2000+ seat auditorium could see the clay become a simple vase. On the left side of their projection screen was the dramatization, on the right side, the lyrics of the song appeared. 

The people worshiped.

The People's Church uses dramatic presentations like the potter's wheel to enhance their worship services. Their congregation loves the multi-sensory worship experience. After attending the service with the "potter's wheel," Mike, a third time guest said, "I don't know why but that was so cool it gave me shivers."
 

AMBIANCE ARTS

At other churches the dramatic experience begins before the service. Westwinds Community Church in Jackson, Michigan uses ambiance art to engage worshipers the moment they walk into their auditorium.

One week, as worshipers walked into the auditorium, they looked up to see a mannequin with one foot stepping off a suspended ladder into midair. In the sermon, Pastor Ron Martoia told the audience, "This is what your life is like without Jesus," he continued, "without Jesus, our lives are grounded in midair . . .we need to get on firmer footing."

The visual image stuck in the worshipers minds, reinforcing the pastor's message. People are still talking about it today.

Then there was the sermon series Pastor Martoia preached entitled "Transformed Hearts." The Kaleidoscope team sculpted a six-foot heart and put it in the middle of the stage. Hanging directly above the praise band was five-foot electrical transformer. The art reinforced the message.

It's not about being novel or different to Pastor Martoia, it is about reaching people. "If the mission and the vision [of the church] is to reach lost people," Martoia said, "we've got to do it in cultural languages they can understand."
 

FINE ARTS

Los Angeles's Mosaic speaks several cultural languages. Their name, "Mosaic" itself hints at the artistic leanings of the congregation. 

While Pastor Erwin McManus preaches, artists are working on sculptures and paintings in the audience. McManus doesn't refer to the artists during his sermon; they aren't props or visual illustrations. In a way, their activity is incongruent with the sermon. They are not there to illustrate or inform, their function is simply to inspire. Witnessing the creative process helps put the audience in the frame of mind to hear the message. The artists don't distract people from worshiping, they help the worshiper connect with God. "We believe everything is connected." McManus said, "When you sit along the ocean and watch the waves crash up against the rocks, something resonates inside you for a reason. When you're in the woods, listening to a river, serenity overcomes you for a reason. God created everything to be interconnected as an expression of Himself."

Experiencing art is one way people connect with God.

Evangelical Churches have a long tradition of being "word people." Jacques Barzun, the Dean of Faculties and Provost of Columbia College, writes about the Catholic effort to regain ground after the Reformation in his book From Dawn to Decadence,. "...the cultural split in the new life was tangible; the Catholic effort to regain ground produced new works of architecture and the fine arts; the Protestant effort produced literature and large works of doctrine." (Barzun, pg. 39)

Though Evangelicals are more prolific with the pen than the brush, can't our churches welcome artists into our ranks? If we do, perhaps we will see a proliferation of art that our magnifies our words. 

"The ability to express faith and love through dance, through music, through painting is a gift from God." Nicolosi said. "Some people are not word people so if we say to an artist, you have to be a word person like me, they won't have the means to express what's in their heart and we shut them down, we make them depressed, isolated and in the worst cases bitter." 

Churches that bring the arts back into the church are welcoming artists and art lovers too.

For years, the Chamber Singers of the University Baptist Church, in Houston, Texas have performed classical music as an outreach to community. "We feel that people will come to this event that won't come to a regular church service." Said Matt Marsh, the Associate Pastor of Worship.

In November 2000, Pastor Marsh decided to expand the outreach ministry to include an exhibition of fine arts. In an art gallery setting, they set up dozens of areas to exhibit paintings, sculptures, and photography of local artists.

Marsh's goal was to allow the artists in his church to use their talents while at the same time inviting the unchurched people on their campus-"to get them through the door." "I feel very strongly about the arts," Marsh said, "the church is a great home for the arts."

At first glance, art galleries in the hallways and dramatic presentations, modern dance, and sculpting in the auditorium seems a bit strange--out of place. But historically, pre-Twentieth Century that is, the arts were an important part of the church.

The use of art as an expression of faith wasn't the exception, it was the rule. Michelangelo's paintings in the Sistine Chapel, da Vinci's, "Last Supper," Botticelli's "Adoration of the Magi" and Raphael's"Epiphany" are cultural icons with deep ecclesiastical roots. The church was the cultural center. Historically, with its art, the church drove the culture, it didn't try to be culturally relevant.

Make no mistake, these 21^st Century churches aren't trying to be hip or culturally relevant, they are trying to change the culture. "Our goal at Mosaic is not to be relevant ultimately," said McManus. "but to cause culture to cause artistic people to say wait a minute, 'where is this new way of expressing artistic creativity coming from?'"

And when they come to see the art, they encounter God. Whether it is watching a full dramatic performance, participating in a creative worship service or enjoying a sculpture or painting, something happens when people's creative juices are primed by the arts-their heart opens up to their Creator. 

As Nicolosi put it, "A beautiful piece of art can stir people inside for something they don't even know. It can make them lonely for heaven." 

MISSIONARIES

The Future Church is sending some of its members to become cultural missionaries, to infiltrate the art world with light. Thomas Kinkade, who calls himself a "painter of light" is militant about his desire to spread the gospel through his work. "Art transcends cultural boundaries," Kinkade said, "I want to blanket the world with the gospel through prints. This is a very thoroughgoing form of evangelism." (Http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2000/014/6.48.html)

Bill Myers was a student at the University of Washington, planning a career in dentistry when he joined some classmates to see the movie "The Godfather." Because he'd only seen two other movies in his life, "Polyanna" and "The Parent Trap," he was outraged by the violence. He staggered out of the theater praying, "God, you've got to get Christian people involved in the Motion Picture Industry." 

Within a couple of weeks he felt he was hearing God's voice, calling him to change his major to film making. Six weeks later, he was in Rome, Italy studying film. Today, Myers, the co-creator of "McGee and Me" a screen writer, and the author of 55 books, is a cultural missionary, working to bring wholesome entertainment to the world and the light of the gospel to Hollywood.

Twenty years ago, Steven Lavaggi's wife left him to marry a writer for The Rolling Stone Magazine. In the process, she gave up her 10-year-old son, not knowing that he would be stricken with Juvenile Diabetes ten days later . As if coping with the personal crisis wasn't enough, Lavaggi lost his graphic art business too.

With his life in disarray, he sat on his bedroom's wooden floor, and began searching his Bible for answers. He skipped over the black letters, only wanting to read the words of Jesus. As he read, the Risen Christ emerged from the pages. Lavaggi gave his life to Jesus. With time, he felt God calling him to minister through fine art, so he moved to California, to influence the people who influence the world--Hollywood.

While meditating on Psalms 91:11, "For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways," a scripture he clung to, he began painting a 4' X 5' angel. When a friend encouraged him to make the image three dimensional, he collaborated with a sculptor, and together they cast the angel. Out of his own brokenness, came a message of hope.

While speaking to a crowd of thirty-five hundred natives in Soweto, South Africa, Lavaggi held a 20" sculpture of the finished product, a black angel above his head. When he did, the crowd erupted with enthusiasm. A man on the stage told him that just a few days before, a preacher had said, "One of the things we need is for international artists to express the love of God through art, perhaps even painting angels in black." When Lavaggi heard this, he grabbed a 20" white angel, held it above his head and said, "these angels were created to be like brothers and sisters, even as we are supposed to be." Later, as he reflected on the day, he decided to call the sculptures, "The Angels of Reconciliation."

Lavaggi is cultural missionary to the world, bringing light where darkness rules. You might say, he is an angel of light, or perhaps, an "angel of reconciliation."