Faith Art Community Exploration

Monday, February 23, 2009

Performance and Meaning

Amy and I had the great joy of being a part of an alumni concert at USD earlier this month for the Chamber Singers group that we were in back in the day. It was a day that we had circled on the calendar for months and made it three straight years that we'd had an opportunity to do something of this nature in Vermillion; the first when Larry Torkelson called together a bunch of his former students for an alumni concert, the second when we gathered again to mourn and celebrate Larry's home going after he lost his battle with cancer and the third being this year where a new tradition started by bringing the past and present together in a way that will hopefully continue into the future.

The current Chamber Singers group performed five pieces and then we joined them to sing five more. It was a great program of sacred pieces and the performance of the current group was excellent from a musical standpoint, but I found myself thinking about how disconnected some of the singers were in light of what they were singing. Instead of great songs of worship testifying to the power, majesty and holiness of God, they were great art songs where the song was the object of devotion rather than the One the song was written to reveal.

I suppose I was no different in college. I had grown up in the church, accepted Christ in Jr. High, tried to play the part of a good Christian in High School and had settled into a pattern of going through the motions by the time I reached college where I probably approached the same types of pieces in the same way that I witnessed from many of the current singers.

As I thought more about this, I longed for communion with God through the pieces we would perform together. I prayed that God would transform those works from works of art to expressions of love, devotion, hope and faith that would somehow touch the audience in a way that would glorify God and take on a transformative, transcendent power as we encountered Him in a place where the distinction between earth and heaven blur for just a moment.

I felt His presence and worshipped with all that I had, not wanting to sacrifice performance for connection, not wanting the art to be the goal, but His glory. I know I wasn't the only one and can only hope that it made the performance more meaningful not just for us, but for those that saw something of His beauty in our offering. I know I will continue to dwell on this thought and the lessons I've been learning for a long time and hopefully it will make me a better performer and a better worshipper.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Wake Me Up

I can't think of a more appropriate name for this post since it's been nearly two years since I've posted anything here. I really feel like I am in a season of reawakening and am beginning to ask some of the questions that I was asking a few years ago again. I'm beginning to dream about ways to help artists communicate their faith in ways that are as artistic and creative as possible and how to connect us to one another in a way that encourages us and pushes us to grow in our craft whether we be musical, visual or performing artists.

This video is of a song that I wrote recently that I hope will be the first of many to come as I begin to try to live out my part of the call as a singer/songwriter. I feel like I'm still in my infancy as a songwriter and hope that I'll begin to grow into the role more as I practice a bit more. I wish I would have had a little more time to craft this song, but I kind of painted myself into a corner by setting a deadline so that we could use it for Sunday morning worship at Mercy Church. I've heard it said that an artist never actually finishes his work, he just gives up on it and I feel that way about this song, but still hope that it holds up alright.

My main concern when writing a worship song is writing something that is an honest expression of my relationship with God or about who I believe God to be. The main concern when writing a worship song for a congregation is that it be an expression that others can claim as their own and can enter into freely. My hope is that this song is both an honest expression of where I am in my relationship with God and that it is something that others can relate to and can serve as an expression of God honoring, wholehearted worship for others as well.

My intention is to be more frequent with posts here as God allows me to dream dreams, write songs and partner with other believers who love God and have been given a gift to use in service to Him as well. Be encouraged. God is on the move and He is awakening gifts in His people that will be a fresh expression of His heart to a world that desperately needs Him.