I post these here because I think they have particular relevance to the issue of how an artist who is a Christian (note I didn't say the phrase "Christian artist") can and perhaps should approach his or her creative life.
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For the Christian, there is no distinction between the sacred andsecular. Everything a Christian does is an expression of his faith.Hedoes not make choices based on the religious significance of thealternative. As a Christian he makes the choice that is a logicalextension of the values he has derived from his faith…
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Whathappened to radical Christianity, the un-nice brand of Christianitythat turned the world upside-down? What happened to thecategorysmashing, life-threatening, anti-institutional gospel thatspread through the first century like wildfire and was considered (bythose in power) dangerous? What happened to the kind of Christianswhose hearts were on fire, who had no fear,who spoke the truth nomatter what the consequence, who made the world uncomfortable, who werewilling to follow Jesus wherever He went? What happened to the kind ofChristians who were filled with passion and gratitude, and who everyday were unable to get over the grace of God?
I’m ready forChristianity that “ruins”my life, that captures my heart and makes meuncomfortable. I want to be filled with an astonishment which is socaptivating that I am considered wild and unpredictable and…well…dangerous. Yes, I want to be “dangerous” to a dull and boringreligion. I want a faith that is considered “dangerous” by ourpredictable and monotonous culture.
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Predictability and faith cannot coexist.What characterized Jesus and His disciples was unpredictability. Jesus was always surprising the disciples by eating at the wrong houses (those of sinners), hanging around the wrong people (tax collectors, adulterers, prostitutes, lepers), and healing people on the wrong day (the Sabbath). There was no Day Timer, no strategic plan, no mission statement; there was only the eager anticipation of the present moment. The Pharisees wanted Jesus to be the same as they were.His truth should be the same truth that they had spent centuries taming. But truth is unpredictable.When Jesus is present, everyone is uncomfortable yet mysteriously glad at the same time. People do not like the surprises—even church people—and they don’t want to be uncomfortable. They want a nice, tame Jesus.
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