{"id":6672,"date":"2010-08-28T13:35:05","date_gmt":"2010-08-28T13:35:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/jesuscreed\/2010\/08\/saturday-afternoon-book-review-28.html"},"modified":"2010-08-28T13:35:05","modified_gmt":"2010-08-28T13:35:05","slug":"saturday-afternoon-book-review-28","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/jesuscreed\/2010\/08\/saturday-afternoon-book-review-28.html","title":{"rendered":"Saturday Afternoon Book Review: Wesley Vander Lugt"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Library.jpg\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

W. David O. Taylor, ed.,For the Beauty of the Church: Casting a Vision for the Arts<\/a>\"\"
\n<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

~Reviewed by Wes Vander Lugt, a PhD student at the Institute for Theology, Imagination and the Arts who edits and contributes to Transpositions<\/a>, a new blog exploring transpositions between theology and the arts.<\/span><\/p>\n

Whether Catholics or Protestants, Reformed or Charismatic, younger evangelicals or older evangelicals, emerging or traditional, a growing number of churches and denominations worldwide are interested in and supporting the arts. While there has been a plethora of conversations about the arts in the church, few of these conversations have been as practical and stimulating as For the Beauty of the Church<\/i>, a collection of essays edited by David Taylor, originally given at the “Transforming Culture: A Vision for the Church and the Arts” conference in Austin in 2008.<\/span><\/p>\n

In the ‘Introduction,’ David Taylor identifies two prongs of the typical ‘problem’ of the arts in the church. One prong is pragmatism<\/i>, incorporating whatever art we like, makes us feel good, and works well in our worship, which usually leaves theology behind. Another prong is traditionalism<\/i>, which in its Protestant variety offers little impetus for the aesthetic concerns of the gospel. How do we surmount these difficulties?<\/span><\/p>\n


\n<\/p>\n


<\/font><\/p>\n

Andy Crouch
\n(chapter one: ‘The Gospel’) situates his answer within the framework of God as
\nGiver and the world and culture as gift. We can explore or exploit this gift,
\nand part of exploring the gift of creation and culture is to make things that
\nhave no apparent ‘usefulness.’ In short, Crouch provisionally defines art as
\n“those aspects of culture that cannot be reduced to utility,” that which goes
\n“far beyond straightforward purposefulness.” Some reviewers have challenged
\nthis definition, maintaining that art does<\/i>
\nhave a purpose or an end, even though churches often misconstrue this purpose
\nas purely pragmatic. As Nicholas Wolterstorff astutely argues in Art in Action<\/i>, people do things through
\nart, but this doing does not have to be trite and merely utilitarian. Art can
\ncontribute to shalom.<\/span><\/p>\n

John Witvliet
\n(chapter two: ‘The Worship’) concurs that art has a purpose, more specifically
\nthat art can enhance public worship. Not all art is fitting for public worship,
\nhowever, unless it deepens the corporate element of worship rather than
\npromoting isolation, builds the covenantal relationship with God rather than
\npromoting sentimentality, and appreciates art as iconic rather than promoting
\nsinful idolatry. Although Witvliet recognizes that art is ‘useful’ for worship,
\nhe strengthens Crouch’s proposal that art should not be utilized uncritically
\nor flippantly.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lauren Winner
\n(chapter three: ‘The Art Patron’) deals with the objection that because art is
\nexpensive, a more appropriate use of money than art patronage is giving that
\nmoney to the poor. Winner weaves together several personal narratives to
\nexplain how her art buying habits are not irresponsible, but actually serve to
\nsupport Christian artists and act as a prompt for hospitality by sharing them
\nwith others. In other words, there is a time for art buying and there is a time
\nfor giving the poor, and these two expressions of Christian discipleship can be
\nintegrated for the glory of God.<\/span><\/p>\n

Eugene Peterson
\n(chapter four: ‘The Pastor’) writes as a retired pastor, articulating several
\nways that artists have made him a better pastor. He relates that these artists
\nenabled him to perceive “the formation of salvation, detail by detail, day by
\nday, in the bodies of men and women and babies, neighborhoods, homes, and
\nworkplaces.” Peterson’s practical reflections encourage pastors to make friends
\nwith artists in ways that continually renew their vision, in other words, in
\nways that “restore color and texture and smell to the salvation that has become
\ndisembodied in a fog of abstraction.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Barbara Nicolosi
\n(chapter five: ‘The Artist’) begins her chapter with some big picture
\nreflections: art is about wholeness, harmony and radiance and not what is cute,
\neasy, banal, silly, sweet, nice, unthreatening, statement making, egalitarian,
\nand a soothing distraction. In short, Precious Moments figurines are not art.
\nShe then launches into practical suggestions of how to recognize artists: they
\nshow up early, their work has emotional power and the quality of something
\nfresh or new, and they are obsessed with details of form. Although I
\nappreciated Nicolosi’s practical bent, I found her characterizations of artists
\na bit too stereotypical, and her brief suggestion of art as revelatory begged
\nconsiderable explanation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Joshua Banner
\n(chapter six: ‘The Practitioner’) highlights several ways that pastors can
\nnurture artists like a farmer nurtures his field. The pastor must begin by
\nbuilding trust with the artist, and only then promote the artist by creating “a
\nsafe place for artists to risk.” In addition, a pastor can “produce” an artist
\nby offering critique, but only after getting alongside the artist with the
\npatience of a farmer. I applaud Banner for recognizing that the proof of the
\ntheologically pudding is in the process. He concludes: “We glorify God not just
\nwith our final art presentation; we glorify him in the gracious and patient way
\nwe engage in the process of artmaking.”<\/span><\/p>\n

David Taylor
\n(chapter 7: ‘The Dangers’) pinpoints six dangers of artistic activity in the
\nchurch: bad art, supersaturation, stubborn stagnation, utilitarian reduction,
\nart as distraction, and immaturity. He follows these with three characteristics
\nof healthy artistic growth in the church: relationally oriented, contextually
\nrelative, and organically rhythmed. Throughout the essay he integrates the need
\nfor “festal muchness and cleansing simplicity” in the church’s art, patterned
\nafter God’s own expression of extravagant beauty.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jeremy Begbie
\n(chapter 9: ‘The Future’) makes a case for the “hopeful subversion” of culture
\nrather than either resignation or triumphalism. This hopeful subversion comes
\nby the power of the Spirit, who unites the unlike (including artists and
\nnon-artists), generates excess (that which artistically alludes rather than
\nexplains), inverts and turns the world’s values upside down, exposes the depth
\nof sin, recreates a new universe, and improvises. Regarding this last point,
\nBegbie summarizes one of the primary reasons why pastors and artists need to
\ncollaborate: “the richest fruit comes from the interplay between order and
\nnon-order, between the given chords and the improvised riff, between the
\nfaithful bass of God’s grace and the novel whirls of the Spirit.” This playful
\nimprovisation does not arise out of nowhere, but builds from tradition and
\nworks toward new creation.<\/span><\/p>\n

In conclusion, For the Beauty of the Church<\/i> is a
\nmagnificent collection of essays that communicates an invigorating and
\nchallenging vision for the arts and artists in the church. These essays have
\nalready sparked a host of stimulating conversations, like the series of posts
\nat Transpositions<\/a>, and hopefully
\nwill continue to instigate and sharpen many more. Like David Taylor’s
\nreflection in the ‘Afterword,’ I feel hopeful about the future of the arts in
\nthe church. The key, however, is for this hope to materialize in practical
\naction.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

W. David O. Taylor, ed.,For the Beauty of the Church: Casting a Vision for the Arts ~Reviewed by Wes Vander Lugt, a PhD student at the Institute for Theology, Imagination and the Arts who edits and contributes to Transpositions, a new blog exploring transpositions between theology and the arts. 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