Artists’ Groups

Get into a small group for artists. Pray for them daily, even if you meet only weekly or monthly. God will show you ministry opportunities as you pray.

I have never been part of an artist’s group, but my parents were in a writer’s club in Atlanta, GA when I was a child.  Sometimes the group met in our home; I remember their reading short stories aloud and then critiquing them.  And I remember wanting to join the club when I got older.

There may or may not be an artist’s club in your area; you may or may not be called to start one.  Though I have never been part of an artist’s group, I learned a few principles when I led a small-group ministry in my church.   Here are a few ways you can grow as an artist in a club, ways you can let your light shine, and pitfalls to avoid.

A secular art club. When Jesus commanded us to let our light shine, He said people would see our good works and glorify the Father in heaven.

It is not a good work for you to turn the meetings into an evangelistic session – people will resent it if you try.  Instead, look for ways to serve the group, and be friendly.

Pray for your group between meetings.  When it comes up naturally, share testimonies of answered prayer or convictions that helped you with your work.  People who are interested will come to you.  Some will ask questions; others will want you to pray for them.

The key to ministry in a secular group is to let your faith agenda happen mainly outside the meetings, only with those who show an interest.  This way, you and the group will be able to continue to sharpen one another’s skills.

To keep your own spiritual values strong, maintain ties with other Christians that are more significant than those you have with non-Christians.  It’s good to learn art skills from anyone who has them – but it’s unwise to let them speak into your value system.

A Christian art club. A Christian group can help you maintain personal accountability, but it may be limited in its ability to strengthen your skills and professionalism.

Still, you can gain a lot from a monthly meeting with other Christian artists.  Pray for one another.  Mentor one another.  Just knowing you’ll meet together every month will help you stay on track with your artistic goals.

A Christian artist’s club may be made up entirely of amateurs.  For this reason, many Christian artists try to find two clubs, one Christian and one secular.  The secular group focuses on skill and the Christian group on spirituality.

If your skill level surpasses that of the Christian artist’s club you are in, you may find mentoring opportunities within the group.  Or you may find one or two people who want to get on a fast track and move forward faster than the rest of the group.  Between meetings, you can make opportunities to check in with each other by phone, by email, or at the coffee shop.

Secular or Christian artist’s clubs. You will have more ministry opportunities during Christian meetings, for obvious reasons.  But don’t overlook the ministry opportunities that happen between meetings with friends you will make in the club.  It may be evangelism; it may be mentoring; it may be a David-and-Jonathan friendship that brings out the best in both of you.

Of course, remember that some relationships are appropriate and others are not.   Maintain accountability with other Christians outside the artist’s club.

If God calls you to start a club, keep it as simple as you can.  It’s easy. Find a time and place to meet.  Share your work, your goals, and your obstacles.  You’ll bring out the best in each other.

Stan Smith  ::  © 2008, GospelSmith  ::  www.GospelSmith.com

Workshop Projects

Engage others in the arts. Pray for them, and listen for God’s guidance. Then as you work with them, look for opportunities to share Christ with them.

I once spoke at a tent meeting hosted by a large family at their farm.  There were preaching meetings morning and night – that’s where I came in – and there were talent workshops every afternoon, focused on all sorts of arts.

One of the workshops was devoted to painting a wall.  The host couple had used markers to draw a design on the fence.  In an afternoon, we painted it.

I don’t remember how they organized things so the colors didn’t splash or run together.  But the project accomplished several things.  It covered a plain white wall with a colorful mural.  We all had a lot of fun.  And, all of us, including those who thought we had no talent, were artists for a few hours.

Ministry opportunities happen when we come up with ways to do an art project together with other people, even those who have never imagined that they had any artistic talent.

The key principle here is to work with others.  It takes organization to balance the vision for the finished product with the varying levels of artistic skill.  This is why the folks who owned the wall and were going to have to look at it every day for the next few years didn’t just turn us loose to paint whatever we wished.  They laid out the design, and gave us color choices as we filled in the outlines.

Over the years, I have seen this kind of project in many settings. One woman works with terminally ill children.  She has them create posters; she then displays them at an art show where she raises funds to further serve their needs.

Years ago, there was a quilting project to honor veterans.  Participants each submitted a square; the organizers sewed the squares together.  Then the quilt was presented to a veteran’s organization.

A woman who provides creativity workshops for Fortune 500 companies has the participants produce paintings together.  The process of working with media they don’t usually use opens their creativity in the workplace.  And with her artistic coaching, they produce a finished product they can be proud to display.

This kind of project calls for several ingredients.

1.  Organization: how do you get everyone to participate?  How can you include everybody’s work, whether they are talented or not?  What framework do you need for the project, and what can you leave up to the creativity of the participants?

2.  A theme: the finished product is one thing, but the process of creating it is where the ministry opportunities lie. What theme does God want you to pursue in the rest of your workshop, so the art project will be part of the process of embracing spiritual values?

3. Togetherness: it’s not always clear which is more important:  the finished product, or the process of creating it.  But the ministry opportunities in these projects happen whenever you connect with people.

4.  The usual venue for a workshop: a place to meet and a way to get the word out so people will come

5.  Materials for the project: it can cost money, but use your imagination.  Get everyone to pay a few dollars, or look for sponsors who will provide materials while you provide time, talent, and know-how.

Stan Smith  ::  © 2008, GospelSmith  ::  www.GospelSmith.com

Explore Gospel Themes

Include gospel themes in your work. This can lead to evangelistic and discipling opportunities as you discuss your work with others. It can also give material for others to use as they minister.

Can you think of paintings, novels, movies, or songs that gave you a glimpse of Jesus?

Artists have a huge opportunity to explore gospel themes in their work.  Sometimes they do it consciously and sometimes unconsciously, but evangelists often use the arts as their text when they share Christ with people.

About a year ago I read East Of Eden by Charles Steinbeck.  He traced the history of two families for three generations, reflecting the biblical theme of Cain and Abel.

He explored the Hebrew word timshel and the meaning of God’s word to Cain, that sin was at the door and “you must – you may – you shall” get dominion over it.  Which is the correct translation?

There’s a very good chance that Steinbeck’s theology did not agree with mine, but he gave me a window into the scripture with the biblical themes he explored.

Christian art doesn’t have to present a clear theological statement.  Art provides an opportunity to explore “what-if” when we look at scripture.

Look back over your own life and think about the art that has pointed you towards Christ.  Think about the works that have brought you to tears.  Often you weren’t sure if the creator was a Christian or not – you hoped so, because then you would feel better about enjoying the art.

The artists didn’t preach; they simply revealed Christ.  They may or may not have done so on purpose.

I was a teen-ager and a Jesus freak when Simon and Garfunkel’s song “Like A Bridge Over Troubled Waters” was on the radio.  It spoke to me of Jesus, who laid down His life to make a bridge between man and God.  And it implied that I must love people enough to lay down my life for them if I really wanted to be like Jesus.

Joni Mitchell’s song “For Free” had a similar impact in my life. The clarinetist played on the streets:  “Nobody stopped to hear him, though he played so sweet and high.  They knew he had never been on their TV, so they passed his music by…”

There is something of Jesus in these words.  He is the clarinetist who gives Himself freely, and only a few turn aside to listen.  And He is the God who notices the clarinet player everyone else overlooks.

Isaac Bashevis Singer won the Nobel prize for literature with his stories about the Jews.  Several of his writings have made an impact on me.

When I think about the outstanding artists who give us a glimpse of Jesus, they don’t tell the gospel – they show it.  They put the story in the mind of one of their characters and let the story play itself out, whether in song, drama, short story, or any other medium.  The characters may handle the issues well or poorly, but either way, they bring up gospel themes.

But they handle the themes without using stereotypes.  Rivers don’t have to symbolize the Holy Spirit; red doesn’t have to symbolize the blood of Jesus. For preachers they do, but the best artists manage to look at the same truth in several different ways.

Spend time with God.  Ask Him to take you deep, and to use your art to move hearts.  Our whole society has been cast out of the garden of Eden and, as bad as things are now, sin still crouches at the door.  But if Christ lives in you, your work must – may – shall – cause people to renounce sin and turn to Christ.

Stan Smith  ::  © 2008, GospelSmith  ::  www.GospelSmith.com

Give Your Testimony

Let your art provide a platform for you to give your testimony. Your art can get people interested in your story. There are several ways to tell it; let God show you how.

God may or may not call you to tell the gospel with your art.  He may lead you instead to excel in whatever medium He has called you to, and to let your art itself create an opportunity for you to share your testimony.

Success in the arts can lead to your being interviewed – people find artists and the creative process fascinating.  Even if your work is secular, you dovetail it with the story of what God has done in your life.

What is your testimony?  Certainly it includes the story of how and why you committed your life to Jesus and the transformation He brought you.

Usually the whole story is longer and more involved than what you can tell in one sitting.  So it can be good to prepare to tell your story from several angles.  For instance, I could tell my own story one way to a group of artists, another way to musicians, and still another way to people preparing for ministry.  If you think about audiences you would be likely to speak to, you will find several angles from which to tell your own story.

But I got saved forty years ago.  A more compelling story might be a testimony of something God has done in my life this week.

How do you give your testimony?

1) Pray about it and ask God to show you what to say. Don’t wait for an opportunity to share; start by preparing yourself to speak.

2) Keep it brief. Better to be too short than too long.  This is why it can be helpful to choose one aspect of your life and show what you were before you met Jesus and what you became afterwards.

3) Use your story like bait. In a secular setting, let your story speak for itself.  “This is what I was – Jesus came in – this is what I am.”

Though a secular audience will respect your story, they will resist a sales pitch.  But your story will touch people, and they will come to you with questions and prayer requests.

4) Serve the people who come to you. Don’t just run a religious sales pitch; truly serve them.  This is what the word “ministry” means.

5) Pray for God to send you to people He is already working with. And pray that God will prepare the hearts of those you are going to meet.

In John 6:44, Jesus said, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him.”  When we pray, God begins to lead us to those the Father is already drawing to Jesus.  Because God is doing the work, even our fragile efforts become mighty in His hand.

6) Practice telling your story. It’s easy to record it on cassette or on your computer.  Record it and listen – see how you can tell it better.  Even five tries will bring extraordinary improvement.

7) Find creative ways to tell your story. It may be that your art leads to an interview in print or in broadcasting.  If so, the time you’ve spent rehearsing will pay off.

Come up with one-liners you can sprinkle into conversations – if people are hungry for God, they will ask for more.

Write your story and post it on your website or on a blog.  Print it attractively or record it on CDs, and put copies on the table with other promotional literature.

Tell how you came to Christ, or tell how He is shaping your work.  Either way, your art sets the stage for you to take Him outside the church, where the people are.

Stan Smith  ::  © 2008, GospelSmith  ::  www.GospelSmith.com