we have spent the last two weeks at mission bay re/creating during worship. i am "in charge" of mural painting. i have to say i am not sure how it is going. during the first week, a nice mix of adults and children participated. many adults came and painted or drew during the music. as soon as prayer and preaching started, they sat down but the kids were as enthusiastic as ever. they had no problem filling about thirty-six sq. feet of space.
by the second week, the kids got even crazier with the paint... painting as much of themselves as the paper. the adults who participated dwindled significantly. by the time the kids were making mud out of the paint, painting their hands and printing them over the work they did early, i wondered if this was meaning anything to them at all... besides just having fun.
i am all about self-expression (and fun). i think there is something magical and spirit-filled when we can find a part of ourselves that wants to create. this is why i am in this. but, is a free for all with paint and huge pieces of paper the way to get to that kind of transformation in worship?
my middler re
view committee thinks i need to work on my understanding and use of pastoral and artistic authority. i do not like to take authority. i like democracy and shared power. but the reality in what i am doing is that i have authority. ignoring that is not
necessarily productive. i think this is an instance where i need to take authority. perhaps, i need to provide some kind of framework or direction that gives room for anyone who wants to participate in the artwork can. perhaps, i need to provide some kind of direction so that the art time is directed toward growth in God and our understanding of creation. i am still pondering how i might do that. i have til sunday.
5 comments:
well, as someone with a very low view of pastoral authority, i would be really disappointed to see too much direction given for the mural. granted, we weren't there this past week due to killian having a stomach virus (thought we'd keep that to ourselves), but i have seen the pictures.
it's the question of who gets to decide what is meaningful that bothers me.
"where theory meet praxis" or "be careful what we wish for." Good learnings for sure.
thanks for the feedback...
i think the responsibility and privilege of being in community is to challenge each other to grow. it is likely that to have fun in church is meaningful in and of itself. and i can never determine for someone else what is meaningful. but as a worship leader, i am charged with providing opportunities for the community to draw near to the mystery of God, and encouraging people to do so. in this new practice of painting, i am still wondering how i might do that more effectively.
i think the conversation around pastoral authority is fascinating...
http://www.dankimball.com/vintage_faith/2008/04/social-justice.html
at about the third line of pictures it talks about the art this church is doing during worship...
This is coming a little late but I really think that it went just fine. The kids had fun, and the opportunity (for all of us) to paint whatever and however we are inspired is a rare one. In my experience with teaching, there is just so much going on that we can't see, probably don't understand - Who are we to say that God is not speaking to them through body art?!
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