Creative genius...sometimes.: Goodbye Living Room, Hello Christmas...Almost

As Christmas approaches this year I'm reminded of this this time last year when I originally transformed the worship environment in our sanctuary. What I walked into when we moved here sixteen months ago was a sterile, white open space that had been untouched for over twenty years. I also discovered a surprising attitude toward the feel of the space reminiscent of, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!" I soon discovered an interesting trend through the exercise of making this space fresh, new and alive. When people are used to something being a certain way for a long time and they've grown accustomed to it, they don't like when it's changed. Plain and simple! This brings up an interesting topic for me as a Christian because I'm reminded of how this looks in my walk as a disciple, and how it plays out in different areas of my life.

The idea of sanctification means that we should strive to be transformed daily, becoming more and more like Christ. My prayer is that I would love God more, be more Christ-like tomorrow than I am today! Growing is hard because it takes a process. That process includes struggle, heart-ache, failure, being stretched, admitting that I'm wrong and my pride balks at all of those things and when I avoid them because they're uncomfortable it's easy to remain complacent which negatively affects my growth as a Christian.

Within the realm of visual arts and visual worship we can't ignore the legitimacy of preference. In the same way that different genres of music appeal to different types of people the same is true for what we are visually attracted to: some like a traditional look with rich earth tones and dark wood and others like white, stark, modern minimalism. Some people even like florescent lights!

Regardless of preference, all Christians are called to holiness and I thank the Lord that He has me on a journey and is aware of where I am in that journey. It's my desire to apply this concept to our approach of worship. By simply changing the feel and the look of our environment, regardless of it perfectly matching the current mini-series we're in, causes things to be different. My goal is to creatively reach somebody's heart and create something that makes them think differently, or inspire a thought, or feel differently than they did the week before. People are visual and the secular media has a great handle on that. Just watch TV for 10 minutes and see the messages and emotions that are conveyed and invoked. Why not use the same tool and reach people the same way for the Lord? As we till the soil in our hearts we allow the Holy Spirit to make us think, convict us, and change us into the likeness of Jesus Christ.

Sorry the long explanation of these few elements I wanted to share:

Goodbye summer living room: