Art Sunday

At our church, Antioch, we had our first Art Sunday yesterday. It was a celebration of art, in which were featured paintings, photography, pottery, carvings, poetry, and songs primarily by folks from our local body of followers of Christ. It was also a recognition or acknowledgement of the fact that most local churches (or even denominations) today fail to acheive a balance between truth and beauty. There are, of course, churches and denominations calling themselves Christian that still celebrate the arts; many of these, however, care little for right doctrine, for affirming the essential truths that make Christianity what it is. On the other hand, the churches and denominations that stress doctrinal truth tend to have little place for beauty in their buildings or their worship. Such congregations tend to alienate those with great artistic talent. Thus, any particular assembly of Christians can usually be classified (and pretty quickly at that) as either a right-brained church or a left-brained church (where those of the opposite hemisphere are under-appreciated, under-utilized and, as a consequence, under-engaged).

At Antioch, we're trying to be balanced in this regard, to affirm the understanding that both truth and beauty find their ultimate, objective basis in God, who cares deeply about both.

If you missed it, we'll be having an Art Sunday about once every six to eight months.