A Conversation About RISE

I began talking with Kristen (Creative Director of Live Presentation) about RISE our Good Friday worship yesterday. It’s amazing to realize that time is quickly approaching, but with each year that we do something, we know more and are better prepared. This initial conversation focused more on the goals of having a creative arts ministry in the students programming. While we could probably assemble a team of highly qualified individuals to put RISE together Kristen and I decided we needed to look at the future, because most of the students who participate are seniors and juniors.
In the past we’ve asked around, we’ve held tryouts and we’ve announced to the congregation we want students with artistic talents and unfortunately you get more students who think they are talented than are…with that I understand what some of the judges of American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance feel. What we decided is that our approach to this matter needs to be focused on word of mouth by talking to people who know other people, recommendations and scouting. With a more grassroots approach we can build up a base of talent that will create a standard of excellence and even if we have novices come through there can be a system that can help he or she determine whether or not this is where they should serve God.
It’s important to have quality especially when it comes to art. It’s funny to think that for centuries Christian art dominated the scene and then in recent history faded; however, with the emergence of Christian artist (especially through music) like Flyleaf and Switchfoot, Christian art is becoming more mainstream. Plus, we live in a multimedia world where people are drawn in by music, film and art, it’s a huge influence to how we behave. If we are going to make an impact on other peoples lives we need to encourage the artists to seek God, after all everything God touches is beautiful.