This post follows on from Steve's post below - so if you want a but of context then check that out first.
I forget how lucky I am.
In a lot of ways.
But particularly when it comes to creativity withing the Church.
I think that most of the churches I have been part of have embraced creativity to some extent and I think that a lot of churches are generally open to creative expression. But some aren't and I know that perhaps for some the idea of using poetry in Worship may be a little out there, and consequently this whole project would seem pointless perhaps.
I say that I am lucky because the church I am part of focuses a great deal on creativity. People are encouraged to bring songs, spoken word, pictures, we use drama and dance and poetry and art in church services, and we encourage each other in our creativity. A group of us meet every month to share what we are doing creatively, to workshop ideas, to bounce ideas around, to learn more about our craft.
And that is what I have never had before in a church. And I feel immensely blessed to have this. But I know that for some it is a struggle.
The church I was in growing up in was quite conservative. Worship was hymns sung from books with yellowing pages and archaic print and the music was just piano. As a child I always felt it was quite dreary, especially as it was quite a youthful church, a lot of families. Then when I was about 13 I discovered indie rock music, Oasis, Pulp, Manic Street Preachers and I learned how to play guitar and one of the girls in our youth group played drums and we wanted to put on a youth service, where we played some of the modern worship songs and had a 'band'. And we had to fight for it. And then the next week it was business as usual with piano and hymns. I suppose it isn't too uncommon a story but remembering that makes me feel lucky that I can now experience different types of worship. Because i think that different types of worship help us to bring our praise to God in different ways. God is a creator and God didn't just create one thing or one form of art. In the Old Testament people worship God in all manner of creative ways - singing, poems, art, embroidery, carving, metal work, all sorts.
I while back I was going through the bible in a year which meant going though all the tortuously boring bits about building tabernacles and temples and all the details of dimensions and everything and then realising how much creativity is going on within these passages, all of it going towards the glory of God and the people documenting it in the best way that they can - and it made me think about it differently and wonder more about creativity in worship.
I don't really where I am heading to in terms of a point... I guess it's just to say that God endorses our creativity and invites God's people to be creative in our worship of God and that we should be open to expression and even if we don't necessarily "get it", it is worthwhile if we accept these expressions as acts to glorify our God. Even if we don't understand them or they make us feel strange or they are too loud or long or abstract.
We can still learn something of God from them and who knows - art can touch us in the most unexpected ways.
