God's Creative Gift—Unleashing the Artist in You: Bible Studies to Nurture the Creative Spirit Within

Acknowledgments

Jody Wishes to Thank . . .

Dale—for believing in me. I love you, always and in all ways. Need I say more?

Madelyn Ruth, Magnificent Companion—for your patience. You are indeed a magnificent friend to all. I pray that as you grow in your relationship with Christ, you will find him to be the most magnificent friend you could ever ask for. I love you and am so proud of the woman you are becoming.

Evan Godfrey, Young Warrior for God’s Peace—for your care. My gentle, kind warrior who strives for peace for everyone around him. You bring me and others great joy. May you always walk in His beautiful destiny for your life. I love you, mighty one. Be strong and courageous.

Dad & Mom—for allowing me to live a life of whimsy, creativity, and make-believe. Dad, I miss you, and I hope God lets you read this from heaven. Mom, as you played the piano in our living room, and I listened from my bedroom, you became my first example of a Christian artist. You are the most courageous and beautiful woman I know.

Kim, Lynn, & Sue—for encouraging me and walking alongside me through this lengthy project. You all inspire me to be more than I think I can be, and I love you for your thoughts, insights, and ideas, but most of all, your friendship.

Sarah—for making me submit. Not sure where this project would be without you? I love being creative with you.

Aaron, Alison, Amy, Beth, Brittany, Dave, Eric, Heather, Jeremy, Jillian, Kati, Kim, Kristin, Laurie, Lenore, Lydia, Nate, Pat, Rachel, Shana, Shelbi, Sherry, Tony—for worshiping with me over the years in ministry. A part of each of you is in these pages.

Dr. Terry Wardle—for your guidance, direction, and care, and for starting me on my healing journey. This project is very much a result of that journey. I thank you for listening to the voice of the Healer.

Dr. Tim Crow—this book started in your class with my study of the symbolic acts of the prophets. Thank you for allowing me to explore the creative side of God.

Dr. JoAnn Watson & Dr. Wendy Corbin-Reuschling—for your direction, encouragement, and guidance.

Foreword

Kim is an engineer by education. Although she always loved to sing and was in her high school show choir, she left that part of her life behind as she ventured to college, majoring in engineering because she was good in math and science. She now sings on the worship team and helps with drama and dance at our church. She wouldn’t call herself an artist, and she doesn’t necessarily consider herself highly creative. Yet she can remember every lick of choreography, and when she sings, she has an intuitive sense of her role as she helps lead worship.

Laurie is an art teacher. She has also danced with me at our church and has an innate sense of movement from her days of gymnastics in her youth. While she doesn’t have time in her life to paint for herself, she painted the most amazing murals for our Vacation Bible School. She also has a beautiful soft spot in her heart for children that others would overlook or find troublesome or annoying. She knows the arts have power to give them a voice.

Bobby is the artistic director of a regional ballet company. He works in a secular market, but when he dances he reflects both the glory and the artistry of God, bringing the sacred to the secular. He is open about his faith and participates in regional worship dance workshops, but the majority of his time is spent dancing with people of a variety of faiths and beliefs. God has called him to reflect his radiance in a field that is otherwise void of God’s light.

This book is for all the Kims, Lauries, and Bobbys in our churches. For anyone who’s ever sewn a pair of angel wings on a leotard or has created beautiful costumes of intricate detail. For those who paint backdrops for Christmas plays and those who paint for a living. For those who write secret letters to God in their journals or who write published works all about God. For those who sing in small choirs in rural churches and for those who write, record, and share their music with people around the world.

You have a gift. You may not realize it, but you do. For God has placed in you a gift of creativity. While some people have figured out a way to make a living with this gift, many others give it away freely and voluntarily. Still others slough off their creativity as nothing. Wherever you find yourself on the continuum, your innate creativity is a gift from God. As you begin to consider this notion, two thoughts are of utmost importance here: first, our God is a creative God; second, you are made in his image. Understand? You are made in the image of a creative God. He has placed his creative spirit within you as a gift.

And as the saying goes, our gift is a gift that keeps on giving.

Artists and creative types (or simply creatives) see things where others do not. We often find meaning in what others deem insignificant or unimportant. We look at the spider weaving its web and find God in the intricacy of it. We look at the face of the person with whom we’re sharing coffee and conversation, and if we look and listen hard enough, we see and hear God. By the very nature of our gift, we see and we hear things that others overlook and disregard. Then as we call these things to attention so others can see and hear what God is trying to reveal, we pass this gift on to others. Our gift is that God’s image is revealed through us. Our gift is that God’s glory is made real through us.

So our gift is twofold. It is a gift of creativity given to us by our Creator, and it is a gift that is given to others as we reveal the Creator to a world desperately in need of his revelation.

As creative people in the church, we’ve often been overlooked. Unless we sing or play an instrument, we find it difficult to fit in or understand how our creative gifts can be used in our religious settings. Frankly, the church doesn’t quite know what to do with us. Encumbered by tradition, dogma, and we’ve always done it this way, the church squelches the creative spirit that dares to share an idea that is outside the comfort zones of our four walls of custom, ritual, ceremony, and practice.

But now, it is time to unleash the gift of God’s artistry within. It is time that we know the precious gift within us and the beautiful gift we have to offer. Made in his image, his creative Spirit dwells within us all. Set free the creative! Let loose the artist! Release God’s Spirit in our lives, in our churches, and in our world!

Preface

I believe in the individuality of the human soul. We’re each artists, along with God, in its creation. Meister Eckhart believed that an artist isn’t a special kind of person but that each person is a special kind of artist. Think of it: you’re your own special kind of artist. Your soul is your canvas, your flute, your poem. And you paint it, play it, and write it as every true artist does—in unique collaboration with God.

—Sue Monk Kidd, When the Heart Waits

Books written with Christian artists and creatives in mind are few and far between. As a creative person growing up in the church, for me Rory Noland’s Heart of the Artist was the one and only go-to book in this genre for decades. More recently there have been more entering the market as artists realize they have something valuable to share with others. Yet of those books, none are written as an in-depth devotional guide that takes the artist through a series of Bible studies to aid in their spiritual development.

Originally I had planned to write a book specific to the area of sacred/liturgical dance, but as I began to write I found that much of what I wanted to say applied to all areas of the arts. I began to see that movement was as much a part of the visual arts as painting and that painting was as much a part of dance as movement. I began to see the creative and the Creator in the architect and the weaver, the singer and the songwriter, the sculptor and the welder.

God opened my eyes to see that the artist is so much more than just those who work in the area of fine arts, and that there is an artist inside each of us longing to express itself in our creative endeavors. I began to see inspiration for craftsmen and women of all types of mediums and materials. I saw silversmiths, woodworkers, and jewelry makers who worked at their craft as if for the Lord. I met video editors, filmmakers, graphic designers, and photographers who captured beautiful, sacred moments in a way that was divinely artistic. I realized there are engineers, dental hygienists, and computer programmers who happen to be very creative. I met sound techs and tech crews who saw a vision and did all they could to help clear the way for others to see.

I realized that sometimes we simply need help opening our eyes to see the artist within each of us. I also knew that God wanted to inspire all of these people, not simply because they were creative, but because they were made in his beautiful image.

So, this project is designed as an in-depth devotional Bible study that focuses on the artist within each of us. It is designed to help you draw your creativity and inspiration from a Deeper Source. Each chapter is comprised of two sections: the beginning of each chapter is intended as a summary of the subject area, and the end of each chapter has a series of five devotionals that dig deep into various Bible passages related to that subject area. The first chapter looks at Genesis 1 and the role of Creation and creativity in the life of the artist. The second chapter looks at John 1 and the role of Incarnation in the ministry of the artist. Chapter 3 begins to explore the idea of a Theology of Beauty. Chapters 4 and 5 cover, respectively, the Priestly and Prophetic Roles of the artist. Chapters 6 and 7 will focus on the creative process as a way of Prayer and Seasons in the spiritual life of the artist.

It is my desire that this project is not merely informational, but transformational in nature. It is designed with a holistic mindset that encompasses the person as a whole—heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30)—and not as a fragmented, fractured individual comprised of various aspects of being.

Fellow Ashland Theological Seminary graduate Emily Pardue is a minister, dancer, and leader of dancers. She once said something that has stayed with me as I have grown in my own ministry:

A dancer cannot dance what she does not know.

These words are so very true. One cannot pretend to be the voice of God through movement, or any other form of artistry, if one does not know the voice of the One for whom he or she speaks.

As creative artists, we must enter into the word of God on a regular basis in order to first hear that voice for ourselves. We must study, know, and memorize his word so that we can recognize his voice among all the other voices in this world.

We must know the choreographer of our steps . . .

the designer of all our designs . . .

the creator of our creative heart, soul, mind and body . . .

the author and perfecter of our faith.

And we must know Him intimately.

It is my prayer that these subjects and their related devotional studies will help the creative Christian and artist know the Master of All Creators more intimately.

Each chapter is designed as a resource that will aid in the understanding of the person who uses the creative arts in worship, as well as those who use their art form and creativity as a way to bring light to a world of darkness and despair. It is also designed to help you draw closer to God through your creativity. I pray that you will embody these ideals in order to understand why every action, movement, and step; every vocal inflection, mime, or character portrayed; every note, harmony, and song; every brushstroke, color, and hue; every pinch of clay and turn of the wheel; every word, metaphor, or literary device; every graphic, photo, angle, and frame; every choice you make as a creator of art, has meaning—for the audience, the artist, and most importantly, the Divine Artist who is glorified through our humble creative offerings.

Prelude: The Beginning of Things

Genesis 1 and John 1

In the beginning . . .

In the beginning . . .

In . . .

In . . .

the . . .

the . . .

beginning . . .

beginning . . .

In the beginning . . .

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

In the beginning was the Word.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

And the earth was formless and empty,

darkness was over the surface of the deep,

and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

In the beginning was the Word,

and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

He was with God in the beginning.

Through him all things were made;

without him nothing was made that has been made.

And God said, Let there be light, and there was light.

God saw that the light was good,

and He separated the light from the darkness.

God called the light day, and the darkness he called night.

And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

In him was life, and that life was the light of men.

The light shines in the darkness,

but the darkness has not understood it.

Water and sky.

Through him all things were made.

Earth and sea.

Without him nothing was made that has been made.

Day and night; sun, moon and stars.

Through him all things were made.

Creatures of the sea, of the air, and of the land.

Without him nothing was made that has been made.

And God saw that it was good, and God blessed them.

Then God said, Let us make man in our image, in our likeness . . .

So God created man in his own image,

in the image of God he created him;

male and female he created them.

In him was life, and that life was the light of men.

The light shines in the darkness,

but the darkness has not understood it.

The true light that gives light to every man

was coming into the world.

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.

He was in the world,

and though the world was made through him,

the world did not recognize him.

Then God said, Let us make man in our image, in our likeness . . .

He came to that which was his own,

but his own did not receive him.

So God created man in his own image,

Yet to all who received him,

he gave the right to become children of God

In the image of God he created him;

male and female he created them.

—children born not of natural descent,

nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

And God blessed them.

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.

We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only,

who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

In the beginning . . .

In the beginning . . .

In . . .

In . . .

the . . .

the . . .

beginning . . .

beginning . . .

In the beginning . . .

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word became flesh

and made his dwelling among us.

one

Creation, Creativity, & the Artist

In the beginning, God created . . .

When I was a little girl, I spent countless hours putting on shows. I would gather all the neighborhood girls (three or four), and we would work tirelessly until we had a production worthy of our parents’ viewing (somewhat like cheesy karaoke). Just the right songs were selected (from vinyl records) and choreography developed for each (picture lots of swinging arms and clapping). We wore fringed tops (cut-up old t-shirts), adorned with (magic marker) designs and shiny (glued-on) sequins. We printed (wrote out multiple copies of) programs and sent out hand-made invitations (on lined notebook paper). Finally, on opening day (two days later), my mom graciously supplied a lavish spread (of cookies and coffee) to all the parents (five or six) filtering into our living room. When the curtain (bed sheet) fell, the show was met with abundant applause (our parents were so kind).

The ironic thing? I’m still doing much the same thing today.

See, there in the basement of my childhood home, I was simply doing what God had designed me to do. With joy, pleasure, and purpose, I created from a mysterious place of child-like wonder and fascination. I drew from a creative well deep in my spirit, placed there by God’s Spirit—the same Spirit that hovered over the waters of the earth before life began.

The Beginning of Things

Have you ever stopped to consider the opening words of our Bible? In the beginning, God created . . . In the very beginning of time and of the universe as we know it, God created! In the first record we have of God’s activity, we find him in the process of creating. He wasn’t thinking or reading or contemplating or learning—he was creating! As an artist or creative person, that should not only empower you, but also make you ecstatic! As we ourselves begin this study, we want to turn first to our Creator. So we will begin here in Genesis to consider what creation has to do with the artist or creator (small c) in relationship to the Master Artist and our