By Mark Skelton
A few years ago I happily discovered a Blog entitled Diary of an Arts Pastor: A diary of ruminations and happenings of an arts pastor who never wanted to be a pastor and never thought he could be an artist. This titled resonated with me. I found David Taylor’s thought-provoking blog entries about the intersection of Christianity and the arts to be inspiring. He also had an insane beard! I shared the blog with my wife, and we both found ourselves checking it daily so as to read his latest entry. I remember reading through old blog posts and thinking, “This guy needs to write a book.” Apparently I was not alone in my thinking, and while he did not write a book, he did compile/edit a book and then contribute to it.
For the Beauty of the Church: Casting a Vision for the Arts, is the product of a symposium that Taylor put together back in 2008. Several of the speakers (Andy Crouch, Eugene Peterson, Lauren Winner and Jeremy Begbie) from the event with various backgrounds contribute chapters to Taylor’s book. Taylor and his counterparts seek to show that the arts and artists are needed in the Church.
It has been my experience in reading books about theology and art that the focus tends to be more on the support of these and/or the relationship between the two, rather than a more practical “how to.” For the Beauty of the Church is different in that it shows us how to engage the arts and shepherd artists in the local church. Taylor gives us clear vision and direction for creating art programs within the church and making the arts a normal part of church life. All the basics are covered: Andy Crouch speaks about the gospel and creating culture, John Witvliet addresses art serving corporate worship, Eugene Peterson shares how he has learned from artists as a pastor, Barbara Nicolosi writes on the shepherding of artists, and Jeremy Begbie casts a hopeful vision for the future. These chapters work together to provide an excellent variety of ideas and suggestions for cultivating art in the church.
No matter what your background is— artist, pastor, church member, art lover, I would recommend giving this book a read.
