Beauty and Creativity, with Erwin McManus

I was really encouraged in listening to Erwin McManus at Break Forth Canada.  He was the first main session speaker to kick things off.  His talk was as entertaining as always, but it resonated with me as well.  His focus was on beauty and creativity.  Specifically, how the church should be nurturing the beauty and creative potential of all of us.  His question: What would it look like if the church was the epicenter of art – beautiful art?

You may want to first ask: why does this matter?  Why is there any need to have beauty or art?  Erwin’s premise is that beauty is not supplemental, but rather essential to our being.  If you take the time to look around with the eyes of a child, you see beauty everywhere.  God has created a beautiful world.  Flowers, sun rises, sun sets, lakes, sea shores, blue skies, white clouds, aromas, tastes all create a collectively beautifully complex world.  If God was not interested in beauty, he could have cast everything in shades of gray, with one taste for all foods, and no aromas.  Since our living God is interested in beauty, and we were created as a reflection in his image, how would we not need beauty?  

It was several months ago while reading a photography magazine that I saw an article by Dewitt Jones.  Dewitt is a former National Geographic photographer, who still takes amazing photographs.  In this article he said he was trying to take at least one photo each day that showed the beauty of the world.  He posts them to his FaceBook page.  It occurred to me that I simply look past the beauty of the world far too often.  I am too often in a hurry to get from one activity or place to another.  I was in the virtual world of living “head down” “nose to the grindstone.”   It’s a tiring existence.

I took a step back after reading that article.  I tried to emulate the practice in my own way.  Not necessarily a photo every day, but at least a few every week.  I started to post them to FB as well, and started a blog.  These exercises were just a way to show everyone that there is beauty right there in front of you to discover yourself.

Erwin captured this in his own way, and expanded upon it.  He argues that the church should be a place and catalyst for an environment that brings about beautiful art.  While art is born of the self, it is the God given talent, and it reflects the emotion and sentiment of the artist.  If the only art that is produced is provided by a world that is caught in fear, despair or hate, that will be reflected in the artwork.   Erwin tells us that the story of God must be shared, and a way to share it is through beautiful art.  This was a hallmark of the church through the centuries.   Da Vinci’s art on chapel walls and ceiling are a perfect example.  It is wondrous.  It is beautiful, and tells stories. 

Erwin is imploring us to capture the creativity and beauty in the world, that is also in us because we know the love of God through Christ, and share it with the world that God himself created.

My prayer is that we would all try to find the courage to share our story, our art, and the beauty we find right in front of us.

Blessings,

Brian