Arts Conference

Well, it's the end of the school year teen lock- in going on outside my door, so I thought now is as good a time as any to share inspirational thoughts from the Willow Creek Arts Conference. Speakers were: Dr. Richard Allen Farmer, Francis Chan, Nancy Beach, Brian McLaren, & Gilles Ste-Croix.

Anyway, Dr. Richard Allen Farmer was hilarious. He took us on a virtual tour inside the artist's mind. The basic components seemed to be an insatiable curiousity, the ability to push (buttons, edges, envelopes, whatever), and the ever present fog. Another common attribute seemed to be the habit of taking two very different genres/styles/tempos, etc. and mesh them; the friction of which often causes yet a brand new art form.

He read from Harold Best's book, "Unceasing Worship", which I paraphrase, "Concerning the different styles of song, it is not the separation that is needed---a sort of apartaid of the arts---rather it is the creative friction that could bring the stylistic synthesis to the body of Christ that it so desperately needs. I want the diversity. I want the friction in my life. Some may say that people can't take that; that they need to go in one direction or the other. I disgree. People are not stupid and unable to adapt, accomodate, and appreciate."

And here I thought I hated labeling services either traditional or contemporary just because I felt it was divisive and lead to further uneducation of different styles/types of songs. It's nice to be cutting edge (even if I don't realize why). Ha!

I also went to a class on copyright law. After which I figured the only ministry left for me to do was prison ministry---from the inside. Seriously--- don't worry, we still may not be perfect in the future...but we are going to at least be several steps closer to the law. I am happy to report that, out of the six thousand present, I was one of the eight people who chose to go to such a left brained class. Northern Virginia is rubbing off on me after all.