Never one to mince words, Amos Ferguson always pointed out that God gave him the talent to paint, and that he painted only through God.  Amos didn’t paint what he saw, but what he dreamed.

So, what do I takeaway from Ferguson’s thinking on faith?  That faith doesn’t have to be safe, nor was it intended to be; instead it can and should have a sense of loving recklessness.  If we don’t leap – we don’t learn.

The artist’ job is to show up at the canvas and paint, to show up at the page and write, to eavesdrop on the conversation and create by faith – so ultimately, we can see.

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I think painters and writers have a lot in common, maybe more than they think or have thought of.

A painting is like a story that captures our imagination, drawing us into a place filled with wonder and a sense of expectation.  Painting, perhaps even story is never really finished – it just stops in interesting places.  And while we share this commonality, it seems that all art is an ongoing apprenticeship and that the bigger picture of art really is life, and our lives.

Leo Tolstoy said that it’s within our power either to serve God or not to serve him.  By serving him, we add to our own good and the good of the whole world.  Not serving him, we forfeit our own good and deprive the world of that good, which was in our power to create.

Like art, life is an apprenticeship.  That which we learn and put into practice is what truly matters.  The bigger question is whether we will seize those moments, adding to the good of the world around us, or forfeit those opportunities only to leave us all the more impoverished in spirit.

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When you think of negative spaces what comes to mind?  Cynicism, criticism, pessimism – a lot of “isms?”

I like to step to the side for an oblique perspective and think of negative space like a film negative, which reverses the way I (we) look at things like relationships, community, spirituality, humanity, art and more.  It’s the backdrop of everyday life; honesty, truth and beauty gently nudging us to slow down and pay more attention to perhaps what’s an unknown territory to many of us.

A friend of mine said to me this week, “When something is taken away, it means that space is cleared for something better.”  Those words my friend spoke resonated in my heart and extended truth, beauty and hope to me when I needed it most.

Finding beauty, unexpected beauty in negative spaces attracts and stuns us in ways never imagined before.  Where and in what do you find beauty?  Are there negative spaces around you in need of light to reveal beauty, truth and honesty?

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The Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy said, “A man who professes the teaching of Christ is like a man carrying a lantern before him on a long, or not so long, pole; the light is in front of him, always lighting up fresh ground and always encouraging him to walk further.”

No matter what, who or whom you believe in – or perhaps, don’t believe in, belief at any level takes some degree of faith.  I think Tolstoy’s quote beautifully captures that journey of exercising some sliver of faith in ourselves with his imagery of the lantern lighting up fresh ground, as we place one foot after the next moving forward on the path we travel.

While this reflects each of our own personal journeys, it also reminds me of the process the artist walks through to create, which requires an exercise in faith to put brush to canvas, pen to paper, voice to a melody.  There are plenty of persons around who will tell you what you can’t do or cannot accomplish; but few who will say what you can do.  I say – walk on.

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“To be known of” implies that we choose what others see of us and how we’re perceived, which works well in marketing and public relations spin, but not when it comes to living out the gospel.  On the other hand, “to be known” is far more costly and we run the real risk of being exposed for who we really are.

Maybe you’re thinking, “Why in the world would I ever want to go there.”  Let me tell you why.  Because as artists or everyday people, there’s an undeniable beauty revealed when our superficial facades of strength are relinquished and the myth that Christians have it all together is exposed for the lie it is.

Owning our brokenness and weakness produces not only a power not of our own doing but a remarkable beauty, which gives hope to the hopeless, makes the gospel attractive to a sometimes unattractive and ugly world, and the good news – good news.  Whether through our art or our lives, let’s choose to be known.

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But I like to think that art is a kind of confession for artists, some blatant, others more or less oblique, but all digging deep below the surface of life, probing beyond the ordinary and mundane, unearthing insight and meaning in its stories.

If we choose (and we do have a choice), the art we create and share can have the audacity, the dramatic suddenness to move people, to be a bit impolite perhaps and so disquieting that it challenges fixed perceptions and perspectives.

And while our work is like preparing for a good accident to happen, I like to believe our art is meant to reveal and give life a shape, whatever that may look like, and we as artists are in a sense, God’s little pickpockets.

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Brennan Manning once said, “The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips and walk out the door, and deny him with their lifestyle.  That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”

How can this be?  My personal opinion isn’t prophetic or theological, two things I’ll never likely be accused of in my lifetime.  I think it’s simply that we’re fallen people in need of some emergency care.  Okay, probably loads of emergency care.  In fact, churches remind me more of emergency rooms (i.e., “casualty” as is said in Europe) and that’s not necessarily a bad thing at all – actually, that’s a good thing, if not a great thing.

If we come to understand this, even embrace and let others see it – I think the more they will relate to us, because after all, we’re really more like them than we may care to admit.  Hey – each of us can be counted among the walking wounded, limping side by side on this journey; maybe we should consider locking arms together.  Imagine that.

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I find it interesting and at the same time disturbing that in our culture we seem to have concluded that God chooses to only use spiritual giants; the high gifted, multi-talented, richly diverse, faith-filled people of this world and not the spiritual pygmies. Nothing could be farther from the truth. In fact, God has a well-documented history of working through the broken vessels of this world, “the scalawags and ragamuffins” as Brennan Manning puts it, or as a friend in Ireland says, “the cracked pots.” He has used questionable characters that are of little social standing, ill tempered, liars, adulterers, and murderers to accomplish His good purposes – and He continues to do so to this day.

We find it far more pleasant to be known for and seen for our strengths, and not for our weaknesses. But in His infinite wisdom, God chooses to use ordinary people like you and me, imperfect ambassadors of the gospel that we are, to reach out in faith with compassion filled hearts to those just like us, those that are as equally as needy and wanting, only in different ways.  That’s how this extraordinary God is revealed and encountered in the peaks and valleys of everyday circumstances and the ordinariness of life.

Living a Creative Lifestyle

Most of us in the fine arts and performing arts live what many consider, a creative lifestyle.  And while that’s good and great, and sometimes not so good and great, I know there are many of you that read these blog postings that see yourselves as enthusiasts – not artists.

Last week I was having coffee with a friend and in the course of our conversation (and between my incoherent ramblings…) we managed to talk about how people who aren’t or don’t consider themselves artistic or creative can actually live a creative lifestyle.  I like that because it’s inclusive and not exclusive.

For an enthusiast, this isn’t necessarily going to be through artistic endeavours nor should it need to be, but it can be through creative endeavours that don’t include picking up a paintbrush, a guitar, or other tools of the artistic trades.

It may be how and what you model to others through your life – the little things in everyday life that eventually add up so much so that they become something bigger than you, leaving a lasting impression or impact for generations to come.

Imagine that.  You – the enthusiasts can live a creative lifestyle and practice the art of helping others.  This is something we all can participate and share in – as it should be.

And let’s be honest, it’s probably best not to leave it only to us artistic types since we tend to be as organized as a herd of cats.  Hey – just speaking from experience here.