The Process

Art as Mission:
Creating an Arts Ministry
To Get into the Public Conversation

Phases to Completion.

The conception and unrolling of an arts ministry could look something like this:

1. Initial start-up events (one month).
   1. Sermon (Sunday morning service) and interactive presentation to leadership after worship.
   2. Strategizing session to include an assessment of what resources you already have begin such an undertaking; doing an asset map of the church and of the community; evaluating the status and efficacy of your present mission outreach programs
   3. Vetting through church processes.
   4. Establishing an Arts Committee.
2. Project selection (one month).
   1. Analysis of the congregational and community surveys.
   2. Exploring resources (websites, journals, local arts associations and organizations).
   3. Budget considerations and fundraising.
3. Realization (tbd).
   1. Planning; recruiting participants; collaborating with local organizations.
   2. Execution of a program.
   3. Evaluation.
4. Celebration.

This sequence could be shaped to fit a church season like Advent, Epiphany, Lent, Eastertide, or Pentecost (summer or fall).  

Each of these steps in succession depends on whether the response in your follow-up meetings is positive or negative.  If positive, I am available to continue working through each of these with you in order. You can determine at any point whether to proceed, with or without my continued assistance, or to discontinue.  

At this point, it would be the time to fill out an interest form, attached to which is a summary of my concept and program for an arts ministry.

My intention is to accept only one client church at a time, so that my schedule will be able to accommodate all meetings.

Topics to Explore.

Topics for an Introductory session.

1. Getting into the public conversation through the arts—a ministry of the laity.
2. Art as non-partisan politics.
3. Art as public theology.

Topics on Theory.

1. What is the public domain?
2. What is public about a public church?
3. Creating public space-time.
4. The public a church could create.

Different Workshops

1. Getting scripture off the printed page (3 weekly meetings + worship)
   1. through graphics, or
   2. dance/movement, or
   3. textiles, or
   4. ceramics, or
   5. photography, or
   6. video, or
   7. word.
2. Spiritual autobiography; 6-word memoir.

Topics for talks about ArtsMinistry, with Q/A

1. Artists’ lives as models for Christians.
2. Saints and sinners as portrayed in literature.
3. The artist’s way = prayer.
4. The spirit of art is the Holy Spirit.
5. Cinema—reel spirituality.
6. The art of the parable.
7. The art of Biblical poetry.
8. Creativity as sacrament (making the invisible visible).
9. Maximizing your sacred space.
10. Rap, hip hop, and faith.
11. Worship as the collective art of a congregation.
12. The gospel as comedy, or tragedy.
13. The metaphysics of church signage.
14. The church building as symbol.

Some skills we will develop.

1. Talking to strangers (through art).
2. Knowing the difference between discussion and dialogue.
3. Graduating from opinionating to authentic expression.
4. Successful community building through art—widening the public circle of conversation.