So comments haven’t been working on the Elements blog. DOH! The embarrassing part is that I’m the guy who setup the blogging system for pccwired.org (so I know it inside and out). I just hadn’t tested commenting over here on Elements…
Say something!
(thanks, Kate!)
The Elements Team wants to give a shout out and thanks to the folks in PCC Live for giving us a chance to share our hearts and our worship. Remember, if you don’t vibe with our vibe, there may still be someone in your life who does. We all worship the same Jesus.
I’m excited for September 8th. See you there.
“Christian art.”
What does that phrase bring to mind? What image popped into your head? The Virgin Mother with baby Jesus, or maybe a renaissance oil of the Crucifixion? What about contemporary art like CCM (Christian Contemporary Music) and that (in)famous portrait of the white Jesus?
There was a time in history when religious art was the primo, the best of the best. That time has arguably passed, and I can’t seem to find new Christian art worthy of recognition. Secular art is amazing. I especially prefer the new grunge motif and the clean Web 2.0. Even in music the best artists aren’t Christian. Christian music hurts my ears. I’m admitting that as a weakness – other than some worship music, I loathe CCM. Not because it is Christian, but because it isn’t good art. Christian recording labels try way too hard to get a message across, and utterly lose their musical value in the process. (I understand this is the true of certain secular industries, and I feel the same in regards to them – but the independent secular market is producing excellent work).
One particular exception to the “I hate Christian music” rule is Derek Webb, the former and now re-emerged lead singer for Caedmon’s Call. He went off to do a few solo albums, and despite the fact that it was released on a Christian label, I can call his album “Mockingbird” one of my favorites of all time. The music is unique, folksy and compelling. It’s a 2005 release, but it is still hasn’t left my iTunes playlist.
But this isn’t a Derek Webb review, this is about Elements. We want Elements to become a community of artists. The secular progressive culture and the sacred can converge. They should. Derek Webb’s Mockingbird is a great example of composing a message with careful artistic production (and blatant disregard for what is expected of him as a Christian artist).
So when being creative, should we distinguish between Christian art and non-Christian art? Maybe not. Can’t it just simply be art? Or music? I haven’t fleshed out all the implementations, but I know for sure that you’ll see a lot of different musicians in Elements. Mini-concerts (pub/bar/coffeeshop style) will be common, and many of the folks we invite to play will also lead the worship that week. Drum circles and computer-generated techno-chill sessions. Community-submitted YouTube compositions on the big screen.
I challenge you to defy the status-quo in Christian art and be truly creative. And keep me accountable to that as well; I’m going to be the “usual” lead worshiper in Elements, and I don’t want to get stuck doing popular worship music, even the good stuff coming from Passion. We desperately need something unique with personal, worshipful moments created specifically for our community.
The Elements Community will be using some popular Internet sites that you may or may not be familiar with. I’ve mentioned them before, and you can find links on the menu here, but I thought it prudent to address them. YouTube, MySpace, Flickr, and 43Things are communities of millions of Internet users. We’re choosing to participate in those sites for two reasons: one, they provide us with the best virtual community tools, and two, we can use it as virtual outreach.
There is a ton of crazy stuff on all of those sites, so consider this your warning. There is a lot of crazy stuff on the Internet. There is a lot of crazy stuff in the world. As Christians, we have to figure out how to actually reach the world, telling them about God, without participating in worldliness. Just as you probably shouldn’t build a community outreach on your church campus, you can’t build a virtual outreach on your church website.
There is also a lot of GREAT stuff at YouTube (that’s why the new iPhone has direct YouTube access). Flickr has some of the best photographs I’ve ever seen. MySpace is a phenomenon I’m still trying to understand. So, don’t write them off just yet as “havens for heathens.” The Internet community needs a savior just as much as your local orphanage and that African village. For those of you who pray fervently – we need prayer as we venture into the Final Frontier.
Unrelated aside: Jesse and Bryan will start posting soon too, and possibly some other bloggers. The podcast won’t officially commence until the week before September 8.