Chapter 3
Creative Takes on Scripture
Christians often encounter a additional hindrance to their creative endeavors: the fear of judgment from other Christians. While a certain amount of theological or moral feedback can be genuinely helpful, it is also often overdone, resulting in creative paralysis and a culture of the bland leading the bland. A church can do great good in God’s kingdom by granting permission and opportunity to its creative members. A Christian arts group can provide much–needed encouragement to those practicing their creative gifts.
In the following pages you’ll find a number of ways to interact with Scripture in ways that honor the creativity we find there. These suggestions might be used by individual artists or in church programming. While there will always be too–careful Christians who see creative approaches to Scripture as disrespectful, in reality the opposite is true. As we’ve seen in the previous chapters, the Bible itself abounds with creativity, so the most respectful thing we can do is to celebrate it.
The Bible, Bedazzled
A number of Bible passages seem to invite creative presentation. Consider these:
John 9. This story of Jesus healing a blind man and sparring with the Pharisees is a thrilling drama in five quick scenes. The story ripples with humor, but also packs an important message. Why not act it out?
The Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14–30). Here’s a fun fact; the Greek word for the money in that parable is talento, which was translated in the King James Version as “talents.” At the time of that translation, the English word “talent” only referred to a sum of money from Roman times. Since then, it has gained its modern meaning (skill, ability) from that parable. Because so many preachers were saying, “Don’t bury your talent,” and applying it to whatever God–given ability someone had, people started using that word for those abilities, instead of just money. Feel free to retell this story any way you can—sing it, dance it, act it out—and consider all the ways you can use (or bury) whatever God has given you.
Any parable. Jesus told dozens of stories that were funny, tragic, instructive, and puzzling. He used his creativity to get people thinking differently about God’s kingdom. Let’s use our creativity to process those stories as playfully as Jesus told them.
Plankeye. Matthew 7:3–5 is one of the funniest mini–parables Jesus told. Imagine a big wooden plank protruding from the eye of your eye doctor—who then tries to help you remove a bit of dust from your own. This is a comedy sketch waiting to happen. Act it out (but use sensible eye protection).
Peter’s Breakout. Acts 12:5–17 is a thriller with a comic touch at the end. Angels spring Peter from the slammer, and he wanders back to the house where friends are praying for his release—but the maid is so surprised she won’t let him in! Try recording this as a “radio drama,” complete with sound effects. Or storyboard it in comic–book form.
Psalm 150. This final entry in Israel’s hymnal strikes up the band—calling for a wide assortment of instruments (as well as dancers) to join in the praise of God. How could you make that happen?
Up and Down with Jesus. Philippians 2:5–11 appears to be song lyrics from a hymn of the early church. We don’t know how the music went, but it tells a story of Jesus coming down to earth and up to heaven. Maybe the music did just that. Could you create a song or spoken word presentation, with movement, that follows this up–and–down track?
Minor Prophets with Major Issues. Hosea, Jonah, and Habakkuk all lie in the section of the Old Testament that tends to get quickly flipped by on the way to the Gospels. But each has a powerful story to tell: Hosea commanded to marry an unfaithful woman; Jonah refusing to preach to an enemy nation; Habakkuk questioning God’s judgment. What dramas, songs, or experiences could you create from these fertile stories?
Encounters with Jesus. The Gospel of John is known for stories of people being brought to Jesus. Nathanael, Nicodemus, the Samaritan woman, the lame man, the woman caught in adultery, the blind man, the Lazarus family—they all have critical moments of encounter with the Savior. If you’re looking for a magnum opus, try this. A suite of songs based on these encounters. A program of seven dance pieces. A wall of paintings. A photo collage. Find the essence of each encounter.
Service Plans
Some worship services follow a rather rigid liturgy; others have considerable freedom. Over the years, I’ve served on worship planning teams at two different churches in which we were free to create experiences that supported the biblical themes of our services. If you have similar freedom, I’ll suggest three Bible–based creative frameworks you might try.
Sermon on the Mount. We actually tried this at one church of mine. We were launching a lengthy series on Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7), and someone suggested, “Why don’t we just have the congregation read through it together?” As we developed that idea, we added a few extras—a responsive reading for the Beatitudes, a prayer time guided by the Lord’s Prayer, and a dramatic sketch for the parable of the house built on rock. There was no sermon that day, except the one Jesus gave 2,000 years ago. I particularly remember the simple moment of a young father standing, with a toddler in his arms, to read Matthew 7:9–11—“Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? … how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”
Philippians. Philippians has four chapters densely loaded with important teaching in each one. Could you plan—in coordination with your preacher(s), of course—a four–part preaching series on Philippians, with one especially creative element in each service that corresponds to a theme in that chapter? This is more than picking appropriate songs from the hymnal or playlists of Christian radio. With enough lead time, you could write a new song, prepare a dramatic sketch, make a video, or craft a spoken–word sketch. Perhaps visual artists could display additional Philippians–inspired work in and around the worship space.
Philippians. Philippians has four chapters densely loaded with important teaching in each one. Could you plan—in coordination with your preacher(s), of course—a four–part preaching series on Philippians, with one especially creative element in each service that corresponds to a theme in that chapter? This is more than picking appropriate songs from the hymnal or playlists of Christian radio. With enough lead time, you could write a new song, prepare a dramatic sketch, make a video, or craft a spoken–word sketch. Perhaps visual artists could display additional Philippians–inspired work in and around the worship space.
And isn’t Psalm 19:14 the prayer of any Christian creator, and a great sentiment for us to close with?
May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.
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