For our study of angels during Advent, BG relaunched its arts team, a group of painters, writers, and musicians conspiring to enliven our worship. We started in August looking at how the Bible describes angels and allowing their strangeness to challenge us.
At first, we were a little worried. We might succeed in showing the congregation how scary angels are—and ruin people’s Christmas. But the artists just started drawing what they saw in the Scriptures. Artists have to trust God too.
Kathy Free, Kaisa Grohn, Nerys Gregory, and Marie Sanderson are some of our painters. Linda Crispell, Sue Hilliker, Jennifer Birkett, and Deborah Miller represent our musicians and added other media to our work. The youth video, for instance, was coordinated by Jennifer. Deborah designed the seraphim that flew through the church while we sang “Joy to the World” on Christmas eve.
It was a privilege for me to watch these artists collaborate.
A genuine collaboration encourages new ideas—especially when no one quite knows how the final product is going to turn out. Our artists emailed each other sketches, trusting that their partial work would prompt useful feedback instead of criticism. They are skilled at adapting to other points of view even while they develop their own vision.
This kind of collaboration also builds deeper care. As the artists worked, they began to share more than their struggles with how to display angels. They prayed for each other through personal struggles too. Officially, we were working on Advent. But in reality the team was living life together.
I find that this kind of healthy teamwork deepens a church’s life with more than fresh ways to worship and compelling presentations of the Bible’s truth. Those gifts are good. But they are even more nourishing when they flow from gracious relationships.
Imagine—and I do not say this idly—imagine what might be unleashed if all kinds of new teams like this one started at BG this year.