Page 19 - Empowering Missional Artists - Jim Mills.pdf

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work. Jesus Christ is Lord of all and there is no authority to say that His Lordship
should not be exercised in the sphere of the arts.” (Wilson 1981, 71-72)

It is true that the marketplace world of the arts is often decadent, dysfunctional, and spiritually

bankrupt, but that is no justification for abandoning our call to benevolently engage society as

catalyst for change for Christ sake. The arts in our world reveal the character of society, but it is

also true that the art mold and steer society. Therefore, it is imperative that we move in the arts

and in culture for the glory of God. The artists are the society’s leaders by virtue of their

influence. “The artists are the great communicators in society . . . not only do they hold a

magnifying mirror to society, showing ‘warts and all,’ they help to give it shape and direction.”

(John Wilson 1981, 73) A major consequence of pulling out of the world for fear of contamination

is that we lose touch with our world and an opportunity to experience God’s heart for our world.

Finally, to idolize the artist does as much damage as to marginalize them. This is “often

the two primary ways our culture treats them.” (Taylor 2007) What they need is to be

appreciated, nurtured, and affirmed like every other member of the body of Christ, no more and

no less.

LEADERSHIP FOR THE CHURCH, BUT ALSO FOR SOCIETY

So, where are the leaders? Perhaps this seems like an uninformed question in view of the

fact that 80-90% of churches and church leaders on the planet reside in the western world:

pastors, priests, church administrators, evangelists, seminary professors, Bible schoolteachers,

CCM musicians, and Para-church leaders all busy for the Kingdom. It seems we have no

shortage of laborers for church infrastructure or fulltime evangelism, but we are way short of

producing godly leaders for society.

Most of the books on leadership for the church deal with leadership in the church.

Unfortunately, there is too little attention given to producing Christian leaders in the broader