Page 23 - Empowering Missional Artists - Jim Mills.pdf

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relevant works of art and their compassionate involvement in culture can act as salt for the

healing of the society’s wounds. By empowering a creative flood of God’s artists, the church can

potentially overcome our disconnection and reveal again, the God who is there. Bob Briner’s

clear call for the church is compelling:

What I’m calling for is a radically different way of thinking about our world. Instead of
running from it, we need to rush into it. And instead of just hanging around the fringes of
our culture, we need to be right smack dab in the middle of it. (Briner 1993, 31)

MENTORING STRATEGIES FOR MARKETPLACE ARTISTS

“If your vision is for a year, plant wheat, if your vision is for ten years, plant trees, if your vision for
a lifetime, plant people. (Stanley 1999, 73)

In his book called Visioneering, Andy Stanley quoted this ancient Chinese proverb above.

Change does not take place as a result of the church simply agreeing philosophically that Jesus

is Lord of Life, rather for real and lasting change we must design and implement a plan, hopefully

God’s plan, to empower ‘flesh and blood’ people. In these next two sections, I will unfold the

story that led to the mind-molding & mentoring strategies which we still have in place in five

European countries in our work. Sharing this story will give insight into the leadership formation

philosophy that we employ.

Our mentoring strategies deal with simultaneously addressing the church’s thinking as well

as mentoring the career and aspiring artist for marketplace service. Since the mid-80s, we along

with other marvelous initiatives have conducted leadership training for creative artists in central

Europe. Dancers, singers, writers, musicians, photographers, painters, sculptors and actors

have taken part in our initiatives and our vision has only been affirmed and grown. We have

learned that if you have a passion for change in the thinking of the church you must be ready to

serve, be patient, and pray. We also learned that change is best introduced and realized when

you ‘model’ that change. “Leaders must develop a ministry philosophy that simultaneously

honors biblical leadership values, embraces the challenges of the times in which they live and fits