The Artistic License

Been giving this one a lot of thought. Last week, I posted some thoughts on the use of artistic gifts and talents and the subject came up to me that I've often discussed with others who are similar in talent to me. Why does it seem that the church produces artistic gifts, but does not support or provide an outlet for them?
I attend a church that heavily supports the arts. Poetry, dance, music, acting, all of it has an outlet, one way or another. However, there are a lot of churches, and subsequently a lot of people in these churches that stifle these particular gifts, especially if they aren't presented in the traditional fashion. Musical gifts are honored the most, but primarily through choirs, praise and worship teams and such. A person who might have the skill or talent of an India.Arie or a Lauryn Hill, or a Dwele might find themselves lacking an opportunity or the guidance to fully express themselves in Christ. What this leads to often times are those people searching outside of the church for the validation of their gift that they originally wanted to present to the body of Christ but was rejected.

I was fortunate to attend a college that had a culture of young artists, hip hop,dance, soul, poetic that filtered through the school for about a seven year period. The good thing about this was that the school itself was not necessarily an artistic school, so us having found each other, used each other for inspiration and to grow our gifts. And we all wanted to use them for the kingdom. We had a vision of being able to be artistically free, and present to the world that the Kingdom of God had a standard of excellence on par or better with the most popular artist in the world. Sadly, after leaving college, pursuing those dreams, many of these artists are no longer pursuing their gifts in the church. Their reasoning? The church's (figurative) four walls were not accepting of the presentation of their gifts. This rings true to me because I have often felt the same way when it came to things I really wanted to express, versus things I knew would not be accepted. Now I'm not talking vulgarity, or inappropriateness, only subjects that reflect real life, real issues, and real emotions.

One thing that I've noticed is this: Some of these artists are pursuing their craft, outside of the church, but are still dedicated to the cause. Their message is more subtle, but their dedication the same. They'd be called "positive music" rather than "Christian". Think, India.Arie, Anthony Hamilton, Common(I know Common isn't a christian, just an example), etc. On the OTHER HAND, the other artists are completely off the map in regards to their Christianity. Some have turned completely away, driven away by the rejection they felt from the church, and some have simply pushed the boundaries of artistry so far that they no longer could draw the line anywhere. So it seems that we have to be careful as artists, what our motivation is. If it is to be recognized by fame and acclaim then their could be great danger in pursuing your craft outside the church. If the goal is to spread a message, then pursuing that outside the church could have its benefits. However, we must never allow our gifts, art, talents, to stand in for our integrity. The bible says what we should meditate on:

 "Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things."

Also, Timothy encourages us to "Keep a close watch on how you live and on your teaching. Stay true to what is right for the sake of your own salvation and the salvation of those who hear you."1 Timothy 4:16

I think as artist these are two principles we should definitely focus on. While it would be great for the church to open its views and accept, and thus promote and support their own artists, rather than lose them to the world. It is more important that we as artists who grew up in the church don't allow the enemy to lead us off the path of righteousness for the sake of fame. Make a living, yes. Do what you love, yes. Compromise your soul and integrity? No.