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Every Power Wide Awake by John Van Deusen, One Year Later

| December 27, 2018 | Reviews | 0 comments

For a year now, I’ve told myself that I would write about John Van Deusen’s record Every Power Wide Awake. I began writing this post a month ago, and then it sat in the editing bay untouched since then. In that time, a lot of life has gone by, for better and worse. I’ve since seen John perform twice, and I’ve also interviewed him twice for my blog, We Are Mirrors. I’ve also endured a not-insignificant deal of hardship and general unpleasantness in life.

This record has only become more relevant and powerful in this latest tumultuous season of my life. Every Power Wide Awake is an important and essential release, one of this decade’s most noteworthy and exceptional “worship” albums. (more…)

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What You Should Know Before You Listen to Our Podcast

| October 2, 2018 | Arts & The Bible | 0 comments

headphones-on-desk

What do you expect from the Renew the Arts Podcast? Do you want a trusted checklist for beauty, so you can discern with little effort between good and bad art? Looking for rules to keep your media consumption safe for the whole family? Want a podcast that recommends similar artists within your current tastes? Well, look no further than … somewhere else.

No, but all joking aside, we have found that many Christians enter into discussions of the arts with very specific expectations and fears. To be frank, we probably won’t meet those expectations or allay those fears. But, if you can open up your heart and mind ever so slightly to what the Bible teaches that the arts can and should do in the church, I think you’ll find we offer something far more bracing, freeing, and edifying than quick and comfortable answers.

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Art as Hospitality

| September 24, 2018 | Arts & The Bible | 1 comment

I was reading an article the other day called “A Guide to Combining Fonts,” and in the first half of the article, the author argues that it’s often better not to combine fonts at all—if you can, just use one font family. He shows this as a great example of what can be done with a single typeface (in this case, Baskerville):

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Clearing Out the Gentile Court: A Story

| September 6, 2018 | Arts & The Bible | 0 comments

Underneath the heralding of marketeers, the bleating and lowing of sacrificial animals, and the babble of banter in thirty native tongues, I could almost hear the sound—a haunting of the air—of music over the Gentile Court.

Is that a tambourine? Or coins settling on a scale? I hear a lament, a woman crying out. No, she squeals with laughter. I hear a bass murmur of another crowd through the walls, more unified, barely audible. I focus on it, but it escapes me. A camel grunts, loaded with goods. Where is the peace, the majesty, and the beauty I was promised in His presence?

The merchants and money-changers, some of them fresh from the temple, obscure the walls and pillars of God’s house with their heaped up crates and baskets—their shade tents and well-stocked tables. In a language everyone can understand, they pitch their wares. In mock service to the pious, they drown out every pious sound.

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Collective Repentance and the Arts

| August 29, 2018 | Arts & The Bible | 2 comments

A Church in the Distance of a Wounded Knee Massacre Sign

Our last podcast tackled the issue of collective repentance and the arts. We had Jesse Murray on as our guest, and he shared two beautiful songs with us. I’d like to add a few thoughts to flesh out what was said and to offer one push-back I wish I had brought up during our conversation.

Are Ethnic Apologies Divisive?

You may have seen John MacArthur’s recent blog post about the social justice movement. He claims the movement is “the most subtle and dangerous threat so far” to the Gospel.

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What is Art?

| August 20, 2018 | Resources for Patrons | 4 comments

I imagine Pilate asked Jesus, “What is Truth?” with the same tone of hopeless resignation that many people ask, “What is Art?” It seems like, as with discussions of truth, we all know more or less what’s standing right in front of us even when we aren’t willing or able to articulate it clearly.

Nonetheless, whenever there are disagreements about art, you can be sure at least one peanut in the gallery will torpedo the discussion with “unanswerable” questions. Usually, these questions and definitions serve to close discussion rather than open it. I have no intention of doing that here.

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Renew the Arts Roundtable: Ambient Church

| June 12, 2018 | Commentary | 0 comments

Renew the Arts Roundtable is a continuing series of discussions between members and friends of Renew the Arts concerning (mostly) recent happenings in the intersecting worlds of faith, art, and popular culture. In this first installment, three staff members talk about Ambient Church, the implications this movement has for the relationship between the Church and the Arts, and how Christian art can be liberated by analyzing this issue.

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Are We Overstating the Importance of the Arts?

| May 25, 2018 | Arts & The Bible | 0 comments

After launching the Renew the Arts podcast, we started getting lots of feedback. All of it was encouraging, and a lot of it contained (even from some of our most supportive fans) some skepticism about the amount of emphasis we place on arts in the church. The arts might be important, but are they actually essential in any way to the work of the church? Sure, we like them, but can’t we actually do without them in the church and still be okay? Is it really that big of a deal?

Are the arts really that central to the life and work of the church?

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Who Will Be the Next Billy Graham?

| March 23, 2018 | Culture & Politics | 0 comments

It’s a question on many of our minds since Billy Graham died: What now?

This iconic moment for American evangelicalism paints a clear picture of what has weighed heavy on the heart of Christians, even before the passing of Billy Graham: who will carry the gospel into the next generation? The conversation has a tinge of hopelessness, as millennials flood out of the church at an increasing rate. “America’s pastor” is dead. Will the church in America die with him? It almost looks like it will.

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From Quality Strangers to Make Sure, Joshua Jackson Walks Home Instead

| November 16, 2017 | Features | 0 comments

Joshua Jackson in his hometown of Opelika, Alabama. Photo by Rusty Hein.

The sun has set in Opelika, Alabama, and Joshua Jackson rolls through town with a car full of his close friends. They’ve spent the day shooting for a short film to be published on Jackson’s YouTube comedy channel. Hungry, they decide to go to Wendy’s for a quick bite. As they drive along, one of the friends starts to slap a beat on his lap. Another starts beatboxing, and the rest join in the impromptu percussion session. At the request of one of his friends, Jackson starts to sing a song about driving to Wendy’s in a free-wheeling, pseudo-rap as the crew laughs and continues the beat.

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