Growing up in the Methodist church, I remember sitting on the front pew Sunday after Sunday, listening to the sermons preached by my father, who served as a Methodist "lay minister" when he was not pursuing his primary profession as an optometrist. Certain messages were particularly memorable.

     For example, who could forget the wonderful truths of the Sermon on The Mount? I especially recall being blessed with the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12), in which Jesus made it clear that he identified and empathized with the poor and oppressed. Jesus made it clear in that sermon that God's values were far different from the values of this fallen world. I found it comforting to know that when I felt like a "loser", Christ's response was to let me know unequivocally that God loved me.

     In that parable, Jesus made several things clear.

     First, Jesus made it clear that God has given talents to every person on this earth. Some people might feel that they are untalented, but such a feeling contradicts God's word. Just as Jesus emphasized in the Sermon on The Mount, all people are of equal value to God, who (according to another scripture) is "no respecter of persons". Whether your talent is creating paintings or making beautiful music or knowing the right words to speak to a dying child, you are a talented person, my friend! God has a unique role for you to play in this life, and no one else is able to play that role in the same way.

     If you are attending a church which sends the subtle but unmistakeable message that you are worthless, then it is time to find a new church, because that church is preaching heresy. God proclaims that you are of infinite value, so much that he sent his son Jesus to die for your sins. If you are suffering from low self-esteem, then focus on how much God loves you. You will find that your attitude will noticeably improve.

     Second, the Parable of The Talents teaches that it is precisely because God has gifted all of us with talents that we will be held accountable for how we use those talents. To neglect to fully utilize one's talents is to commit a sin of omission. You need not seek any special revelation regarding whether or not you are called to use your talents. To do so would be comparable to seeking special revelation about whether or not you were obliged to keep the Ten Commandments. God's word proclaims, in the Parable of the Talents, that you have a moral responsibility to use the talents given to you. That is all the revelation anybody needs.

     If it is correct to say that one of the primary responsibilities of the Church is to empower all of its members to resist and overcome sin, and if it is sin to neglect one's talents, then it logically follows that a church which fails to do everything within its power to empower Christians to utilize all of their talents (artistic or otherwise) is a church which has failed to meet its moral responsibilities to its members.

     Just as it is not sufficient for a church to give lip service to the idea that all people should be well fed, without actually giving any food to the hungry, so it is not enough to give lip service to the idea that all Christians should fully use their talents. If and when a church possesses the means to address practical issues which prevent Christians from being able to fully utilize their talents, then it is that church's sacred responsibility to use those resources and address those issues in a way which makes a real difference in people's lives! The imperfections of God's people are no excuse for neglecting to do so. We are all imperfect in one way or another.

     Sadly, the church often falls short in this area. That's one of the primary reasons we Christians have become so marginalized in today's society. Despite occasional exceptions, the overall influence of Christianity is waning in mainstream culture, precisely because our rhetoric about "culture wars" has not been matched by our practical commitment to the goal of doing everything we can to nurture and support talented Christians who have both the ability and the desire to turn things around.

     In an ideal world, an organization such as the North American Alliance of Artistic Christians might not be necessary. In an ideal world, local churches would be doing everything they could do in order to love and support the artistically talented Christians in their midst. However, after attempting to serve the Lord with my various talents for more than 30 years, it has been made painfully clear to me that we do not live in such a world. So part of the reason for the existence of the North American Association of Artistic Christians, and for this web site at ArtisticChristians.com, will be to make up for the Church's notorious indifference to the needs of the artistically talented Christians in it's midst, by addressing issues which the Church either cannot address or will not address on its own.

     I freely admit that I am sometimes ambivalent about the Church when it comes to a consideration of how seriously the Church has neglected the needs of artistically talented Christians such as myself. It would be a mistake, however, to characterize my overall attitude toward the Church as one of animosity or ingratitude. Without the Church, I never would have known about just how much God loved me. Without the Church, my life would not have been transformed by the saving power of Jesus Christ.

     Without the Church, I never would have acquired the passionate beliefs which now motivate me to seek to break new ground in terms of empowering artistically talented Christians as never before.

... Mark W. Pettigrew
    Webmaster and Christian Renaissance Man