For the Beauty of the Church: Casting a Vision for the Arts

I just finished For the Beauty of the Church. Dang it, it is going to be an expensive book. I have already ordered two more copies.As a woman, a working artist and a believer my relationship with the church has been a love/hate relationship. So often I have been unable to articulate the struggle. David Taylor has brought together a varied group to give voice to the struggle. Not just a group talking theory, but individuals in the trenches. I was registered to attend the conference in Austin where these ideas were first presented, but I was unable to attend (a new baby and allergy season in Texas took me out!) I am thrilled to have this resource in my hot little hand. I read. I cried. I underlined vigorously. I wrote comments in the margins. I read more. I ordered another two books and when my budget recovers I will order more. (Merry Christmas friends and family.)For the first reading Barbara Nicolosi's chapter was my favorite as it brought healing to my heart. As the seasons change other chapters will rise to the forefront. I know that I will go back to this book to remind myself that the battle is worth fighting, and that the struggle, as Jeremy Begbie so eloquently reminds us, has an end and that it might behoove us to think from the end to the present. I am so PROUD of Eugene Peterson for not only admitting he has artist friends, but that artist friends are worth having, YOU GO EUGENE! Barbara Nicolosi's chapter reminded me that what is do is not a waste of time, energy or emotion. Joshua Banner's description of a pastor involved in one's arts career, in a positive way, blew my mind. I can not even imagine, but wow, what a concept. Hope stirred. And David Taylor did a delightful wrap up. Context, context, context! David is a master encourager.It is a good book. It was an easy read. "For the Beauty of the Church" will bring understanding into the Body of Christ.I have art in 54 nations yet at any moment I question whether or not I am "really" an artist. There is so much pain in the world, at any moment I can question the value of arts. It is difficult, at least for me, to balance the truth of it all, that what I do is worth doing. In the church environment where results and numbers are held in such esteem, it is hard to quantify beauty. I am very thankful for this collection of essays and their pointing to a truth beyond statistics.I am gonna go paint now.

This was recommended to me by an artist friend after several conversations on the topic. A helpful little book for those who might be unfamiliar with the conversation but are concerned with learning. Unfortunately, the book's greatest strength is also its weakness. I appreciated the variety of perspectives from across the spectrum evangelicalism and valued the inclusion of a Roman Catholic voice. However, this causes the quality of the chapters to be a bit uneven, some are more engaging than others. With that being said, all of them are worthy of your time and consideration. Especially if you're looking to understand the basics of the intersection between the life of the church and the work of the artist

This is the kind of book I will be thinking about, talking about, recommending, giving to friends, and re-reading regularly for many, many years. The essays collected and edited in this volume each stand alone as relevant, helpful, well-crafted works around the topic of art and the church. Taken together, they form both a manifesto on the beautiful kinship between the arts and the church, and a manual for how to best foster that kinship. One of my favorite things about the book was the rich diversity in the ideas presented. Taylor has gathered a blend of voices, each speaking thoughtfully from their varied perspectives on topics for which they are perfectly suited. And yet, even though the authors are diverse in age, experience, and background, the book maintains a sense of continuity and flow throughout its entirety.I would highly recommend this book to anyone, but especially to a few specific folks:-all those in pastoral or worship ministry-artists of all kinds-believers who feel no connection to the arts, and wonder why churches should bother with them at allWhether you are a pastor, an artist, or someone who has serious doubts about the connection between church and art, this book is an absolute must-read.

As a worship/creative arts director for a church, I greatly appreciated this book.The chapters are all written by different authors with different perspectives on the arts. I found all of them to be helpful in painting a picture of the need, call, theory, and implementation of arts in the local church.It's an easy but satisfying read, I'll be using this with my arts teams!

A great collection of essays. I use this material in teaching worship pastors and leaders in undergraduate courses. It covers many different aspects of worship theology and its practical application for the church.

Some thot provoking essays, very good read on Christian faith and the arts. Especially liked the final essay from Begbie. Might want to consider getting Begbie’s book or Crouch’s book instead of this collection, but this is a good intro, nonetheless.

Music director used this book as text for leading a class on creativity

Interesting read! This book brought a new perspective to my mind about the beauty in art in the American church, and how we are losing that. This book opened my mind little more, which is the task that the author intended, I'm sure!

An outstanding collection of essays. Each chapter is excellent by itself, and the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. The quality is so consistently high that it would be unfair to mention highlights - even with such evergreen authors as Eugene Peterson in the mix.The book as a whole is a rich introduction to the breadth of issues surrounding church and the Arts. This will be my go-to text for anyone interested in engaging with the subject from now on.

Great read