Start a Movement Community Today!
We are approaching a church planting concept that has its roots in the arts. Why? What will that look like? How will it function? Who will that reach? How will “discipleship” and “church planting” take place? How can technology play a role? How will that reach beyond the traditional Christian community? Why start with a band? Why have a social justice emphasis with community service as a strategy? What will that community service look like and how will it function? What is meant by substance over style? How can an arts based ministry avoid the negativity that is often a part of the traditional church? How can small groups be facilitated and what would be the goals of the discipleship aspect of the movement?
These are just a few of the questions that need to be addressed and I would like to hear your thoughts on them.
I am posting thoughts from Andy Hackett that are from emails and other blogs
I am inspired to do what we are talking about. Playing music…doing social helps (and inviting all people to participate with us…totally inclusive) and then have small groups where people share community and study Scripture and pray for each other. Basically we could be a cell church with an emphasis on the arts and social helps. Maybe once there were a fair amount of small groups we could maybe do something where we meet once a month all together for a huge party with people giving testimonies and stuff like that. We could have small groups meeting on some night of the week and then we could do our social outreach on Sundays or Saturdays. Something like that.
This sounds beautiful to me. We wouldn’t be trying to get people to come to our church all the time. We would invite unbelievers, seekers, new agers…whoever to participate with us in helping people and communities. Then if they are touched by God in the midst of it we can invite them to a small group.
Andy Hackett wrote:
1. Why the arts emphasis?
For me all of life is connected to art. Music and film especially are the ways that real meaning is communicated to me. This is the way I have been since a young teenager and the arts have only gained more meaning now that I’m 28. I remember people used to tell me that I wouldn’t care as much about music when I got older but that has been the opposite. Music is what ties all of my life together since I have lived in so many different places, around different people and in different circumstances. Christ, music and film have been my faithful friends in all times and places. Many people feel this way. I know it. With this church movement we would try and take the full power of the arts and communicate with them. Art engages, represents and challenges our cultures. I am most interested in the way the arts challenge us. Protest has been a part of rock n roll since the early 60’s (and before that in the folk movement…and in a sense in Gospel music as well…and even the blues). I could talk forever about this…next subject…
2. What will that look like and how will it function?
We start a band…we play shows…we get to know people…we connect with people. We organize benefit concerts and specific days where we clean up neighberhoods, clean houses, give away food…things like that. We invite people at our concerts to help the communities around us. As people come to these social helps events we begin to introduce them to the reason we are helping. It’s Christ and all that He has taught us. We would do the music because that is what is in our hearts and what we are made to do. We invite others to participate in our community and social helps because we love it, enjoy it and live out the teachings of Christ.
3. Who will that reach?
As many people as possible. I believe this would reach out to a wide variety of people because many young people (15-40 more or less) are very connected to music and the arts. By the way…film will be in this picture as well. I’m not sure how yet but we will get involved in the independant film community (I hope) as well. Anyways, this will be for all people. It will most reach out to people who are really interested in making the world a better place. We are not going to market to people’s selfishness (ie…accept Christ and all of your problems will go away). We are going reach out to that part of humanity that longs to live a purposeful, loving life. This will be for true seekers.
Andy Hackett wrote:
4. How will discipleship and church planting take place?
With the first friends that we have we will begin to have a small group. As people come into our community we will split off into more groups. This could go on infinitely really. These small groups will be for Bible discussions, prayer and some form of worship. This will include all kinds of ways of learning (including studying films and music and searching for their meanings). We could gather all of the small groups together once or twice a month for a big part (Mexicans love parties!!!). These events could include video, excellent artistic worship, testimonies from people affected in social helps and a short message (15 min) from someone. We could rent event halls for these events. It wouldn’t be so tiring doing all of the set up and tear down because it would only be once or twice a month.
5. How can technology play a role?
I’m not really the expert on technology but I would say it would serve in the practical ways that it already does in our lives. E-mail, website, myspace, youtube…whatever we need to stay in contact and let people know what we are doing. I’m not sure what else to say here…we need more qualified, creative people in this area.
6. How will that reach beyond the typical Christian community?
Because of our band, involvement in the arts and social helps we would be constantly involved in our communities. The big problem with churches in Mexico is that they spend so much time together (3-5 services a week plus extra activities). There is no time for other things. Work, family and church is all that there is. With this model our church would consist of touching those around us all of the time. The only time we would have exclusive meetings would be in our once a week small group (where unbelievers would constantly be invited and welcomed) and our once a month party.
7. Why start a band?
We are musicians and we love music. We have seen how Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, U2, Larry Norman, Johnny Cash and so many others have changed the world. We want to do that. When I was living in Seattle during high school and after my main community (and joy) came from the local concerts that were always going on. There was so much creativity, fun and opportunity to meet interesting people. My faith was encouraged in that environment (and this community was not mission minded at all…yet it still meant so much to me…how much more could a missional arts scene impact people?). We would start a band because we really want to (!) and because we believe it would be a great way to stay connected at all times to those who are hurting and needy.
Andy Hackett wrote:
8. Why have a social justice emphasis with community service as a strategy?
Social justice is something that immediately connects with all of humanity.
Social justice is something that binds us together. All people (except the most depraved) have a heart for those who are hurting. Many people would
love to help but don’t know how. Just look at shows like “Extreme
Makeover: Home Edition” and “Pimp My Ride”. People love these shows because they truly help people. These ways of helping people touch humanity and inspire others to come closer to the heart of God. Many people speak negatively of Christians because all they do is meet together, ask for money and judge others. We would total forsake these prejudices. We would go out to the needy. This would touch others and open them up more to the message of Jesus.
9. What will that community service look like and how will it function?
I’m not sure exactly how this would work. We would need to identify needs in the communities around us and then find ways for us to help. We would need certain people to be devoted to this as their main focus. We would definitely need some administration for the community service jobs.
Everyone in the community (ideally) would participate. This would be the heart of everything we do. This would show our heart (like Christ’s) is to serve not to be served.
10. What is meant by substance over style?
Anyone who has been in any kind of art scene can probably tell you the primary sin in these communities: vanity. So often people seem to care more about clothing, fashion and coolness then even the quality of the art.
There have been times where this seems to have been less prevalant (early 60’s with Dylan, Baez and others involved in the Civil Rights Movement). We need to get back to that. “Christian” music is as guilty as MTV in this sin. It’s all about how someone looks and what’s fasionable…we would rage against this. The emphasis would be on sincerity, love and true creativity.
I could say much stronger words about this…but I will stop.
Actually…one more thing: Music should challenge the culture. So many musicians have come against greed, corruption and evil in society. I hope we would be this kind of movement.
Josh wrote:
I will attempt to answer some of those questions the best I can at the moment, but it is hard to answer some of them, because I have never lived in México, and I don’t really know the culture. I know God has given me good social discernment, but when I am not immersed in a place it is hard for me to really know the right steps. I can only use my own experience in the states, but I am sure they will translate down there.
Why the arts emphasis?
First and foremost we are all artists and are moved by art everyday in our own lives. I am listening to music right now as I write this, when I write sermons I listen to bands that touch my spirit. It is the “staff”, “talent”
that God has placed in our hands/hearts to communicate to the world His message of love, faith, judgment, and redemption.
Art to me in all its forms, communicates the spirit, the things we cannot see, it touches peoples hearts. This is why it is so important, the substance over the form, good art will reach people, atheist, agnostic, or whatever background. People don’t so much care about the message always, if the art is reaching them. Art being passion, creativity, freedom, when people sense that they are touched. I can think of when I was in high school playing in a band, with about 40 kids in a cramped garage. I was a young Christian at the time and I sang about my faith, the kids did not want us to stop playing. Afterwards they came up to me and were saying how they were feeling something they have never really felt before. I knew it was the Spirit, they didn’t. That night I didn’t share Jesus with anybody, but that opportunity was there, now I would use that opportunity totally differently.
I would take the time and explain to that person what I was feeling while playing and if the time was right talk about Jesus. To me that is a perfect example how art and God’s spirit can reach out to people.
Using art is a form of communication, like how Jesus used parables to reach people on a level they understood, so we would use art to reach people on level they would understand.
Josh wrote:
Why start with a band?
I been playing in bands since I was 13 it has always been a part of my life, even when I have tried to “give it up” I still come back to it. While Stephanie and I were living in Bellingham I wrote and recorded 13 songs, and God started giving me a vision for a band that could reach the world with the gospel. It really starts with community. I am very convicted by the fact that Jesus said the world will know me, by your love. God has purposed that the world knows Jesus by his followers love for one another. When you watch a band that loves and respects each other, “Bruce Springsteen” “U2″, the audience is taken into it, the concerts become like a church service, it is an amazing thing to watch. It is because the audience is experiencing true community, whether they realize that or not. So to me a band is that light, that Jesus talks about. We would be a true community of love, and people would feel that, and therefore see and have the chance to know Jesus, that leads to the social helps. The other part of the vision for the band is reaching out and helping people who need it. We would still be that community, but we would take it outside of ourselves, not be inclusive in anyway. The third world convicts me, scares me, because I see what God has given me, and I know I am responsible to reach out. I don’t have lots of money to give, but I do have music, which draws people together, and with lots of people you can do good.
The first thing I see, is simply the good old fashion benefit concert, bands have been doing this more and more over the years, I think that is a good way to start. We find a need, either in our city, or outside and say we want to help give to that need. I can see us gathering people who could even be in charge of that aspect of the band or ministry. Our first concert could be a benefit concert for something. I wouldn’t mind playing shows concerts that always had a purpose to benefit others.
Josh wrote:
How will “discipleship” and “church planting” take place?
Church planting has been in my heart since I took a church planting class in college. As I have worked jobs, I always meet people who are real receptive to me as a spiritual person, someone they trust and come to with questions.
I never really want to invite these people to church because I know it would probably just end of confusing them. I always think I should just start a bible study for these people, and through that they would be discipled. So to me church planting would take place through relationship. As we met people, we would start a cell group. I love that, because they are people who have friends who are not Christians, and that is who they bring to the group. I really see us starting cell groups of mostly non church goers. So a church would start out of relationships, I think it would be very organic and just grow as those things tend to do, when it is built of the bible and genuine community.
Josh wrote:
How can small groups be facilitated and what would be the goals of the discipleship aspect of the movement?
From what I have learned about starting these kind of things, I see that people naturally tend to rise up as leaders. And as that happens they start their own groups. I am not the most gifted administrator, but I do have good discernment in leaders. I think we would just train the leaders, and then they would continue what we started. I guess as I think about it, all that stuff I learned in school would come into play here, about ministry development. I will definitely need to bring down a lot of the books I have, and have a refresher course. I don’t know how passionate I am about the administrative stuff, I am much more entreupernial, I like to start things and then step back and let others continue it. But we will see how it all develops and who fills what rolls. I love to be around unbelievers and share about who Jesus is.