States of BLISS & Yearning// The Discipline of Imagining

So we've already dealt with the past (remembering) and the present (waiting) which means we must also touch on the present: Imagining. John Bell says this:

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"It is indeed a barren creed which proclaims that God delights not in red or orange, but in clergy gray; that prose is better than poetry; that monologue is better than dialogue; that mental concepts are superior to physical illustrations; that dullness is somehow next to godliness" (36).

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I love these words. Somehow, people got into the habit of making worship boring. I think they say it has to do with reverence but I don't believe it. After all, "if we are made in the image of God, then we are in the mold of a great imaginer" (37). My art professor even recognizes that. She graded my paper on creativity a couple months ago and told me that I have a very creative creator. Why, yes, I do. Which means that we must all be creative beings. This is why, I think, some people ONLY go to Awestruck at my home church. It's an alternative worship service that uses the screens and images, tactile rituals, and engaging music. In the words of someone who shouldn't be named here, "It makes the Sunday service intolerable!" And it does. I love my church. All of it. But after you have been to Awestruck, NOTHING can compare.

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I always say I don't have much of an imagination, but that's a lie. As long as imagination and creativity aren't the same, I can say I have the former, but not much of the latter. But with the help of Awestruck, I would certainly say that I have been exposed to new ways of doing things which helps me in terms of creative worship. Also, having a mentor that is incredibly creative is extremely helpful. Learning how to create meaningful altar spaces has been enriching, and it sounds lame, but I'm serious.

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Bell remarks that no reformation, no renewal, no pioneering evangelism "ever succeeded because a committee of men meeting in a rectangular room came up with the right formula" (40). God doesn't just interact with our intelligence. God made, loves, and interacts with all of our being. It takes time to be imaginative (just like remembering and waiting) and is totally against everything society and our culture tells us, but "it is not countercultural to God" (41).