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OUR MISSION philosophy OF ministry
“Each one of you should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ.” I Peter 4:10-11 There are many aspects of the mission of the artist, but the primary and all-encompassing one is to bring glory and honor to God. The artist is first and foremost a servant and follower of Christ. Only when the artist has an authentic and vibrant relationship with Christ can they hope to truly create and communicate to the best of their ability. “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God" (I Corinthians 10:31). When an artist is seeking to please God in every area of their life, the areas of confusion and conflict in the arts should be submitted to God’s will and guidance. No artist truly seeking to honor God would willingly choose to do or present something that is contrary to God’s word. The area of the arts is especially challenging since the arts in the world are so corrupt. It is an uphill battle to create art that is honoring to God in a world that embraces sin and rebellion. However, if Christians forsake the arts then they have given the most influential area of our culture to the control of the Enemy. Christians must not only continue to create, but they must do so to the best of their ability and to the glory of God. This will show the world that one does not need to sacrifice one’s giftedness in order to serve God. Rather, a relationship with Him and a life of service to Him increase the inspiration and beauty of that which is created. They can impact their culture in an area where the light of God rarely shines. “For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (II Corinthians 4:5-6). In the Bible Christians are commanded to use the gifts God has given them. We are not to hide our gifts as though we were ashamed of them. We are not to use them to glorify ourselves, but to glorify God and to build up the body of Christ. “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms” (I Peter 4:10). The arts in the hands of the Artist, sold out to God and seeking to serve and honor Him, can be a powerful tool. We should seek to develop these gifts to the glory of God. Only if the glory is given to God can we hope to continue to be used to communicate His message. For the Christian artist, whether in the Christian or secular community, the challenge is always to present a godly witness. The arts are not an easy place to be a witness for Christ. To the Christian community the arts represent the decadence and immorality of the world. Most are very resistant to the role of the arts in the church and in Christian education. To the world, Christian art is considered second rate since it is assumed that anyone with genuine ability would seek the greener pastures of the world. The challenge for the Christian artist is to create art that honors and glorifies God and that is excellent in the eyes of the world. “For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord, but also in the eyes of men” (II Corinthians 8:21). The Christian does not have to stoop to the world’s levels of immorality to create excellent art. Nor do they have to settle for second-rate art just because it is within the Church. Why should the world have all the brilliance? When the world sees that we embrace excellence and seek it as fervently as they do, they will respect that. They must see that our Christianity does not hold us back, but inspires us to even greater heights, to the glory of God. We must show the world what a Christ-centered life looks like and hope that they will begin to desire what we have. “Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, in the holiness and sincerity that are from God. We have done so not according to worldly wisdom but according to God’s grace” (II Corinthians 1:12). One of the struggles for the Christian in the world of art is how to be relevant to our culture without compromising Christian standards. This is especially challenging for those who seek to use the arts as a tool for outreach. They have the need to attract the attention of those who are lost. The temptation is to use more of the world’s tactics because of the fear that godly arts will not be enough to attract the attention of those who are accustomed to the sensationalism of the world. But this compromise with the world is dangerous. “You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God” (James 4:4). But we underestimate the power of the message we are presenting and the working of the Holy Spirit. Our job is not to attract people by our efforts, that is the Holy Spirit’s job. Our focus needs to be on presenting the truth in a God honoring fashion, to the best of our ability. If we were to attract someone, but then weaken our testimony in the process, we have accomplished nothing. “We are not trying to please men but God, who test our hearts” (I Thessalonians 2:4b). The arts are full of pictures. Some of these pictures are in drama, dance, paintings, or music. Sometimes we must present evil in order to present the ultimate solution to evil, Christ. However, we must draw the line in what we present. There is a fine boundary line between that which is necessary to teach a lesson, and that which simply fills our minds with unclean thoughts. So many times we use the excuse in the arts that we are “presenting the world as it is”. This is unnecessary. We need to be presenting a picture of Christ’s solution to the world’s problem. We all know what a sinful life looks like. “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret” (Ephesians 5:8-12). The world should not look at our art and then look at their art and see no difference. The Artist must respect the opinions and directions of those in authority over them. This is why we have chosen to create a Board for MoezArt Productions. Sometimes an artist can become so emotionally involved in what they are doing that they fail to see the long-term impact or larger effect on the community. In these situations, it is good to have an unbiased authority to give perspective on the situation. “Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you” (Hebrews 13:17). Let us show the world that we can be artists for God, unified in our purpose. “...then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:2-4).
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