TO BE WINSOME

A confluence of events has brought this to my mind this week.

First (not in time, but conceptually), last Monday evening, I had the pleasure of hearing Os Guinness speak. His primary concern of the evening was how the Christian church was losing its influence over culture. That Western culture had risen due to Christianity, but that in our modern life, that impact is fading away. He raised the question of whether a culture that was originally grounded on Christian beliefs and practices could survive once it was cut off those roots.

It's a disturbing question, and one that deserves serious consideration. He emphasised the importance of Christian artists re-engaging with the general culture. And I agree.

The second event that flowed into this occured at the San Diego ComicCon last weekend. After several years of... well, yes, avoiding the Christian Comics Arts Association (I believe that's the correct form of their name), I sat in on their Sunday morning function. Now, I do not fault these folks for their diligence and zeal in following the Lord. Nor even their committment to have their work rise to a high standard of quality. But I was... unsettled is the best word I can find for my reaction: I was unsettled by what I encountered.

Much of their work seems to be focused on being delivered to an audience who shared their beliefs. Not just their Christian beliefs, but their particular arena of evangelical, fundamentalist Protestant beliefs. And that their zeal as followers of Christ makes it difficult for them to hear the voices of others. (More on this in a bit.)

The third occurance was a rather lively discussion on Barbara Nicolosi's blog.

In response to Barb's comments about her frustration in dealing with well-meaning Christians who want to "make a movie" but do not want to exert the effort to do quality work, nor hire professionals, nor submit to artistic guidence, one person seemed to think she was being a snob or an elitist who was looking down on the folks of middle-America who are willing to take whatever "Christian entertainment" they can find, regardless of the quality. Barbara is no such thing, of course. But it disturbed me that one Christian out there chose to attack and chastise other Christians who were only expressing their own committment to deliver the most professional work they possibly could.

Barbara's critic came across rather hostile in tone. And it unsettled me. In much the same way I was unsettled by the report of the reaction of folks connected with the CCAA at ComicCon during a panel on (the supposedly general topic) "spirituality in comic books". I'd meant to attend that panel, but got sidetracked by a conversation. But another friend did attend, and the little he reported to me was not encouraging. Apparently, the question had come up as to whether a non-believer could write about spirituality with any truth or accuracy. I was given to understand that the reaction by the panelists was a "no" and that they did not leave room for further discussion of the matter.

With Os' comments in mind, the other two incidents leave a bad taste in my mouth. What are we afraid of? Where does this impulse to hostility or just limiting discussion come from? And what does it serve?

One thing Os said was that Christian artists need to be winsome. And I believe this is true. Until we win the trust of our audience, be they believers or not, we are in no position to convey the gospel. Being brittle is no help. Setting a hard and fast rule that Christian artists must invoke the name of Jesus at all times, overlooks the fact that often the audience being addressed is not ready to acknowledge even the existence of God, nevermind our Lord & Savior.

I worry a bit about Christians who come into any area of the arts with the intention to "win the territory for Jesus". I worry about it, because too often such folk genuinely believe that their zeal alone is sufficient to this task. And these zealots are hard to convince, when you get to the matter of craftsmanship. They are so certain that God will carry the day when they give the world their "art".

It becomes particularly frustrating, because although I do indeed believe that God's Word does not return void, because I do believe that the Lord will use any opening He is given, I also believe that sloppy craftsmanship is an insult to the Lord.

We've gotten a bit away from the concept of "Sunday best". On the one hand, yes, the Lord is please that we come to him at all. He loves us, after all. But what sort of offering are we giving him, when what is offered up is poorly made? We're talking about work that we're offering up to the Creator of the Universe, remember. It is the well-crafted work that wins admiration, not the "thrown together" piece that is "justified" because it was "done for the Lord."

Beyond that, when any of us behave as if we have the full and complete answer to how spirituality should be presented, I can't help but feel that we're treading on God's toes. He created all humans to have the capacity to be drawn to him. Else there would be no point in our trying to spread the Gospel in the first place. If all humans have this capacity, then it is entirely possible that a non-believer might indeed have a great understanding of spiritual matters, and yet not have received the Gospel. That doesn't make that person evil. They might not even be "misguided". They're just not across the Gospel threshold yet. And if that is the case what is it that will help them across the threshold?

Well, I'm pretty certain that it isn't being told that they don't know anything, or that what they do know is evil. That isn't going to "win" them to the love of the Lord.

I believe that Christian artists are called to be winsome. Genuine. Appealing. In both how we present ourselves to others, and in our work. I believe we are called to be the people others want to be around, because we make them feel good. Because we care about them as people. Because, to be exact, we actually demonstrate the type of love God has for them. And our work should be the same. I don't mean that we always have to tell happy-happy stories. I do mean that our work should reflect a world that operates according to God's design: where justice is important, innocence is to be protected, love is upheld, greed is an empty pursuit. A world where the loss of one life does diminish us all, especially when that life is lost vainly.

To do that, though, I think it means accepting people as they are when we meet them. For we can never point them to the road toward God if we cannot even speak with them on their terms. The curse of Babel remains strong, and Christians seem to delude themselves that it is enough that they can talk "Christian-speak" to each other.

Why are Christians who pursue quality in craft chastised, as if they are not committed to raising the name of the Lord? And why do some Christians turn aside from engaging in dialogue about spirituality with non-believers? What are the fears that create these disruptions? Why, in zeal, does "I am here for you" get over-ruled in favor of "I am here for your good, so you will hear the name of Jesus". It is the love of Jesus people need to meet first.

Winsome art and winsome artists are a first step.