Mike Cosper is the worship arts pastor at Sojourn. He’s at once a brilliant musician and a great Christian thinker. Recently a website called Somewhere Cold reviewed Sojourn’s original CD, “Songs for the Advent.” (The review was really good! It is seriously a very good CD.) They then interviewed Mike. I thought the excerpt below was very thought provoking and worth reproducing here. The full interview is here.
Question: “How do you see ART in the life of the church? What role should the arts play in church life?”
Mike: “That’s a huge question. I think I would start by encouraging anyone who wants to engage the arts to read “Unceasing Worship” by Harold Best. He makes a good case that the arts have an important role to play in the life of the church, but that we sell it out for cute kitsch experiences and petty emotionalism. We show up to church and say “Here we are now, entertain us.” I just think a lot is done in the name of “art” in the church that isn’t much in the way of art, and may not belong in the church. We want to package the arts and put it in a worship service, so we can say “we’re artsy.” The church should be the first to appreciate great art and the last to cheapen it and market it. I’m afraid that’s not the case. Best’s book deals with that and a lot more. It’s really inspiring. Our community has made efforts to engage the arts, including this record. I’d encourage you as well to check out our online art gallery at www.sojourncommunity.com The artists’ statements are definitely worth reading.”