Of course, to succeed in anything major, there are more than three steps involved. However, these are broad-brushstrokes that will help anyone that's seeking to walk with God on a daily basis, and steward the gift that they have. (I am sharing this in the context of people who are Christian, who want to follow Jesus. Even if that's not your worldview though, you can still read and apply what I'm talking about, in your own way, in your own context.)
Read on and hopefully it'll make sense....
In a nutshell, the 3 steps are: 1) Don't call yourself a Christian artist 2) Be great at what you do (make great art) 3) Allow your worldview to influence what you create
1) Don't call yourself a Christian artist (or "Christian _________ " - fill in the blank.)
Call yourself an artist.
If that's what it is that you do.
If you're a film-maker, call yourself a film-maker. If you're an actor, call yourself an actor. If your a stylist, call yourself a stylist. If you're a stand-up comedian... you get the picture.
Some of you are reading this are saying "well, duh". Some might read this and might be confused. (This blog is mainly for..... Christians!) Some might read this, and think I'm being heretical.
Before you stone me though... understand that I'm not saying that you should deny Christ. As I wrote a while back, I believe that we should always be ready to share what we believe. But that DOESN'T mean that we need to add the word "Christian" next to something we do - such as our profession, as if it were an adjective. How many plumbers do you know call them self a "Christian plumber"? Do you know anyone who introduces them self as a "Christian teacher"? How about a "Christian business-owner"? You may well know a plumber, or a teacher, or a politician who happens to be a Christian. But if someone began calling themselves a "Christian _______ [insert profession]", guess who most of their clients would be?
If someone who is a Christian pursued a career in school teaching (for example), applied themselves and became good at it, surely they'd be in a good position to benefit and add value to students that aren't Christians. Can you see how this potential for impact among the un-churched would be diminished if they promoted themselves as a "Christian teacher"? The best approach for them would be to call them self a teacher, be great at it, and allow their worldview to influence how they educate their classroom. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
Allow me to use one more analogy: If you want to be a missionary in a communist country, and you want to help people, share the gospel and influence the community for good, you'd better not tell the border security workers that you're a missionary. I personally don't think that you should lie about what your plans are, but you'd better have something ready to tell them when they ask you what you want to do. Many missionaries have crossed borders as English teachers, engineers, aid worker... and I'm sure many other professions. And of course, once they are there, they may be effective as missionaries as well.
Working in the media and the arts can be similar. To put it bluntly, in some places, if you introduce yourself as a Christian you won't be allowed in! As judgemental as that may be, it simply means you've got to be a bit smart about it, and follow Jesus' advice in (Matthew 10:16).
Unless you feel clearly called to "minister" only to the body of Christ, don't call yourself a "Christian _______". There will likely be some factors relating to marketing that need to be considered, if you don't want to be interpreted and labeled as a "Christian artist" right off the bat. Brooke Fraser is an example of someone who has thought through these issues really well.*
2. Make Great Art (Be Great At What You Do)
"Do you see someone skilled in their work?
They will serve before kings;
they will not serve before officials of low rank."
If you want to change the world, then this is a really important step.
Be inspired to be the absolute best you can be with the gifts that you have. Remember the parable of the talents? The three servants were all given talents "according to [their] ability" (Matt 25:15). You have the ability inside of you to be great at being you - with the great gifts that God has put inside of you! You are full of potential waiting to be untapped!!! Be the best _________ [again, fill in the blank] that you can be!!! If you're a drummer, drum! If you're a keyboard player, play that thing to the best of your ability! "Practice" might simply be the key word for you to act on. "...whatever you do..." (1 Corinthians 10:31).
3. Allow your worldview to influence what you create
Think about it: The rappers involved did not set about to bring a "message" that encourages people to drink excessively. They simply set out to make (what they perceive to be) great music, and their worldview naturally influenced what they made. And of course, many songs like this do have an influence over peoples thoughts and actions today.
How often have you complained about the moral degradation that is taking place in popular culture these days? If you have, then you need to get behind people that follow the steps I'm talking about, and quit telling them they don't talk about Jesus enough.
IMAGINE..... if the body of Christ simply made great art, lived life, and displayed to the world, what it means to follow Christ, and allowed their (much better) worldview and assumptions to influence their music, art... we'd have less to complain about. I'd love to see more pop stars that have healthy attitudes to partying penetrate pop culture, and not just the world of Christian music.
I'd love to see followers of Christ make films that challenge shallow (and stupid) assumptions about sex, that lead to films like 50 Shades of Grey. Yes there is literally untapped potential to prophetically challenge culture through many different art forms (such as film). But it's only going to be truly effective when it comes in the form of great art.
What is it that you need to work on next? What is YOUR next step out of these three?
1) Develop how you market/present yourself, relative to a world that is at times "anti-Christ"
2) Make great art
3) Allow your worldview to influence what you do
*Extra note: Please don't take this as a knock on CCM (Contemporary Christian Music), or worship music used in corporate, or private settings. It would take a whole new post to explain the importance of worship, and the place that CCM has today. For now, I'm just emphasizing that if we want to bring lasting change our culture (something Jesus said we are called to do), there are some issues we need to think through. Read Michael W Smith's (and others) recent comments on related matters here.
