A Call For The Recovery Of The Visual Arts In Charismatic Worship

Art is a gift from God. The Bible itself records many examples of the arts. Written by a leading mime artist in the charismatic community, this article defends the importance of the arts for the Christian life and in Christian worship. Throughout Scripture, God has used dramatic expression to communicate his will and his Word. This might be in mime, acting, storytelling, parable, allegory, song, dance, gestural communication, or sign. God's Word is full of examples of ministry through arts. However, we have failed to see what is obviously there. Why? Simply because we read the Bible instead of seeing it. We read what they enacted. There are numerous examples of the arts in prophecy. Mime is recorded over forty times in Scripture. Over one-third of the ministry of Ezekiel was done in mime. Parables, as a form of storytelling, are used over forty-nine times; the majority of them were spoken by Jesus. Parable, in a general sense, is seen over 250 times throughout the Old and New Testame…