The smell of oil drying upon a newly created work of love. Or the crisp texture of a newly developed photo, still resonating with the faint scent of developing solution…the making of something new draws from the well of my imagination, dwelling in the depths of my soul.

            I often shudder in fear when I ask myself, “What if we there was never a new piece of art to be created?” or “What if we decided that there was no more music to be made because we already played it all?”

            If you ever visited my home you would know that my family’s walls are littered with the art of family and friends.  I’ve never been one who identifies with what some deem as “stock” art pieces  - those readily-available pieces that one could purchase at any big box retail chain.  However, I’m not an art snob either who turns their noses down at “stock” art pieces…I simply do not identify with most them.

            Maybe the reasons I don’t identify with the “stock” art is that I don’t know the story behind the piece. Or perhaps the fact that it is massed produced loses its specialness to me. I know for some that “stock” art works for them  – and I hold no grudges towards them. If it works for them, it works for them.  That’s the beauty of art – it speaks to all people differently in different ways.

            I think one of the biggest pieces of art that I’ve ever seen a human create is the universal church.  The church, some say has been breathed by God into existence by the same dust by which we were created. But I say that the church is a human creation, a piece of art if-you-will that reflects its creator’s brush stroke.

            Humanity was sculpted in its Creator’s image. Which in turn makes us creators ourselves…doesn’t it? To be more precise, we have been charged to be co-creators with our Creator creating new and beautiful pieces of art. And I believe one of those charges has been the universal church.  The church is an unfinished piece of art. 

            One much wiser than me once said that when you create a piece of art, it is never finished – nor is it ever made perfect.  I would take that sage advice one step further: it’s never clean and always a messy process.  Most of the time we confuse beautiful and good with the notion of perfect.  The church, like its creator, is a good creation – but by no means is it perfect nor will ever be perfect.

            For many of us, we have seen the church packaged and sold as “stock” art in big box retail chains for many years. And for many, this works for them. But there are some of us who don’t identify with that art anymore. For some of us, we fear that we as the church have declared, “There is no more music to be made; we’ve already played it all.”

            Although the mass production of “stock” art may always hang on someone’s wall, I am here to tell you that new music is being written. New canvases are being stretched. New angles are being shot with the latest digital SLR. Kiln ovens all over the world are being lit with the prospects of forging beautiful new things. 

            The church is a piece of art; it will never be finished, nor will it ever be made perfect. It will always be an ongoing creation. It will always be messy.  However, in the midst of this mess we do not have create this piece of art alone, we are partnered with Christ to be co-creators and to find the stories of our contexts as our imaginations push us to create a new creation together.  The new art that is created may not look like the cathedrals of old, or the mega church of the last 30 years; but should it?

           If we are to be faithful to our Creator’s mandate to co-create, it simply won’t look like it did before. We as the creators of the church have to continue to create time and time again, knowing someone will one day hang our art on their wall and take from it their own inspiration.