For the last five years I’ve been immersed in thoughts about the prophetic role of the Church in our world. Part of this fascination is due to the belief that the work of artists inherently holds the opportunity to be prophetic. Whether you are a visual artist, dancer, writer or poet, the creative act starts with observing what is and isn’t and responding in a way which is both creative and evocative.
Sometimes the response is simply to a blank canvas or bare stage, but always we are drawing on our experiences, hopes and fears. We don’t act in a vacuum and so the values and distresses of our time invariably seep into our work. The process of creating involves much discernment and critical evaluation. There is great possibility in this process to speak prophetically and critically into our world as well as provide a vision for an alternative future.
Lisa Cole Smith
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In Acts, we see the role of the prophet as one who proclaims, one who testifies to the truth of Jesus in ways that both challenge and encourage. It reminds me of Deborah Haynes’s proposal for the practice of prophetic work by contemporary artists in her book, The Vocation of the Artist. “The artist is called to present a response to and in the world. This ‘call,’ in turn calls to the viewer to become animated; to respond in the world.”
I’m always intrigued when I hear examples of this prophetic voice in pop culture. It makes me listen closely and wonder what God is doing and if I am “in” the world enough to be a prophetic voice for God. Many times it seems he is using those least expected.
Recently, I heard an example of this in a radio interview about a project asking young artists to go back “into the vault” and do a remix of Marvin Gaye’s 1972 hit song What’s Going On? Gaye’s album spoke to feelings about his brother’s return from the Vietnam War, race riots and the general confusion and despair about the world in which he lived. It was a departure from his previous music and reflected a need to testify to the reality of a world in turmoil.
When columnist and music producer, Brandon McFarland, was given the task of doing the remix of Gaye’s song, he and his fellow musicians were surprised by where the experience took them. The result of the project was nothing short of prophetic response. The artists wrote lyrics reflecting their own lives and found that much of the issues of Gaye’s time are still relevant today. In the radio interview about the project, McFarland commented on the deep need for more prophetic voices in our culture.
“Today’s soul and R&B singers often sound more like pornographers than prophets,” says McFarland. “I feel like such an old man when I say that, but I guess most younger people have just accepted all the hypersexed and shallow music embedded in our everyday lives. And the sad truth is, a lot of today’s music doesn’t feed the soul of those facing hardships the way it did in Marvin’s day.”
I felt a kindred spirit when I heard McFarland speak about the hunger for music that “feeds the soul” and convicted by the invitation being sent out over the airways. McFarland goes on to say, “Working on this remix, I was reassured of music’s power: the power to ignite or soothe the rage of a single mom who’s lost her job. Every song on What’s Going On? exhibits a reverence for that power. And even if there aren’t enough musicians these days producing albums that will help Americans cope, we can always reach back into the vault.”
What would God have our response to this be? I think God requires us to present a response to and in the world which calls the world to become animated and respond in turn. Ultimately, that response is a relationship with Christ. Are we the ones asking “What’s going on?” in a way that demands a response? And are we out there where people are already asking the question, already seeing what the need is in order to help them to name it? Our culture is crying out for someone to tell the truth and give them a hope for life that is connected and whole. Are the days of “power to soothe or ignite” behind us? Is the world really so closed to the message of Jesus or is it begging us to speak to them in their language? Of course not every person is called as an individual to be a prophet, but every church is called to be prophetic on some level. Especially now.
Listen to the full interview with Brandon McFarland on NPR at http://www.npr.org/2012/05/03/151941628/whats-going-on-a-new-generation-answers.
Lisa Cole Smith (lsmith@convergenceccf.net) is pastor of Convergence: a Creative Community of Faith, a Baptist congregation in Alexandria, Va.