I recently had a conversation with a friend who mentioned he sometimes feels he’s learned more about the character of God by listening to a Ryan Adams song than some worship songs he sang in church. Another friend recounted having a very spiritual experience listening to James Taylor while driving home from a road trip. Still another friend once proposed that an episode of The Simpsons displayed more theological truth than an episode of Touched By An Angel.

We seem to be surprised when God shows up in the spaces we don’t expect Him to. We anxiously await Him in our Christian sanctuaries, our Christian conferences, Christian bookstores, Christian youth rallies, Christian albums, and occasionally some films that star teen idols from 80’s sitcoms (though no one in particular comes to mind. I’m just generalizing here).

But if we have a correct theology of art and story we realize that the narrative of the gospel embeds itself into everything our souls connect with creatively. There’s no getting away from it. Not once does the Bible distinguish between the “sacred” and the “secular.” Instead, it teaches that everything was created to please God; it’s our sin that distorts it.

Think about your favorite stories. Whether they play out through films, television shows, novels, songs, etc, what are the main themes you resonate with most in each of them?

Redemption
Sacrifice
Community
True love
Risk
Bravery
Conflict between good and evil
A tension between how things are and how they should be

Sound familiar?

Author and theologian C.S. Lewis strongly believed that men and women made up narratives throughout history and continue to make them up because the essence of the gospel resonates with every human soul. He states, “[Regarding stories] We do not retreat from reality, we rediscover it. As long as the story lingers in our mind, the real things are more themselves…By dipping them in myth we see them more clearly.”

What are some unexpected places you’ve seen God show up?
What are some creative ways you’ve shared the gospel or seen the gospel shared?
What are some new ways we can creatively tell God’s story to a generation in desperate need of the truth?

Next Week: I’m not an artist so who cares?