Following a two-year global inquiry, the arts were identified along with thirty other issues as significant for the church in the 21st century. The Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization commissioned a Lausanne Occasional Paper (LOP) to address the engagement of the arts within the life and mission of the church.
Committed to energizing “the whole church to take the whole gospel to the whole world,” the Lausanne movement was born out of the First International Congress on World Evangelization called by evangelist Billy Graham. Held in Lausanne, Switzerland, in July 1974, the landmark outcome of this congress was the Lausanne Covenant supported by participants from 150 nations. The covenant affirmed the substance of the Christian faith and clarified its mission.
In preparation for the Lausanne 2004 Forum in Pattaya, Thailand, leading practitioners of the arts around the world were invited to share the challenges they faced in obediently living out the call of God in their lives as both Christians and artists. The feedback overwhelmingly addressed three major issues that impacted every situation:
The critical need to educate the church about the arts
The importance of Christian discipleship for the artist
The strategic role of the arts in cultural transformation
Further dialogue to flesh out these issues, identify obstacles and suggest practical strategies culminated in a written paper on Redeeming the Arts.
In 2005, Creative Spirit, a publication of Belhaven University (Mississippi, United States) edited by Colin Harbinson, devoted a special issue to the Lausanne “Redeeming the Arts” paper and responses.
To download this attractive issue as a PDF, click below: