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I firmly believe any generation stands on the shoulders of the previous generation and that the community of Christian artists that now exists in the UK is the answer to the prayers of those that went before us. So rewind to KT in the mid 1980's. The church was led by Wynne Lewis, a spiritual giant with a heart for the Arts. The wider church was still by and large forcing their flock to withdraw from the Arts believing them to be "of the devil." Wynne was a man who welcomed and encouraged artists. He told them they were not only accepted as Christians in the world but he went one step further and told them they were actually "called" to be out in the world of the Arts. This was radical teaching at the time and as a result, artists flocked to KT including David and myself.
Wynne also took on a young firebrand of an assistant pastor, called Colin Dye, a former member of the Royal Ballet, who thought he'd pulled out of the Arts in order to embrace the ministry only to discover many of the people who he would minister to in a dynamic and powerful way were artists.
We spent much of our early Christian life having to justify being in the Arts to the wider, non-KT church. People would tell us we were offering a blemished sacrifice to God, that we were compromised, that we wore the wrong clothes or had the wrong hairstyle. And yet out in the world we were being a light, loving those around us and becoming a part of an enormous community of Godchasing artists.
Carrie with husband, David
The teaching we received at KT at that time was second to none. For an artist to know they are loved without having to perform and that they are significant and valued and saved entirely by grace is mind-blowing. It is healing and it makes us whole.
We were also encouraged by the story of Bezalial and Ohiliab (in Exodus 31). These guys were artists and they were the first people in the Bible to receive the Holy Spirit's anointing. So get this: God reserves his first anointing for artists. And, the anointing is given not to break a stronghold, not to set people free or win a battle but simply to make something of beauty, something that will look good. God is into aesthetics! The creator loves creativity! That story still needs to be told to the church today! The Arts speak of God's glory and creativity. People have sometimes told us that God is not in the secular arts. I do not believe in the phrase "secular arts." This suggests there is a place in God's creation where God does not exist. Impossible, God is everywhere!
Back in he early 90's David and I would appear on Top of the Pops on a Thursday, lead the School of Creative Ministries at KT for some of the week, organise singers for Sting or Diana Ross or Take That and a host of others then lead worship on a Sunday. For us, there was and never has been a difference between the two worlds of so called "secular and sacred." If you love God, and he lives in your heart then what's in your heart flows out. It's a natural occurrence, not something you have to force or a shape you have to try to squeeze yourself into.
I truly love people and that's as a result of having Jesus in my life. I don't care whether they are Christian or non-Christian, what race they are, whether they are gay or straight, whether they have a criminal record or not, whether they have massive status or none. None of this is of any consequence to me. My only response and responsibility is to love.
Throughout the 90's Christian artists would meet for all night prayer meetings. We would drive around all the media buildings in London in the middle of the night praying for a breakthrough. At that time every famous Christian in the Arts was known by the Christian community. These days there are too many to count. God has indeed answered our prayers.
By the year 2000, David and I had got to an age where we thought our main objective was to pray for and mentor the next generation. We had given up on the idea of God raising us up personally. Therefore no one has been more shocked by the success we have encountered in the past eight years than us. Let this be an encouragement to you - God doesn't forget.
Most Christian artists tend to fall into two categories: Those who don't think they are ready to be out in the world and those who do nothing to prepare for being in the world!
You're never going to be anything in the world that you aren't already at home. Most people think of suffering and rejection as the place where we are tested but Proverbs 27:21 has something else to say. It says, "The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold but man will be tested by the praise he receives" or in another translation, "by a little fame." It's good that we learn what lies within us, both good and bad. It's good for us to learn and discipline our responses. Forewarned is forearmed.
The Arts are a testing place but from what I hear from my friends who work in banks, or in schools or in offices these places can also be hard environments. Anyone who receives praise or fame or status has to continually make sure their worth is still found in God.
If God has called you then get out there and go for it. If you have the desire to be out there then make sure you surround yourself with trustworthy, mature Christian friends to whom you are accountable and who will walk alongside you, mentor you and understand you when you face trials.
For me the main focus has been to discover the underlying reasons for being in the Arts. I have found I love serving. That's what floats my boat, that's what makes me happy. Whether that means I coach or sing or write songs it really doesn't matter as long as I get to serve.
On another note, please don't make Christian artists your role models. We will let you down. We won't always say what you want us to say. But do please pray for us. The harvest out there is enormous and the workers are comparatively few so we tire easily, we get lonely and sometimes discouraged. We don't always get it right and we do depend on you for support.
And as for KT, David and I pray that you guys who are artists will go further than us, climb higher than us, that you will reach the unreached and we happily give you our shoulders to stand upon.
