Arts Blog : Church, Lori Finnegan

Happy New Year

Lori Finnegan — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 18:45:00 GMT

It's hard to believe that it's January 12th already and it's been three weeks since I attended the Willow Creek's Christmas service. Months ago, Nancy wrote about the preparation for this year's service and the open hands of it's...(read more)

The Room

Lori Finnegan — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 16:34:00 GMT

On Christmas day, I sat with my family in the church that I was raised in and experienced a rush of memories and emotions. As a young child, I remember my father being baptized in that room….years later, I was baptized in that room…I remembered sitting in the front row for the funeral of both my grandmother and grandfather….and none of my family will ever forget the year we were ushered to the front row on Christmas morning ten minutes after the service had begun. That was an embarrassing moment for us all. With less of us than in previous years, our family gathered in that room to hear the story of Jesus birth, and the importance of Him in our lives today. We ended the service singing Silent Night, a cappella. It was beautiful! It dawned on me that the day before, I was in a room at Willow Creek, and we too ended our service singing Silent Night. Both experiences were quite different. At Willow, the story of Jesus birth was told with an amazing band, flying angels, compelling video images and falling snow. The week before that, our team sat in a room at the First Baptist Church of Geneva where we experienced A Christmas Tale performed as an outreach for their community. In addition to A Christmas Tale, we know that many of you performed your own version of Imagine Christmas. It has been weeks and months of preparations and amazing commitment from artists and volunteers that all culminated this week. Teams giving their very best, knowing that this is a great opportunity for God to work. All over the world, people have gathered in rooms large and small and in between over the last month to see and experience one of the greatest stories ever told. God used you to communicate His story in fresh and creative ways and even very simple ways. Thank you for giving your best for the sake of the Kingdom! Tell us how God showed up in your room this month. We’d love to hear about it! If you have any pictures or video post those, we would love to see them!

Heroes in Peoria

Lori Finnegan — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 14:05:00 GMT

This past weekend I had the privilege of visiting Northwoods Community Church in Peoria, Illinois. Each week the arts team, under the leadership of Dawn Henderson, creates and produces four services – one mid-week service and three weekend services. They were in the 5th week of their series, Real Heroes and I couldn’t wait for the service to start. As I walked into the auditorium I saw this great set. It immediately piqued my interest. All along the back of the stage, beautifully lit, were 'display cases' featuring super hero uniforms. They started with an arrangement of Secret Agent Man and then moved into a worship run. Setting up the message about Secret Heroes, the team chose to show an inspiring video clip from Freedom Writers and then sang the song Here’s My Life by Anthony Evans. As I sang “take every part of me and use me as you please….make my life an offering”, that was my prayer…I want God to use me however He can. Later when I was reflecting on my experience at Northwoods and my prayer that morning, I thought of all of you. You are my heroes! Each week you surrender yourselves and your gifts in the hope that God will use them. I’m so grateful for the hours of praying, planning, preparing and performing that Dawn and her team put into the service last weekend …Thank you! They created space for me to connect with God during your service and gave me an opportunity to declare once again that I want my life to be an offering. How were you able to connect with God this week?

Teaching is an Art

Lori Finnegan — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 17:48:00 GMT

Over the last couple of days, I’ve been pondering something I’ve heard from time to time around the church… “Teaching is an art.” What exactly does that mean? How is art defined? Well, I looked it up and here is what I found. Art is “the quality, production, expression, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance.” What do you think? Is teaching in the church beautiful, appealing or of more than ordinary significance? I must say – sometimes it certainly is. This past weekend at Willow, I was blessed to listen to visiting pastor Francis Chan of Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, California. His heart is golden, he is a true artist, and his teaching was a creative masterpiece. Francis told stories of his childhood that moved me to tears and still linger with me days later. He showed us pictures of the earth and the stars. With every image, the earth became smaller. Then our sun became smaller…shrinking further and deeper into space. Our perspective pulling back further and further, seeing the solar system and the galaxy with no way to even detect the earth or sun. With that, Francis reminded me of how big our God is. He used words to paint a picture of God in my mind. He read from Revelation 4… “And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne. Surround the throne were twenty-four other thrones and seated on them were 24 elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. From the throne came flashed of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder….before the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal. In the center of the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. Each of the four…had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night the never stop saying: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is, and is to come”. Whenever the living creatures give praise, the 24 elders fall down before him…they lay their crowns before the throne and say: “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.” Francis asked... how do you approach the throne of God? It’s Friday, but Fancis’ remarkable teaching is still resonating so deeply in me. I am humbled, I am convicted. How amazing that the God of the universe would pay attention to me. That He would be patient enough to listen when I mumble on about my concerns that are so completely insignificant in the scheme of things. Too often I think I am bigger than I should and do not think of God as big, as infinitely big, as He really is. Not today. Because Francis Chan crafted a message that was “beautiful, appealing, and of more than ordinary significance”. Because I experienced the art of teaching! I’m so grateful for teachers and artists who bring their gifts to the church to inspire, motivate and sharpen. This was my experience, but I’d love to hear yours. In your church, what has inspired or challenged you recently?

Resources:

1. Cornerstone Church

2. Willow Creek July 7th & 8th Message

3. The Art of Teaching

4. Stories that Capture Hearts and Minds

5. Crafting Life Changing Messages Pt1

6. Crafting Life Changing Messages Pt2