"Flannery O'Connor said, 'To the hard of hearing you shout and for the almost blind you draw large and startling figures.' That's what I'm doing." said Artist, Edward Knippers, "Do you hear a loud crashing sound?"

We are about to say art and worship in the same sentence, a jarring concept to many in worship leadership. On the other hand, to many Christian artists struggling to find their vocation embraced in the life of the church, it is a sound of hope.

It's a sign that churches in the evangelical and Pentecostal tradition and many in the mainline are seeking to renew their worship in a highly visual age by turning to visual arts such as painting and sculpture. For artists and those who minister to them, the inclusion of art in the church's worship and life means recovery of a tradition which was once deeply sacred but now, in many quarters, is regarded as secular at best, anti-Christian at worst. It wasn't always that way.

To paraphrase Luther, why should the devil have the best paintings?

Ironically, though, it was Luther's emphasis on sola scriptura, the Bible alone as conveyer of truth, that helped sever the connection between the church and the artist. A walk through a European church, particularly one in an historically Roman Catholic country, reveals that link. Painting, stained glass, tapestry and statuary overwhelm the senses and move the soul in inexpressible ways.

Nearly all of the greatest medieval and Renaissance artists were intensely religious. The 17th century Dutch Master, Rembrandt, was deeply devout. Works were commissioned by churches and church officials as well as wealthy patrons. They were encouraged to paint or sculpt religious subjects and biblical stories. Many of these wonderful paintings and sculptures are now found only in museums.

The Reformation's criticism of Catholic excesses, and the belief that somehow religious art and objects had become idols, led to a wholesale destruction not only of European artistic heritage, but also of the timeless link between the artistic and the sacred. The Bible and the pulpit were placed front and center in the church's life. The recovery of Scripture was essential, to be sure, but the loss of art and the artist in worship was tragic.

Bruce Stewart, an Episcopal priest and director of the Center for Liturgy and the Arts in Annandale, Virginia says, "The Reformation challenged the Baroque, where the entire church was painted, the entire service was sung, incense was used, candles abounded, and dance and drama were incorporated into worship. Some heard the message of the Reformers and said, 'We can't focus anymore.' This rejection gave us white-walled churches, clear glass, no singing or instrumentation, and seats in rows facing the pulpit, which became the focal point of worship."

A walk in England's Ely Cathedral is a study in this contrast. The area was a hotbed of Puritan rebellion in the 16th and 17th century. Believers stormed the cathedral and hurled rocks and hammers at the stained glass, tore up tapestries, melted communion vessels and whitewashed the walls with lime. The cathedral was restored in the 19th century with stained glass and modest pieces of art. The interplay of light, color and space is awe-inspiring.

To walk, then, into the unrestored Lady Chapel nearly blinds the eyes, the light pierces the clear glass on stark white walls. There are hints of paintings that once covered the walls. Remaining statuary has torsos with no head or limbs. It's enough to make one wonder. And weep.

Artist Edward Knippers of McLean, Virginia, recalls a Puritan reader which features a dialogue between Christ, a youth, and the devil. The devil tells the youth, "If you will only be ruled by me, an artist quickly you will be."

Those of us in the evangelical or Pentecostal tradition are heirs of the Puritan revulsion of the artistic, or at least of the visual arts. Stewart chronicles the slow recovery of artistic expression in Protestantism. "Singing was the first thing to come back, then music. Then some visual expression returned, such as details in furnishings, architectural adornments, and decorative almsbasins and communion cups."

More recently, drama and even dance have returned to many sanctuaries. But not paintings nor sculpture. What passes for art for Christians is devotional art, such as the portrait (if you can call it that) of Jesus that hangs in many homes. Or it is merely decorative?

"I was at a megachurch, a Nazarene church in Oklahoma," Knippers says. "There was one piece of stained glass. The major piece of framed art I saw in the narthex lobby was a piece of abstract art which harmonized with the [narthex's] color." So even abstraction, the bane of Christian philosopher Francis Schaeffer, has lost its bad sense, according to Knippers. "It's good art if it blends with beige."

"Today, the problem is not so much that congregations are hostile to art and artists, but rather that the visual arts are irrelevant to worship. Not only is this assumption false, it also fails to consider that we live in an age of visual stimulation, some might even say assault. Television in large measure is responsible for this transformation. For the first time in centuries, the visual has become more important than the verbal. People aren't settling for two-dimensional worship in word and music. They seek a holistic worship."

Knippers believes that part of the problem of art and worship is that Protestant preaching, at least historically, has been centered on propositional truth. Art cannot communicate propositional truth where x means x, but rather narrative, and even relational truth in matters of faith. That's why biblical persons and scenes make for such great art, they evoke something of depth in the viewer, they do not make definable, concrete, left-brain statements. The painter cannot paint, "God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself." He or she can paint the story of the Prodigal which communicates that, and so much more.

Yet there is a risk in such communication, especially the risk of offense. "Once I did a 16-foot painting of Christ on the cross, a kind of giant crucifix that was brought into the church on Good Friday," Knippers recalls from a service at Truro Episcopal Church in Fairfax, Virginia. "The Christ was nude. Many people were very affirming," Knippers says, "but it was attacked by some. The pastor was 100 percent behind me, even when a woman came to the church's annual meeting months later and verbally attacked the work. She wasn't even a member." Another woman, Knippers said, was disturbed by the image, even offended. But she wrote that, upon reflection, she realized that all she had visualized through the years was Christ in the cradle, a baby. She said, "Now I think I need to let Him grow up."

Ande Lister, an artist and member of First United Methodist Church, Peoria, Illinois, realizes the risks a church can take. For 13 years, the 3,000 member congregation has sponsored a juried art show in the Easter season that attracts viewers from throughout the Midwest. "Our congregation has been brought along to see that anger and confrontation has value because it helps us to develop a new understanding. Sometimes," she says, "an artist has an intention to disturb, to challenge people's spiritual complacency. A visual image sometimes has an impact that can change them forever."

"Part of the story of life as expressed in art is the darker side," observes Dr. George Morris, First Methodist's pastor. "But we have to remember that the Bible contains stories that have a darker side. What is being told through the display of artistic pieces is not just one slice of life, but a holistic expression. The arts become an expression of the artist's deepest faith and deepest understanding of reality, including its problems."

One artist that Morris' congregation has nurtured is James Hansen, a professor of art at Bradley University. A sculptor, Hansen was a member of the church long before it considered doing an art show or providing hospitality to artists. Then the church's pastor at the time, Ira Galloway, remarked about some sculpture he had seen at the nearby Roman Catholic cathedral. He asked Hansen about it, and Hansen himself had done that sculpture. The church commissioned Hansen to do a sculpture which is entitled, "Beyond Emmaus," portraying the famous scene from Luke 24. But it had another meaning for the congregation. "We're the birthplace for the Emmaus Movement," Hansen said, referring to the popular spiritual weekend for Protestant adults. "This sculpture reflects not only the biblical story, but also our church's experience."

What is intriguing about Hansen's work is that the sculpture has six levels of viewing which enable the viewer to have a multi-dimensional spiritual approach, a framework of interpretation.

Truro Church incorporates art into its worship. First Methodist hosts an annual art show. In Sacramento, California, Warehouse Christian Ministries, a 6,000 member church and a member of the Calvary Chapel Association, has gone yet another step. They have an entire art gallery, called Gallery W, adjacent to the church and integral to its ministry.

Mary Neely, Artistic Director of Warehouse, sees the gallery as a vital part of the church's work. The gallery houses the permanent collection of Dr. Stephen Kaltenbach, a church member and professor of art at Sacramento State University. Other shows run three months at a time.

"We will do a show with an artist who is a Christian whose work is extraordinary and who has achieved recognition," Neely says. "Many subjects are the totality of their vision of life. Fortunately we have people who understand metaphoric and impressionistic ways of expressing spiritual truths. Art doesn't have to be realistic to be inspired by someone's relationship with God."

Gallery W recently hosted a show of Rembrandt's etchings, all biblical characters. Hundreds of people attended the show, which received rave reviews in the media. It was one of only two sites in California to display the works. "It was a great witness of the faith of the masters," says Neely.

Even so, people are bewildered or offended by works of art, despite careful boundaries. "When churches and church people have a problem with art," Neely suggests, "it really is a lack of art education. They never learned how to view or to interpret a painting. So they can't make an objective appraisal of the art. The fear comes, I think, simply because people don't know."

As a result, the Protestant churches have consigned art to purely secular purposes. "We believe that much of modern art comes from artists with anti-Christian worldviews," says First Methodist's Morris. "We think that this is very different than seeing the shadowy part of life from the Christian artist, and we know that we have to train people to discern the difference."

The local congregation can nurture members who are artists first of all by not trying to control the artistic subjects. "If a church tries to control the intention of the artist," says Peoria's Lister, "then true creation can't take place. What we're trusting is the creative process." Lister says that her freedom of expression, coupled by her faith, has improved her artistry. "If I can allow myself to express my vision freely, and to trust that God is central to my meager act of creation, then I can trust that God will guide my response and my act. There is communication in creation, and God can communicate through me."

Knippers says, "I've always received a clear message that in the spiritual life, you need to confront the truth. When you go into the studio, you must confront the canvas and ask, "Where is Christ on this canvas?"

At the same time, Knippers says, the church must be careful to support the artist, not to hold him or her captive. "I have been used in the life of the church, and that's good. The problem is, [because] I use Old Testament and Christian subject matter, people automatically assume that it's for the church. But I hope that my art will be used in the world as a standard for faith in society. If I can make it emotionally and intellectually viable enough, and artistically strong, then it can work in the world. In a world such as ours, we can gain respect, and that's good, but not acceptance."

Others see an evangelistic angle to the work. Lister says that several artists have come to faith through the work of the art show. Neely cites similar results: "We've found that Gallery W has been a witness to many non-Christians in the city."

The Christian artist needs tremendous support to continue the artistic journey. "I really have a sense of being called to art as a vocation," Knippers says, "and this has been unbelievably freeing. It is what I have been meant to do in life, and my Nazarene background gave me a strong theology of vocation and service."

Bruce Stewart recalls individuals, especially a college chaplain, who called forth his artistic gifts. Interestingly, he finds much inspiration in the Shaker movement, a celibate community of faith that was popular in 19th century America yet barely remains today. "They lived an austere life seeking the mortification of the flesh, but they were immensely creative people. They always understood that they could not be the people God made them to be without expression in song, dance, and visual arts and crafts.Their motto was, "Hands to work, hearts to God" The knitting together of these ideas has been a source of inspiration for me."

Ed Knippers suggests a very simple approach to bringing art back into the church: encourage artists to create more by buying art and displaying it in their homes. "This is what happened in 17th century Holland with Rembrandt and the Old Masters," he says. "Everyone had to have paintings. Why shouldn't we have a Christian culture formed in the same way?"

No one ever can capture the image of God, nor should one, but Christian artists can inspire deeper reverence and worship in congregations and their members as they are free to release the Holy Spirit's inspiration in their canvases and sculptures. They can help fellow Christians to see the truth, not just to read, hear or sing it. When art is embraced in worship, when Christ is alive on the canvas, there is a tremendous dynamic for renewal.

No longer will there be the clashing sound of art and ministry, but the sounds of inspired brush strokes brushing the canvas to life.