EMQ » October–December 2020 » Volume 56 Issue 4
By Roberta R. King
Baker Academic, 2019
246 pages
USD $26.99
Reviewed by Brent H. Burdick, D. Min. Adjunct Professor of Missions, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Director of the Lausanne Global Classroom.
Engaging the arts in Christian worship is an important part of many contemporary churches. Using lighting, drama, live painting on stage, and other media, Christian worshippers are inspired and connected to God in powerful ways. In her insightful book, Global Arts and Christian Witness, Roberta King, explores how the arts can be a significant force for global Christian witness and mission as well.
Drawing on her experience in Africa as an ethnomusicologist and intercultural communication specialist, King explores how global arts, which are simply localized expressions of art found in cultures around the world, can be used to connect cultures and communities more closely to the gospel and to each other. Art is a way of helping people encounter Christ in culturally relevant ways. Global arts bring people together from varied backgrounds and religions, forming a level playing field upon which dialog and peacemaking can begin.
In the early part of the book, King discusses how “witness and the arts require negotiating faith and culture” (25), which lays a theoretical foundation for understanding cultural contexts as global arts are employed in witness for Christ. The middle section examines how the message of Christ can be translated effectively using global arts. The final section presents examples and best practices for engaging missionally with global arts, showing how the arts can be used to build bridges and form relationships to begin interfaith dialog. Some of the vignettes shared are powerful stories of how ‘musicking,’ poetry, and other global art forms have helped relationships form and opened a door for sharing the gospel.
If there is anything that would have been helpful to add to the book, it would concern ways of reducing the negative influence of commercialized pop art (movies, music, etc.) upon globalized culture today. King describes global arts as tools for gospel witness, but they are also tools that are used to lead people astray and keep them in bondage. Many cultures struggle to make sense of the powerful messages viewed in the media and heard on the airwaves. The powerful influence of art and media on hearts and cultures must be mitigated if Christians hope to gain a hearing among non-believers. Understanding culture and using global arts for gospel witness therefore becomes much more important to counterbalance this effect and offer a relevant alternative to those messages.
King’s focus is primarily on using global arts for cross-cultural witness. This book, therefore, is an important addition to the library of anyone thinking about using local or culturally meaningful expressions of art to share the gospel in those settings.
For Further Reading
Crouch, Andy. Culture Making: Recovering Our Creative Calling. IVP Books, 2008.
Krabill, James R., et al. Worship and Mission for the Global Church: An Ethnodoxology Handbook. William Carey Library, 2013.
Schrag, Brian. Creating Local Arts Together: A Manual to Help Communities Reach Their Kingdom Goals. Edited by James Krabill. Pasadena: William Carey Library, 2013.
EMQ, Volume 56, Issue 4. Copyright © 2020 by Missio Nexus. All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced or copied in any form without written permission from Missio Nexus. Email: EMQ@MissioNexus.org.
