2024 Artists Network
- Image
G.K. Chesterton wrote, “The function of imagination is not to make strange things settled, so much as to make settled things strange; not so much to make wonders facts as to make facts wonders.”
Artists of all types are tasked with inviting their viewers and hearers to see and listen. To make facts into wonders. Art is uniquely suited to enrich our prayer lives, catalyze renewed engagement with the Bible, foster empathy, enhance our spiritual perception, challenge our beliefs in healthy ways, and bring us into more intimate contact both with our Lord and the world. It invites us to slow down and gaze deeply. Art communicates, questions, and holds accountable. It stirs and reveals.
The arts, in all their forms, are good gifts from God, intended to be cultivated and employed, communicating God’s message for humanity. As artists, we need to mindfully consider how to practice the habit of seeing and listening on our own in order to create. At the 2023 gathering of the Artists Network, we will approach this way of contemplative seeing through the lenses of music, painting and visual arts, film, literature, and more.
What Network Participants Are Saying
- "The Artist’s Network is as much educational as it is practical, because what we learn here - we can adapt in our lives. The way we look and understand art, the way we create. The connections between artists who know Christ are so meaningful!"
- Eglė Tamulytė, President, Lithuania - "Being part of the Artists Network, I feel way less alone and deeply understood in my creative calling, and I’ve learned that honestly singing about my struggles is not egocentrism, but a way to glorify the God who brings beauty from ashes."
- Balazs Koncsard, Worship Leader, Hungary
Applicants should be artists who are engaging with society or the church. The Network provides a haven where Christian artists gather in community for relationship, spiritual nourishment, deep thinking, professional growth, and strategic possibilities.
Network Leadership
Network Speakers
Brian Chan, professor at Dallas Theological Seminary, is passionate about Biblical beauty that leads to a love for God. Before joining the DTS family, he served for 18 years as a pastor in Los Angeles and taught integration courses for 17 years as a professor at Biola University on a theology of… Read more
Andrew Fellows was appointed pastor of a church in Bradford, West Yorkshire in 1988 where he served for seven years. In 1995 his family moved to the English branch of L’Abri Fellowship, where they lived and worked for 21 years. From 2011 to 2016 Andrew was the chairman of L’Abri International.… Read more
Petru Leahu has studied art since he was 12 years old. He began with painting, drawing, and composition before getting his Master’s in ceramic art and collaborating with porcelain factories as a model maker. Petru served as the European director of the Royal Crystal Collection USA and… Read more
Angela MacKenzie is a broadcaster, pianist, vocalist, and worship leader. Her music has travelled all over the world for conferences and concerts in addition through her Facebook live events and weekly television teaching program. Whether in person or through media, Angela’s passion is to be a… Read more
Joshua J. Masters is a pastor, author, and international speaker with a heart for leading through culture and relationship building. He also serves as the Executive Director and missionary for Bridge Builders International, a U.S. based organization serving the Baltics and greater Europe. His… Read more
Natalie Meeks, co-leader of the ELF Artists Network, is the President/CEO for Bridge Builders International, which ministers to artists in multiple countries in Europe and the US. As a freelance writer, she has penned articles about ministries all over the world. She is a lover of the classics (… Read more
Saša Nikolinović has been the senior pastor of Sarajevo Evangelical Church since 2001, and he served as an elder of the church from 1995 to 2001. He is a member of several boards in their denomination, most notably as a leader of the summer camps board where they focus on evangelism and… Read more
Colin Peckham is the artistic and ministry director for Origin Scotland, an event-based arts ministry in Edinburgh. Their ministry extends to South Africa as well. He was a worship leader, arranger and worship advisor for the 3rd Lausanne Congress. His ministry events vary broadly in style and… Read more
Jerry Root is a Professor of Evangelism and Leadership at Wheaton College and serves as the Director of the Evangelism Initiative. Jerry is a graduate of Whittier College and Talbot Graduate School of Theology at Biola University; he received his… Read more
Network Programme
Sunday, 26 May
Whether you're a painter, writer, poet, dancer, musician, or any other creative soul seeking a deeper relationship with God, this interactive, collaborative workshop will engage our creative spirits as we learn to better hear from God and meditate on His Word. As we learn the art of reflective prayer, we will encourage one another to deepen our journey as Christian artists and bearers of God’s image (Imago Dei) in creation. Join us in this exploration of faith and artistic expression, as we seek to hear God’s heart through the lens of our unique creative gifts.
In this session, we will lead participants in a deeper, more personal opportunity to practice the principles explored in the first session, which will prepare us to bring this discipline into our everyday lives and art-making. We will reflect on the outcome goals of the week, identify expected take-aways, and spend time in community prayer. Participants will also get the chance to hear from an artist and how the topic can be a part of one's creative process.
Monday, 27 May
C. S. Lewis’s imagination was triggered by his awakening to beauty in his world. In time, he recognised that God was behind beauty and was wooing his creatures to Himself through it. Consequently, in his own literary art, Lewis sought to employ the imagination to awaken and point his readers to God. This presentation explores Lewis’s development along these lines in the hopes of encouraging those who attend to benefit from Lewis’s story and discover how, as he crafted his art as a storyteller, he was able to awaken longing in the hearts of his readers.
How are music and worship intertwined, and what roles do they play in the life of the Church? Taking the form of a panel discussion with musicians, this session will explore the practical outworkings of music and worship. Network participants will be able to put their own questions and scenarios to the panel and learn from their reflections.
Tuesday, 28 May
Our culture is presently in a crisis of meaning that is unprecedented historically. The impact on human life has been devastating. In this talk, we will explore why this is the case and how the arts point to meaning.
God’s Word is a rich source of wisdom for understanding creativity. Discover principles of creativity from the tabernacle art, beauty lost in Ezekiel, and a woman with perfume. Learn practical lessons on the beauty of wholeness, engaging ugliness, and aesthetic actions that leave a legacy.
Wednesday, 29 May
Since we presuppose most of the stories and metaphors that shape our imaginations, we’re largely unaware of them and how they function in our lives. What, then, can we do to become more aware of these formative stories and metaphors and how they affect our own artmaking? The task will always be the same: to distinguish between what is cultural and what is eternal. Just as the early Christians found themselves reimagining what it means to be human – as beloved sons and daughters of God – we artists must reimagine what it means to use our stories, music, and art to communicate Beauty and Goodness that transcends culture and is rooted in eternal Truth. This talk will reflect on the lessons we can learn from the Early Church to make an impact for Christ, through art, in our modern-day lives.
Led by Network leaders, Natalie Meeks and Joshua Masters, this session will go deeper into the topic explored in session one through the engagement of small groups and community discussion. Participants will also get the chance to hear from an artist and how the topic can be a part of one's creative process.