Jason R. McConnell - Beholding Beauty: Worshiping God through the Arts

I imagine that publishing a book is somewhat analogous to birthing a baby, but since I have done neither before, I cant really say for sure. I have, however, walked with my wife through four pregnancies and, therefore, know something about the simultaneous pain and pleasure a woman feels throughout this precarious process. As a coauthor and first-time general editor, I have experienced the exhilaration and exhaustion of watching an idea about a book on beauty and worship develop through all the gestations, from conception to delivery. Collaborating and cocreating with cherished colleagues (seventeen of us in all) spawned tremendous delight but being critiqued by each other caused moments of discomfort.

In the end, though, like a proud mother holding her beautiful newborn baby, I happily concede that the pleasure was worth the pain. I am, indeed, elated by each authors creativity and commitment to helping the Christian church see beauty, art, and worship in a different light.

This book was written by a cohort of pastors and scholars and college or seminary professors who participated in the Ockenga Fellows Program at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary from the fall of 2018 through the spring of 2020 . This program, which is generously funded by the Lilly Endowments Early Career Pastoral Leadership Development Initiative, creates cohorts of young clergy who explore issues of faith and ministry in the public square. Among other things, this cohort has toured key sites in New Englands rich spiritual heritage, dialogued with faculty at Harvard Business School and the Boston College Lynch School of Education, met with legislators at the Massachusetts State House, walked on the Great Wall of China, and discovered artistic treasures displayed in the halls of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts together. What started out as a cohort of new acquaintances has now become a band of brothers and sisters. And now, we have accomplished the monumental task of publishing a book together!

This book has three primary purposes and audiences. First, the book is written for everyone who desires to think about art and beauty from a biblical, theological, and liturgical perspective. This book may serve as a resource for private worship and personal devotions. The chapters are neither long nor difficult to read, but they do provide a plethora of devotional ponderings (paintings, photographs, hymns, poems, songs, Scripture readings, theological reflections, and spiritual exercises) to help individuals worship our God in new ways. During the final editing phase, I read through the manuscript for my morning devotions while savoring copious cups of black coffee (which is an artistic and devotional endeavor in itself).

Second, this book could be used as an adult Sunday school or small group curriculum in a local church context. Again, the chapters are succinct enough that they can be read and discussed in little more than an hours time. The Discussion Questions toward the end of each chapter are designed for this very purpose. Hopefully, this volume will stir the imagination of church members and spur them on toward greater expressions of artistic creativity in their own churches.

Third, this book may serve as a sermon source for pastors and a liturgical guide for church worship leaders. How interesting would it be for a pastor to shape this table of contents into an eighteen-week topical sermon series titled Beholding Beauty ? Pastors, please feel free to use the theological reflections as starting points for sermons about worship and the arts. Modify them, expand them, contextualize them for your own church community, but by all means, preach them!