Post by Chrissy Hahn.

God created us for the purpose of worship. Every person illustrates this fact through the choices he or she makes; choices which demonstrate the need to offer worship to something or someone. According to Webster’s Dictionary, worship means: “extravagant respect or admiration for or devotion to an object of esteem.”

If you think about that “one thing” that you’re just not sure you could live without, in a sense, you worship that thing. “That’s crazy,” you may quip, shaking your head. But think about it: We are constantly giving time, energy, money, and attention to things or people we wish to honor and hold up as worthy of those resources. As Christians, however, we understand that there is only One who is worthy and deserving of our worship: Jesus Christ.

The ways in which we can worship the Lord are countless. However, if you ask someone what it means to worship, you will most likely get an answer related to music. How many of us in the church consider the singing part of the service the “worship” part? While it is true that the WHOLE service is an act of worship, as well as the way we live our lives, many of us naturally single out the arts. Perhaps it is because the arts are a primary method through which we offer praise and adoration.

In fact, the sole purpose of the arts is to bring glory to God! Every gift, ability, and creative passion from the Lord is for offering worship. Dancing, acting, creating visual art, and making and producing music are avenues for every culture to praise God.

Before we even know what they are, the arts are how we demonstrate love and excitement. What is one of the first things a baby does when he sees his mom or dad? He smiles while kicking and flailing his arms faster than a hummingbird; that’s movement as an early form of dance. Often when a toddler is happy and content, she will hum or sing. Ever take a preteen shopping for a new dress? Once she has found the one, she immediately starts swaying and dancing.What is the best way to communicate a story to a group of people? Act it out, so that the visual and auditory senses are both engaged.

The arts are programmed into us from the beginning by God, and we naturally use them in worship of objects we love. This is why our job at AFAA is so fulfilling; we are simply taking what people do naturally, and providing technique and training and a platform on which to share the arts with excellence and invite others into worship with us.