WHY
Music can change the world.
During the late 17th century, there was a young man who, following in his family's footsteps, diligently pursued the craft of songwriting and instrumental performance. After finishing his formal music education, he found work as an organist in a church, giving him a creative home that would foster his talent and imagination, challenge his ever-deepening Christian faith and pay him a fair wage. With this support, Johann Sebastian Bach challenged himself to compose and produce works of art that were musically groundbreaking and unrivaled in his time. His more than 1,000 concertos, cantatas, and chorales certainly pushed forward the musical boundaries of his day but also captured the hearts and minds of generations to come.
From Beethoven to the Beach Boys, Johann Sebastian Bach's contrapuntal innovation is readily found, and continues even today in the music of a 21st century generation. But music alone is not the extent of his legacy. At the end of every one of his works, Bach inscribed the initials "SDG", shorthand for Soli Deo Gloria - "to God alone be the glory" - in witness to the ultimate source of his creation.
Today, in the widely secular country of Japan, there are reports of thousands of people, drawn by the inventive genius of Bach's music and inspired by his cantatas, who are converting to Christianity.* What began as a study of and an interest in the brilliance of Bach's music has led to an understanding of the richness of God's grace. This is a testament to the power of artistic excellence steeped in the comprehensive Christian worldview.
Bach would hardly have imagined that his music would contribute to the evangelization of Japan and to popular culture in America in the 21st century, but his legacy is a sterling illustration of C.S. Lewis' maxim that the world does not need more Christian writers - it needs more good writers, and composers, who are Christians.
When excellent art is produced, art that is rooted in faith, its vitality will endure through the ages. This is the power and possibility of music.
The Creative Arts Initiative was created to support innovative artists, like Bach, and to utilize structures similar to those found in his day to provide a healthy environment for the creation and pursuit of the art to which God has called them. Artists today are equally as capable of creating art that explores the depth and breadth of life lived under the gaze of God, but they need systems in place that support them, just as Bach did. The Creative Arts Initiative will work with a select group of artists in their pursuit of their craft and will connect them to business advisors and spiritual counselors, to walk alongside and to assist them and their art as it spreads throughout society.
In the current landscape of the music industry, the forces of commerce can drown out the voice of art itself, hindering its truthfulness and the ability to transform hearts, and inhibiting the artist from creating freely. However, there are artists at work in this era who are determined to not let commerce or popular sentiment dilute the richness and comprehensiveness of God's story in their life, work and art. It is the ones who seek to do this diligent work who we strive to support, and theirs is the story we seek to continue.
During the late 17th century, there was a young man who, following in his family's footsteps, diligently pursued the craft of songwriting and instrumental performance. After finishing his formal music education, he found work as an organist in a church, giving him a creative home that would foster his talent and imagination, challenge his ever-deepening Christian faith and pay him a fair wage. With this support, Johann Sebastian Bach challenged himself to compose and produce works of art that were musically groundbreaking and unrivaled in his time. His more than 1,000 concertos, cantatas, and chorales certainly pushed forward the musical boundaries of his day but also captured the hearts and minds of generations to come.
From Beethoven to the Beach Boys, Johann Sebastian Bach's contrapuntal innovation is readily found, and continues even today in the music of a 21st century generation. But music alone is not the extent of his legacy. At the end of every one of his works, Bach inscribed the initials "SDG", shorthand for Soli Deo Gloria - "to God alone be the glory" - in witness to the ultimate source of his creation.
Today, in the widely secular country of Japan, there are reports of thousands of people, drawn by the inventive genius of Bach's music and inspired by his cantatas, who are converting to Christianity.* What began as a study of and an interest in the brilliance of Bach's music has led to an understanding of the richness of God's grace. This is a testament to the power of artistic excellence steeped in the comprehensive Christian worldview.
Bach would hardly have imagined that his music would contribute to the evangelization of Japan and to popular culture in America in the 21st century, but his legacy is a sterling illustration of C.S. Lewis' maxim that the world does not need more Christian writers - it needs more good writers, and composers, who are Christians.
When excellent art is produced, art that is rooted in faith, its vitality will endure through the ages. This is the power and possibility of music.
The Creative Arts Initiative was created to support innovative artists, like Bach, and to utilize structures similar to those found in his day to provide a healthy environment for the creation and pursuit of the art to which God has called them. Artists today are equally as capable of creating art that explores the depth and breadth of life lived under the gaze of God, but they need systems in place that support them, just as Bach did. The Creative Arts Initiative will work with a select group of artists in their pursuit of their craft and will connect them to business advisors and spiritual counselors, to walk alongside and to assist them and their art as it spreads throughout society.
In the current landscape of the music industry, the forces of commerce can drown out the voice of art itself, hindering its truthfulness and the ability to transform hearts, and inhibiting the artist from creating freely. However, there are artists at work in this era who are determined to not let commerce or popular sentiment dilute the richness and comprehensiveness of God's story in their life, work and art. It is the ones who seek to do this diligent work who we strive to support, and theirs is the story we seek to continue.
*Sources:
Colson, Charles. "Bach's Fifth Gospel: The Enduring Power of Artistic Excellence." 2000 Prison Fellowship Ministries.
Simon-Netto, Uwe. "Bach in Japan." Christianity Today 2007. http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/2007/issue95/4.42.html.
Wooldridge, Dan. "Big In Japan: J.S. Bach + The Meaning of Work." Inside Work 2005. http://www.insidework.net/resources/articles/bach.
Colson, Charles. "Bach's Fifth Gospel: The Enduring Power of Artistic Excellence." 2000 Prison Fellowship Ministries.
Simon-Netto, Uwe. "Bach in Japan." Christianity Today 2007. http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/2007/issue95/4.42.html.
Wooldridge, Dan. "Big In Japan: J.S. Bach + The Meaning of Work." Inside Work 2005. http://www.insidework.net/resources/articles/bach.
MISSION
The Creative Arts Initiative is a intentionally small non-profit philanthropic organization that seeks to educate artists who are Christians in how to pursue their vocational calling, helping them preserve and create excellent art that faithfully and effectively communicates a broad picture of Christianity and how it relates to all of life. This mission is accomplished through an individual, holistic, hands-on process of artist education, career assessment, and strategic planning that seeks to bring about spiritual development, sustainable business practice, and creative expression.
ARTISTS
The artists supported by the Creative Arts Initiative represent different styles of music with a common theme of communicating a broad picture of the Christian faith through their art. The artists served by the Creative Arts Initiative go through an extensive selection process conducted by the Creative Arts Initiative management team and board of directors. Because of the small hands-on structure of this organization artists themselves can not apply to be a part of this program, they must be nominated by a member of the Creative Arts Initiative management team or board of directors.
TEAM
The board of directors and management team collectively share nearly 60 years of experience in the music business. Some consider us experts in our various fields but we like to think of ourselves as fans...fans of the art and the artists that create it. The Creative Arts Initiative does not support any full time staff. We are for the most part volunteer driven making the vast majority of the funds we receive go to support artists and artist programs.
