I don’t know how many of you know this, but in addition to being the guy behind the steering wheel of Multiply Vineyard, Michael’s also a senior pastor of the Duluth Vineyard in Minnesota. But way back before his current pastor gig, he actually made his living as an artist.
Now, over the years, Michael’s pastoral duties haven’t always allowed for him to take time to paint. But this summer the Duluth Vineyard preaching team put together a really cool and innovative sermon series called Experiencing God in Art and Nature. There were sermons about meeting God through astronomy, music, and stories, just to name a few (and if you’d like to see those sermons, you can hop over to the Duluth Vineyard website ). Michael kicked off the series by showing how he engages with God through painting.
I watche
d the video of this sermon later, and I really loved what happens in it. Michael starts with a white page, and through the course of the sermon, creates a painting on it. As he paints, he explains both the practical aspects of his process—what kinds of paints he uses, brush selection, etc—and the spiritual process of painting—how, in the act of painting, he is speaking and listening to God.
I found watching and listening to this was an unexpectedly peaceful and prayerful experience.
Experiencing God in Watercolor from The Vineyard Church on Vimeo.
The painting blended together with prayer and meditation in a really seamless way. I’m not a painter, but when it was over, I felt both refreshed and inspired to go spend time connecting with God through my own gifts of creativity and worship.
So, as a break from our regular routine, I thought it would be fun to make the video of this sermon available to all of you. Take a few minutes to watch and listen, and maybe learn to pray and worship in a new way. Enjoy.
