Ted Turnau Q&A: Why plant 'oases of imagination'?
Plus your chance to win copies of Ted's books 'Oasis of Imagination' and 'Imagination Manifesto' (co-written with Ruth Naomi Floyd).
Last month saw the publication of two books that I edited for IVP, Oasis of Imagination: Engaging Our World Through a Better Creativity by Ted Turnau, a chunky hardback in-depth exploration of the importance of creative cultural engagement, and Imagination Manifesto: A Call to Plant Oases of Imagination, a shorter paperback guide co-written with multi-talented artist Ruth Naomi Floyd!
I left IVP earlier in the year (see the end of the email for a personal update on my job situation), but I’m still super-excited for Ted and Ruth’s books! Read on for a Q&A with Ted about Christian cultural engagement, and why Christians should avoid both culture wars and Christian bubbles…
Get Oasis of Imagination: ivpbooks.com – amazon.co.uk – eden.co.uk
Get Imagination Manifesto: ivpbooks.com – amazon.co.uk – eden.co.uk
Competition: Win the Imagination duology!
I’ve got one copy each of Oasis of Imagination and Imagination Manifesto to give away to one reader of this newsletter! enter, leave a comment on this post answering the following question:
What creative work have you found to be an ‘oasis of imagination’, something that resonates with both Christians and non-Christians to open up space to discuss questions of life that really matter?
I’ll pick the answer that I find most interesting to send copies of the books to (UK readers only due to postage costs, sorry!) The closing date is Friday 8th August.
Q&A with Ted
What is an ‘oasis of imagination’, and why do we need them?
“Oasis of imagination” is a metaphor for a creative cultural work (picture, song, story written, filmed, or coded into a video game) that is meant to resonate with both Christian and non-Christian audiences. These works should open up a space that fascinate and draw our imaginations into discover-mode, provoke us to think and feel differently, leave us feeling delighted, disturbed, or refreshed. Most of all, they are to open a space for discussion, for exchanging ideas and opinions, works worth talking about. In this way, Christians can enter the broader cultural conversation in a way that is positive, imaginative, not censorious or brow-beating, but inviting and engaging.
Recently there's been a lot of online debate in certain Christian circles about the limits of ‘winsomeness’ in terms of engaging culture. Many are arguing that in today's ‘negative world’ of hostile secularism, Christians can't avoid a more confrontational approach. To misquote The Lord of the Rings movies, ‘Culture war is upon you, whether you would risk it or not’. What do you think they are missing?
On the one hand, we do have prophets (including Jesus!) that don’t pull punches, that do confront the evil around them, especially when it’s God’s people who are going astray. On the other hand, these prophets do so with tears (think Jeremiah, or Jesus saying “Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem” in Mt. 23:37). It’s helpful to note that these prophetic voices saved their harshest indictments for their own people, not the pagans. Paul gives us a very different approach in 1 Corinthians 5 in which he discusses expelling the sexually immoral from the church community. He adds an important nuance:
I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people—not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people.
What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked person from among you. (5:9-13, NIV)
I think the hang up for many Christians is the illusion that theirs is a Christian country. That is no longer the case—in the West we have post-Christian, neo-pagan countries that have been decisively influenced by their Christian past. It’s super complicated and messy, but these societies are no longer Christian in any meaningful sense. So we need to pivot to thinking about how we can be faithful reflections of Christ as a religious minority, how can we best further the spread of the gospel and contribute to the common good. It means that we are called to suffering (something the New Testament talks about a bit, esp. 1 Peter), and that we are to endure, and more, love our neighbors as ourselves. We gain nothing—and we lose a great deal—by trying to strong-arm society as a whole to conform to our perspective. We gain everything—and lose nothing but our illusions of cultural power—by loving those we disagree with. Christ is glorified in that, not in culture warring.
Other folks, like Rod Dreher, argue that we need a ‘strategic withdrawal’ from cultural engagement to strengthen and protect our own Christian values and culture. What's wrong with this approach?
The Bible never calls us to cloister and withdraw in order to preserve our own heritage, purity, or whatever. We are consistently called outward into our cultures to love those around us. You simply cannot read John 17:18 (“As you have sent me into the world, so I send them into the world”) as anything but a call to get out into the culture in order to bless it. If we are to remain faithful to that call, we must (for better or worse) have compassion on those around us, moving into their midst in order to be a healing, blessing force in the world (and that in a way that non-Christians will see it as a healing, blessing contribution). Hiding away in our enclaves defaults on the call Christ has laid on us.
What can the church do to better support creatives?
Soooooooooo many things, too many to list here. Ruth and the folks at Morphē do a great job at laying out ways that non-artists can support artists. Simple things, like actively praying for them, getting to know them and their process, showing up to performances or gallery openings, buying a print or painting or album or game they’ve made. Artists need to know they have allies in the church who have their backs, real brothers and sisters who can love them sacrificially, just as they are trying to love the church and the wider communities sacrificially through their art.
There are some myths that Christians believe about creatives that get in the way of supporting them. “Art isn’t real work. It’s a hobby.” Truth is: Artists are disciplined people who work haaaaaaaard. I asked Zach, a friend of mine who used to front a rock band and who I now sometimes play with in our church’s worship group, “How is it that you don’t make that many mistakes. I’ve never heard a musician in a concert flub up like I’m prone to do.” He said that his band would routinely practice for 7 or 8 hours a day to get it perfect. And that’s not counting the work involved in songwriting. Writing is hard. Painting well is hard. Shooting a movie is hard. It’s all hard work and it deserves respect.
“Art is self-focused navel-gazing.” Truth is: Artists (especially Christian artists) strive to tell the truth about themselves, others, and God through their art. Of course there’s going to be something of the artist’s personality reflected in their work (just as God’s creativity and personality are reflected in his work of creation). But navel-gazing is not their target. Their target is speaking the truth in love through their specific medium and genre. And that sometimes costs them a great deal.
“You’ll simply get corrupted by those crazies in the art world and you’ll end up losing your faith.” Truth is: This sometimes happens, but almost always (from what I’ve heard talking to artists) it happens in the wake of their church rejecting them, failing to pray for them, failing to connect with them. Artists can be hard to handle sometimes, and the art world surely contains all sorts of corruption (as does the financial world, the academic world, the architectural world, and so on). That means the church needs to be more supportive, more engaged with their creative members, not less.
Those are the three big ones that come to mind. I’m sure there are others. Bottom line: Church, support (financially, spiritual, prayerfully, relationally) your creatives!
What are some of the biggest misconceptions and barriers in the church that get in the way of Christians embracing creative engagement that you want to dispel?
Here are a few:
“Art is a luxury, optional, not a real necessity.” Truth is: There are few things more potent and beguiling than art, few things that nourish or distort an imagination as effectively. Creating and enjoying art and cultural creativity of all kinds is a fundamental part of being human. That is why there is no culture in the world where you will not find some form of artistic activity going on.
“Art and creativity leads people into sin. Best steer clear of it.” Truth is: Art and creativity can steer people into sin, as can money, sex, career, childrearing, concern for reputation. Anything can be made into an idol and lead us astray. Because cultural creativity focuses our imaginations so, it is all the more necessary to be intentional about engaging it rather than simply walking away. If we long to build bridges to our neighbors and see positive change in our society, we must engage. No point in remaining disengaged and then griping and complaining about it. As the slogan puts it, “Be the change you wish to see.”
“I don’t get art. I don’t understand creative works. Best leave this to others.” Truth is: You can and should learn. It’s a way of growing and enriching your own imagination. It’s a way to grow in compassion and wisdom for those in the post-Christian culture around you. It’s also a way of beginning to understand and appreciate the creatives in your midst who need your support and prayer (see above).
What signs of encouragement do you see in terms of Christians embracing creativity?
Well, the fact that Oasis of Imagination and Imagination Manifesto were picked up as quickly (by IVP, by you) was encouraging. The response I’ve gotten from people when I’ve done lectures or seminars about imagination and creative cultural engagement has been super-encouraging. My time at Keswick in early August encouraged me deeply. Beyond that, I see glimmers here and there of Christians making a creative difference out in the world in mainstream culture, and not just creators. I met an executive from the BBC who was in charge of seeing what programmes get produced in one area of the U.K. The fact that people are ready to talk about this and not just shut down, but that they’re ready to think about what it would take for the church to really support cultural creatives—it gives me hope. (Well, that and the fact that God is sovereign and loves his church and beyond).
I worked with you as the editor on these books for IVP, which I really enjoyed, but inevitably there are sometimes differences of opinion! What was my most annoying moment as an editor?
Honestly, I didn’t find you annoying. There were a couple of places where you challenged me to articulate my doctrine of the Trinity better, or to alter a footnote so that I would be less dismissive of a non-Christian position. It all worked to make the book stronger, I think. So… kudos on being a good editor!
What art or culture have you enjoyed lately that has opened up opportunities for conversation/engagement?
Well, I never get tired of talking about this Californian band called half•alive. They are all Christian but do not work through a Christian distributor. They keep their Christian identity pretty low-key, but if you listen to enough of their music, it becomes clear that a Christian imagination is woven into their songs. It’s not praise music. It’s entertainment and reflection about the insecurities, struggles with identity and relationships, cultural commentary, and a lot more. Smart songwriting with a lot of heart, incredible sound design, depth of lyrics, and a whole lot of energy. The only thing I DON’T like about half•alive is that they have produced no CDs—it’s all digital. That’s probably more environmentally friendly, but I have nothing to pop into my car’s CD player when we take long road trips when we get to the States. Otherwise, they are a model of what I’m talking about, and it’s led to some good conversations with other Christians. When I played it as background music for a supper/movie night I had with students last semester, students sounded surprised that I listened to good music. But the other thing I think is cool: Last February we saw them live at a concert venue/art gallery called “Meet Factory” in Prague. It was packed with college-age kids, mostly Czechs, and I would guess the vast majority of them were non-Christian. But they had memorized the lyrics and were singing along, even on “Creature” when Josh sings “Humanity is not alone when Jesus Christ sits on the throne…” Think of that in the most atheistic city on earth. Mind blowing. Who knows where that can lead?
How do you think a cultural moment like the recent 'Barbenheimer' phenomenon gives an opportunity for Christians to engage in good cultural conversation?
Can’t fully engage with this question as I have (alas) yet to see Barbie. I want to see it just because I’ve been so impressed with Greta Gerwig’s other films (Little Women and Lady Bird). But, man, I’d love to talk to my uni students about Oppenheimer. It’s somewhat long to do as a movie night (3 hours), and it’s still in theaters, so not this semester. We’ll see.
In general, when there are movies, television serials, musical artists, or games that capture the imaginations of a wide-ranging audience (and that seems to be ‘Barbenheimer’ in film, Baldur’s Gate 3 in video games, and Taylor Swift in music), there are opportunities for good conversations… provided the popular cultural works have some depth, which these seem to have. But you can’t really talk about stuff you haven’t seen, heard, or played (or at least watched playthroughs). I’d recommend getting out there and enjoying it and engaging some Swifties, or BG-heads, or Barbiefans (looks like Barbie is the viewer favorite of the summer, which makes sense; Oppenheimer was a great film, but heavy themes).
How would you say art and imagination might have enriched your walk with God?
For me personally, I was raised in the church and became a Christian as a very young child. I have heard the gospel expressed every which way, and it gets… old. I’ve heard the clichés, the phrases Christians love to hear. And sometimes, it’s hard to see or feel past those phrases. And then, sometimes, an artist expresses a Christian truth in a way I didn’t expect, and it just sort of hits me blindside. And that’s delightful. It’s an awakening, a resensitizing of tired, dull nerve-endings. I really need that to be able to see God – or my sin and salvation – afresh. And it’s not just works by Christians. There are works made by non-Christians that can quicken my conscience and help me see my faith with new eyes. Art and imagination are, in my opinion, absolutely indispensable for a living faith.
Personal updates
Keswick Unconventional – I had a great time at Keswick Unconventional, the arts and creativity stream of the Keswick Convention, a few weeks ago! I ran a workshop on Imaginative Discipleship which included creative exercises exploring how we imagine God, imagine the Bible, and imagine the Kingdom.
Upcoming speaking – I’ll be speaking on Imaginative Discipleship at Oak Hill theological college on 11th October, which will includ revised and updated versions of my Imaginative Discipleship lecture and workshop. If you’d like me to run something similar at your church or other group, get in touch!
New job with Media Cymru! After a spell of time freelancing, I’m about to start a new role with Media Cymru as Digital Communications Officer for 9 months. Media Cymru is a consortium based at Cardiff University that seeks to support and drive innovation in the Welsh creative industries, so I’m excited that I’ll be starting a new phase of engaging creatively with culture.
Star Wars: Ahsoka first thoughts – I was excited to see Dave Filoni continue the characters and stories from Star Wars: Rebels, but I was somewhat disappointed with it as a (re)introduction of the characters. The emotional core of the relationship between Ahsoka and Sabine seems to me unclear. We’re told that they find each other ‘difficult’ but the conflict between them isn’t very well dramatised yet. You need clarity of character motivation for effective drama. But it is fun to see a Star Wars show doing something that feels like a genuine continuation from the original trilogy (yay, lightsabers!), rather than being yet another prequel. (Yes, it’s before the sequel trilogy but feels independent of them so far – please Filoni, don't get sucked into explaining the backstory of "Somehow, Palpatine returned" like the cloning subplot on the Mandalorian has been hinting at).