Dear Church: Jesus was...
This series of social/web graphics was commissioned by Reimagine Arkansas, an organization that seeks to amplify voices across the state. Listen to quotes from those who were interviewed and discover the resulting insights here.
These were created in response to a locally-held panel. The panel, featuring religious leaders from congregations throughout Arkansas, took a critical look at the church’s involvement in caring for the impoverished and marginalized in our communities. Here’s what I wrote as an artist’s statement:
Too many times Christians (myself included) forget that we are called to be the hands and feet of Jesus. Not the conqueror. Not a recluse. But a servant.
Hearing actionable ways that church leaders are living out true servant leadership encourages me beyond measure. The panel challenged me to dive into that further, and I hope that the work I created causes others to reimagine their relationship with faith as well.
Dismembered hands create an elegant portrait of a harsh truth: if hands are detached from the body, they’re useless. Framing imagery in geometric objects and textures ranging from gold foil to alabaster, I show that there is reverence to our journey – this is valuable work. A simple challenge remains – are we, as Christians, truly striving to be like Jesus? Or are we just an distorted echo?
If Christians’ goal is to truly model Jesus, we should seek to serve the “least of these” in all we do.
