A Sanctified Imagination
On renewing our minds for Kingdom creativity
I recently listened to an episode of With the Perrys featuring Dallas and Amanda Jenkins, creators of The Chosen TV Drama series. As Dallas explained how his storytelling process for the show involved infusing The Gospels with some creative fabulation, Jackie Hill Perry casually remarked, “[yeah], it’s a sanctified imagination”. No one else on the podcast seemed to hear her, but those words struck me.
What is a Sanctified Imagination?
Let’s look at the definitions of these two words:
Sanctified
set apart as or declare holy; consecrate.
free from sin; purify.
Sanctification is the process of consecrating and making holy.
Imagination
the faculty or action of forming new ideas, or images or concepts of external objects not present to the senses.
the ability of the mind to be creative or resourceful.
the part of the mind that imagines things.
So it follows that a sanctified imagination would be a mind that can conceive of new ideas, images or concepts that are holy, consecrated and conformed to the nature of God. It is a renewed creative mind, transformed to prove the good, acceptable and perfect will of God (Romans 12:2) through what it imagines and creates.
The Chosen
The Chosen is a TV series that depicts the life and ministry of Jesus Christ through the eyes of the people who interacted with him, from his disciples to Roman government officials and everyday people. It is a never-seen-before reconstruction of the gospels that attempts to fill in the gaps (from a storytelling point of view) that we see in biblical accounts of Jesus’ ministry.
In the conversation with the Perrys, Dallas Jenkins explained that as a child in Sunday school, he was often dissatisfied with the sermon to sermon and miracle to miracle retelling of Jesus’ work on earth, and as a natural storyteller, would invent stories to paint a more wholistic narrative of these teachings. However, as he got older and grew more in his love for God’s word, he began to feel nervous about his “longing to explore these other [stories]”, especially due to his Protestant Evangelical upbringing (more on this later).
This changed when he realised that preachers and bible commentators regularly employ metaphor, illustrations and even artistic imagination to expound on God’s word and help their audiences see and understand it more vividly. That is to say, when he understood that these preachers and commentators have a sanctified imagination and that they use it freely to glorify God.
On Kingdom Creativity
A sanctified imagination is the foundation of Kingdom creativity.
And Kingdom creativity is key to fulfilling the mandate of the gospel, spreading love and establishing heaven on earth.
God is looking to raise a generation of creative believers whose creative processes and outputs would point people to Christ and help the world see and understand the Word more vividly.
But it starts with sanctifying our imaginations.
How do we do this? The answer is in Romans 12:2:
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (NKJV, emphasis mine)
We renew our minds (i.e translate it from the thinking patterns of this world to the thinking patterns of the Kingdom) through intimacy with God - in prayer, study of his word and fellowship that builds our faith. The natural outcome of this is that we prove the will of God, our minds with all their faculties - including our imaginations - become altars for God’s goodness and virtue to shine forth from.
I strongly believe that in the times we live in, God wants to use the arts to reveal himself to our world. Remember that thing Dallas Jenkins said about Protestant Evangelicalism? It is an idea echoed by Christ (pronounced like ‘wrist’) John Otto, author of Bezalel: Redeeming a Renegade Creation, a book about Bezalel, the first recognised artist in scripture (Exodus 31:1-6). Christ explains that the modern church is descended from Protestant Christians who “downplay the arts” as a result of the early 16th century Protestant Reformation, a response to the Roman Catholic church’s abuse of the sale of indulgences (certificates guaranteeing the pardon of sin in exchange for cash) to fund art projects such as St. Peter’s Basilica or the Sistine Chapel Ceiling 1.
I think it’s time to heal this view for good. Art and creativity are integral to capturing hearts and minds, especially in an age more defined than ever by cultural production and media proliferation. As creatives, our call to be kingdom ambassadors is just as important as any preacher, evangelist or prophet. It’s time we recognise this truth and start to shine our lights in accordance with it. The first step to doing so is committing to consecration (holiness, God-likeness) in how we think, speak, act, and yes, create. We must first sanctify our imaginations for Kingdom creative excellence.
Final Words
These are very exciting times we live in. With the wealth of tools, information and opportunities to build an audience at our disposal, there has never been a better time to be a person blessed with a creative gift and a yearning to express it. Simultaneously, as we continue to be guided into the beautiful truth of God’s love and intention for humanity (John 16:13), there has never been a better time to be a person working to advance the cause of the Kingdom. The union of these two things - creative empowerment and Kingdom responsibility - can make for truly remarkable outcomes in our quest to realise an earth that mirrors the beauty of heaven.
Kingdom creativity need not be overt. We don’t need to slap the name Jesus on our film or song for it to qualify. It simply has to carry the heart and spirit of redemption and the message of God’s love. It has to further people’s mental transformation, not deepen conformity to a fallen system. It has to advance “thy Kingdom come”. This is where our sanctified imaginations come in. We have a call to be creative in how we share the message of the gospel, not just in what we share.
My prayer is that our minds continue to be renewed to develop imaginations that shine the truth of God’s word in novel, loving, creative ways that point many to Christ and birth His purposes on the earth.
Amen.
John Otto, Bezalel: Redeeming a Renegade Creation (Belonging House, 2015), page 56-57
Enjoyed this read, thank you bro. I’ve been thinking about who and what my creativity serves, and this was a powerful reminder about the purpose I should be orienting my gifts towards 🤲🏾 God bless!
So good!!