The Sydney Diocese is not famous for its music. Our tertiary training institutions currently offer little in this field. But the growing popularity of conferences like TWIST shows Sydney Anglicans are interested in investing in the creative arts. Does Sydney need its own Anglican creative arts college?

This question has been given its latest airing by the Bishop of South Sydney, Rob Forsyth in his "Bishop Writes' column in August's Southern Cross.

"It is an interesting weakness that we do not have any explicit institutional investment in the creative arts," he maintains.

He also indicated that this is as much an issue for church life on a Sunday as it is for Christian artists themselves.

"Any minister will know one of the biggest tasks in what happens on Sunday is finding good quality, uplifting music," he writes.

The director of the Fellowship for Evangelism in the Visual Arts (FEVA), Malcolm Williams, says the issue of Sunday music raises two important questions.

"Firstly, how do we get our church meetings presenting better? Secondly, and more philosophically, how might we engage pro-actively with our culture?" he says.

"Both questions are critical because Christians are in the business of communication.

"Good communication requires good presentation" and the answer is education and training."

Singing from the same song-book

The idea of a Sydney Anglican Creative Arts College has legs, according to some of the Diocese's top thinkers in the field. 

Mr Williams says a college could provide theological insight connecting art with the Christian faith, as well as support for those who are grappling with combining these "two worlds'.

"The great struggle for students in secular institutions is that local churches are almost always ill-equipped to help them think deeply about integrating Christianity and the arts," he says.

"So whilst students are being tested and pushed by a sophisticated secular institution, they're not being inspired and challenged on a daily basis to think about what they're doing within a Christian framework."

A well-resourced creative arts college with well-trained staff could have a significant impact on the way the gospel is proclaimed in Sydney, Mr Williams adds.

"If the theology of the arts is framed well, then such a college could become a driving force for real innovation in gospel communication," he says.

"We're great consumers of secular culture but we do very little to encourage the generation of Christian cultural activity."

Figtree Anglican's Music Director, Trevor Hodge says the church as a whole has a responsibility to foster creativity and give the creative arts recognition and resources.

"I think a creative arts college would be hugely beneficial " whether it would fly or not really depends on how much value we as churches, and as a denomination, place on music and creative arts in our services and church life," he says. 

"If we view music and arts as an integral part of our church life and spiritual growth (and it is" I'm sure you can quote more song lyrics than sermon points!) then we should do everything we can to encourage our creative artists to grow in their gifts and their walk with Christ."

Cautions for music college

Youthworks College Dean Graham Stanton supports the idea of a creative arts college but says the practical implications involved in setting up such an institution, including studios and equipment, are significant.

"The investment required is enormous, which is not a reason not to do it, but if it's going to be done it's got to be done well," he says

The "value-add' for a Sydney college would be the theological component, he argues.

"Secular institutions are so good at training people in the creative arts that maybe we're better to focus on what we really have to offer, which is the theological component," he says.

Another consideration is that studying in secular institutions, while difficult and stretching, is actually a good thing for Christian creative arts students, argues Mr Williams.

"If people are going to study arts and communication full-time then there's a lot to be said for being in the secular world engaging with and learning contemporary skills and ideas," he says.

"Certainly, Christian students will encounter real difficulties in the secular arts institution," he continues.

"They'll need to contend with a postmodern philosophy of education and art that deals God out of the picture - yet these negatives are actually what make it really useful for Christians to be in the secular art college."

The struggles faced by Christian students in secular art institutions actually make for more creative artists in the long run, argues Mr Williams. 

"Christians who are genuinely gifted will survive and come out with a realistic understanding of how to communicate effectively in this world," he says.

"The danger of the Christian institution is isolation and mediocrity. Christian creative arts training can sometimes baptise mediocrity, either because the institution is out of touch or because the assumption is made that wonderful subject matter elevates ordinary execution or form - something a secular institution won't tolerate."

Mr Hodge says it was a combination of secular training, and encouragement and experience in his church environment that helped him mature.

"Most of my growth as a young musician happened outside the church " at university and with other musicians," he says. 

"But as a Christian musician, a lot of my understanding of the place of music in the church [came] through the music directors and team members at my church, St.Paul's Castle Hill. It was the opportunities and encouragement there that led me onto full-time music ministry."

A starting point?

The Sydney Diocese is already offering some opportunities for Christians to develop in the creative arts.

One of these is a subject on music and youth ministry, offered by Youthworks College as part of its Australian College of Theology Diploma.

Another is TWIST (The Word In Song Together), a weekend conference run by Anglican Youthworks and Emu Music, which has changed locations three times in the last five years to cope with growing numbers.

"Twist was created for Christians interested in music to strengthen music ministry in local churches and it came out of a desire to provide good musical training," says organiser Jodie McNeill.

Jodie says one of the main benefits of Twist, a conference designed for Christians interested in music as a ministry, is the opportunity it gives musicians from small churches to play music with others and realise new ways of doing things.

"It adds a lot of diversity to music without requiring people to improve their skills," he says.

Last year, FEVA also ran a "Promoting the Word Through Image and Text' conference, which addressed creative communication in evangelism and ministry. 

FEVA will run "Promoting the Word through image and text' again this year on November 17 at Abbotsleigh.