Beckoning the Brave

Beauty is the infinite presented in the finite. -Schelling

Art has this amazing capacity to speak to our souls. We not only express what we believe about reality in our art, but we also take what we believe from it. That is why the power of art as a form of communication can never be overstated-art speaks to our souls in ways that words cannot.

Epiphany has a heart for pursuing excellence in two qualities: beauty and truth. And these two cannot be more related-beauty and truth are standards, flying in the face of the postmodern idea that there is no real beauty and no real truth. We believe that both are real and aim to express them authentically in what we create.

So that brings me to what awaits us in February-the encore performance of our best show yet, full of so much beauty and truth, that I am convinced that you will walk away knowing that you have gotten a glimpse of something truly sacred.

It tells a story. And one to which we can all relate. Full of struggle and longing, giddiness and hope. Beauty and truth.

Allow me to give you a taste of what I mean.

I have created this dance, which is more than a dance to me. It’s a longing, a vision, a prayer. Starting in June 2010, I began counseling women and girls at a domestic violence/sexual assault agency and saw tragedy and brokenness like you would not believe. On top of that, for quite some time I have felt a burden for the millions of boys, girls, and women that are bought and sold like cattle. Human trafficking is a prime moneymaker in the US and all over the world.

Heartbreaking but true.

In my counseling work, I looked around me and had a sudden realization-90% of those I worked with were women. Women helping broken women and girls. Where had all the men gone?

And that is what inspired my dance. With grace from God, I fought my inclination to become angry at men. I realized that there is some deep ideology at work here. Feminism has told men that they need to back off and let women handle themselves. But here are these women I see, feeling used, broken, and hurting, and needing real men more than ever. Not men that will hurt them. But men that will stand up for them. Men who know how to show strength in love and humility, not rage and abuse.

My longing, my vision, my prayer is that men will be who they were created to be. That they will be strong, brave, and stand up for what is right. That they will not live for themselves but have a greater allegiance to the One who made them. I have known men like this and what an inspiration they are! I yearn to see more in the coming years.

It is men like this who inspire true beauty in women and children who feel safe and free to be themselves, and my hope is that the beauty in this show will in turn inspire this kind of strength and courage in them.

The song is “Sigh No More” by Mumford & Sons. And there is a certain line that gets me:

Love it will not betray you,

dismay or enslave you,

It will set you free

Be more like the man you were made to be.

There is a design,

An alignment to cry,

Of my heart to see,

The beauty of love as it was made to be.

I believe that there is a day coming that we will truly “sigh no more”. Let’s chase after that day with everything in us.

Men, this dance is dedicated to you.