By Ashleigh Jones
During a night of sacred worship, singers’ voices echoed reverent songs of praise throughout Hodges Chapel. Held during Oct. 24-25, the Beauty of God Conference, co-sponsored by the Center for Worship and the Arts and Beeson Divinity School’s Robert Smith Jr. Preaching Institute, brought preachers, worship leaders, artists, and laity together to celebrate God’s beauty and emphasize the importance of worshiping the Lord.
Along with piano music, audience members joined in singing hymns like “Fairest Lord Jesus,” “It is Well,” and the Doxology.
After the singing, Associate Professor Tyshawn Gardner rose to the podium to preach his message titled “Glory on the Ground.” Drawing from Isaiah 52:6-10, Gardner emphasized the good news of the Gospel and how God can bring people out of their captivity.
“It’s all about the beauty of God,” Gardener said. “God is calling us to recognize His beauty and we are to display that in our lives, our behaviors, and in our witness.”
The conference held multiple panel discussions and breakout sessions to discuss various aspects of God’s beauty and the different ways in which people can worship Him. Gardner said that we witness God’s beauty all around us and that noticing God’s beauty can encourage weary souls.
“We see God’s beauty in nature, we see it in our work, in our families. We see his new mercies.” Gardner said. “We need [God’s beauty] because we live in a world that’s marred, that’s ugly, and so seeing or recognizing the beauty of God in the Earth, in our communities, on our campus, can be very refreshing and give us hope amidst the darkness of the world that we live in.”
The conference closed with a worship service in Reid Chapel. Daniel Cason, renowned concert pianist and ordained minister, helped lead worship with a group of singers while his fingers glided across the piano keys.
After several triumphant songs of praise, Debra Dean Murphy, the conference’s closing speaker, gave her message titled “Living the Beautiful Questions.” The message was based on Matt. 16:13-17 in which Jesus asks his disciples, “Who do you say that I am?”
According to Murphy, Christians answer this question by how they act out their lives.
Murphy ended her speech by asking why Christians gather every week to worship God over and over again when so much suffering is in the world.
“Is it selfish of us? Is it escapism from the suffering world? But then we get glimpses of the shimmering beauty of Christ in the word proclaimed, in music, in Jesus’ body taken, blessed, broken and shared,” Murphy continued. “And we know that there isn’t anything more important than attending to what is in front of us in that moment, that moment we share with the community of the beautiful who have gathered to adore God.”
Gardner also believes it is important to worship God. For him, the Gospel affirms Christians’ identity and serves as a reminder for them to worship the Creator.
“[The Gospel] restores our identity, it calls us back to who God created us to be,” Gardener said, “and that is not only image-bearers but that is sisters and brothers and a community that worships him because He’s beautiful, He’s glorious, He’s majestic and He’s worthy to be praised.”
For more information about the Center for Worship and the Arts, visit https://www.samford.edu/worship-arts/
