There are days when words fail me. Well, I guess if I’m going to be honest, I’d have to say that I’m the one who’s failing at handling words well—not a good thing when you’re a writer. Today has been one of those days. A deadline is looming, and I’ve started and deleted four entire articles since breakfast. The concepts are there, but a mental block prevents me from translating those concepts into sentences and paragraphs and an article suitable for publication. My thought life at the moment is not very pretty.

There are times when I feel the same way about worship. The song lyrics projected onto the screens at church seem hollow and ineffective; the emotion I’m feeling is so much deeper and more intense than a snappy chorus can ever express, no matter how many times we repeat it. It’s not that there’s anything wrong with the songs themselves; sometimes those songs say exactly what I’m feeling. But when I get in those funks where words are not enough, I find myself turning to painting, dance and sculpture to open my heart to God.

We tend to fall back on song when we want to worship. It’s easier, I suppose, than employing other art forms which require a whole lot more materials than a voice and the memory of the song you want to sing. But relying on those songs is like ordering the exact same dish every time you go out to eat. There’s a whole world of food out there, and you keep settling for spaghetti. In the same way, seeking variety in our worship allows us to connect to God in a totally different way.

Despite what I said earlier, no one would ever label me a dancer, a painter or a sculptor. But being talented at something isn’t a prerequisite for using it for worship. It’s the heart, the time, the thought, the passion we put into it that makes it worship. I led an artists group for a year at Willow Creek Church’s Axis ministry, and compared to some of those present, I was no more than a doodler. But I’ll never forget sorting through pictures from my European travels to find nature photos for a collage and worshipping God for the majesty of the Alps, the serenity of the Scottish highlands, the impossible blue of Uig Bay and the vibrant spectrum of the Netherlands’ tulip fields. It’s one thing to “sing for joy at the work of [His] hand,” but another thing entirely to frame it in a camera lens or recreate it with watercolors. Regardless of whether or not the final product could fetch thousands at a gallery, interacting with God through art and artistic endeavor allows you not only to study it more carefully, but also to appreciate His creativity and artistry in a greater way.

Once upon a time the Church was a patron of the arts, and it appears, hallelujah, that some churches are taking an active interest in them again. They display their members’ paintings and drawings in their hallways and sanctuaries, include interpretive dances in the service and even provide materials so congregants can create during worship. I think it’s so important to encourage this kind of experimentation so that our hearts can find new ways to connect with God. Just as a relationship grows stale if you interact with a person in only one way, we need to keep our worship of God fresh and not allow ourselves to stagnate by turning to music as our only means of expression.

For practical purposes, music will always remain the basic form of worship in church settings, but in our private worship we should branch out and challenge ourselves to worship God through new avenues. Take a class in photography, painting, drawing, sculpting or dance, and practice your new skills during your personal prayer time instead of listening to a worship CD. If you’re like me and get too caught up in “doing it right,” then take the time to worship through the art others have created. Try visiting a museum and studying the Renaissance masters like Angelico, Michelangelo, Raphael or Botticelli. Find out where local Christian artists are exhibiting their work. Go someplace rural and study the stars at night, or go online and look up photos of outer space. Or close the door, crank up the music and dance your praise to God. Don’t think about how you look; think about His sacrifice, His power, His mercy and just move.

Francis Schaeffer said, “The Christian is the one whose imagination should fly beyond the stars.” Unleash your inner artist, let your imagination soar and watch it connect you with the Ultimate Artist.