Jon Guerra on How Music Forms Us, Pastoring Artists, and How Art Works Like a Parable

Today on The Pastorate Jason is joined by Jon Guerra, singer-songwriter and self-proclaimed creator of Monday morning prayer music. Jon is the voice behind albums like Keeper of Days, Ordinary Ways, and most recently JESUS. Jason and Jon discuss the formative power of music, why art can reach the heart in ways a list of facts can't, and how beauty can put us in contact with the living Christ. In the back half of the conversation, Jon opens up the story behind JESUS, an album that began as a personal effort to be reacquainted with the person of Christ through slow, repeated reading of the Gospels. He and Jason talk about wanting the whole Jesus, the one who both consoles and the one who confronts, rather than a pacified or personalized version of him. They close with Jon's creative process, how he protects joy in his work, and how pastors can better see and partner with the artists in their churches.