The arts inspire. They awaken. They heal. For centuries the deepest longings of entire nations have been carried on the wings of creative expression. We need the imaginative, the creative and the beautiful. And we need leaders who will activate their potential to influence and transform at the individual, community and national levels.

BGU’s Leadership in the Arts Concentration is designed to equip leaders to engage the life enhancing truths of the arts and their change capacities.

Consisting of three courses, LIA 700/600 (Imagination, Creativity and Beauty), LIA 701/601(Art, Faith and Compelling Grace), and LIA 702/602 (The Artful City), these Courses inspire and compel leaders to integrate the confluence of faith, imagination, creativity and life changing beauty into their areas of expertise.

“As a result of taking this class (LIA 702), I feel I have had a breakthrough in my thinking. I have greater clarity on how to balance both the work and the creativity of ministry in my city. I have been given permission to dream again. There’s a fire in my belly to utilize creativity in doing the work God has given me to do and to recruit younger leaders to do the same” (Danny Lopez, Senior Pastor, New Life Community, Chicago, IL).

“The LIA Courses at BGU - where I discovered the arts are profoundly healing to the soul and beauty is like oxygen - caused me to flourish wholeheartedly and I began to see great possibility in the arts for leadership, and for bringing shalom to our cities nationally and globally, and most importantly to our souls. I am convinced that the precepts presented in the LIA Courses are critical to leadership formation.  To not take this seriously is to leave a part of our souls disengaged and our leadership flawed” (Robbi Chiang, MTL, Spiritual Formation Director, Arlington, TX).

The Professor of Record is Dr. Maria Pompea.