Handling Criticism (Chapter 5)
As artists, we tend to be defensive. However, when it comes to criticism, defensiveness can kill you. It keeps us from the truth. Recognizing the truth and speaking honestly is a sign of high moral character. Defensiveness on the other hand, is a serious character flaw. Don't be quick to take offense, or you will find yourself constantly being offended. You have to have thick skin, not everyone is going to like what you do.
A major difference in performing and being in ministry is putting on a facade. When you are performing, you have to own the stage. If you are having an awful day you still have to look self-confident and enthusiastic. But that is not how ministry works. It is not entertainment, it is worship. You have to be authentic, you have to be real. Replace fake confidence with humility. Ministry demands that we allow the Holy Spirit to own the stage, and not us!
As artists, we need to be willing to welcome feedback, good or bad. Scripture says that it is foolish not to be open to feedback (Proverbs 1:7). So how do you respond? There are 3 things you need to do:
1. Be quick to listen. Shut your mouth, stop trying to defend yourself for a minute, and listen to what the other person is saying. If what they are saying is untrue, you don't have to justify yourself anyway. God loves you, they don't have to.
2. Be slow to speak. Take some time and think about what the person had to say. Again, stop trying to defend yourself! If you are wrong, you don't have a defense, if you are right, you don't need one!
3. Be slow to become angry. This is a hard one. Take a step back and cool down. Sometimes criticism comes across a lot more harshly than it is intended to. Most people (and I say most) are genuinely trying to help.
We have to ask ourselves what we can learn from this criticism that can make us a better artist. If you can't figure it out, run it by someone else. Find out what parts of the criticism are valid. Work on those things, and just let the others slide. We also need to learn how to fail. We don't like to fail, it is never a good feeling, but sometimes it is necessary to succeed. Just because you fail doesn't mean you are a failure. Sometimes we learn how not to do things before we learn how to do them.
Keep all of this in mind when you are giving criticism as well. Think through what you need to say and say only that. Put yourself on the other side of your comments and speak the truth in love.
Enjoy the Journey
Monday, August 25, 2008
Friday, August 15, 2008
Write Love on My Heart
A song I wrote...
Verse 1:
Broken on the street corner
A scene that's too familiar, a world that's passed her by
Emptied of all feeling, she can't bring herself to cry
Another day, another heartache, you're born and then you die
Pre-Chorus:
Is there no hope?
Is there no love?
Is there nothing real?
Chorus:
Write love on my heart
Teach me to love like You do
More than words or an idea, make it something that is true
Write love on my heart
Cause its all we'll ever need
In a world falling apart
Help me, write love on my heart
Verse 2:
Three nights in a row
A broken hand and no place to go
Rejection is everywhere, and no one seems to care
The hurt is deeper than we'll ever know
Pre-Chorus:
Is there no hope?
Is there no love?
Is there nothing real?
Bridge:
How long, how long
We will stand here pretending it's alright?
How far will we let them fall?
Until they cannot see the light?
Chorus:
Write love on my heart
Teach me to love like You do
More than words or an idea, make it something that is true
Write love on my heart
Cause its all we'll ever need
In a world falling apart
Help me, write love on my heart
A song I wrote...
Verse 1:
Broken on the street corner
A scene that's too familiar, a world that's passed her by
Emptied of all feeling, she can't bring herself to cry
Another day, another heartache, you're born and then you die
Pre-Chorus:
Is there no hope?
Is there no love?
Is there nothing real?
Chorus:
Write love on my heart
Teach me to love like You do
More than words or an idea, make it something that is true
Write love on my heart
Cause its all we'll ever need
In a world falling apart
Help me, write love on my heart
Verse 2:
Three nights in a row
A broken hand and no place to go
Rejection is everywhere, and no one seems to care
The hurt is deeper than we'll ever know
Pre-Chorus:
Is there no hope?
Is there no love?
Is there nothing real?
Bridge:
How long, how long
We will stand here pretending it's alright?
How far will we let them fall?
Until they cannot see the light?
Chorus:
Write love on my heart
Teach me to love like You do
More than words or an idea, make it something that is true
Write love on my heart
Cause its all we'll ever need
In a world falling apart
Help me, write love on my heart
Monday, August 11, 2008
Excellence vs. Perfectionism (Chapter 4)
As artists it is all too easy to fall into the perfectionism trap. This happens many times because we think too much in black and white. Our performance was either all good or all bad. I am either a really good artist or I don't deserve to be called one at all. As an artist we need to be careful not to find our self-esteem in our performance, but in our identity as children of God. We also need to have realistic expectations of ourselves.
We need to savor the positive. What that means is not patting ourselves on the back for doing a good job, but letting God pat you on the back for doing what He called you to do. This turns a performance into a worship experience. Maximizing the negative is really self-centered (although it doesn't seem so at first) because it focuses on us and our shortcomings.
Instead of pursing perfection, we should pursue excellence. A good definition of excellence is "doing the best you can with what you have." We should always do the best we can, because that brings glory to God, which is the purpose of our art in the first place. Check out this quote from Rory Noland: "Excellence is also a powerful witness for Christ. Most non-Christians who ever end up in church expect the music to be lousy and outdated. They don't expect to be moved by drama or dance or the visual arts. Wouldn't it be great if they were to come expecting the worst but instead found the arts produced with creativity and excellence?" It is our responsibility to bring glory to Christ with excellent art.
As Christians we should be committed to quality. After all, God deserves nothing less. We should not be looking for excuses to produce second rate stuff. This doesn't mean that there isn't room for experiments and growth, but it does mean that there is no excuse for continuing mediocrity. In 2 Samuel 24:24 David insists that he will not offer the Lord anything that cost him nothing, we should do the same. We should hone our skills so we can offer Him our best.
When we talk about effective communication, we have to talk about stage presence. 'There's been a sentiment in the church for far too long that singers who perform without any facial expression or emotion are somehow less distracting and more spiritual. When we're talking about something important to us, we don't stand at attention like robots. We move our arms to emphasize our point. Our faces register an emotion that matches our words. Vocalists, when you rehearse, do you give as much attention to how you're going to communicate a song as you do your technique? Do you know what the payoff lyrics are, the ones you don't want anybody to miss? Does your face reflect what you are singing about? We in the church need to take communication seriously, because we've been given the charge to communicate the Good News!
We also need to be prepared spiritually. It is just as important as rehearsing the songs. If a song doesn't minister to the person singing it, it won't minister to anyone else. Make sure that your walk with God is a daily thing, and you will be amazed at the things He tells you through song.
Enjoy the Journey
As artists it is all too easy to fall into the perfectionism trap. This happens many times because we think too much in black and white. Our performance was either all good or all bad. I am either a really good artist or I don't deserve to be called one at all. As an artist we need to be careful not to find our self-esteem in our performance, but in our identity as children of God. We also need to have realistic expectations of ourselves.
We need to savor the positive. What that means is not patting ourselves on the back for doing a good job, but letting God pat you on the back for doing what He called you to do. This turns a performance into a worship experience. Maximizing the negative is really self-centered (although it doesn't seem so at first) because it focuses on us and our shortcomings.
Instead of pursing perfection, we should pursue excellence. A good definition of excellence is "doing the best you can with what you have." We should always do the best we can, because that brings glory to God, which is the purpose of our art in the first place. Check out this quote from Rory Noland: "Excellence is also a powerful witness for Christ. Most non-Christians who ever end up in church expect the music to be lousy and outdated. They don't expect to be moved by drama or dance or the visual arts. Wouldn't it be great if they were to come expecting the worst but instead found the arts produced with creativity and excellence?" It is our responsibility to bring glory to Christ with excellent art.
As Christians we should be committed to quality. After all, God deserves nothing less. We should not be looking for excuses to produce second rate stuff. This doesn't mean that there isn't room for experiments and growth, but it does mean that there is no excuse for continuing mediocrity. In 2 Samuel 24:24 David insists that he will not offer the Lord anything that cost him nothing, we should do the same. We should hone our skills so we can offer Him our best.
When we talk about effective communication, we have to talk about stage presence. 'There's been a sentiment in the church for far too long that singers who perform without any facial expression or emotion are somehow less distracting and more spiritual. When we're talking about something important to us, we don't stand at attention like robots. We move our arms to emphasize our point. Our faces register an emotion that matches our words. Vocalists, when you rehearse, do you give as much attention to how you're going to communicate a song as you do your technique? Do you know what the payoff lyrics are, the ones you don't want anybody to miss? Does your face reflect what you are singing about? We in the church need to take communication seriously, because we've been given the charge to communicate the Good News!
We also need to be prepared spiritually. It is just as important as rehearsing the songs. If a song doesn't minister to the person singing it, it won't minister to anyone else. Make sure that your walk with God is a daily thing, and you will be amazed at the things He tells you through song.
Enjoy the Journey
Friday, August 08, 2008
Purity and Proximity
"If you practice only purity apart from proximity to the culture, you inevitably become pietistic, separatist, and conceited. If you live in close proximity to the culture without also living in a holy manner, you become indistinguishable from fallen culture and useless in God's kingdom."
This is a quote from Mike Metzger that I read today in the Book UnChristian. It was in the middle of a chapter about how sheltered Christians often are. It has been something that I have felt for a long time but never really put it into words before. If you know me you know that I absolutely loath the 'Christian' subculture bubble. In my opinion we are not far off from the money lenders Christ drove out of the temple many times. Put Jesus' name on it and sell it to Christians, doesn't matter if its a piece of garbage, they'll buy it because they are Christian. Fake. We become so caught up in the Christian subculture that we isolate ourselves from the rest of the world. No wonder they think we don't have a clue, because we don't. How can we have compassion for a world that we want nothing to do with? If we are unwilling to engage the world because they are offensive to our beliefs, we can never introduce them to Christ.
In the midst of this I came across an organization today which I had heard of before, but had never really looked into. The organization is called 'To Write Love On Her Arms.' It is the exact opposite of what I just talked about. This is a group who is out there helping the hurting. It started with a group that was helping a young girl who was struggling with cutting herself. If you want to learn more about them you can visit their website or their myspace.
Being compassionate means being willing to stand with people who are hurting. It will take many more people living that way if we are to shake the 'UnChristian' label.
"If you practice only purity apart from proximity to the culture, you inevitably become pietistic, separatist, and conceited. If you live in close proximity to the culture without also living in a holy manner, you become indistinguishable from fallen culture and useless in God's kingdom."
This is a quote from Mike Metzger that I read today in the Book UnChristian. It was in the middle of a chapter about how sheltered Christians often are. It has been something that I have felt for a long time but never really put it into words before. If you know me you know that I absolutely loath the 'Christian' subculture bubble. In my opinion we are not far off from the money lenders Christ drove out of the temple many times. Put Jesus' name on it and sell it to Christians, doesn't matter if its a piece of garbage, they'll buy it because they are Christian. Fake. We become so caught up in the Christian subculture that we isolate ourselves from the rest of the world. No wonder they think we don't have a clue, because we don't. How can we have compassion for a world that we want nothing to do with? If we are unwilling to engage the world because they are offensive to our beliefs, we can never introduce them to Christ.
In the midst of this I came across an organization today which I had heard of before, but had never really looked into. The organization is called 'To Write Love On Her Arms.' It is the exact opposite of what I just talked about. This is a group who is out there helping the hurting. It started with a group that was helping a young girl who was struggling with cutting herself. If you want to learn more about them you can visit their website or their myspace.
Being compassionate means being willing to stand with people who are hurting. It will take many more people living that way if we are to shake the 'UnChristian' label.
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