The Spiritual Disciplines of the Artist
My ministry is a direct result of my relationship with Christ. The theme verse for my ministry is John 15:5 (also the name of this blog): "I am the vine, you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." With that in mind it is hard to get too prideful. The realization that I can't do anything without help really keeps my ego in check. It is only then that God blesses ministry. When ministry stops being about you and begins to be about Him.
When I fail to remember this, I run the risk of beginning to do ministry without God. Yes, you can play 'Christian' music without God. Think about it, one of the most popular songs during Christmas time is the 'Hallelujah Chorus,' but does the average person listening to that song think about God while it is being sung? Sadly I would think not. Most of the time we focus on the singers, and for those of us music nerds, maybe the conductor, but rarely God. Without being intimately connected to Him, we can very easily do the same thing in our ministries!
So how do you do that? The answer is both simple and hard. Spend time daily with God! This can be difficult to do, especially for artists because we get bored easily. We all have a little bit of ADD in us, and we are easily distracted with things that are 'more important.' The cure to this is to do different things with God everyday! The time you spend with God doesn't have to look exactly the same everyday. There is no formula! As artists, we should be just as creative in the time we spend with God as we are in the time we spend with other people. If you did the exact same thing with your friends every time you hung out, eventually that would get boring too! Stay connected to God, and your art and ministry will be blessed. Remember, without Him, you can't do anything!
Enjoy the Journey
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Friday, February 06, 2009
The Artist and Sin
All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. This we know, but the daily battle against sin should be just that, a battle. It is not something that we should just resign ourselves to, it is something we should fight! Do we expect everyone involved in our ministry to be sin free? Of course not! But we do expect everyone to be actively trying to live lives worthy of Jesus Christ. Having a strong moral fiber is a sign of character.
A great way to counter sin is to counter quickly. I love this quote by William Gurnall: "Christian, this is imperative for you to realize: When wicked or unclean thoughts first force their way into your mind, you have not yet sinned. This is the work of the Devil. But if you so much as offer them a chair and begin polite conversation with them, you have become his accomplice. In only a short time you will give these thoughts sanctuary in your heart. Your resolve- not to yield to a temptation you are already entertaining- is no match for Satan and the longings of the the flesh."
In other words, put those thoughts out of your head as quickly as they enter! Being tempted is not a sin, but don't test your resolve by entertaining thoughts you know to be sinful! The two keys to battling temptation are knowing scripture and countering quickly. This is the model that Jesus used when He was tempted, and it would do us well to remember this as artists.
Enjoy the Journey
All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. This we know, but the daily battle against sin should be just that, a battle. It is not something that we should just resign ourselves to, it is something we should fight! Do we expect everyone involved in our ministry to be sin free? Of course not! But we do expect everyone to be actively trying to live lives worthy of Jesus Christ. Having a strong moral fiber is a sign of character.
A great way to counter sin is to counter quickly. I love this quote by William Gurnall: "Christian, this is imperative for you to realize: When wicked or unclean thoughts first force their way into your mind, you have not yet sinned. This is the work of the Devil. But if you so much as offer them a chair and begin polite conversation with them, you have become his accomplice. In only a short time you will give these thoughts sanctuary in your heart. Your resolve- not to yield to a temptation you are already entertaining- is no match for Satan and the longings of the the flesh."
In other words, put those thoughts out of your head as quickly as they enter! Being tempted is not a sin, but don't test your resolve by entertaining thoughts you know to be sinful! The two keys to battling temptation are knowing scripture and countering quickly. This is the model that Jesus used when He was tempted, and it would do us well to remember this as artists.
Enjoy the Journey
Monday, February 02, 2009
Leading Artists
Being a leader of artists requires that you fulfill two rolls at once. Being an artist requires that you be a feeler, while being a leader requires that you be a thinker, and balancing the two can be extremely difficult. As an leader/artist, make sure that your gift does not get neglected. God gifted you as an artist and you need to really work hard at continually improving. This is the easy part to let slide because there are alot of administrative things that need to be done. Make sure that you are a full time artist. At the same time we can not neglect the paperwork that needs to be done either, we must be full time leaders. This can be a daunting task, there just are not enough hours in the day! That is why we must not be too proud to involve others in key areas of our ministry. Its ok to give others things to do, delegation is a sign of a good leader! Without delegation, you will burn out very quickly, and then in spite of all your talent, you will be benefiting no one. Giving others ownership in your ministry will increase loyalty and improve morale as well as give you some much needed down time! Being a leader doesn't mean doing whatever you want with your ministry, it means doing whatever God wants with His!
Artists are a different breed. There are some leadership styles that just don't work with them:
The Demanding CEO- 'its my way or the highway'
The Overbearing Coach- 'no pain, no gain'
The Overly Protective Patron- spoils artist because they are 'so misunderstood'
The Silent Type- gives no feedback or direction
Artists need to be encouraged, but they also need to be challenged to get better constantly. Like anything else, when you stop growing in your art, the quality doesn't stay the same, it diminishes! A true leader of artists is one who can celebrate with them and help build a solid team of artists where the focus is, where it should be, on God.
Enjoy the Journey
Being a leader of artists requires that you fulfill two rolls at once. Being an artist requires that you be a feeler, while being a leader requires that you be a thinker, and balancing the two can be extremely difficult. As an leader/artist, make sure that your gift does not get neglected. God gifted you as an artist and you need to really work hard at continually improving. This is the easy part to let slide because there are alot of administrative things that need to be done. Make sure that you are a full time artist. At the same time we can not neglect the paperwork that needs to be done either, we must be full time leaders. This can be a daunting task, there just are not enough hours in the day! That is why we must not be too proud to involve others in key areas of our ministry. Its ok to give others things to do, delegation is a sign of a good leader! Without delegation, you will burn out very quickly, and then in spite of all your talent, you will be benefiting no one. Giving others ownership in your ministry will increase loyalty and improve morale as well as give you some much needed down time! Being a leader doesn't mean doing whatever you want with your ministry, it means doing whatever God wants with His!
Artists are a different breed. There are some leadership styles that just don't work with them:
The Demanding CEO- 'its my way or the highway'
The Overbearing Coach- 'no pain, no gain'
The Overly Protective Patron- spoils artist because they are 'so misunderstood'
The Silent Type- gives no feedback or direction
Artists need to be encouraged, but they also need to be challenged to get better constantly. Like anything else, when you stop growing in your art, the quality doesn't stay the same, it diminishes! A true leader of artists is one who can celebrate with them and help build a solid team of artists where the focus is, where it should be, on God.
Enjoy the Journey
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