Worship Podcast
There’s something every artist needs that most don’t have.
We tend to dwell in the realm of good intentions.
We think about someday.
We wait until we’re ready or have more experience. Maybe someone important will notice us and give us the confidence we need, right?
But what if I told you you didn’t need that? What if I told you that your artistic destiny was in your own hands? You just need to make a decision.
What you need, my brilliant artist friend, is a plan.
At the end of your life, it won’t be the art you created that makes the biggest difference.
It won’t be the accolades, the awards, the standing ovations, or the powerful performances.
It will be the influence you’ve had on others. And the root of powerful influence comes from your heart.
If you don’t care for your heart, no one will. It is your responsibility and yours alone.
Art can be scary. Especially as it relates to its place in the church.
It’s like a wild animal, we avoid even trying to tame.
I love ministry. The work I get to do is such a privilege – leading worship, pastoring people, raising up volunteers, making disciples.
But I also wonder if the walls we’ve made between art and ministry need to come down.
I used to sit down and play the piano for the sake of beauty – getting lost in the moment while I created tones for God’s glory. Now, I sit at the piano to pull off a worship song.
I’ve lost the mystery. I’ve lost the expectation. I’ve lost a the sense of beauty and majesty as it relates to art.
Art is chaotic.
But it never looks like that from afar. When we think of writers, for example, we picture log cabins, snow capped mountains, and endless days to craft a masterpiece beside a roaring fire.
For me? It’s a frantic challenge to find the time in the midst of a busy life. Total chaos.
I’m ashamed to say it, but I don’t enjoy music as much as I used to.
I used to get lost on my piano for hours, zoning out in my creativity. I used to hang out with my guitar and experiment with new sounds. It was a language I once spoke and I’ve forgotten how to communicate.
I know that sounds bleak, but I’m commited to recapturing the joy of music.
If you’re a worship leader, you know what I’m talking about. Music has become business. As long as we can pull Sunday off and lead worship with music, that’s all the time we have to invest in it.
We use music as a means to an end, rather than a joy in itself.
But that makes sense, right? We’ve been conditioned that “worship isn’t about music”. We’re become so afraid of music becoming our idol that we nearly neglect it.
But guess what? That’s a bad idea. The more you can get lost in music, love it, recapture creative time, the stronger your ministry will be.