The Artist In Community

Here are some of the highlights from the Heart Of The Artist.

Chapter 3 "The Artist in Community"

The Church as a Colony of Artists:

Part of what God wants our churches to be is a place
that harnesses the arts for His glory and nurtures
artists.

Relationships Matter:

Even if you don't consider yourself to be very
relational, you need to learn how to relate to, and
get along with other artists.

If you want to have quality relationships, you have to
put in effort.

Be proactive about spending more time with people.

Teamwork:

Ministry is best done in teams.

The beauty of working in teams is that together we can
accomplish greater things for God than if we were on
our own.

When God calls you to be part of a team, He takes into
account who you are as well as what you can do.

No one is going to contribute to the cause and
community of the team in the exact same way that you
do.

You're not indispensable but you are irreplaceable.

The Things That Kill Teamwork:

Besides the fact that we artists have a propensity to
shy away from teams and community, the Evil one does
everything he can do to disrupt teams. He'll try to
sow disunity; he'll try to undermine morale; he'll try
to sabotage the cause; he'll try to frustrate plans.

The 4 things that Kill teamwork:

1. Selfishness:

People who are focused only on themselves will miss
the big picture.

We can sometimes get so focused on ourselves that we
miss what's really important.

2. Grumbling and Complaining:

Grumbling and Complaining are usually a result of
selfishness.

And many of us with artistic temperaments have a
tendency to complain and grumble whenever things don't
go our way.

Philippians 2:14: Instructs us to-
"do everything without complaining or grumbling"
because like a cancer a team or an entire church can
be killed.

3. Competitive Spirit:

Instead of competing with one another we need to learn
to cooperate and encourage one another.

4. Unresolved Relational Conflict:

A lack of unity can really hurt a team.

It's not easy for a team of artists to achieve unity,
because of the constant clash of egos and
personalities.

If a team of artists can dwell together
in unity, it's a major accomplishment.
...............................................

We must remember the importance of having an authentic loving community that defines the Artist in the Church. The idea of Community should also be representative of the Church as a whole. A real loving body of believers can battle the stereotype of the Hypocritical Church. This view of the Church runs rampant in our society due to the way those who oppose God attempt to define the church through those few who mess up through their hypocrisy and sin, those who misrepresent Christ and His teachings, and those who water down God's Word to the point where black and white principles become grey.

Our love for God through the heartfelt way we give Him our Worship and Praise, as well as our deep love for others and those who may be far from God, should define the Heart Of The Artist. This same authentic love should be the way to build real community in the Church as a whole. Lets remember that Jesus said  love proves we are His disciples. 

John 13:34-35 New International Version (NIV)

³⁴ “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. ³⁵ By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” 


Have a great day...................Dave