At the end of the day, the success of our teamwork depends on our ability to submit to authority without losing our autonomy or artistic identity. This means that we must follow our leader(s) and listen to our Father about how, when, and what spiritual gifts to use. CS Lewis states this concept fantastically while discussing the arts. He states, "Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence about how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it."
This means that we can still stand out as artists and fulfill our purpose while submitting to authority. Noland states:
"Submitting to authority can be difficult for some of us. We artists don't like anyone telling us what to do. But assuming your leader never asks you to do something contrary to God's will, you have a responsibility to submit to his or her leadership. Hebrews 13:17 says, "Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you." (110, Noland)
"Submitting to church authority is a sign of character. You may think your leader is wrong or incapable or even unfit to lead, but don't add to the problem by being immature yourself. I've seen people get so agitated over the littlest things, and I've seen people leave the church over relatively petty issues. Stubbornness is not a virtue and pettiness is not becoming. Don't be a thorn in the side of the leader. If you disagree with your leader or don't like something he or she is doing, go talk to that person. If you still disagree, pray that God will change your leader's mind or yours. But if nothing ever changes, you still need to submit and cooperate with the person's leadership." (111, Noland)
Yet, even through this submission, we should never lose our autonomy or artistic identity. Noland states:
"It's important for the artist not to get swallowed up completely by the team. When we lose autonomy, we stop taking responsibility for ourselves. I've seen too many artists try to get lost in the crowd and not take personal responsibility for the development of their gifts and the nurturing of their souls. I've also seen too many artists hide behind the spiritual reputation of the leader and not take responsibility for their walk with the Lord or for the sin in their lives. I'm talking about the choir member, for example, who doesn't take the development of his or her gift or spiritual life seriously, thinking that those things go unnoticed when you're part of a large group. Doesn't this person know that any team is only as strong as its weakest link? There is a side to being an artist that is solitary. We need to practice on our own, or we need to write in solitude, or we need to find the inspiration to create on our own. We have devotions and fight temptation on our own. Even though I'm trying to raise the value of teamwork in arts ministry, the arts are not exclusively a team effort. It's our responsibility to do the along part on our own." (111, Noland)
"When we lose individual autonomy, we also start living for the team's approval instead of the Lord's. A group mentality sets in that can be very dangerous for a team of artists. When that happens, we go along with the group without questioning. We don't take creative risks anymore for fear of losing our status with the group. We don't speak up if we hold an opinion different from that of the group. We become man pleasers instead of God pleasers. What was Aaron thinking when he misused his artistic abilities and made the gold calf? (Ex. 32:21-24). He created an idol for people to worship. He lost his sense of personal responsibility and listened to the group instead of listening to God. He gave in to peer pressure and betrayed his faith. It is dangerous for any artist to live for the approval of others and stop listening to God." (112, Noland)
For this post, respond to the following statement:
It has been said that fellowship, or community, is the art of knowing and being known. What is the difference between knowing and being known? Are you better at one than the other, or are you pretty good at both?
I think I could be quite a bit better at both, but I can't say that the extrovert nature required is a part of my psycholgical makeup. It's an opportunity for personal growth though, so I've been making an attempt to meet new people and spend a few minutes between services talking to whoever doesn't run away. And I'm making progress on the growling and biting thing. Baby steps.
ReplyDeleteLarry
Im a little confused on the question so if this is way off let me know, hehe. I know something I really struggle with is "inprob" and I worry to much about sounding bad to the congregation and it keeps me from truly opening my heart to the Lord and letting whatever he calls me to do just come out. I recently went to Women of Faith and I feel like he really spoke to me and helped me be able to worship him in the way I want, and not worry about looking/sounding silly!!
ReplyDeleteSarah
First of all, let me apologize for this blog post. It was written in haste and pretty much taken straight from The Heart of Worship word for word (including the discussion question). Usually, I paraphrase the book and then create a discussion question that reflects something that is more applicable for our worship team. For the next blog entry, I will exercise more due diligence with the post.
DeleteI believe that Noland refers to "knowing" as our ability to recognize what God is calling us to do in our lives so that we may better serve Him. It is also our ability to recognize that He is using others on our team to fulfill His work. So, we need to make sure to allow others to be able to do our Lord's work without getting in the way.
"Being known," on the other hand, is almost the opposite. Noland does recognize that we, as falliable humans, need to be able to relish in our successes. We need to be able to celebrate with other likeminded Christians when we achieve the goals that our Lord has set for us. So, on a basic level, we do need to be recognized and celebrated with for our achievement in achieving our purpose. That being said, this means that we should also be readily able to celebrate with others' in their individual successes.
I have found this book very relevant (even more relevant than when I first read it) and am so eager to try everything that Noland says will create a stronger team. I absolutely LOVE the idea of everyone having a God given purpose on our team outside of music. It just seems like it could provide such growth, ownership, and respect for each other. So, right now, I am on a mission to have everyone become connected in a meaningful way. I mean, we clearly cannot progress much further as a team without a Birthday Celebrations person ;). So, right now, I think that I am much better at really thinking about how to get everyone connected (knowing) than recognizing the people currently serving in a multitude of ways for their time, effort, and accomplishments (being known).
I think that in a relationship - small or large - knowing is being recognized as a member, participant or partner. Knowing someone can be a very surface relationship - we are there and doing what we think we are supposed to do but keeping the other people in the relationship or group at arms length. In this, we can keep that personal bubble space that we will be safe inside. Being safe and comfortable does not grow us as individuals or a team. Within the praise team we all know each other but being known on the other hand takes the relationship to a deeper level. If we are being intentional in our participation and step outside of the safety bubble we are "being known" and the team as a whole can be more effective bringing our congragation to worship. WIth that being said - we all need to be sensitive and supportive when someone takes that leap to be known and help each other to know that we are a safe environment to let our walls down.
ReplyDeleteWendi