Singing into a microphone or playing in front of a congregation can be intimidating. From personal experience and many conversations with music ministers about the mental and spiritual challenges of serving have come some insights that, I think, apply readily to any situation where we put ourselves out there to serve God and neighbor.
- To find courage, we have to ask: why put ourselves out there? One answer: God’s love calls for a loving response and love involves risk.
- Thankfully, it’s not about you; it’s about God working through you. Especially when you cooperate with the Spirit, God can work through who you are and what you have to offer, in the moment, to accomplish His purpose.
- We are given gifts by God who calls us to discern, develop and offer those gifts back to God and neighbor in love. This path is personal and communal so our gifts and the call that comes with them unite us to the community of the faithful.
- God’s gifts call for a response – a call to be good stewards of those gifts. Because being good stewards of what God has given us is a spiritual path, we will be stretched along the way. If you are being challenged to grow, you know it is ministry.
- Music can be artful and point to God. The art of being fully who we are in God and in the world with others honors God’s creation (us) and honors God’s intention that all shall know Him and be saved.