Chelan

titus 1:6-9

An elder (overseer) must live a blameless life. He must be faithful to his wife, and his children must be believers who don’t have a reputation for being wild or rebellious. For an elder must live a blameless life. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered; he must not be a heavy drinker, violent, or dishonest with money. Rather, he must enjoy having guests in his home, and he must love what is good. He must live wisely and be just. He must live a devout and disciplined life. He must have a strong belief in the trustworthy message he was taught”

raise the bar

this specifically addresses elders, but let’s consider the possibility that it was written for a more general audience, ministers & leaders in the church. if i’m on a worship team, i’m not just an artist, i’m a minister, right? i stand on the same platform and address the congregation with the same message. i have a responsibility to represent Christ on stage, and off, just like my pastor.

artists in the church need to step it up! we can’t forget to read the Bible or pray for 2 weeks & then hop up on stage. rory noland, author of “heart of the artist“, who inspired this post says we need to take this passage (& 1 timothy 3) to heart. aspire to higher standards of integrity. yeah, that may mean some searching, some gutting. and it may mean asking yourself, ‘do i worship, act & react genuinely? could my thought life use some censoring? am i addicted to anything? am i holding on to any sin?’ that’s a lot to ask. i’ve had to ask these questions of myself so many times in the last 5 years.

leaders, ministers & artists are not going to be sin-less, but as we grow in Christ, we aspire to be blameless, or as my former pastor says, to sin less & less. it’s always a matter of the heart…and no one can discern your heart but the Lord.

Q. 4 U

what are you doing to bring a smile to God’s face with your talents? do you think that worship & art team members must strive to have the same high standards of integrity as pastors have? click here for fellow worship leader/blogging buddy, mandy thompson‘s take.