Spiritual Preparation

Ministry is the product of my relationship with Christ.

Read that again:

Ministry is the product of my relationship with Christ.

We need to make sure we get this one straight in our hearts and our heads.

Colossians 3:16 "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God." Did you notice that ministry in the arts came after being filled with God's word? We are missing something huge if we think all we have to do to have an effective ministry for God is to be great at our art. While artistic preparation is key, it's meaningless without the spiritual preparation we'll discuss here. The correlation between knowing God and bearing fruit in undeniable throughout scripture.

So how do you prepare so that your ministry can indeed be a product of your relationship with Christ?

Spend time with God. That's it. That's the answer to every question regarding how to prepare your spirit for ministry...for the day...for your life. Colossians 1:10 tells us to "live a life worthy of the Lord...and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God." When we walk closely with God, we will bear fruit in every part of our lives, not just the artistic part.

Nurture your relationship with Christ. Set aside regular Bible reading time. Engage with God on a regular basis so that you can put yourself in the position to hear something personal from Him - something meant just for you!

Our highest priority should not be our art. It should be our relationship with Jesus. The psalmist writes, "as for me, it is good to be near God" (ps. 73:28) It is good to be near God. But let's face it, life - the routine, the demands, the chaos, the responsibilities - can make our regular time with God seem 'optional' when we get busy. The truth is that's when we need God's guidance most. Martin Luther once said, "I'm too busy not to pray." I think there's something to that.

I want to share a story I read that has stuck with me. I think it captures the significance of spiritual preparation, especially as it pertains to the incredible opportunity God has given each of us to use our gifts through the church...

George Frideric Handel was a deeply spiritual man who walked with Christ. As he wrote the glorious "Hallelujah Chorus," he broke down in tears and cried out,

"I did think I did see all of Heaven before me, and the great God Himself."

But today, except in few cases when the "Hallelujah Chorus" is performed, we focus on the singers, the soloists, the orchestra, the conductor, the instruments, the recording, the acoustics - everything but God Himself. It's become religious music without God. Nancy Beach writes, "My urgent warning is that we Christian artists can fall into the same trap: doing religious music without God, or doing Christian art without being intimately connected with Christ."

Let's make great art friends but let's not miss our GREAT God who is birthing it and moving through it…through us.