Heart of the Artist : A Character-building Guide for You & Your Ministry Team

376 Pages·1999·1.75 MB·English

by  Rory Noland

a character-building guide for
for you and your ministry team
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C
ontents
foreword by Bill Hybels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
preface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
introduction:
those “artsy types” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
1. proven character . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
2. servanthood versus stardom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
3. the artist in community. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
4. excellence versus perfectionism. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
5. handling criticism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
6. jealousy and envy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
7. managing your emotions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
8. leading artists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
9. the artist and sin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277
10. the spiritual disciplines of the artist. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321
appendix:
it’s not easy being an artist in the church
from the introduction to thriving as an artist in the church . . . . . . . . . 357
Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367
About the Author
Other Books by Rory Noland
Cover
Copyright
About the Publisher

F
oreword
I
I have never been able to tell mother-in-law jokes because my mother-in-law
is one of the most remarkable women I know. Along a similar line, I have
never been able to join in with church leaders as they cry in each others’
root beer about the chaos in the choir or the squabbles among the soloists.
For nearly my entire ministry, Rory Noland has led the music ministry
of Willow Creek. Rather than my having to justify the misconduct of our
musicians to the rest of the church, I frequently hold them up as exam-
ples of astonishing levels of servanthood, faithfulness, and humility. No
group in our church works harder than the people in our programming
department. No group takes as seriously the challenge of telling the “old,
old story” a new and creative way. And no group in our church is sub-
jected to the harsh glare of public scrutiny to the extent of our artists. For-
tunately, our musicians have been under Rory’s tutelage. They draw
strength from his humility, his servant spirit, and they rise up to meet the
inspiring challenge he puts before them to give their best for God.
In addition to Rory’s leadership and exemplary character, Rory himself
is a monster musician in his own right. He has written worship songs that
have lifted our congregation’s ability to see the true God as He really is.
Rory has composed orchestra music that has stirred the souls of our
people in ways they never forget. But above all else, Rory is a godly man,
a fully devoted follower of Christ whose impact on our lives and our
church is incalculable.
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the Heart of the Artist
As you read this book, please keep reminding yourself, “This can really
happen!” Artists really can lead exemplary lives as they seek to enrich the
souls of people in the church. Through Rory’s influence, I’ve seen it hap-
pen firsthand at Willow Creek.
Bill Hybels
Senior Pastor
Willow Creek Community Church
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P
reface
S
Selfishness, pride, perfectionism, defensiveness, jealousy, envy, emotional
imbalance, and lack of discipline—many people struggle with these char-
acter flaws, but Christians with artistic temperaments will face all these
issues at various points of their lives if not throughout, simply by virtue
of being artists. We don’t stumble on these character issues by chance;
they’re part of our nature. It’s what comes with being artists. I didn’t con-
sent to write this book because I had done a lot of research on character
growth and thought that warranted a book. I wrote it because I’ve strug-
gled with every character flaw discussed in this book. Most of what I’ve
learned grew out of my quiet times with the Lord. I started sharing what
God was doing in my life with my artistic friends at rehearsals, in my small
groups, or on retreats. I sensed a kindred spirit with my fellow artists,
most of whom also wanted to grow in the areas we all struggle with. I then
began to share what I was learning at conferences and workshops and
there too found countless others who were hungry for what God’s Word
has to say about growing in character as a Christian artist. Many of them
would ask me to recommend further resources that spoke directly to those
of us with artistic temperaments, but unfortunately there isn’t much avail-
able. This book is written in response to that need.
I’ve been working with artists in the church for over twenty-five years
now, and I’ve seen churches handle artists in one of two ways. We either
coddle artists and put up with their shortcomings or we use and abuse
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the Heart of the Artist
artists. Irving Stone’s The Agony and the Ecstasy, a biographical novel about
the life of Michelangelo, has one long chapter devoted to Michelangelo’s
relationships with the various popes he worked for. Most of those rela-
tionships were stormy ones, and Michelangelo’s experience as a church
artist was extremely frustrating. As I read about all the abuse heaped upon
one of my favorite artists, the thought occurred to me that this tension
between the church and artists has been going on for hundreds of years.
I dream of the day when the church will stop alienating artists and start
nurturing artists and give them a safe place to grow and become the
people God wants us to be. I wish we were more sensitive to the needs of
artists. And I wish all artists loved the church and were growing in godly
character and integrity.
I’ve come to believe that the best way to experience this material is
within the context of a team or small group. You can go through this book
by yourself, but the greatest benefit would be gained by going through it
in a small-group setting with other like-minded artists. You could study
this material with your worship band, your church choir, your drama
team, your dance troupe, and so on. This material was originally intended
for just those kinds of groups. That’s why I included the same group dis-
cussion questions I would typically use in my workshops. Because I will
often stress the importance of being accountable to someone for changes
you want to make in your life, there would also be a lot of value in going
through this book as part of a one-on-one discipleship or mentoring rela-
tionship with a friend or another artist.
Each chapter of the book begins with a scenario that illustrates the
focus of that chapter. Although the names I used and the scenarios are
fictitious, they are based on real life—situations I’ve experienced during
my years in the ministry.
I currently have the privilege of serving as the music director at Willow
Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois. I was part of the
original youth group that started the church, and was hired to my current
position in 1984. I might refer to my home church from time to time, but
this is not a book about Willow Creek. This is a book for Christian artists.
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