[This is a guest post by Scott Troyer]

“Musical gear is too technical and mysterious to understand. Good thing I really don’t need to understand it.”

That is a lie I believed for far too long and my music suffered because of it.

Scott Troyer

I thought that as an artist I didn’t have to know how the technical stuff worked because that was the job of audio engineers, stage hands, producers, and managers.

And so my flawed thinking lead me to other great lies:

Lies I Believed

• Good sound is a level of heaven only mountaintop audio gurus know how to achieve.
• The perfect guitar tone is a Holy Grail players spend a lifetime to find.
• Audio gear is an enigma shrouded in mystery and legend we common folk will never understand.
• An electrical engineering degree is required to know how to connect and use all this equipment the right way.
• Learning the technical side of music making will stifle my creativity, reducing my music to uninspired math.

Musical Mysticism

Now I can see those same mistaken attitudes I held holding back the progress of other musicians. We approach the creation of audio with an unhealthy dose of mysticism.

We speak of great guitars as if there are genies inside that will only come out if we rub it the right way. Amazing guitar amplifiers seem to have magical voodoo hand-wired into their circuits. Our best engineers are like angels descended among us mere mortals to fight off the hums and buzzes in our sound systems.

Audio mysticism is the product of marketing teams, guitar god worship, and rock and roll coffee table book publishers. None of it is helping us musicians play better.

The Fix

So how do we fix this? Simple.

Stop believing the lies. There is no magic inside guitars, amplifiers, effects pedals, or PA gear. All those mystical beliefs are little excuses we like to believe in order to let ourselves off the hook.

They are simply justifications for why we aren’t progressing.

If we want to be better musicians, then it is time for us to start taking responsibility for all the little things that we used to think didn’t matter.

We must hone our skills. Widen our knowledge base. Understand our signal chains. Pay attention when the engineer is explaining what he/she did to fix the problem.

Homework

Can you answer the following 50 questions?

Yes, it’s a long, daunting list of jargony terms and concepts (and it’s just a start).

To be honest, ten years ago I didn’t know any of it and at first I was reluctant to learn. Over time I have learned that knowing the answers to questions like the ones below can make or break a performance.

You maybe thinking, “None of this applies to me. I’m just a singer/drummer/acoustic guitarist/whatever.”

50 Questions To Help You Become A Better Musician

Trust me, learn this stuff and you’ll sound better, play better, be more confident, be able to help others, and enjoy your gigs and recording sessions a whole lot more.

 1. Are hum, buzz, feedback, and noise simply inherent problems in a sound system that must be tolerated or can they be prevented? If so, how?

2. What is a DI box? When and why is one necessary?

3. What is the difference between balanced and unbalanced signals? Why does distance matter?

4. What is a DAW?

5. What are the differences in shape and uses for TS, TRS, and XLR connectors?

6. What is phantom power and when is it needed?

7. Why are RCA connectors considered inferior connectors for audio?

8. How close and at what angle should a microphone be to your mouth?

9. Is a Class A amplifier really “better” than a Class B one? What about Class AB?

Photo Credit: Vancouver Film School (flickr)

10. What is the proper way to tune a guitar?

11. Should a piano be stretch tuned?

12. What are ohms?

13. What is “true bypass?”

14. What is impedance and how does it affect tone?

15. Are more watts always better?

16. What do these effects really do: compression, tremolo, chorus, delay, reverb, flange, phase.

17. What is gain staging and what are the risks of improper gain staging?

18. What is microphone proximity effect? How can it be a problem or used for emphasis?

19. What increase in dB is required to double volume? Do we perceive this volume increase as double?

20. What are “bit depth” and “sample rate?” What values do CDs use?

21. How are distortion, overdrive, crunch, gain, and clipping related?

22. What is the difference between linear and audio taper pots?

23. What do sine, triangle, and square waveforms look and sound like? Are there other shapes?

24. Why is A=440? Has it always been?

25. What do the terms “active” and “passive” mean in regards to electrical circuits?

26. What do omni, figure-8, and cardioid describe? Are there others? When should they be used?

27. What is unity gain? How does it relate to where the faders on the mixing board are set?

28. What’s the difference between mic and line level signals?

29. What are single-coils and humbuckers? How are they different?

30. What is EMI/RFI? And why do iPhones need to be in Airplane Mode when near sound equipment?

31. Is ground loop hum the same frequency in every country?

32. What is the Nyquist frequency?

33. How should microphones and monitors be placed in relationship to each other?

34. What is the bet way to wrap cables?

35. Why do people argue about analog vs. digital? What are the pros and cons of each side of the debate?

36. Describe volume, amplitude, frequency, time.

37. Can drums be tuned? If so, how?

38. What is a fundamental, harmonic, and overtone?

39. What is the frequency spectrum? How do different parts of it sound?

40. What is feedback? What usually causes it?

41. Is it better to boost or cut? Why? Are there other names for these terms?

42. What is the frequency range of human hearing? Does it change with age?

43. What makes MP3s sound bad?

44. Why do radio stations compress audio?

45. What is the true purpose of a PA system?

46. What does ADSR mean?

47. What is signal-to-noise ratio?

48. What does the pickup selector switch on an electric guitar really do? How does it do it?

49. Why do microphone placement and phase relationship matter?

50. What do A/D and D/A convertors do?

A Final Plea

Google anything in this article you don’t understand. Watch “How to” videos on YouTube. Dig deeper. Ask questions. Seek out the maestros. Be a sponge. Then teach others.

I would love to hear about what you have learned.

Question: What is your current level of understanding when it comes to audio and gear? How could diving deeper make you a better worship leader or musician? Any technical questions you have? You can leave a comment by clicking here.

[This post is part of a brand new blog series, "Your Guide to Practicing the Essential Skills of a Worship Leader". Check out the other posts here.]

Sometimes we don’t feel successful.

Without explanation, we awake in the morning to those nasty feelings of dissatisfaction and failure.

The first thing you choose to do will make or break the rest of your day.

Photo Credit: Dave Ozric (stock.xchng)

As a worship leader and pastor, sometimes I feel like a 10. Here’s why:

• People enjoyed the song I wrote on Sunday
• We had a large attendance in the Young Adult ministry I lead
• I received numerous compliments
• I performed well

6 Tips For Breaking Out Of Your Morning Slump

So what do you do next time you’re in that slump?

1. Make a List of Gratefulness – In those moments when you feel dissatisfied, begin to recount what you’re grateful for. Start to pull yourself out of the morning slump. After you’ve written your list, verbally thank God. Your entire countenance will change.

2. Begin Each Day With Vision – It’s OK to shoot for the starts and desire success. But for the Christian, success looks different. Success is doing the will of God. Craft a personal mission statement for your life. Read it every morning. Align each day with the purpose for which you were created.

3. Get in the Presence of God – You were made for God. There’s nothing better for you than to worship, rest, and simply be in the presence of your Maker. His love transcends your performance.

4. Write – There’s sometime incredible freeing about getting your thoughts out of your head. The more you keep in there, the more stressed you become. Take a few minutes and simply jot down your thoughts.

5. Do the Most Important Thing – Before you check email, tweet your blog post, and see what your Facebook friends did last night, do something important. Whether that’s spending time with God, writing, reading, starting that project you’ve been avoiding, start your day creating, not reacting.

6. Know Who You Are – Confidence comes from knowing who you are in Christ. He has called you. He has set His love upon you. He is your God. Live in that truth.

Remember, the most important part of your day is when you awake. What you choose to do sets the course for the rest. Don’t rush around, don’t worry, and don’t dwell on yesterday’s failure.

Success is not the goal of life. Knowing Jesus is.

It’s a new day. Go and light it up.

Question: How do you break free from slumps and overcome feelings of failure? So many of us go through these seasons. Let’s encourage each other in the comments.

For further reading:

• Today We Are Rich by Tim Sanders (affiliate link)
• The Power Of Full Engagement (free self profile)

It’s not that your worship songs aren’t catchy enough.

It’s not that they need more lyrics, better arrangements, and slicker production.

Photo Credit: Ben Fredericson (Flickr)

It’s the fact that they’re not saying anything.

Your lyrics are dry. They were written in 5 minutes after you stumbled on an incredible melody.

The only problem with this approach is that it’s just noise. And it doesn’t serve the church well.

Stop Writing Songs…Instead, Do This

The other day I was listening to an interview with Passion founder, Louie Giglio. In it he made a stark observation about songwriting.

He was talking about Chris Tomlin and his ability to keep cranking out fantastic worship songs. “How do you top ‘How Great Is Our God?’ or ‘Our God?’” he asked.

He simply answered his question: “Songs don’t come from you…they come through you.”

At first, I was mystified and annoyed.

OK, let’s not get super spiritual and say songs don’t come from us. We need to put in the work to make great songs. But the more I thought about it, the more I knew Louie was right, even though I didn’t want to believe it.

Worship songwriting is more about listening than it is working.

It’s more about connecting with God than it is studying a craft.

Don’t get me wrong – worship songwriting is still blood, sweat, and tears. You must work at it.

But it’s much more about how we position our lives.

God has a song that he wants to sing. He’s just looking for a vessel who’s ready – a person who is listening.

As songwriters we need to identify what is on God’s heart.

God, what are you saying to your people?

God, what are you saying to me?

God, what is on your heart?

Too often we resort to quick cliches and mesh them with catchy melodies.

Positioning yourself to hear God is about the contexts you allow yourself to be in. If your only influence is pop radio, you may have great melodies, but yawning lyrics.

You need better contexts in order to hear what God is saying.

5 Songwriting Contexts You Need

Here we go:

1. His Presence – If you want to write powerful worship songs, you need to get in His presence. Worship songwriting isn’t just a matter of finding the time and being creative. It’s about being transformed by God.

2. His Church – Worship songwriting can never be divorced from the local church. It can never be isolated from living in community with broken, hurting, beautiful people. Stay connected and keep serving.

3. His Word – This may be most important. Your worship lyrics should reflect a mind that is fixed upon truth. Your lyrics should reveal that you spend time pouring over Scripture. In all honesty, you want His words…not your own.

4. His Mission – It’s difficult to write great worship songs if you’re standing still – avoiding mission. The best songs will arise when you are living in community, reaching out to a broken world.

5. His Quiet – Endless noise surrounds us, which doesn’t help our ability to write worship songs. We need to enter God’s quietness and rest. We need to hear His still, small voice with clarity.

What’s the missing ingredient? It’s your context. In order to write the best songs you need to hear what God is saying. Dwell in His presence. Serve His Church. Pour over His Word. Live His mission. Rest in His quiet.

Your best songs are waiting to happen.

Question: Think back to the best songs you’ve written. What makes them the best? Also, who is your favorite worship songwriter? What makes them your favorite? You can leave a comment by clicking here.

[This post is part of a brand new blog series, "Your Guide to Practicing the Essential Skills of a Worship Leader". Check out the other posts here.]

You would think that worship would come naturally to a worship leader.

Truth be told, sometimes I’m too preoccupied with leading than I am connecting with God.

A few days ago, I was convicted. As I scanned Twitterville, a tweet by none other than Rick Warren hit me between the eyes. He said:

That’s not usually the case with me. I think about leading people. Thinking about Jesus just doesn’t cut it. I mean, I have a congregation to lead!

Conviction.

Rick is right. The moment ministry becomes more about your task list than it does loving Jesus, you’re in trouble. And I’ve been there many times. To be honest, I think I’m there now.

And I see it all the time. Amazing vocalists and amazing musicians…who don’t worship. They either stand there with a glazed look in their eye, fake it with a hyped up passion, or don’t really know what to do.

Something is missing.

Why We Need You To Worship

Why is this so important?

1. Your congregation will respond better - There’s a strange irony here. The more you think about leading, the less your congregation will worship. The more you think about Jesus, the more they will worship.

There’s something inspiring about a leader who is simply in love with Jesus. A leader who is gripped by the power of the Gospel.

2. It sustains a lifetime of worship leading – thinking about and studying leadership will only take you so far. Pouring your life into the discovery of Jesus – falling more in love with the Savior – knowing Him deeper, will outlast your lifetime.

3. You’ll impart the most important thing to the next generation – At the end of the day, what do you want your worship team to learn from you? Your passion for music? Your stage presence?

I don’t know about you, but I want to impart a passion for the presence of God. I want them to love Jesus. The best way to model that is to worship with desperate passion…every time.

 More important than the perfect execution of your band…More important than singing all the right notes – We need you to worship.

Put your heart for Jesus on display and watch your worship leading rise to the next level.

Question: How do you prepare yourself to focus on Jesus while leading worship? Share your tips in the comments!

A worship team is not a gig.

A worship team is more than music.

There is more at stake than tight music, killer harmonies, and great songs.

Photo Credit: stock.xchng

The reason I’ve dedicated myself to leading worship, writing worship songs, and raising up worship leaders is because I love the presence of God.

There’s no higher aim in life than to be in His presence.

When we gather, God wants to:

• Draw the lost to saving faith in Christ
• Heal the sick
• Perform the miraculous
• Reveal the beauty of Jesus
• Call the church to deeper faith
• Send us out in obedience
• Glorify His name
• Awaken dead hearts
• Shine light into the darkness

We don’t do those things. But God accomplishes it through people. Through a unified worship team.

That’s why being on a worship team is an invitation to the miraculous. It’s being used by God beyond what mere music, songs, and raw emotion can do.

When God is in the room, anything is possible.

So rise up. Show up ready. Play with expectation.

We need you.

Question: Why else is being on a worship team more than music? What is at stake? You can leave a comment by clicking here.

From David: This is a guest post from Matthew Reed. Matt is a hardworking, independent artist who released a fantastic debut EP, “Come And Drink” last year. I was impressed by his work ethic in promoting and marketing his album so I asked him to write a post for me. Let’s dive into the comments and discuss this whole marketing grey area. Don’t be shy.

You may be the most gifted artist on planet earth.

Matter of fact, you may have just recorded the most brilliant, anointed, Christ exalting worship album anyone has ever heard.

But if people don’t know it exists, how will it change their lives?

Photo Credit: Martin Fisch (Flickr)

Last May, I released an EP called “Come and Drink“. David was kind enough to conduct an interview, which began the start of a friendship.

He had seen my record reviewed on a few other blogs and also had seen my name in his Twitter feed through the online worship community. He asked me to write a music marketing blog post – a “how-to” on getting your music heard as an indie artist.

At first, I was hesitant. Marketing can have quite a negative stigma attached to it. I mean, who wants to toot their own horn?

But let’s face it.

If God has given you life changing music, it is worth sharing.

7 Marketing Tips for Indie Artists

Here are some tips I used in promoting my album:

1. Use Twitter and Facebook, But Don’t Be Stupid

Make a list of every close friend or family member you have on Twitter/Facebook that you know that you could ask to help spread the word about your project. If you are DM’ing every twitter follower, you’ll be “blacklisted” quickly and lose friends.

Here are some options:

• DM or message your friends with a suggested tweet for them to post
• Ask for a retweet or re-post.

Make it easy for people to RT. Don’t take up all the characters allowed. If someone likes your tunes, give them space to express.

2. Reach Out to Bloggers

Search Twitter for worship based accounts and blogs. Ask for a tweet or review on their blog. Offer your record to these people for FREE. For most blog writers they will need a bio, album description, album artwork, artist photo and link for them to download your album.

This is one of the best things you can do as it will help you spread your music faster.

3. Help Others

If you expect someone to tweet for you, help them by promoting something they are passionate about. Retweets and mentions go a long way on Twitter. If all you do is promote yourself, you will quickly lose respect online.

Promote those you want to promote you.

4. Give Something Away For Free

Think of your first record as an investment (labels don’t even expect to recoup on a debut release). Give a song away for free or even your whole record for that matter. I know this is hard to do, but it’s more than worth it.

If you go to my Facebook profile, you will see an opportunity to get a free song for “liking” my page. I actually stole this idea from the major labels and hired a coder to help me do this. It’s basically a landing page around “Crash This Place” with video content and the free download.

Trust me, “free” is your best marketing strategy.

5. Partner With A Non-Profit

This will help spread the word about a good cause and good music too! Consider giving away your song for free on a non-profit’s website to help spread awareness around their cause.

There are many tools including Noisetrade to help your give your song away in a widget format that give you code to copy and paste. Most non-profits have a solid web team.

6. Email Blast

Send out an announcement about your record through email form. Be sure to include links for people to connect with you on social media. Give people easy instructions on how to help spread the word. If you work at a church or lead worship, ask your pastor to send out an email on your behalf.

Email is still the most effective, intimate form of online marketing. Don’t ignore it.

Another option is to give away a song for an email address. Check out this helpful blog post on some of these services.

7. Use Video

People who are on the internet love video. One of the best ways you can spread your music is to create a high quality video. I understand this can be expensive, but it’s worth every penny.

Create a trailer for your upcoming album. Stage a music video for your best song (here’s my video for “Crash this Place“). Whatever you do, make sure video is part of your marketing strategy.

This is far from an exhaustive list. I would love to hear what you have tried or heard others do.

Question: How do you feel about marketing yourself? What marketing tips would you add to the list? You can leave a comment by clicking here.

How to connect with Matt:

• Twitter
• Facebook
• Website

A few months ago, I sat down with our youth staff to teach a session on social media.

One of the underlying assumptions about me was that I was on Twitter all day long. I don’t tweet as much as a lot of people, but in my particular circles, I’m probably the most avid tweeter.

The truth is, I’m not on Twitter all day. Matter of fact, I hardly check Twitter, other than once in the morning, occasionally midday, and again at night. Thanks to some amazing social media tools, I don’t have to lose my life to social media.

Here are those tools:

	Buffer Buffer has changed my life. Rather than tweeting throughout the day as I feel like it, I add tweets to my buffer every morning, oftentimes links to articles I find interesting. This tool will make you a social media ninja.
	Hootsuite I love Hootsuite for its ability to schedule tweets. I use this primarily to schedule tweets for my blog posts. Again, a few minutes in the morning with Buffer and Hootsuite and I'm set for the day.
	Google Reader Though there are numerous RSS readers on the market, I can't get away from the simplicity and sophistication of Google Reader. My secret weapon is utilizing this with Buffer. When I'm scanning blogs in the morning, all I have to do is hit the Buffer Chrome Extension and it's added to my buffer. Quick, easy, and powerful.
	IFTTT [if this then that] My newest social media tool. I'm still getting used to the workflow here, but ifttt is a revolutionary idea. It's all about putting the internet to work for you. It's essentially a series of triggers between your social media channels. Worth checking out!
	Later On Kindle Oftentimes in my internet reading, I come across blog posts and ebooks that I don't have time to read in the moment. That's where "Later On Kindle" comes in. "Later On Kindle" transforms any pdf or blog post into a Kindle version, sent directly to your Kindle. The best part? It's free. Brilliant.

Question: What social media tools could you not live without? Let us know in the comments!

[This post is part of a brand new blog series, "Your Guide to Practicing the Essential Skills of a Worship Leader". Check out the other posts here.]

If you want to influence, you need to speak.

There’s no question about it. The currency of effective leadership is communication. This is especially true as a worship leader.

Photo Credit: Creative Commons (Flickr)

There’s just one problem. I’m scared to death of it.

I have anxiety attacks as I prepare. I envision everyone hating me. I’ll even have nightmares where I’m leading worship in my underwear. Ok, TMI. Suffice it to say, public speaking isn’t cakewalk.

But through my years of leading worship, I’ve seen its importance firsthand. It’s not enough to simply sing songs – you must engage your audience on a personal level. Leading worship is more about building trust with your audience than it is performing flawless songs.

Since we’re in a series on practice, you owe it to yourself to practice your speaking. I’ve created a simple acrostic (S P E A K) to guide us.

5 Practice Tips To Improve How You S P E A K

Let’s take a look:

1. Speak to One Person

I didn’t make this up. I actually stole it from a recent newsletter by Chris Brogan. Often in our public speaking we address everyone as a whole. Instead, speak as if you’re talking to one person. Here’s what I mean:

• “How are you doing?” rather than “How is everybody doing?”
• “You know what I mean? rather than “You all know what I mean?

Audiences care about themselves. Address them as individuals. Visualizing one person will also help alleviate some stress.

2. Plan

I can’t tell you how many gifted worship leaders I’ve seen who could sing a phone book but made zero sense when they spoke. They spend plenty of time planning their songs and their band but when it comes to their transitions, they fall flat.

Plan what you are going to say. Carve an hour out of your week to plan that “public speaking” moment. Write it out. Type it on your iPad. Craft it like you would craft a worship song.

3. Engage Feelings

When you speak to a congregation, you want to engage their feelings. With every word, you are building trust. Oftentimes new guests, new Christians, and even unbelievers are in the room and they have no idea who you are or what you’re about. They’ll follow you if they trust you. Speak to their feelings. For example:

• “I know you may be new here…”
• “You may not be used to this sort of worship…”
• “Isn’t it wonderful to gather for the glory of God?”

If you can engage their feelings, they’ll follow you even if they dislike your music.

4. Audition Yourself

Beyond planning what you’re going to say, you need to actually say what you’re going to say. Stand in front of a mirror and watch yourself speak.

Oftentimes I’ll think I have the greatest speech in world…until I deliver it. I find I don’t really know what I’m talking about. The outline is disorganized. There’s not enough humor, depth, or Scripture.

You must audition yourself.

5. Know Your Audience

Before you open your mouth to speak, it’s important to know your audience. If you’re a local church worship leader, that’s relatively easy. You minister to the same people week in and week out. If you travel, it’s a little more complicated. But knowing your audience goes a long way in knowing what to prepare.

So there you have it: S P E A K. Speak with boldness. Speak with compassion. Speak the words that God gives you.

God wants to use your words. And we need to hear them.

Question: Do you think public speaking is important to worship leading? How else can we improve? You can leave a comment by clicking here.

I used to think I was a selfless person.

Until I got married.

Marriage has revealed how wrapped up I am in myself. But I’ve learned that marriage is a process and though you may not start off with a perfect one, the journey will make both of you better, if you allow it.

Shortly after my beautiful wife and I were married, I read a book that changed my life. It was Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas. If you have never read that book, I suggest you do. Gary asks an important question:

“What if God designed marriage to make us holy more than to make us happy?”

It’s the most difficult, yet most rewarding experience of my life. Marriage brings out the worst in me – my selfishness, my issues, my laziness. But it’s also taught me more about ministry and living for Jesus than anything.

Today I want to draw parallels between marriage and leading worship. What if the same truth applies? What if God wants to use worship leading as a means to make you holy more than a hobby that makes you happy?

Think about it. God is committed to your holiness – to making you more like Jesus. Everything about your life is a means to that end.

6 Worship Leading Lessons I’ve Learned From Being Married

Here are some lessons I see:

1. Marriage teaches you to serve – Marriage will only work if both partners are others-focused. It’s about serving your spouse, meeting their needs, and looking outside yourself. In the same way, worship leaders need to be focused on pastoring their congregation.

Worship isn’t about the spread of their talent. It’s about God’s people connecting with their Maker.

2. Marriage teaches you about spiritual leadership – Though this point is aimed at the husbands, it can be applied to the wife as well. It’s one thing to lead yourself spiritually. But leading a family dials up the intensity.

As a worship leader, you have to lead with spiritual passion. It’s not just about your songlist, your band, and your ability to work a room. You show up ready to engage with God.

3. Marriage teaches you about the love of God – The love of God extends to us despite our imperfections. Before we even knew God, He chose to love us. That’s the kind of love I’m learning to show to my wife. And that’s the love that envelops us as we worship.

4. Marriage teaches you about mistakes – We all know it’s rare for a worship set to take place without mistakes. We lead and we learn. In marriage, mistakes abound. It’s all about showing grace and extending forgiveness when expectations aren’t met.

5. Marriage teaches you about planning – A great marriage is a marriage that is planned. A husband and wife must be intentional. If left to happenstance, you’ll look back and wonder what happened. In the same way, powerful worship leading is a combination of careful planning and spontaneity.

Without planning, worship teams don’t serve their congregation well.

6.  Marriage teaches you about priorities – Once you are married, you family is your most important responsibility. Beyond your relationship with God, nothing even compares. It becomes easy for us to spend more time elsewhere – we can be busy doing the work of ministry while neglecting the work of ministering to our family.

I love how Jon Acuff puts it. He doesn’t want his kid’s only memory to be of their Dad’s forehead as he relentlessy checked his iPhone.

As a worship leader, you also need to define your priorities. What you do is about the glory of God. Don’t get sidetracked by lesser aims.

Life begins to take new shape when you see that God is always speaking, always teaching, always making you more like Jesus.

Question: What ministry lessons have you learned from being married? Let’s dive in. You can leave a comment by clicking here.

*This post is part of a blog series on Marriage & Ministry. Check out the other great posts here.

It’s possible that you might not win a Grammy.

After hearing that sentence, did your heart sink?

To be honest, I’m devastated.

Success.

The pinnacle of success.

Deep down, that’s what we crave. We may say we don’t care about the sale of our art. We say we don’t care if anyone sings our worship songs. We say we’re not just in this for large crowds.

But who is kidding whom?

We all want that kind of recognition. We all want to be Adele – shining in the spotlight, caressing multiple trophies, being the center of everyone’s attention.

I’m happy for her. 23 years old and on top of the world.

I wish it was me.

What Gives Your Life Its Worth?

Wouldn’t global popularity make your life worth it? Or would it?

I’m immediately reminded of my purpose in this world through the words of John the Baptist:

“The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. He must increase, but I must decrease. He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth andspeaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all” (John 3:29-31).

John the Baptist understood that the One who comes from heaven is “above all”.

Joy in decrease.

That’s weird. Immediately my pride rises up and says “no”. I’d rather be famous and simply act humble when I get there.

I don’t know if you’re like me, but watching the Grammy’s makes me dissatisfied – with my career, with my bank account, with my house, with my quality of life.

It’s disgusting.

Because I’m blessed with more than the majority of the world. I need to revisit my core. Find joy in decreasing. Find purpose in shining my spotlight upon Christ.

But how?

How Do We Find Joy In Decreasing?

What if my life reaches its end being beheaded in a Herodian prison without anyone talking about me?

I suppose I’m too close to my ego – to connected to my own fame.

Let’s discuss.

How do we find joy in decreasing? How do we pour our life’s purpose into the glory of God and not the fame of our own name?

Come on readers. I know you have a goldmine of wisdom. You always pull through. Join the discussion in the comments!