HOW DO I GET STARTED IN CHRISTIAN MUSIC?


One of the questions that I am asked regularly is, "How do I get started in Christian music?" Some of the inquiries come from those whose eyes betray their hunger for a stage. Any stage will do. Many others, however, sense the beginnings of a call stirring up within them and simply need help knowing which step to take first.
I have never encouraged anyone to increase their self-promotion or to run after a recording contract. God is not limited to a particular system. There are many artists with valid ministries who work outside of the music industry. The one essential need is to have God cleanse our hearts of selfish ambition and prideful striving. The pattern of God's working throughout history is to extrude His people into a place of service. That is, to call, make a way and compel us to respond to the specific function He has for us. If we believe in the Sovereignty of God, then we can rest in the fact that His purposes will be accomplished. This doesn't mean that we foolishly ignore our responsibility and the need for diligent preparation, but it keeps us from charging ahead of God's will.


With this in mind, allow me to offer some foundational principles.

1. Keep your eyes on God. Too often, we look to people for advancement and opportunities. This leads to the fear of man, which is always a snare. Only God can free us to treat everyone with respect and honor, not showing favoritism or bowing down to positions of power. Psalm 75: 6-7
2. Be patient. It takes time and life for God to work depth into us. Make it your priority to know Christ. Seek Him diligently and do not run from the school of preparation even though it may seem long. Why hurry on to a platform and then have nothing to say? Wait on the Lord and the place of influence He has for you.
3. Be the best musician you can be. Study, practice and work so that your life will be as effective as possible. Remember, God cannot use what you do not have. That would be like refusing to study for an exam but asking God to bring the answers to your mind. He doesn't bless our laziness or negligence. Learn to love the difficult and do not shy away from the process of disciplined preparation.
4. Be involved and rooted in your local church. We never graduate to a place of independence. We cannot isolate ourselves and think that God will use us to speak to His people. The local church is God's means of protection and revelation. Christ reveals Himself within the community of believers.
5. Be content where God has placed you. Guard against looking for the bigger place and working to enlarge your platform. Even if your reasons sound spiritual, there is a great danger in it. Growth and influence are not wrong, but they must come as a result of God's purpose and not our manipulation. With the Lord, there are no little people and no small places. If I am always looking to the bigger place, then I will despise the place where God has me now and miss the purpose of my calling.
6. The highest calling is to serve. Popularity is a powerful drug. With the rise to influence and recognition, there are always those who will remind you of how special you are. They will jump at your command and run to satisfy your every whim. Serving is for beginners and less important folks. The Apostle Paul shoots down this poisonous lie by exhorting us to have the same attitude as Christ had. Then, in Philippians 2, he details the humility and servant life of Christ. God measures by a completely different standard. He who would be the greatest must become the least. We are not above our Master.

Let me encourage you. God has uniquely gifted you to express a facet of His grace that only you can display. Where there seems to be no way, God can make a way. He has a specific place for you and in His time will bring to pass all that He has planned for you.