Discover How to Flourish as an Artist in the Church. Over 150,000 Copies Sold. God is interested in your art and your heart. The Heart of the Artist, now in an updated second edition, deals head-on with issues every person in an arts ministry faces, including: Servanthood versus stardom Excellence versus perfectionism Handling criticism Jealousy and envy Managing your emotions The spiritual disciplines of the artist And much more Each chapter includes provocative questions for group discussion and personal action steps for individual application. Somewhere between pride and self-abasement lies true humility--just one aspect of the balanced character God wants to instill in you as a musician, a technical media artist, or other creative person involved in ministry. The Heart of the Artist will give you a better understanding of yourself and your unique place in the body of Christ. You'll find wisdom and encouragement that can help you survive the challenges and reap the rich joys of a ministry in the creative arts.

Spiritual formation is the key to the survival of our faith. There is an urgent need today for church services that are substantive and purposeful. Stigmatized by scandal, the church in North America and throughout Europe has been branded as useless and irrelevant. To stem the tide of nominal Christianity, we need to get serious about making disciples who can make other disciples. Rory Noland is a worship leader who has led in contexts ranging from megachurches to small retreat settings such as the Transforming Center with Ruth Haley Barton. Combining discipleship and worship-what Noland calls transforming worship-he offers a vision for worship as spiritual formation. We need to reclaim our worship services as a formative space, and through that we will become the light of Christ in a dark world.

Whether you serve as a vocalist, instrumentalist, technician, dancer, actor, or in some other role, you know what a blessing it is to serve on your church's worship team. But you also know that some days you're more technically prepared than you are spiritually prepared for the ministry of leading others in worship. In the midst of rehearsals, setup, and myriad distractions, not to mention the busyness of daily life, it's easy to miss the forest for the trees. How can you and your fellow team members be prepared to worship in spirit and truth as well as lead others in worship with integrity? With thirty years of experience in worship leading, Rory Noland knows the issues-in both the private life of the worship team member and the public ministry of a worship team. In this readable book, he offers practical insights on how to * Grow as a private worshiper * Encounter the character of God during worship * Respond to the character of God during worship * Be transformed by the character of God * Learn from ancient worship leaders ... and more. So relevant you'll think the author was eavesdropping on your last church service, The Worshiping Artist is ideal to read either by yourself or as a team.

Rory Noland addresses the challenges of Christian worship head-on, offering practical suggestions gleaned from Scripture on understanding and experiencing vibrant worship. The first half of Worship on Earth as It Is in Heaven explores what it means to grow as a private worshiper. The practices of the psalmist David provide insight to help people worship God on their own. Second, Noland discusses corporate worship by exploring the glorious gatherings in heaven, as described in the book of Revelation. He presents immediately applicable ideas for becoming a better corporate worshiper. This book includes: * Slice-of-church-life scenarios. Every chapter begins with a brief scenario that presents a worship-related issue or a conflict corresponding to the chapter topic. * Group discussion questions. Based on the opening scenario, these questions help readers think about and discuss worship-related topics from different perspectives. * Issue-by-issue practical guidance from a biblical perspective. * "Ponder and Apply" application questions. Each chapter ends with a series of discussion questions and action steps to help readers identify key insights and make personal applications.

* Great for individual or group use * Includes provocative discussion questions and practical action steps * Features four-color art plates and literary quotes It's not easy being an Artist in the church. But whatever your passion-music, visual art, drama, dance, writing, technical arts-you can not only survive, but thrive. And the rewards far outweigh the pressures of weekly services, artistic differences, and relational conflicts. After all, where else could you consistently make a contribution of eternal significance, experience deep community with other artists, and grow closer to God as a result? Thriving as an Artist in the Church is a practical guide, full of wisdom and pastoral guidance, that will help you surmount the obstacles and flourish in your ministry. It's packed with examples, discussion questions, personal action steps, and mega-doses of encouragement. Most important, it tackles the real-life issues every artist in the church has to deal with: * Sustaining passion * Developing key relational skills * Dealing with rejection and failure * Cultivating confidence * Resolving artistic differences * And much more! Written by an artist for artists, this book will help make your ministry experience sustainable and life-giving so you can fall in love with the church all over again. Rory Noland is director of Heart of the Artist Ministries (www.heartoftheartist.org), an organization dedicated to turning teams of church artists into communities of grace. A composer, songwriter, author, and speaker, Rory is a graduate of the Chicago Musical College at Roosevelt University and served for twenty years as music director at Willow Creek Community Church.

When asked by his son why some churches have smoke machines, worship pastor Manuel Luz found himself responding, "Well, technically, you need smoke machines to see the lasers." But when you take down the smokescreen, what do you have left? Where do we encounter the Holy in the midst of all this? Where can we worship with our full selves-heart, soul, mind, and body-in Spirit and truth? Drawing from his own experience leading worship in a large congregation and feeling the pull of performance, Manuel Luz guides us on a journey through worship that takes us far beyond style and deep into our own souls. He calls us back to an honest worship that moves past facades and pulls us inward toward the true self that God is forming within each of us. Each chapter ends with a spiritual practice designed to help us set aside pretense and enter into the very presence of God.

Finalmente un libro escrito por un artista para los artistas dentro de la iglesia. El ministro de musica de la reconocida iglesia de la Comunidad Willow Creek en Chicago, comparte sus experiencias y ensenanzas acumuladas desde 1984 para proveer a los salmistas, cantantes, grupos y musicos dentro de la iglesia de un terreno biblico y solido en donde sostenerse respecto a temas como: 'Ser siervo en vez de ser estrella', 'La Excelencia como lo opuesto al perfeccionismo', 'Como manejar la critica', 'Los celos y la envidia', 'Como manejar tus emociones', 'Las disciplina espiritual del artista' y 'El artista y el pecado', entre muchos otros."