Can Ministry and Art Coexist?

A while back, my church asked me to speak at our youth group about incorporating artistic talents with ministry. I thought I would share with you as well!
Growing up, I was rarely nervous at church, until someone said ministry. Whenever a missionary come to my church and spoke, I always wanted to run and hide, plugging my ears from their message. Why, you may ask? Because I knew I could never be a missionary. I thought I was a horrible Christian. I couldn't pack up all my belongings, travel across the ocean, and sit in the dirt with someone who doesn't speak my language, trying to share Jesus. I thought I let my Savior down every time I freaked out whenever missionaries, outreach, street ministry, YWAM, or any other ministry was mentioned. I always felt knots in my stomach and crippling shame.
I wanted to be a good Christian though, so I tried to do mission outreaches. In high school, I went to Mexico for a week to build houses. I also did an outreach for the homeless. My family and I had always helped at church, assisting in nursery, children's church, and baby-sitting the VBS kids. I tried to really get into it. I tried to be my best, to be the good missionary Christian I knew I should be. But it never seemed to work.
Missionaries and people with outreaches always talked about their work with a passion and excitement I couldn't grasp. I was missing the peaceful joy of the Lord they all had while ministering. I thought I wasn't doing it right. I thought I wasn't being holy enough or saying the right magic words to make people want to become a Christian. It was very disturbing for me.
Then one day, when I was thinking about my shortcomings, something occurred to me. God had never told me he wanted me to be a missionary. He never told me to partake in outreaches, he never directed me to go to third world countries, and he never open doors for me to go either. All he instructed me to do was write.
So I asked God, “is my ministry writing?” I think he had been trying to tell me that for a while because he said very gently and very obviously that yes, my ministry is my writing. That was why whenever I did outreach it felt forced and not fulfilling. God wants me to write, not becoming a missionary, so He was not going to make me feel like I belong where I do not. Sure, I still had a good time and felt God on the mission trips, but not like I do when I write.
I think the church community focuses more on the obvious ministry outreaches whereas God seems to bless an individual with talents to be used for the kingdom. I am an artist. Artists are not usually spoken of in a ministry setting. However, that doesn't stop God. He still sees my work as a ministry and still spurs me on even when I think nothing good will come from The Wizards Legacy.

What's your proof? You may be asking. For all you know, I could be another artsy, tree-hugger who just wants to keep doing what I'm doing and slap a religious sticker on it to say I'm holy.
If you feel out of place when people talk about typical ministry and you are drawn to something artistic, dance, paint, pencil, pen, music, and so much more, that's okay. God is a God of creativity and Imagination. Just look at the sunsets, our galaxies vastness, the human body’s intricacy, and the goofy strangeness of the Platypus, and you'll see what imagination our God has.
Present to God your artistic talent. Allow him to shape it into ministry. It'll look different, it'll look strange, and people might not think that it's a mystery at all. That doesn't matter. All that matters is for you to do what God calls you to do. And He will bless the works of your hands.

Well, I have two forms of proof.
First of all, artistic ministry is found in the Bible. During King Solomon’s reign, a man named Bezalel was “filled with the Spirit of God with wisdom, with understanding with knowledge and with all kinds of skills” (Exodus 31:3). He sounds like a spiritual Guru to me! A guy with that kind of wisdom and authority should minister and preach without breaking a sweat, right?

And, best of all, he was an artist who, and I quote, “was gifted in all kinds of crafts” (vs. 5). He was the man in charge of making the temple of God beautiful. He oversaw the ornate carvings. He led the stitch work of the priest intricate uniforms and the curtain to the Holy of Holies. He carried out God’s detailed design of the Ark of the Covenant. He had great responsibility and God blesses the works of his hands. He used his artistic ministry to bring praise to God and frame God's glory within the splendor of the Temple.
My second piece of proof is this: a ministry led by God will change people's lives and give people revelation about who God is and what he has done for them. True ministry as blessed by God and is not just human effort but Divine effort. Therefore, you be the judge when you read my books. I have had readers tell me their eyes were opened to a side of the Spiritual World they never considered before. Others said they could relate to the struggle and lies certain characters heard and learn for themselves how they should respond when hearing those lies. God's word does not return void and what he touches does not die. My books are saturated with his truths and I know he writes with me every day. Take a look and see for yourself if art can be a true ministry. Click here.
Because I have pursued writing, God has lead me to speak at various churches, sharing what I have learned and, hopefully, inspiring others to follow the dreams God has given them. I have been on the radio, had a TV interview, had several books signings, and several conversations that would not happen without becoming an author. Each time I speak, more people are learning how to use their gifts for God. 

Please understand, I am not talking against standard ministries and outreaches. They are much needed in this world and I greatly respect those able to pursue it. I know I cannot. I simply want to encourage you to discover what path God has for you. What talents has He gifted you with? How can you bring glory to His name? Ask Him.

I asked Him countless times what my mission for my life is, and He was silent for an annoyingly long time. You know why? Because I was not ready to hear it. My lack of confidence in my writing would inhibit my trust in God’s dreams for me. Nor was I ready for such a responsibility. So, if you ask God what ministry He wants for you and He doesn’t answer, don’t be discouraged. Continue life, developing your craft, may it be art, people skills, caring for others, baking, sowing, serving, leading, teaching, and so on. He will reveal His dreams for you when the time is right. Trust Him. 

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Why Self-Published Authors CAN BE Credible

Not too long ago, I had a conversation about self-published authors verses traditionally published authors. My friend, Will, is a film producer, poet, and fellow writer. He is currently working on a film called Bill that, like him, is uniquely thought provoking.
Anyway, he does not think highly of self-published authors. In his opinion, self-pub authors can be anyone who uses Microsoft Word, who most likely do not have writing skill, and are not credible. My published books mean less to him because they were self-published, not the traditional rout. Our conversation debated the differences between self and traditional publishing and I thought I would share it here.
First of all, Will has always been supportive of my writing. He is a good friend whose opinion I value, even if we have different ideas. So, no, he's not a jerk.
I agree with a lot of his ideas concerning self-published authors. I also think we are not as credible. I also think traditionally published books are typically of higher quality. However, that does not mean self-published authors cannot make New York best seller quality books.
The beauty of self-publishing is anyone can do it. The downfall of self-publishing is anyone can do it. It doesn't matter if you studied writing, literature, proper syntax, story arch, plot design, so forth for years or just sat down on WordPad and punched out a story a toddler could come up with. ANYONE can publish, thus a great majority of self-published work is, respectfully speaking, garbage. Just because someone can think of a story and find time to write it does NOT make them author material. With music, it is easy to identify a talented player within a short amount of time. Writing is the same way. By a page or two you know when someone can and cannot write. Also, many self-published authors neglect to properly edit their work, let a team of editors look it over, learn how to properly format the layout of their paragraphs, or design a professional cover. All these unprofessional, trashy books give self-published books a horribly bad reputation.
The reason traditionally published books are more credible is because writers must prove they are with the publishing house’s time. They must find an agent, submit their documents to dozens of publishing companies, their work must be edited and worthy to be read. The wannabes are weeded out until the true writers are found. That is why traditionally published books are far more respected then self-published.
However.
Those of us who self-publish and want our books to be professional, I have far more respect for then traditionally published authors. Why? I am the agent going from publishing house to publishing house, finding the best sales rout, the best royalties for my book, and the most efficient publishing source for my book. I am the chief editor who recruits an editing team, makes sure they edit in a timely manner, delegating who gets to edit what, compiles all their critiques, and modifying the document to its perfection. I am the interior formatter, making sure the correct font is used, because there are good and bad fonts, I make sure each chapter starts three and a quarter in chest from the page's top, I check and recheck the text body so that it is easy to read and one page dose not spill out onto another. I am the cover designer, researching the covers of my genre, brainstorming the best, eye catching cover, yet keeping it simple and to the point. I am the marketing team, planning out each marketing strategy after researching, learning for experienced authors and techniques, and finding a way to execute the plan. I am the treasurer, calculating the best budget for book signings and marketing plans, tallying GROS and NET, paying the editing, cover design, book ordering, and marketing bills while all the while figuring out where more money will come from when I need it. I am the salesman, telling people about my books, giving out information on where to find my books. Oh, and, of course, I'm the writer, the artist working hours on end on a story I carefully crafted with emotion and zeal.
If my books don't sell, it's on me to fix it. If there's a typo, it's my responsibility to eradicate it. If all my efforts are in vein, I'm the one who suffers. The flip side is true too. If my books succeed, I get all the benefits because I own my books. There is a lot of responsibility, learning, and hat wearing.
I know traditionally published books are usually the best, bit if Twilight can become a best seller, anyone can. At the end of the day, an author needs to discover what truly matters to them: do they want to have total control, do everything themselves, constantly learning how to market, network, sell, thus keeping all the rights to their book? Or, do they want to sell their story to a company, let them make all the decisions, unable to do anything if the books aren't selling, and, on the flip side, if the books are selling can sit back and reap the benefits.
After explaining this to my friend Will, his perspective of self-published authors changed. I know there are a lot of horribly written, marketed, cover designed self-published books, but those who take the time to learn their trade and want to be professional, they will deliver the golden books, the quality, the heartfelt beauty.
You think what you like and publish how you want to publish.
I'll stick with self-publishing until proven otherwise.

Speaking of publishing, the first book in The Wizard’s Legacy will be available on Amazon November 7^th! Click on the links below to follow on your favorite sites and be the first to know when “Shattered Lives” is available for you to own!

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