Inexperienced
“The inexperienced believe anything, but the sensible watch their steps.” Proverbs 14:15
“Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain but it takes character and self control to be understanding and forgiving.” Dale Carnegie*
The following is a message I received on my voicemail:
“Hello, John. Uh, this is Ronald. I just thought you should know that today when you led that song that everybody seemed to like, uh, well, they were just being nice. It really sounded like you were singing through your nose. I just thought you should know.”
Throughout my ministry, one thing I have found to be true is that everyone has an opinion regarding the music of the church. Everyone is certainly entitled to have an opinion, but sometimes people share those opinions in tactless, thoughtless ways. When this happens to those of us who are artists, it is important that we look past the attitude of the critic to see if there is any validity to what they are saying. The criticism may not have been given in love, but if we use discernment, we can learn from what is true and forget the rest.
Lord, help me be discerning when I am criticized.
*thinkexist.com
About Me
- John J Frady
- I'm really glad that you've decided to read this blog. My name is John and I've been in worship ministry vocationally since 1987. I started this blog to help those in my church and others around the world who are involved in worship arts learn from my mistakes, thoughts, and experiences. However, now I'm finding that many of my thoughts may be helpful to those not involved in worship ministry. I hope that you will enjoy what I write. I hope it helps you have a better life.
Well, John, I truly think you have one of the most beautiful voices I've ever heard!! I have often said so to other people. So, I can't imagine you singing through your nose :) However, I have taken the opposite approach to comments made at church. I know that people are mostly just being nice when they say that the song sounded nice. The greatest compliments come when they say something like, "thank you for sharing your gift," or "God used that song to touch me" or "worship was awesome today." Otherwise, I'd take a good criticism over empty compliments!
ReplyDelete