The Gospel Truth

Add this entry to Your Favorites [2] Comments

Please wait...

I recently read a bumper sticker that said, “Gravity isn’t just a good idea…it’s the law.”

And what a law. Unlike, say, traffic or civil laws, you don’t have a choice about obeying the law of gravity. Jump and you will come back down. Faith or good intentions have nothing to do with it.

Here is a great excerpt by Dr. Jason Lisle from The New Answer Book.
>Everything in the universe, every plant and animal, every rock, every particle of matter or light wave, is bound by laws, which it has no choice but to obey. The Bible tells us that there are laws of nature – “ordinances of heaven and earth.” (Jeremiah 33:25)
God’s logic is built into the universe, and so the universe is not haphazard or arbitrary. It obeys laws of chemistry, physics and mathematics.
The most fundamental laws of nature exist only because God allows them to; they are the logical, orderly way that the Lord upholds and sustains the universe He has created.
The two words that stick out to me like a neon sign are “LOGICAL and ORDERLY.

For example, we’ve all seen the animal programs on TV where the lions are singling out the weakest wildebeest. This is the law of “survival of the fittest” in action. It is designed to ensure that only the best of the species survive to procreate. Perhaps to us it seems cruel to see a weakened creature being slaughtered, but the animals don’t know any better. They are instinctively obeying one of the laws of nature. To me, it’s logical.

THE LAW OF GROWTH

There is another law that applies to each of us. It’s the Law of Growth.

Everything in nature (God’s Law) is developed through a logical and orderly pattern of growth.

You can’t start out in life as a teenager...you have to start as a baby and grow to be a teenager.

You can’t have an oak tree unless you start with an acorn.

You can’t build a house from the roof down.

You get the idea. There are hundreds of more examples I could give you and they all teach the same law. You can’t break this law, any more than you could break the law of gravity.

NATURE TEACHES US HOW TO SUCCEED

Nature’s law requires us to grow, to continually move forward in small steps. If we fail to grow we become a casualty of the law of “survival of the fittest.”

This pattern of growth – “inch by inch” – is not only applicable to our physical well being, but also to the development of our careers. We do not succeed in giant steps but rather in small increments, one little victory at a time.

I remember as a young boy, 7 years of age, being told by my parents that I would be starting piano lessons. In my young mind I immediately imagined myself playing like my dad, who was, at the time, an extremely accomplished professional player.

You can imagine my disappointment when my first lesson consisted of an outline drawing of my little hand and a scale of 3 notes.

Unfortunately, many of you “newbies” are experiencing the same feeling. You started out with illusions of grandeur and an image of success, only to find that it’s not as easy as you thought it would be.

This is true of many artists in Southern Gospel Music.

They don’t recognize opportunity because it usually comes wearing overalls, looking a lot like hard work.

So they shell out thousands of dollars each year for programs that make them chase their tail…over and over and over again. What a shame!

If you are caught in this pattern you are breaking God’s Law of Growth…step-by-step…inch-by-inch…one victory at a time…logical and orderly.

You need to break out of this cycle and experience real growth and success in your ministry. You need a plan.

Here is what I believe and what I teach:

1. Give life to your dream.

You do this two ways, by writing it and speaking it.
First you establish what your dream is, for example “I want to be singing every other weekend,” or, “I want to sing on the main stage of NQC.”
Whatever your dream is you write it down and post it where you can see it all the time.
Then you begin speaking it, “My dream is to sing on the main stage of NQC and by God’s grace I will do it.” You tell this to everyone who will listen. If you’re in a group you share it with the other group members and make sure everyone is on the same page.

These actions will give life to your dream.

2. Assess your talent level.

How realistic is it for you to accomplish your dream with the talent you now possess? If you’re in a group, are all the group members up to the task? If not, this is where you need to make the necessary adjustments to realize your dream.

3. Find your sound.

If I ask you, “What is your sound?” and you answer, “We sound just like Gold City, or the Booth Brothers, or the Perrys…that is the wrong answer! We don’t need another Gold City, or Booth Brothers, or Perrys.

If you ask any of these groups that same question they will respond, “We sound like us.”

You must have a sound that is uniquely yours.

4. Identify your market.

Who likes what you are doing and where are they?

There are 3 groups that come to mind in addressing and explaining this point. They are The Inspirations, The Mckameys and The Chuck Wagon Gang. Not everyone enjoys the sounds of these groups, but all of these groups have a sound that appeals to a specific group of consumers, and these artists rarely sing to anything less than full houses.

5. Develop your sound and style.

Once you have determined what your audience likes you must work at fine-tuning it for maximum impact. No successful artist I know ever stops working on this.

6. Provide Value.

Why would a church or promoter want to have you come sing for them?

When a pastor or music director knows, either by recommendation or past experience, that you will minister to the people and meet their needs, you are providing value to that church.

When a promoter knows that you can put people into seats for him, you are providing value.

7. Network.

Find other artists who are likeminded and whose spirit bears witness with you. These artists will provide strength and encouragement to you, as you will to them. Sharing ideas and testimonies with these artists will provide fertile soil for growth.

Each of the 7 steps above could cover an entire chapter. I have just given you an outline, and this is only the beginning. This is what I teach the artists who work with me.

So you see, there is a logical and orderly method to succeeding in SGM and it works just like God’s law says it should…you start at the beginning and you grow from there.

Now…here is my question to you. How does this compare to the current system in SGM? You know – Send a song to radio – Wait a few months – Send a song to radio – wait a few months – send a song to radio – wait a few months – blah, blah, blah, blah.

Are you one of those artists who are going around in circles chasing your tail? Are you still trying to bypass God’s Law of Growth? Are you trying to start life as a teenager or build a house from the roof down?

Isn’t it time to put God’s Law of Growth to work for you?

I close with this scripture; "He who works his land will have abundant food, but he who chases fantasies lacks judgment." Proverbs 12:11 NIV

As always,

I welcome your comments.

God Bless You

Nick Bruno
http://www.nickbruno.com

Reader Comments

Page 1 of 1 Comment Pages

Add Comments

If you are seeing this form you are not a Member or have not logged in. Why not consider becoming a Member?

Membership allows you to have a prepared signature of your choice applied to every comment you make, as well as the ability to choose an avatar to display next to your name to help identify your posts. Members are also given opportunity to vote weekly in our Weekly Chart as well as special Members Only contests, polls and giveaways during the year. If you are already a member, login here, otherwise please register here.

**Note: Forums membership is a seperate membership.

By posting you agree to our Comments Policy

Name:
Email:
Location:
URL:
Comment:
	Remember my personal information
	Notify me of follow-up comments?
Please enter the word you see in the image below: