I had started writing songs shortly after I dedicated my
life to Christ, and I wanted to be used by Him in the area of music. I've always loved singing and playing, and
have always been involved in Christian music in some capacity.
However, as a Christian musician, I had sometimes felt that
something was missing in the area of ministry, and I'd wonder just exactly what
had really been accomplished when I walked off the stage. Am I merely providing good Christian
entertainment...or is there something more or different that I should be
doing?
Don't get me wrong.
As a Christian artist, I believe that you can be a blessing, up to a
point, to those around you by writing inspirational and scriptural lyrics, to
be sung in a catchy melody for your audience.
I've done it that way for many years.
But think of what would happen if you could reach down deep
inside of you and allow God to use everything else you possess that's
beyond your music - your strengths and weaknesses, triumphs and failures,
everything that makes you uniquely 'you'
- in order to reach hurting
people for God's kingdom. Make everything available to Him. The impact on those you minister to would be
profoundly more effective, and would bring about a radical change in the lives
you touch. That, my friend, is what
sets Incubator Creative Group apart.
They teach their artists to actually connect in a deep and
meaningful way to those they minister to, instead of merely marketing a
product.
My Incubator journey began about seven years ago. I had decided that I needed to get more
serious about my music, so I conducted all sorts of research on how to grow a
successful music business. I started my own website, created a small but
workable home recording studio in my basement, studied audio recording
techniques, created my own CD, and tried to market said CD on the internet and
during my concerts. I discovered that I
either wasn't doing enough or was doing something terribly wrong, because my
efforts hadn't produced the results I desired.
After a while, it had begun to occur to me that the time commitment
required for all this effort was way beyond what I could handle. So, I backed
off and decided to focus more on church and family instead. Ironically,
I was approached by Incubator during this time, and although I had
started their audition process, I turned them down and directed my attention
elsewhere. However, I kept them in the
back of my mind, because I felt they had some very 'interesting' ideas.
About six years later, something must have clicked inside of
me. I can't explain exactly how or why
this happened, but one evening on a whim I decided to see if these 'Incubator'
people were still around. I navigated
to their website, filled out some forms, clicked a few buttons...and it wasn't
long until I was in the midst of their audition process.
Almost immediately upon getting acquainted with Incubator, I
discovered that what they believed in and valued was radically different than
what I was used to hearing on how to 'work' the music business. What they call the 'Non-Nashville Blueprint'
is exactly that. It's a business and ministry strategy that is tailor-made to
me, the emerging artist. Instead of following the ways of the music industry,
Incubator values ministry over music, weakness over human strength, focus on
the individual instead of mass appeal, and self-discovery over being
'discovered', to name a few. Isn't this
more the way of thinking that God would want me to have instead?
So, now after these many months in relationship with them,
I'm very excited about the prospect of discovering what God has uniquely
created within me to be a light and a comfort to those I come in contact with.
I am very thankful to the Lord for this opportunity that
Incubator has given me to more effectively expand God's kingdom, while
broadening my own horizons as well.
