Today I want you to think about your ministry as a crop. What are you planting? How are you caring for it? When is it mature and ready for consumption? I think if the metaphor was good enough for Jesus, I’m going to take it and run for a moment. So hang with me while I create a picture for you.
My son and daughter in law have a foreign exchange student from South Korea living with them for the year and it's been a delight and a splendid opportunity to hear about another culture. Ji is teaching our American family so much about Korea. I recently experienced Red Ginseng Tea for the first time. So here's the thing I'm not a tea snob..I'm a coffee snob being from the Pacific Northwest and all! So a little education was in order. I opened the box of tea out of obligation so I could honestly say I had tried it but I wasn’t too hopeful since my typical approach to tea is the fruity girly kinds like pomegrante peach and vanilla chai…well you get the idea. And since I’m not a tea snob I didn’t have one of those special spoons that hold the leaves and keep them from floating in your tea cup….now those I do have from my dad’s tea cup collection…but that’s another story but God is funny! So I dug through my kitchen drawer and found a mesh ball that holds spices for apple cider and dumped the little package of Ginseng in the cup. So I do know you let it seep 5 minutes and then you drink it. To my surprise I came back and the mesh ball was empty and the little things I though were tea leaves were actually crystals that dissolve in water. So no leaves…now just tea. To my surprise it tasted lovely unlike green tea that I apparently don’t have a palate for!
I know you’re wondering where I’m going so hang on…I think it will be worth your time. Now I was intrigued by Ginseng Tea and a little research was in order. So I asked Ji to fill me in on why this was such a special commodity in Korea. To my shock she explained how the tea is grown for six years before it’s harvested. Wow…I’m used to short growing seasons like radishes…plant a seed, a week or so later they sprout and by day 21 you’re eating a radish! So what on earth or should I say in the earth is happening for six years?! I went to my trusty friend google and began learning! I found out Korea produces the finest Ginseng in Asia. It’s geographic location, growing time and being situated on a peninsula allows ocean winds to aid in it’s growth and obvious value. Ginseng is known as the root of longevity and has been renoundly used by Koreans for over 5K years! It’s incredibly rich in vitamins and minerals while be free of caffeine, synthetic materials or artificial colors or preservatives. By the way it’s kind of yellow and not red! So the benefits are touted to increase brain efficiency and boost liver process. All of that packed into a tiny package of crystals.
So my question to you today is are you trying to grow your ministry into a radish or ginseng? Now don’t get me wrong…a radish is a beautiful thing but it doesn’t have the healing properties like ginseng. At Incubator we don’t take six years to get you ready for healing ministry utilizing all those ministry gifts inside of you that include your music but hey we’re not growing radishes! We’re driven to help an artist discover the unique gift they are and how when you use all of those gifts inside you…your life will not only touch but be an agent of healing and growth in someone else…now that’s wow ministry to me!
I think often times an artist is trying to release stuff way to early…settling for producing countless crops of radishes when there is probably some Ginseng in those fields. I’ll date myself but can you hear the Beverly Hillbies…tune? Too funny! But seriously you’ve got to know what seeds you have. If you think of yourself as just your music then you’re planting radishes and hey plenty of people love radishes so that’s okay. But here’s the thing…when you begin to not only see the other ministry gifts inside you but you realize each of them represents field… that little creative mind of yours is going to explode. You’re a complex being created by the creator of the universe and there are many seeds of greatness in you and fields that could be white for harvest!
Remember how wind is such a critical piece of the Ginseng process? Wind brings change…change in temperature, challenges to grow and bend and resist. Stop for a moment. You need this wind in your life…your ministry…your field. So where are you situated? What kind of crop can you grow and bring to maturity? It all starts with what you want to grow. If you want to grow a radish then it doesn’t even need dirt in the beginning…it can sprout between two wet paper towels. But a little dirt helps and then it grows and before you know it you’re eating a radish. ‘
Personally I think we have too many radishes in Christian Music. Sure we have the songs…a lot of them grown between paper towels and some nurtured in soil but we have too many. Look at all the sites where you can find tune after tune after tune. Do you think the average guy goes through tune after tune? Well…maybe an artist does but typically a person has heard the tune or knows the person. I don’t want to burst any bubbles but the average and above average artist is not likely going to be ever heard on the radio unless it’s internet radio with a very small following. The average Christian station rotates about 200 tunes…don’t be discouraged…radio will not grow ginseng….gingseng starts out ginseng…radio simply promotes ginseng. I won’t go on with the metaphor but I think you’re with me.
So how do you get your ministry to have impact? If you want to have a faithful following of people who want not only your music but your perspective and healing that comes as a result of using your life experiences to speak to a need then you want to plant Ginseng. Ginseng is a root…you don’t see what it looks like until harvest…you just keep caring for it knowing after 6 years if you’ve cared for it properly it’s ready! You’ve got to be willing to be honest, transparent and vulnerable…nothing synthetic allowed in ministry.
I hope I’ve not offended anyone…I still love my radishes and you’ll find me feasting on them once or twice a week. But when it comes to life giving ministry with healing power for the long haul… I’m going to be filling one of my dad’s tea cup with Ginseng several times a day! Cheers! Something to think about…
