Perception

To those who see me lead worship at Central or at Desert Haven, I am a worship leader. To the ones who only come to Central once in a while, I am the guy who sings or plays bass/electric guitar/keyboard. To those looking for the best service out there, the "consumer" Christians here to check out the service, I am either an asset or a detriment... depending on their preference in musical styles and how well I "performed" that day.

My residency ends in less than three months. To the churches I am sending resumes to, I am merely a list of facts, a History major trying to pass himself off as a worship leader. Too little experience. Too little classical education. I couldn't possibly be who they need. There are dozens of churches (and it may get into the hundreds) who will miss out on a passionate, creative, and competent worship leader, simply because they can't get past a list of requirements and their interpretation of the arbitrary facts on a resume. This isn't pride, it's me coming to terms with who I am and where God has gifted me.

This post is more personal than normal, and I apologize if that makes you uncomfortable. There are two points to this post, and the first is this: You always need to remember who you are, where God has given you strength and where He has given you help in your weakness. It's easy to get discouraged, to let your surroundings or constant rejections and slights weigh heavy on your shoulders and cause you to stumble. Don't take that easy, painful road. If you are going to go through pain, let it be from the friction of your passion, calling, and hard work leading you past the threshold of what should be possible.

The second point of this post is that when you are a slave to your own perceptions, you miss very important realities.

P.S. To those of you who would like to help change the way people "perceive" you, social networking sites are important tools in this process. Connect with me on LinkedIn and let's work on changing perceptions.