First, a bit of a back story to give you some context:

When I was 4 years old I started learning Suzuki Method violin. The first year I never got to play an actual violin. I had a ruler taped to an empty kleenex box which i had to tuck under my chin and walk around for 20 mins a day, just to get used to the feeling and strengthen my neck apparently?!? I’m surprise i didn’t quit right then… For the next 7 or so years, on and off i played the violin. Every so often i’d lose interest, and so I started learning the trumpet. Then it hurt my teeth and I spent a year getting piano lessons. I won 2nd prize ( A shiny new $2 coin ) at the Warrnambool Estedford for playing ‘My New Bike.’ Having conquered the world as a professional concert pianist, i asked Mum and Dad for drum lessons. I learned the drums for a couple of years in between short 1 year spurts of French Horn, Bass and even Tuba. When my friend got a brand new Levinson Blade, I thought I’d like to play guitar. When I left High School I was playing drums more often than not and moved to Melbourne to study audio engineering. My apartment didn’t afford me the luxury of practicing drums, so i picked up an acoustic and started teaching myself. Eventually I studied guitar at Box Hill College of music.

My  mum would always get so frustrated with me – JUST PICK SOMETHING! I was fast becoming someone who knew a little bit about a lot and never excelled in any of it. I would get frustrated that someone was always better than me at whatever it was that I was doing. It discouraged me, and so I’d look for something else to sink my teeth into. That’s part of the creative brain i think – where’s my next challenge? I get the general gist of French Horn – now what? It’s plagued me all my life in every area I’ve ventured into. I reach a certain level of competence and move on to the next challenge. Ironically, and it really is ironic – that lack of practical commitment to any one thing has served me well in my role as Creative Arts Pastor because i guess I know enough about the areas I’m responsible for to know if someone’s pulling the wool over my eyes, and if something needs to be done I can usually do it.

Hmmm… that sounds like a compelling argument to continue a pursuit of mediocrity – and by all means, please do – but know that your value in a team first and foremost comes from you investing in those things you’re good at, and bringing the best of that to the table. I realised at college that the reason everyone at College was a better guitarist than me was because they spent every spare waking hour practicing their guitar. They didn’t divide their time between learning Guitar and trying to figure out how this ‘internet thing’ worked. They weren’t out taking photos, learning photoshop or pulling things apart and putting them back together with less screws…

It’s easy for us to get bored in our gifting if we don’t challenge ourselves to excel at what we do. If you’re a drummer – getting through a service is not your musical end-goal. Developing your skills and inspiring the others in your team should be your end goal. Ask yourself – “what am I bringing to the table?”

John Maxwell talks about levels of leadership – and i think they easily apply to musicians and technicians in the creative medium. He says if you’re a 7, 8 or 9 in one area – don’t waist your time trying to grow something that’s only a 3 or 4, or in some cases a 0! Your best value to the team is getting your 7 to a 9, or your 8 to a 10!! At best you may only grow your 3 to a 5 – and the time you’ve invested will amount to a lack of fulfilment and/or frustration, whilst robbing the team of your valuable contribution of 8.

I guess what I’m saying here is that as much as I’d encourage everyone to try new things, don’t do it at the expense of those you’re serving with. We might lose a great guitarist and gain an average bass player that needs to be carried each week – or a gifted worship leader might end up doing very average mixes up the back.

As someone AGAIN reminded me today – “Just do one thing well!”