* Great for individual or group use * Includes provocative discussion questions and practical action steps * Features four-color art plates and literary quotes It's not easy being an Artist in the church. But whatever your passion---music, visual art, drama, dance, writing, technical arts---you can not only survive, but thrive. And the rewards far outweigh the pressures of weekly services, artistic differences, and relational conflicts. After all, where else could you consistently make a contribution of eternal significance, experience deep community with other artists, and grow closer to God as a result? Thriving as an Artist in the Church is a practical guide, full of wisdom and pastoral guidance, that will help you surmount the obstacles and flourish in your ministry. It's packed with examples, discussion questions, personal action steps, and mega-doses of encouragement. Most important, it tackles the real-life issues every artist in the church has to deal with: * Sustaining passion * Developing key relational skills * Dealing with rejection and failure * Cultivating confidence * Resolving artistic differences * And much more! Written by an artist for artists, this book will help make your ministry experience sustainable and life-giving so you can fall in love with the church all over again. Rory Noland is director of Heart of the Artist Ministries ([...] an organization dedicated to turning teams of church artists into communities of grace. A composer, songwriter, author, and speaker, Rory is a graduate of the Chicago Musical College at Roosevelt University and served for twenty years as music director at Willow Creek Community Church.