First Comes the Inner Stillness

By way of introduction: There are several categories of Vocal Coach Blogs.  First, the purely technical, dealing with the mechanics of singing. Second, personal thoughts from Carole, called “Carole Cares.” And, third, those written for anyone who functions in a place of ministry within the Church whether choir director or member, worship team member and those in the congregation who want to give their best.  This blog is from that third category, and will also be posted under the “Enhancing Your Worship” tab on the site.

First Comes the Inner Stillness

In addition to training singers and speakers around the world for a number of decades, I have also had the opportunity to lead worship in a number of different settings, large and small, in the U.S. and abroad.  From those experiences, and triggered by a recent message from my own pastor, I share this thought: I believe you can accomplish more meaningful interaction with God in 10 minutes of inner stillness than an hour of desperate, distraction-filled seeking. And, that’s a good thing for every aspect of your life.

For those who worship, from the congregation or the platform, there is a necessary skill to master that has nothing to do with music.  That is the skill of cultivating an inner stillness.

Be still and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10)

Inner stillness is a place of tranquility and quietness of the mind and emotions.  A place where there is no competition for your attention and God can get right through to you, and you to Him.  This is where the connection, correction, adjustments and inspiration take place. Then, and only then can you be sure you are prepared at the foundational level to lead others to the cross.

Inner Stillness can only be found by deliberate actions. It doesn’t just happen because you want it to.  It doesn’t always happen quickly, and you can’t pay for it with a credit card and there’s no download available.  Here are some tools that can help you find this life-giving place:

1.     Desire. You must acknowledge the need and value of inner stillness in your life.

2.     Planned schedule. You must practice getting there and staying there.  After awhile you will get there more quickly.

3.     Set the physical stage. Get quiet. Get comfortable. Surround yourself with only those tools that will help the process like your bible, and a notebook.

4.     Pray that your body, soul and spirit will rest in the arms of the King and be still.

5.     Drive out mental and emotional concerns by replacing them with Scripture, leaving no room for distractions.  They will return quickly enough.

Once You’re There, Listen

Only after you have gotten to that place of inner stillness will you have something life-giving to share.  Only then, when your spiritual ears are open, can you hear the fresh and new and then give it away to others.

But, what if I can’t seem to “get there,” or “stay there?”

That means you’re human, and subject to a multitude of distractions.  After all, we do live in a multi-tasking, always-something-going-on world.  That, of course, is the very reason we need to spend time in the inner stillness.  Without it we tend to only take in and reflect what the world has to offer; not what the Lord has to offer, and that can be dangerous and very, very limiting in every area of your life.

Give Inner Stillness a try

There’s a real feeling of victory when you are able to push “Pause” on business-as-usual.  Once you have experienced that you can graduate to the “Stop” button, and then you’re really there. . . in that place of stillness.

What helps you find your inner stillness?  I would love hear your thoughts in the comments section.

Tags: chris beatty vocalcoach.com, finding peace., singing lessons, vocal coach, vocal teacher, worship leader

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 14th, 2010 at 2:27 pm and is filed under Choir Directors, Duets to Groups, From the Coach, Kids and Teens, Soloist, Teaching Teens To Sing, Tips Tailored for You, Uncategorized, Worship Team. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.