Episode 33: Gifts of Influence (Arts and Entertainment)

Welcome back to our Gifts of Influence series! Here during the holidays madness, I thought it would be a great time to reflect on the gifts God has given each of us! Using the Seven Mountains of Influence as a tool, my hope is that you’ll all be able to identify your mountain or mountains of influence and how you can can be intentional about using them where you are! Every person has God-given gifts. And because of these gifts, every person is equipped to play a part in the body of Christ. Just as a little refresher, I’ll name the seven Mountains of Influence that inspired this series. They are Media, Education, Family, Business, Arts & Entertainment, Religion, and Government. Today, we’ll be covering a big one: Arts & Entertainment. According to generals.org : “In this mountain we find some of the most influential forces shaping our society. Music, filmmaking, television, social media, and the performing arts drive the cultural tastes, values, and standards of a nation’s citizens, particularly its youth. With a heavy reliance on the strong appeal of sex, drugs and alcohol, the arts and entertainment industries wield significant influence. The body of Christ needs powerful righteous men and women who are not afraid to take their God-given talent into the arts and entertainment arenas. People ready to further His purposes, while impacting those who are lost in darkness and would not otherwise be interested in any kind of Christian message in traditional forms.” I love that last bit… “impacting those who are lost in darkness and would not otherwise be interested in any kind of Christian message in traditional forms.” I personally believe this is why Arts & Entertainment is one of the most important arenas (at least for younger generations)… It’s the place that holds the most potential for bringing God’s presence into the lives of those who may not experience it any other way. It’s the mountain that touches those who often run from or simply have no interest in God. They prefer, rather, to be engulfed in world; pop-culture, relevant hot-topics, and the lifestyles of the famous. It makes sense that this is the mountain where we can most deeply effect the lives of the coming generations. This particular sphere of influence is one that gets to take the world stage more often than many of the others. After all, entertainment belongs on a platform. It’s crucial, then, for those who possess these gifts to understand their role in it. It’s tricky, too. Because if you’re really really extraordinary at what you do… chances are, the world will elevate you. I’ve noticed that many who posses God-given gifts in the arts & entertainment sphere are the very ones who ‘make it’ in the secular world. I’m not saying this is bad thing. On the contrary, the bigger the audience, the greater the opportunity to share the Gospel. However, the other side of that coin is that many other things can come with a certain level of success: fame, money, pride… and ultimately any major form of distraction the world could throw at a person. This is why I said it can get tricky. Unless you have a solid foundation AND continue to fix your eyes on Jesus above all else, it can be easy to get lost in it all. I say this not to discourage any of you from stepping fully into this sphere of influence, but rather to remind you how you got there in the first place and, ultimately, as a reminder of why you’re there, too! To bring light into dark places. Matthew 5:14 reminds us: “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.”. And that is exactly what your life will be like on the mountain of Arts & Entertainment… Thank you to our sponsors!  Awana: Visit TalkAboutdiscipleship.com and use code HANNAH to start your two free months. Abide: Download Abide Sleep and Pray Meditation today and text my promo code UNEXPECTED to 22433 today to get 25% off!