DWELLING PLACE BLOG
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FAITHFUL EP
Worship | December 7, 2021
At our annual 10 Cities Conference, Dwelling Place Music released Faithful. The EP features our two original songs Fathful with Love & Faithful and True.
We sat down with some of the Dwelling Place Music team to talk about our new songs. You’ll hear the heart behind them and how the songs came about. You can watch the song story videos below and listen to our Faithful EP on all major platforms.
YOUR SPHERE
OF INFLUENCE
Creatives | April 14, 2021
We are all influencers, whether it’s just the few people in our world or the many people outside of our world that we may never meet. The reality is, people see us, look up to us, and it’s our responsibility to steward the influence we have and be a godly example to everyone around us.
Your sphere of influence might be on stage or it might be off stage. If you're seen by many or seen by a few, you are an influencer. People see you and the example you set.In Matthew 5:16, Jesus puts it pretty clearly in his teaching. “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” So in all that we do, let’s shine the light, point people to God, and build up those we work with and serve with.
In whatever sphere of influence you have, don’t look down on it if you don’t think it’s significant, because it is. The Bible is full of influencers and many of them started small. David’s sphere of influence started among the sheep he was a shepherd of. Paul’s influence started among the Roman’s who were persecuting Christinas. God used other influencers, the prophet Samuel and the disciple Ananias to come along side them as they stepped into the sphere of influence God called them to.
Even after David and Paul came into their new spheres of influence, it didn’t grow overnight. As they stayed with it, remained faithful, and did the journey, God brought the increase. That came in David influencing the praise & worship songs we sing today and Paul influencing the church and much of our theology. In Matthew 25:21 it says, in part, “You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much.” God will reward our faithfulness to Him when we show ourselves faithful with what He gives us. In your sphere of influence, stay faithful in it, and watch as God blesses it and brings the increase.
5 THINGS WE
LEARNED FROM 2020
Media | March 18, 2021
1. Take Everything in Stride. Last year the shift from in-person services to online services was abrupt. This included all of us gathering what we needed to be able to work from home, getting the website updated, getting social media posts out, and planning our services in a new way. In the midst of unexpected challenges, take things step by step, and over time the experience you gain will make you better at what you do and make it easier to take on more challenges in the future.
2. Strategize. Take a minute to consider the situation, the resources you have, and what the goal is. Then work out a plan to accomplish that goal. For us, it was finding a way to keep our services and weekly meetings going while only being able to do them online. We had to utilize the tech we had in new ways, remotely train people how to use it, and find more online resources to do all things we needed to do.
3. Stay Close to God. We had plenty of opportunities to grow last year. Feeling stressed, overwhelmed, and tired out, were all real things that we could only get through if we stayed close to the Lord. Setting aside time to worship Him, enter into His presence and read His word were key then and are key in our Christian lives.
4. Social Media! These free platforms became a vital resource for us to communicate to our church family. It made a big difference in allowing us to stay in contact with people virtually, keep our community groups going strong online, and encourage our church family.
5. You Can Do a Lot With a Little. When we were doing online services, there was only a small group that could come to make those services happen. We had to completely rethink how we did those services. This included repositioning our cameras, having people send us videos for those services, only having one or two camera operators, and getting creative with our fixed camera shots. No matter how many resources you have or how many people are on your team, get creative and look for ways to make the most of what you have.
POINTING PEOPLE
TO JESUS
Creatives | March 10, 2021
As creatives we want the things we do every Sunday to point people to Jesus. For the musicians it’s more than the set list, it’s leading the congregation into the presence of God and giving Him our portion of worship. For videographers and photographers, it’s capturing the anointing and sending out the sound of our worship and the message from His word to an online audience. For those in production, it’s having the lyrics on screen for worship so everyone can be part of worship even if they don’t know the song. It’s having the lighting in the auditorium set in a way that draws people into the atmosphere. It’s running sound in a way where the worship of the congregation joins in unison with the worship team.
In all these creative fields that are part of Sunday services, each one is important to pointing people to Jesus. Through audio, visuals, instruments, and live stream - they all contribute to the service in-person and online with the goal of lifting up the name of Jesus in worship, the word, and ministry. As we use our creativity in church, let’s remember these verses in Philippians 2:12-13 that give us a heavenly perspective.
Be energetic in your life of salvation, reverent and sensitive before God. That energy is God’s energy, an energy deep within you, God himself willing and working at what will give him the most pleasure. Philippians 2:12-13 (MSG)
A CREATIVE IN THE
OLD TESTAMENT
Creatives | March 1, 2021
Bezalel is one of many creatives we read about in the Bible. He lived in the time when Moses was leading the children of Israel in the wilderness to the Promised Land. Bezalel was from the Tribe of Judah, and his grandfather was Hur, who, along with Aaron held up Moses’s hands as he held up his staff when the Israelites fought the Amalekites as the Lord commanded them, and they won the victory.
Bezalel was a master craftsman who was skilled in working with precious metals, engraving, mounting gemstones, and carving wood. In Exodus 35, we read that Moses had gathered all of the materials for the construction and decoration of the temple to house the Ark of the Covenant. Then God spoke to Moses and told him that he had chosen Bezalel for the job.
Then Moses told the people of Israel, “The Lord has specifically chosen Bezalel son of Uri, grandson of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. The Lord has filled Bezalel with the Spirit of God, giving him great wisdom, ability, and expertise in all kinds of crafts.” Exodus 35:30-31
What is amazing is that not only did God choose Bezalel, He anointed him. When the Spirit of God came on him, it increased his own abilities as a craftsman. While having our own skill sets is great in whatever creative field we’re in, it’s so much better if we also have the Spirit of God in us, leading and teaching us. Zechariah 4:6 says, “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the Lord of hosts.” John 14:26 says that the Holy Spirit will teach us ALL THINGS. It’s not about our natural ability, but the Spirit of God in us that allows us to excel in our creativity and do the things God has called us to, with an excellence that inspires the world, and points them to the Father.
3 TIPS FOR CREATIVES
Creatives | February 19, 2021
1. STAY INSPIRED
We are creatives who have a lot of ideas, and we like to dream. However, sometimes we just can't seem to come up with anything that we're happy with. Here are some things you can do to stay inspired.
- Pray and draw on the creativity that comes from the Creator.
- Follow other creatives on Instagram.
- Subscribe to a channel on YouTube.
- Search for some websites that inspire you and bookmark them to keep an archive of fresh content.
2. COLLABORATE
It can be easy to be the lone ranger and wire-in to work on your next project. Sometimes that's okay, but most times the input from others on your team will be invaluable. Their feedback can bring new ideas, and a fresh perspective to your project that can help take it to a new level. Everyone on the team wins when we work together, and it builds creative community.
3. STAY ENCOURAGED
Many times in the book of Psalms, we read that David encouraged himself in the Lord. We as creatives should take the time to do that in our prayer time, and by reading the Word. This verse in Ephesians is a good place to start.
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10 (ESV)
SCRIBES
Media | February 8, 2021
"So Jeremiah sent for Baruch son of Neriah,
and as Jeremiah dictated all the prophecies
that the Lord had given him, Baruch wrote them
on a scroll.” Jeremiah 36:4 (NLT)
Just as Baruch was a scribe in the ancient times,
our media team are scribes in modern times.
They aren’t writing on scrolls, but they are getting their cameras and filming our Sunday services.
What they do captures the anointing, sends out the sound of our worship, and gets the Word of God to people online and on-demand. It’s not just serving on a team, it’s a ministry to the people watching online and during this time what they do has never been more important and more valuable.
