The Art of Helping Others:
How Arists Can Serve God and Love the World
By Doug Mann
When I saw a new book from my old friend Doug Mann, I had to check it out. I’ve known the guy for years, but had forgotten when he shared with me that he had sort of gotten out of the music industry. Seeing this book was a fresh reminder and I was eager to dive in and catch up on his life.
This guy started a small label called R.E.X. Records and he and I started talking on the phone around the time that the band Rage of Angels had a much-anticipated debut album coming out. This guy signed Believer and Sixpence None the Richer, among others (don’t forget Haven, either). I have spent many times chatting on the phone with this guy, talking metal, Clarksville and life.
It was funny to read of his introduction to some beer-drinking free-thinking and missions-minded believers that he encountered (Insert Baptist-leaning definition/key here: “liberals” or “obvious backsliders”).
His response to missions was typical of many: “I’m just not called to that, but I’ll write you a check.” It’s basically an uninformed viewpoint of what dedicating your talents and vocation to God can mean as a disciple. It’s not just about going to a remote village in Africa or Haiti. Missions is simply about aligning your focus (and life goals) with that of our Creator. His “scarlet thread of redemption” runs through the Bible and is found in each of the covenants that He has made with man. Whether it’s with Abraham, Noah, Moses or Jesus, it’s about being a blessing to all nations and drawing all men unto Himself. Participating in that is a great joy, and that is why many missionaries you meet will exude joy and they’ll find it hard not to smile.
Anyway, I appreciated hearing about Doug’s exploits in the industry:
In the early days of my music career, I was leaking success — success after success. Even though I was part of elite teams that marketed and sold more than 15 million RIAA certified records, which lined my home and work offices with multi-platinum and gold album plaques, I knew there was something missing. The private jets to concerts, limos and hanging with celebrities would leave me with a sense of wading through shallow water with little under the surface. Over time, success caused my heart to harden. I was closed to any suggestion of intimacy with God, even as the Spirit prompted my heart back to him. I became prideful and self-absorbed.
It is not incidental that I was becoming warped while working in the Christian music industry, where intimacy with God is a stated value. I said all the right things and created an acceptable professional persona, all the while hiding behind a safe, superficial facade. I was like the Wizard of Oz — smoke and mirrors all around, but behind the curtain just a little man.
I believed serving God meant trying hard, forging ahead with every fiber, racking up accomplishments and winning people’s approval along the way. In reality, I came later to understand, I was far more concerned about building my own kingdom, ostensibly serving others but mostly serving myself…
…What I took away from that time was that if we lose sight of our need for the good news of Christ, then like a mismanaged bank account we become badly overdrawn and run the real risk of spiritual bankruptcy. Such was the case for me when my status and reputation mattered more to me than God’s view of me.
The author went to a workshop/music summit in Nashville, where someone spoke and God began to convict his heart about intimacy. When he left that night, he had tears in his eyes and people asked if he was alright. His answer was awesome: “No, but I believe I’m going to be.”
After hanging out with some of these missionary folks, who soon invited him, “Come die with us,” he would find his way home, closing his eyes and “breathing deep the wonder of those warrior poets (Oscar Wilde, Michael Collins) whose creativity seemed to now reverberate in my heart and soul. If this was a part of my heritage, I though, then maybe I too was a part of this larger work of opening people’s eyes to the richness of art, music and poetic words. It was my first thought of what I know recognize would become a deeply biblical and God-inspired call on my life.
He was later challenged to shift his imagination when considering doing something radical for God (or, what he called “creative incitement”) from “what if” to “why not?”
If our responses give voice to fear of criticism, we might decide to say nothing, do nothing and ultimately forsake our calling to creative incitement.
It takes creative people to see the world for what it is, to discern the human condition. To practice creativity is to be more keenly aware of the complexity of the world, to recognize its fragile, fractured soul. It takes creative people to awaken that awareness in others. Creativity can beget creativity.
Thus begins the awakening that Mann experienced as he embraced a calling to change the world and inspire other artists to do the same – to fulfill a role of promoting creative incitement. Like any good wake-up call or stirring, it’s likely to do a little of the same for anyone who will read or listen. I’m better for paying attention. That’s all I’ve got to say.
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