Well, since you can't ask him, you don't know for sure what he meant, so I'm inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt.
I'm always a supporter of seeking God for creativity. To me, studying another artist for inspiration is cool, but where did they get theirs from? The most original admired musicians had to come up with their stuff from somewhere. If God can give it to them, how come he can't give you your own original style instead of just learning to copy someone else?
The only reason the greats in history are so foundational is because they came on the scene a long time ago and were able to do something that wasn't widely done. Why can't you be the next "great"?
Don't get me wrong, I get trying to learn and understand what's already been done, rather than reinvent the wheel, but sometimes I think we put God in a box, and if it hasn't been done or proven by those we respect as pioneers or geniuses in the field, we don't even give it a second look. We underestimate ourselves and our God.
God CREATED music, you mean to tell me he's gonna give more insight, revelation, and talent to people who don't use it for him, than those who are using it to worship him? I think Nathan Simmons was onto something. Maybe it's not that God won't give it to us, but that we don't seek Him for it, rather we think what's been done and what's out there now is the BEST and we need to get what they have because we couldn't possibly come up with better.
OMG... to where can I send your offering??!!!!!!
You hit the nail on the head with that one, sis.
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Changing the subject slightly, I hate for the rest of the clip to get lost on that one part. He said some really good stuff that we need to heed concerning the singers and actors who take the "stage." How many churches practice putting up the one who is anointed and living a holy life, versus putting up the one who will "tear the church up," or will "sing them into a frenzy?" Fortunately, I can say that I've seen the contrary, but way too many times, I've seen exactly what Supt. Simmons is talking about -- ESPECIALLY in Atlanta. Ugh. It's just horrible.
The body of Christ as a whole, and the members of the body individually, need to go back to spending time with the Lord and seeking His presence. [tangent] Our generation just has way too many distractions with all these new hobbies, movies, games, tv shows, internet forums, and everything else that stands in the way of our time with the Lord. The other day, I wrote down the activities I do each day, and how much time I spend on each of them (eating, working out, sleeping, reading, watching TV, posting on internet forums, posting on FB, returning or composing e-mail, ministering, praying, studying the Word, etc.) and... well, I'm not even going to tell you how unbalanced my days are... lol. I spend a lot of time praying and studying, but not nearly as much as I do with all the other "activities." [/tangent]
