In a world full of “ME” messages, how will you be known?

How do you market yourself? By market, I mean what’s your favorite way to spend your time? What are you constantly dreaming about or thinking about?

Are you marketed by fashion? By art? By chemistry? By exercise?

Are you marketed by how many RTs you get on Twitter or likes on Instagram? I’ve worked professionally in Marketing and Social Media, so I understand the time that is put into marketing yourself or a company.

In fact, this post itself is being marketed. I’ll share it on social media, hoping people will read it. But all of these things mean nothing if I write to be well-known.

I don’t want to be marketed by my writing, intelligence, who I hang out with or my hobbies.

I want my life to be marketed by mission. I want to tell stories of the goodness and sacrifice of Jesus and to be in community with people who will share life with me.

In fact, Jesus himself was a marketer and an artist. Matthew 15, Mark 7 and John 2 are all perfect examples of how Jesus portrayed the artistry of storytelling. He used His words to help people get out of their own heads. Art will do that to you, allowing you to see things a little differently.

Jesus used storytelling so people could become thinkers, so people could picture what Jesus was saying in their own way. He helped listeners understand principles like grace, wisdom, love, healing without solely using those key words. He painted pictures with the stories that He told.

He used this artistry to create beauty and to relate with others. They were leveling tools. Create images, paint a picture, relate with others…

I want to create and reveal truth like Jesus did. Instead of frittering away the gifts I have been given, I want to use them for the Kingdom.

A life that uses what I love to grow community, discipleship and the Kingdom…

Most of the world’s messages are not Kingdom messages, but inconspicuous messages that have a way of isolating us and insulting our communities.

I don’t want to share those messages. I want to be known by my mission of loving Jesus, encouraging others and leading people to Him.

During my blogging journey so far, my writing and mission have become more clear than ever.

If I stop focusing on being heard and more about what I’m feeling led to write, the more creative I will become.

It’s not about me.

The more I focus on what I feel that Jesus is calling me to do, the more generous I become.

I’m not writing so people will care about what I have to say. I’m writing so people will LEARN to hear out what I have to say. I want to help people listen to the Gospel and encounter Jesus rather than interrupting.

In fact, most of today’s marketing messages interrupt.

Don’t interrupt. Create intrigue. Create a world you want to be a part of. Create discipleship.

People want to discover. So let them.

Discovery is often found in weakness. Allow people to discover their weaknesses and lead them to Christ. He meets us at our point of desperate weakness.

So stay in your field and be faithful where you have been planted. There are dangers in jumping fields without instruction.

Serve with excellence. Market yourself as a servant.

What is your land? In what area has God empowered you to create change and shine for His glory?

When I think about the field I have been placed, I feel super inadequate. Like SUPER inadequate. How in the world could I do any good? I’m pretty ordinary.

I may be pretty ordinary, but I serve an extraordinary God. So extraordinary that He could love someone like me. I get even more pumped about ministry when I think this way. I know that I’m not in control. I realize that what I do does matter and it’s about what God will do through me.

We rule with the hear of a servant, but we serve with the heart of the King. This faith we have in Jesus is an intentional confidence in God’s character.

God wants the combination of His steady, constant calling and personal counsel in Scripture to characterize us. When we are developing in maturity, He keeps us alert for whatever He will do next.

Welcome God’s glory in a way that shows non-believers that the promises of God will come true for them.

I am grateful that I am loved by God regardless of my performance because I don’t exactly get this right all the time.

What’s cool is that I am constantly being shaped. He’s helping me discover what I’m good at, suited for and passionate about. He’s constantly teaching me more about how to lead effectively with love.

I’m a work in progress. God is consistently bringing me more to life. I am understanding more of the complexities of His love, reign and character.

Today’s messages may make a Gospel focus more difficult. I fall into those difficulties at times. In my creative community, I want to see the world for what it really is and then figure out how to best help it. This art that I so love is my way of seeing the complexity of the world. The more I practice the more I become aware.

I want to be marketed by mission.

P.S. Since we’re talking about mission, now is the perfect time to check out our new photography group: Vision Collective!

Vision Collective is a photography community in Carbondale, IL. We love Jesus, we shoot together, share life together and serve the community!

Check out Vision Collective’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages for more info! Our first meeting is January 28th at 7 p.m. at the Carbondale Underground Network.