We recently connected with Shawn Bigby and have shared our conversation below.
Shawn , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
As a believer, I try to live a life of faith so when I made the decision to go full-time into music ministry it was RISKY. At the time I was working in retail for AT&T however I knew what my calling and purpose were. In 2010 I met one of my musical mentors who asked me to lead worship at his church on Sundays. He was also a touring artist and asked me to do a 2-week tour with them. I was unable to get off of work to take the opportunity. During this time I was also reading Steve Furtick’s book Sun Stand Still which was about praying audacious prayers of faith and believing God to answer. I knew that if there was ever a time to step away from my job and step out into what I felt my purpose was then I needed to take advantage of it. As we went into 2011 I gave my two weeks’ notice and with full knowledge of what would be a huge pay cut I stepped out to pursue full-time music ministry and I have not looked back!
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I am a worship leader, singer, and songwriter, and most recently I have authored my first book titled The Platform: On and Off (A blueprint for worship facilitators) in this book I take my 20-plus years of experience leading and facilitating worship and share successes, failures and give both a pragmatic and spiritual look into leading worship in the local church. I am most proud of the fact that I get the privilege of honoring my local assignment as well as my national one by leading worship and teaching worship teams across the country.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
I think society (myself included) can best support artists and creatives by making sure we support them financially. We will never know the true cost of creating various works and projects, but I think we must do better by recognizing that there is an immense cost that goes into it.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
I think one of the most rewarding aspects of being an artist and creative is the opportunity to create something that impacts the lives of others. Whether its a new song, book, or moment in worship as a creative I have the pleasure of using gifts that I have been given to serve others in some way or capacity.
Contact Info:
- Website: shawnbigby.com
- Instagram: @shawnbigby
- Facebook: shawnbigby
- Linkedin: shawnbigby
- Youtube: Shawn Bigby
Image Credits
Shawn Bigby (pictured) Lee Smith (photographer)