At the core of his being, Vincent is a creative. He is a worship leader, the leader of Awakening Music and the worship director for Awakening Europe. Not only does his heart burn for the presence of God and to lift up His name, but he also carries a zeal for reclaiming creativity in the Church. He believes the Church should be telling the world what is trending—not the other way around: “People need to look at us and see that there’s something different about us and want to have what we have.”
Vincent Lang’s heart for creativity started early on. He began playing piano at five years old. He recalls: “Self-awareness is one of my greatest strengths which means I have a tendency to be hard on myself. So I never considered myself a good musician so I never actually identified myself with the art of music.”
I never considered myself a good musician so I never actually identified myself with the art of music.
“Take off your shoes, you are standing on holy ground”
Fortunately, this is not the end of his story: “This was until I rediscovered a passion for worship when I first met Jesus in youth group. I had a strong encounter where I felt the Lord speak in me and through me to take off my shoes because I was standing on holy ground.”
He decided to work on his craft in the secret place. “For hours, I would just love on Jesus and sing my heart out. That was my time of connection and intimacy with the Lord. I think it was then that the Lord started to develop this passion for arts.”
For hours, I would just love on Jesus and sing my heart out.
Taking back our ground
Nowadays, Vincent shares that he can get excited about any type of music if he understands the craft behind it. “The more I look into it, the more I start to realize how much it reflects the heart of God. Because at the end of the day, He’s the Creator.”
“Anything that we see in this world that is created reflects the heart of God—to create, to produce, to multiply. The enemy just twists that and uses it all to communicate a dark message. He’s infiltrated Hollywood. He’s infiltrated the music scene.”
“And,” he adds, “as Christians, we need to stand up and claim what is meant to be worship. Anything that we create is supposed to be worship unto God.”
As Christians, we need to stand up and claim what is meant to be worship.
“The gospel should be trend-setting”
He continues: “It sounds weird, but the gospel should be trend-setting. We’re salt and light. People need to look at us and see that there’s something different about us and want to have what we have. Everyone without Jesus lacks and they long for the gift of salvation.”
“There is power in arts as it connects people beyond their backgrounds. Music is the universal language. No matter what your background is, your history, your skin color—everyone loves music. Everyone can be excited about some sort of art.”
His own journey as a worship leader has shown him that there’s more to worship than just four songs on a Sunday. “I can bring Him in worship through graphic design, through pictures, through Instagram. If the Holy Spirit is the creator of creativity, that means we don’t have to look to the world to figure out our style, our sound, our art. But we should be the ones who are the pioneers.”
If the Holy Spirit is the creator of creativity, that means we don’t have to look to the world to figure out our style, our sound, our art.
Creators filled with the Spirit
Vincent refers to Bezalel, the first man filled with the Holy Spirit to create the Tabernacle and its furnishings. “The Holy Spirit took over a man to create. That already shows me that the Lord has such a high value for creativity and art, and He wants to use it for worship.”
Passionate about fashion, he clarifies his statement with a simple example: “I would love to see us not doing church merch based on what we see Justin Bieber wear and then we just take the same design and put on a Bible verse or a Christian slogan. But what if we actually go into a Holy Spirit design and figure out what they are wearing in heaven?”
“Art is like a muscle”
At the same time, he realizes that this does not happen overnight. “Art is like a muscle. You can’t just think: ‘I’m so artsy, I’ll just produce something that has never been seen before.’ Then it’s neither worship nor is it benefiting anyone. It’s just you trying to be different.”
In order to design in the way that Vincent is describing, he offers three keys. The first and main one is the Word of God. “If we nourish ourselves from Him, we will produce life. I don’t think anyone creates something pure and holy if he’s not grounded in the truth of God.”
Getting inspired to inspire
Additionally, he shares a second and third key: we should allow ourselves to be inspired by various things and places, and we must steward our God-given creativity well. “I think sometimes we just also get to trust what the Lord has already placed inside of us. We do not always need to go on a five-day fast to figure out something new. Like, sometimes it’s just meditating on something or walking through His creation.”
“For me, it’s big cities. One of my favorite things to do is just sit in a café in a big city and just watch people’s fashion and get inspired by what they’re wearing. But it’s just an expression of what’s inside of them, and it’s an expression of maybe what they’re going through.”
Godly stewardship
Stewardship of our God-given creativity is the last important key for Vincent. “Whether it’s in conversation or I’m traveling somewhere and I pick something up, I try to take notes. I try to use voice memos whenever I get inspired to keep the flow of art going.”
For example: “I was in H&M a while ago and I recorded a song idea. I heard this cool beat in the background, so I recorded it together with a melody idea. I never did anything with it, but when a moment of creativity comes, you just steward it. You record it, you try to be diligent.”
Obedience is key
In the middle of practical tools to grow in our God-given abilities, Vincent is very aware of the importance of keeping an eye on the bigger picture. He shares: “Everything needs to be centered around the presence of God and we need to make sure we touch the heart of God.”
Everything needs to be centered around the presence of God and we need to make sure we touch the heart of God.
“Obedience is key to lead you to a place of meekness and humility, keep the main thing the main thing. Staying accountable to a pastor who believes in you, who encourages you, but also is not afraid to call you out.”
He closes by hitting on a point that worship leaders tend to forget: “Make sure the worship and the gospel go hand in hand. I think worship ultimately is obedience and He asked us to preach the gospel, to make disciples of all nations.”
“It’s mind-blowing to me how we think that a worship leader who just sings songs on a Sunday is excluded from the Great Commission—he’s not, she’s not. Sometimes evangelists are much more of a worship leader than worship leaders on a Sunday because they follow the call. He gave us the Great Commission, and to fulfill that is worship.”
