No Subject

I haven't personally experienced this, but my pastor has.  I can't go into
all the details, but here's the short version...

My pastor had a +30 year career as a concert pianist, composer, and music
teacher.  [And I, the untrained guitarist, am the "music director"; isn't
God funny sometimes???]  When God called him to prepare for the ministry
(relatively late in life), God also told him to put away his music.  It was
a process rather than an event, and was wrenchingly difficult.  But he
clearly understood that it was "death", and that it was necessary for some
reason.  He's certain about that.  [Let be be clear: it's not that the music
'dried up', and he figured that God must have taken it away.  He was called
to lay it down intentionally.]  After a while, he realized that he had
finally given it all up.  He did manage to compose one piece on commission
during that time.  When he was called to pastor our church 3 years ago, he
felt released to get re-involved in the music ministry.  During the last
year, he's been really given his music back.  In the last few months, he's
been spending 3 hours alone with God several mornings each week, and a whole
bunch of quality worship songs have come out of that.  He feels that God has
restored this gift to him for some particular reasons (which he's still
working to discern), so we're in the process of rehearsing to do a
low-budget recording of them and start sharing them at other churches, as
one facet of our witness to what God has been up to at Christ Church.

On a slightly different angle, there's the tale of Matt Redman and Soul
Survivor in England.  This list has already discussed the details, so to be
brief: they became "connoisseurs of worship instead of participants" (to
quote the pastor) and decided to ban the band for a season.  Once they had
learned how to bring a sacrifice of praise without the band, they brought it
back.  Redman's song "When the music fades" (aka "The heart of worship") was
born out of that period.

I can only relate the stories, I don't have any advice to give.  If your
friend feels called to put music aside for a season, you need to let him.
And if you're concerned he'll suffer, then all you can do is be there for
him.

Grace & Peace...

Paul LePine
Christ Church
Watertown, CT
mailto:plepine@snet.net

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