My Journey to Music Ministry

As I mark 25 years as Minister of Music for Pullen Memorial Baptist Church in Raleigh, North Carolina, this post reflects on my early journey to Music Ministry with gratitude for the many people whose lives helped direct my path.
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Family
Being born into a family committed to the Church and its music was the start of my journey. Though the only musical talent admitted by my father was playing "You Are My Sunshine" on the harmonica, he was an enthusiastic participant in congregational singing. My mother was a self-described "gospel alto" who sang by ear as she faithfully participated in church choirs and quartets. Attending Wednesday evening choir rehearsals with her was an early and impactful memory for me.[i] My maternal grandfather was also a spirited singer of hymns at home and church, but my three older sisters were the ones who encouraged my early music-making the most. By age 3 I was sitting at the end of the piano bench with them in a church service singing my first solo, John W. Peterson's and Alfred B. Smith’s "Surely Goodness and Mercy."[ii] 
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Childhood Church
As a preschooler, the church of my childhood[iii] nurtured my love of music in Sunday School and worship. At the age of 4 after proudly learning to whistle, our church's pastor, Monroe Philbeck, called me to the pulpit during a Sunday morning service to whistle the concluding hymn! This celebratory gesture effectively provided my first opportunity to offer "instrumental" music in the church (a fun fact I have shared with church orchestras). During Sunday evening services my parents would allow me to sit by myself at the front of the sanctuary where I would sing as loudly as I could. As I grew, additional music experiences in children's choir and as a young soloist were provided me by the church's part-time Ministers of Music.

Music Evangelists
In my elementary years I became aware of Music Ministry as a career when our church hosted a family of music evangelists once or twice a year to lead revival services. For these week-long events, the Bobby Smith family of Muskogee, Oklahoma, would travel and live in a Winnebago. Admittedly, as a child, it was the prospect of traveling in a Winnebago that first drew my attention! But my interest soon turned to the fact that the four-member family not only sang together, led congregations, choirs, and recorded albums, but Bobby Smith also composed their music. Along with the records for sale on the table in the church's vestibule was his sheet music and books. One fall, their son David attended my backyard birthday party and needed a windbreaker. I eagerly traded him mine for one of his father's song collections.

I was enthused by the realization that church music was not only composed in the past but also by contemporary individuals. This creative work intrigued and interested me. I was especially amazed when Bobby Smith wrote a song at our church during the Sunday School hour and then sang it that very day in the worship service! Years later when the same congregation ordained me to ministry, I sang that piece[iv] for my service - in the very space where the song was created and first sung. The idea that music composition could be a means of music ministry was implanted in me during this time. Not long before I entered college, that idea would flower (detailed in the blog post, Divine Wisdom in a Question).​

Church of My Youth
As I entered Junior High School, my interest in a music ministry career increased significantly after my family moved to a different church.[v] This congregation's outstanding Minister of Music, Lex Blankenship, effectively modeled for me the role of a Minister of Music, and provided opportunities for me to offer my musical gifts. During a revival service in this congregation (interestingly, led by a pastor from our former church), I expressed my desire to become a Minister of Music. Even though I was only 13 years old, Lex and the congregation embraced my decision and began my training immediately. Lex treated me as an intern, inviting me to follow him on the job and participate in his work. The church asked me to be the Music Leader for its next revival, giving me the opportunity as a youth to lead both congregation and choir. Following this experience, between the ages of 13 and 16, I led the music for numerous revivals in other Oklahoma churches.

Childhood Church (return)
Several months before I turned 16, Tom Branch, the new pastor at the church of my childhood, invited me to become the church's interim Minister of Music. The congregation had dwindled after an unfortunate pastorate, and Tom was a recent seminary graduate, working to rebuild this faith community. My maternal grandfather was among the remnant of individuals who had remained as members of the church, and I gladly accepted the opportunity. I enjoyed honing my church music leadership skills back in my home congregation, and after a few weeks, the church invited me to officially become its part-time Minister of Music. This job during my senior year in high school provided invaluable experience. The  summer before entering college, this church of mostly saintly individuals from my childhood, encouraged my ministry with the blessing of ordination. 

Many Others 
There are many other people who had considerable impact on my journey toward a career in Music Ministry. These include cherished family, friends, church staff members, and educators. Significant among these is Warren M. Angell whose inspiring work I experienced before college, and whose college of fine arts I attended (see the blog post, In Gratitude for Warren M. Angell). 

As I celebrate a milestone year in Music Ministry, I am thankful for the many individuals who pointed the way.

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​[i] Although as a child I would often play with my friends in the church sanctuary while the adult choir was rehearsing, my attention was more drawn to the choir and its rehearsal. Demonstrating my parents’ encouragement of my church music interests, during a family vacation in Honolulu, Hawaii, when I was in second grade, we visited Honolulu Baptist Church for a Wednesday night service and remained for the church’s choir rehearsal, with both my mother and I participating!  
[ii] Incredibly, this widely-published devotional setting of Psalm 23 was also my wife’s first church solo.
[iii] Phoenix Avenue Baptist Church, Tulsa, Oklahoma.
[iv] “He’s My Everything,” vocal solo with piano, composed by Bobby Smith at Phoenix Avenue Baptist Church, Tulsa, Oklahoma, in the early 1970’s.
[v] Red Fork Baptist Church, Tulsa, Oklahoma.