Changing minds with spirituality.

Changing minds with spirituality.

Around April a strong feeling set in; I needed to at least be practicing in a band setting every week. After hearing stories from other musicians who split time between churches, I was considering splitting time between the Orchard and another local church that was short on bass players.  There was conflict with the theory of placement, and the issue of loyalty, so I prayed a lot for guidance.  Then came a call, which was completely out of the blue, with an offer to audition for a cover band.  Their band practice was Thursday night, fitting perfectly into my schedule, so I accepted.

Initially it was a lot of fun to learn new songs, tighten them up every week in practice, and then talk about available gigs. The band members were easy going; everyone shared the idea that we were out to have fun playing music that we like.  No egos, no rockstar mentalities, none of that diva stuff.  It was a guys night for them; low stress, have a few beers, and practice the songs they are in a mood to play that night.  Honestly it was the cure to midlife crisis through being part of a bad.

Something interesting happened this weekend.  We played at a toga party thrown as a 20th high school reunion alternative to the actual event, hosted by my drummers at his beautiful house in a very upscale area. His friends are all new money, self-absorbed, status conscious people, and while I liked most of them, I really didn't feel like I fit in.

Later in the afternoon they were having a weird conversation about the world ending, that's when he turns to me and says, "you're the most holy person I know, and the day the world starts coming to an end I'm going to find you." I give him a shrug and he adds, "if there is anyone that God is going to save, it is going to be you. Maybe you can put in a good word for me."

Now I'm really perplexed because I've invited them out to church once or twice and they were quickly avoid the subject, so I dropped it. Through brief conversations I came to know where they stand with religion. None of them want to have any affiliation with Christianity, so I've never tired ministering to them, and I've never played up my status as being outwardly holy. We've had a few conversations about getting paid to play at church, and nothing I could say would change their minds from this exploitation happening every weekend.  Seriously, if I could play praise music seven days a week for free, then I would. I'm confident that God would take care of me.

So I asked why he thinks I'm that holy because I don't perceive myself as being any different than other Christians I know at church. His answer is more attuned to how I carry myself spiritually; being humble, honest, forgiving, patient, and not being judgmental toward anyone in the band for the lack of religious practice. I'm not the typical Christian. But what if..? 



This is what happens when you don't practice for a month.

Mike Jones

About six years ago, Karen, my brother's wife, started randomly calling churches in hopes of finding someplace that would let her host student recitals. She found one that would allow her to have open access to the sanctuary on the grounds that she would play at their services, so started a long journey.

Soon after she began playing services, they decided to move towards a modern growth format, so the elders hired a pastor named Chris.  He recognized need for leadership and brought in Mike Jones to lead worship.  In the next six month the congregation doubled in size. It didn't talk long for Mike to ask Karen if she would play in the modern services, and that led to a lasting friendship. One weekend the praise team was short, missing a lead guitarist, so Mike asks my older brother Ron if he could help. Mike says, "no obligations, just give it a try and see how it feels." Ron enjoyed the experience and has been involved with worship services since that day.

The church never fully transitioned because the elders decided to tone down, if not nearly abandoning the modern services out of prejudice for the old. They let go of Chris, and Mike followed. When hopes in a new church plant never took off, Chris came onto staff at a 90 year old church that had transitioned to a seeker friendly service.

The story of the Orchard Community can be found here in Christianity Today. Scott had taken over a lead pastor role of the church after his father's death, previously he had been leading worship. The Orchard felt the need for a praise leader / music director, so eventually Mike ended up on staff. It didn't take long before Mike approached Karen and Ron about joining the Orchard worship team.

I bought my first bass around the time that Ron started playing in the worship band. Honest I never thought about playing bass guitar until I was in my late 20's, and then the idea kept growing until I finally bought one. After a while Ron was borrowing my bass to fill in on the weekends when the church didn't have a bass player. He kept telling me to work on my chops because the church could use bass players. I told him that I wasn't a church person.

Later that year he gave me a quarter of bass lessons as a birthday present. Initially I was blown away by the really flashy slap style funk rock, and I practiced a lot. After two years of bass lessons my teacher kept telling me to find a band. I was frustrated that I couldn't find one, and then I went back full time to college, so I stopped taking lessons.

Hungering for a reason to pick up my bass again, I accepted the invitation to audition at Ron's church. It was fun, but I was scared to death of the idea of preparing 5 or 6 songs in a few days time and balancing a full class load. Then May comes around and Ron asks me to give Mike a call. So Mike says, "we are really in a spot this weekend, do you want to come out and play? No obligation, just give it a try and see how it feels."

I really struggled at first, but I enjoyed playing on the praise team. Mike stuck with me, always encouraging me forward. I've heard constructive criticisms, but never a negative word out of his mouth. He always has a smile on his face, and he wss never afraid to face any challenge that comes his way. We once played a song that needed both keyboard and rhythm guitar, so he sang, played keys, then swung his guitar around towards the end of the song. It was amazing.

By the end of the summer I had to start confronting my struggles with faith. One weekend in late July I was completely blown away by what I felt during the worship, and my life has slowly changed since that Sunday morning. I've totally become a spiritual geek in terms of theology and ancient Christian writings, but still I accept that I am a layperson.

So this weekend I will play my 92nd service, and it will be the last with Mike. Monday he rolls out to a job at a church in California. I was taken back when he announced that he was leaving, but I understand the reasons. He has been such a great spiritual leader, possibly the most influential person I've had in my life, and I'm so grateful for everything he has done.

Thank you Mike!

Two really huge things we all learned from you; first is that we can change people with our spirituality, and the second is that if God is patient with us, then we need to offer that same patience to others as they grow in faith.