I know, I know, it’s crazy.  Down turn in the economy, my kids are eating us out of house and home, our house is too small but too expensive to sell in this market, and did I mention I would earn more money than I’ve ever made in my life?  Crazy.  And there were other great offers and opportunities, both in the area and across the country, but none of them ever felt right.

This particular position, and many of the others, would have been the easy path.  I could have gone, used my particular set of skills, then put my brain on auto-pilot and collected a paycheck.  It would have been the path of least resistance.  But God doesn’t always call us to walk the easy path.  Many times we are called to walk the difficult path, the “up the hill in two feet of snow” path that eventually leads us to discouragement, doubt, and even defeat. When God called us to plant The Sound He definitely chose this kind of path for us.  This has not been the easy path but in fact has been an uphill battle at each step.

Even as I write this my mind is on many of the things we are facing that we’ve never faced before in our lives.  We feel kind of blindsided and like Job we’ve been asking “what did we do to deserve this?”  But like the book of Job teaches, there isn’t always a “why” to suffering – or one that will ever be answered for us.  Bad stuff just happens, even when you’re doing everything God has asked you to do.

Are you suffering?  Are you facing things you’ve never faced before?  Have you lost your sense of hope?  Jesus told us that “in this world you will have trouble but take heart because I have overcome the world.”  Cyndi and I are learning that our prayers shouldn’t always be “fix it, God, fix it” but instead, “God, hold me closer because this really hurts.”  And He is holding us…and He’s waiting to hold you, too.

For the past nine years we’ve had the privilege of being in full time ministry.  During this time God has stretched and developed us in so many great ways.  We’ve also learned to believe in the hope that the local church can offer.  These past nine years have prepared and equipped us for this time in our life.  We are thankful for that time of learning and growing and will always look back with fondness on our years during that time.

One of the greatest friends, mentors, and partners in our lives are Pastor Barry and Treche Phipps.  They have helped us grow in every area of our lives and have poured into us like no one else ever has.  We consider them family and even our kids call them “Uncle Barry” and “Auntie Treche.”  Back in 1994 God began to forge a partnership in our lives with the Phipps family.  Serving as a volunteer in youth ministry, I had the privilege of seeing God use Pastor Barry to grow one of the largest youth groups on the east coast.  Lives were touched, families were saved and baptized in the Holy Spirit, and teens were called and commissioned into full time ministry.  That God would again knit our hearts together in a common purpose shows His kingdom view for our lives.

I consider it a high privilege to once again be called to serve under the leadership of Pastor Barry Phipps.  That God has also called our lifelong friends Pastor Roger and Lisa Coles to this work continues to show God’s wisdom and long term view for this ministry.  Cyndi and I have seen that a church can truly change lives and redeem a community.  We are inspired by our past to look ahead to God’s future plans for our lives.

I know that Satan is real and hates us because:

1. The Sham-wow guy is making tons of money
2. The only time I can go to Walmart is on a Saturday
3. Star Wars Episodes 1, 2, & 3 really happened
3. Two and a half men is still on the air but Arrested Development was cancelled
4. I’m considered a geek for actually liking the new Battlestar Gallactica and was sad when it ended
5. Broccoli is a super food but Velveeta is bad for me
6. Spiderman 3
7. The Jonas Brothers
8. I can only lose weight exercising and not sitting on the couch watching TV
9. It’s kind of creepy for me to admit that I’m still a Toy’s R Us kid
10. I can’t just sit down at a piano and automatically start playing it
11. The months after Superbowl and before pre-season are filled with NASCAR – ugh
12. The Beltway
13. Britney Spears
14. Kate Gosselin is allowed near children
15. My two year old can sneeze her Jello everywhere and it’s cute…I do it and am yelled at
16. I’m old enough that all of my childhood toys are being remade into big budget movies that stink
17. My idea for the Pocket Fisherman was actually invented 30 years before I thought it up
18. I have to wait a stinkin’ year in between LOST seasons
19. Windows Vista
20. I am most in the mood for love at the same time my wife is sick in bed with the flu – cruel, so cruel

This is my list and I stand by it.  Are you brave enough to add to it?  Shine the light, expose the darkness, join the fight!

But once you’re there, latte in hand (in some churches), something happens that doesn’t happen any other time.  God shows up in a special way when we’re all together.  And I think it starts at the very beginning of the service with the music.  When we gather together corporately and sing to God there’s something that happens beyond when we are alone.  Corporate worship is an important part of our spiritual experience because we truly grow together when we face God together.  It’s special and hard to explain but when you experience it there’s nothing in the world like it.

That being said, I don’t understand people who refuse to worship God because of a song style. Worship is not a musical style.  Worship is expressing our love to God.  Honestly, in the 35 years I’ve been attending church I have rarely been in a worship service where the music style was my personal preference.  Portico church in Charlottesville was close to my music style – plus it was awesome to hear Megan Daubert lead worship. Mark Batterson’s National Community Church at Union Station in DC came close.  Audie Murphy matched my music style when he led worship in Firepower, as well as the amazing Christian Andes.  Roger and Lisa Coles match my music style almost to a T.  But I’ve also been moved to tears and experienced worship hearing St. Matthew’s Passion at Christmas or even Mozart’s Requiem.

My point is that I rarely attend a worship service where the music is what I would consider my style; you just won’t find most Sunday morning music styles in my iPod.  But I don’t punish God by not singing, folding my arms, and complaining to the worship leader or pastor that it’s not worship because it’s not my style.  I just don’t understand people who can do that.  Music is extremely important to me but it does not transcend worship.  I hope the church can finally come to the place where music style becomes less important and expressing our love to God takes it’s rightful place…whether it’s rockin’ music, a moving classical orchestration, or even Southern Gospel.  God deserves the effort to push past my musical preference and truly tell Him I love Him with my voice, with my uplifted hands, and with my heart.  He’s worth it.

It was just a year after I gave my heart to Jesus that we started to attend church.  And it was soon after that where I discovered the key to keeping me close to Jesus after all this time.  I joined Kids’ Choir.  I totally loved it, too.  Year after year I kept signing up for Kids’ Choir.  And when Kids’ Choir was finished I looked for something else to join.  Drama group, worship band, Fine Arts (it was called Teen Talent when I was in it), youth choir, mission’s trips…you name it I did it.  I got involved as a young kid and kept involved all these years.  Many of my friends who got involved still serve Jesus to this day and a few of them are even in the ministry.

When you get involved God gives you an incredible gift, a power that takes what you are and makes you so much more.  The Bible calls it “anointing.”  Basically, it’s God’s power working with you and through you to do things you could never do on your own.  And as a child it’s a powerful thing to experience.  I didn’t understand everything about my faith as a child but I understood that God could use me to do great things…and I experienced Him doing that.

So Marky will get involved (and Ben and Ella, too).  And I’ll be there cheering them, probably with proud tears, as they experience God’s anointing.  And after they experience God, taste and see if you will, then they’ll be hungry to know Him.  That’s how it worked for me, for my friends, for most people who serve God for the long term.  Get involved, get your kids involved, and experience everything God has for you.

American Ideal vocal camp 2008

I was talking to a close friend of mine the other day who asked me, “Marc, what exactly do you do at Allegro?”  I had to think about that for a second because, to be honest, when you work for yourself you never stop working.  There are tons of things that have to get done and you never have the same day twice.  I started, “Well…I update the website, handle outside and inside marketing, project growth strategies, develop a vision and mission, help write grants, attend board meetings…uh…a bunch of things.”  But now that I think back to that conversation I realize that I forgot the most important thing, the reason that gets me out of bed each morning.  I work at Allegro because I love seeing people use their God-given talents.  I love our American Ideal summer vocal camp where kids and teens can get in front of people for the very first time and sing…and hear cheers and applause for the very first time.  I think every person deserves to be cheered.  Everyone deserves some applause in their life.  I love being able to make that happen.

Just the other day Cyndi and I were trying to figure out whether to pay the electrical bill for the school or the rent or buy supplies for summer camp or the million other things that are demanding payment.  And with the slump in the economy many Allegro families are having a tough time paying for their lessons so money is tight.  It was depressing, stressful, and discouraging; and we both finally admitted…”we hate Allegro.”  It had become such a source of stress because we were only focused on how to keep the doors open.  But as we talked we started to remember why we started Allegro in the first place…because every person deserves a chance to be cheered.  So that night we decided to offer a free summer camp for families effected by the economy, reduce the rates in all our classes, launch outreach into our community with free programs at the Fauquier Boys and Girls Club and Youth For Tomorrow.  It’s kind of the opposite of what makes the most business sense but once we made that decision we’ve started to love working at Allegro again.  Because especially in this tough economy we believe now more than ever…everyone deserves to be cheered.