on song

We're absorbing a lovely dose of rain this week in the Northwest,

restoring our spirits for an impending return to the desert heat.

One of the ideas that emerged from the recent sermon series on Hebrews

at The Village was that of knowing our calling so we would not drift away

from Christ & the true gospel. The idea here was not the general calling of

people who follow Christ, although the Bible certainly says a lot about this.

What we were looking to do was to know our individual callings, as found

in answer to such questions as the following: what are my spiritual gifts?

what was it about God that I most loved when I first met Him? how did He

awaken my heart? what am I doing when I feel most connected to God?

If our salvation is the source of our calling, as Paul's was, then we should listen

back to the initial call of Christ we heard and find our vocation. From that we can

tell our story and proclaim the truth about God's grace to us.

Hebrews 2:1, "We must pay the most careful

attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away."

Our task as a church was to help each other diagnose this root of salvation

and what it might look like to live it out, turning away from disbelief.

This led to a string of exciting conversations for me, as I had opportunity

to explore my own life and the beauty to which God was inviting my friends.

The interesting thing that surfaced in many of these conversations, and in

conversations in different contexts as well, is how many people have

experienced passion for God through music -- as children or teenagers,

in groups or alone, through dancing or singing or playing an instrument.

Most of the friends I talked with about this were unsure of how to proceed

with this aspect of their calling. Many of them had completely discarded or

sidelined it. They don't seem to be in a place to perform in public settings or

to be part of leading music on a large scale. Does their musical

past lead to the present? Is it something to offer other people, or did

God give it to them primarily for connecting with Him in an intimate way?

These are questions I have been asking as the leader of bands at

The Village. I wonder what my role might be in helping people integrate

the musical part of their vocation into their lives and maybe more into

the community at large.