October 17, 2008Describe how you entered the Christian music industry and Pastoral Service?
I never really entered the Christian music industry…when God called me to found SpiritSong Ministries w/ my spouse Jill, it wasn’t really about the music at all. The music was the gift…the vessel that God chose to use to set us on our life mission of “Igniting the world for Christ…one life at a time.” It was the desire to share Jesus and the life-changing message that His forgiveness was for all people, even a lesbian like me, that thrust me into the ministry…and then, I did it the best way I knew how…I sang the message…and thus, SpiritSong Ministries slowly became known as a traveling, musical ministry of hope, healing and reconciliation for all people. RE: pastoral service, the church was the by-product of obedience to follow the call to start SpiritSong Ministries. Usually a church births a para-church ministry…but in my instance, the para-church ministry birthed the church. I couldn’t run away from the eight people who God put around me who kept challenging me to pastor a church…the final confirmation for me came when the local pastors all came together and acknowledged and supported my ordination and encouraged me to follow the call. I did, and now the rest is history. :)
What are the processes and feeling you go through in creating a song?
Most of my songs have been written within an hour (due to divine inspiration). I have not in the past had to sit and toil to produce a song. Although the process is short, I do feel deeply connected to the songs that I am writing…almost like telling a little bit of my life story through every one of them.
How does your spirituality affect your music?
It totally affects my music…totally. The very name of the ministry and church, “SPIRITSONG” was to say, these are the Holy Spirit’s Songs…thus Church of the Holy SpiritSong (Spirit’s Song). I am passionate about Christ. I am passionate about the sacrifice that He made for me. I sing with that passion to say “thank you Lord – I’m giving it all I’ve got because that’s what You did for me.” Music will forever be a part of my life…”IT” – in and of itself, is God’s greatest expression of love to me, and so I return that love to Him through the songs that He gives to me….i guess you could say that for me, there are no songs apart from my spiritual relationship with him.
What dreams do you have for your music and spiritual future?
God is in the process of teaching me patience, but of this one thing I am certain…2009 is the year that I will resume travel/singing on a consistent basis. There was an agreement and understanding with Church of the Holy SpiritSong (COHSS) that when I returned to travelling, they were committing to send one congregant (and pay their expenses) to travel with me and to serve. It would assist me, but it would also offer them the opportunity for an evangelistic use of their own gifts and talents…hopefully it would fuel their commitment to Christ, and they could come back to their home church on fire and spread some of that fire at the home camp J He has also given me the opportunity to found TeachingKids2Play which allows me through private piano and voice lessons to instil that same passion and love of music into children of all ages. There are a few irons in the fire right now, but it would be premature to talk about them at this time. Stay tuned…
What are some of the biggest highlights and challenges of your career thus far?
I don’t see myself having a musical career, as much as I see myself living out a spiritual vocation. The biggest highlights of my life were founding SpriitSong Ministries and Church of the Holy SpiritSong and adopting our gorgeous son, Scott Marcus, (at birth who is now 4.5 yrs old). The biggest challenge of my life was being obedient to return to NJ last year in 2007. It was not something that I wanted to do, but I felt God asked me to…after all, who in their right mind would want to leave a beautifully, thriving, alive-and-on-fire-for-Christ-church filled with people who I had bonded with and loved with all my heart, a very comfortable pastoral package, a built-in network of aunt/uncles to help assist with my son in times of need, and the list goes on. It took me until Feb 08 (from June 07) to go thru the grief process of actually having the leave the church that He asked me to found (and remember, the people are the church). So, I must confess, I still have days that I say, “Gee God, why?” But, I’m not to ask, I’m to trust and as I said, WAIT PATIENTLY WHILE HIS PLAN UNFOLDS.
What is SpiritSong Ministry all about?
Think I answered that already :)
Do you have any new things in the works? Perhaps a new cd or up coming concerts?
Right now I am going to be repressing the old albums so that when I resume travel I will have them available for purchase. I am writing and when that is completed, I will probably take it into the studio…this may be an acoustic recording, not sure yet. RE: upcoming concerts – I haven’t put out the word that I am returning/available, so as of right now there are none booked. But once there are, I promise to share it with you. :)
Where can fans find your music? Please give your final thoughts and thank those that matter the most to you.
Right now, if people are interested in purchasing one of the cd’s, etc. they can just contact me at wepray4you@aol.com. I am in the process of revamping the entire SpiritSong Ministries website, and then they will be available there.
My final thoughts are this: I am grateful to you for the opportunity to share the love, grace, forgiveness, and unconditional love of Jesus Christ through the songs of mine that you air at your station. Keep it up…FAITH COMES BY HEARING….AND HEARING BY THE WORD OF GOD….may we unashamedly continue to share the Good News of the Gospel – any way we can.
Special thanks to Jesus, My Lord, Father God, and my friend Holy Spirit. Thank you Jill for your constant love and support. Thank you mom for always believing in me and helping me each time I am in need. Thank you Malvine (my sister) for coming on board. Thank you everyone at COHSS for letting me go when it was my time to go and faithfully carrying on “Igniting the world for Christ…one life at a time.”®