Monday, July 31, 2006

I knew him when.........

When a person has the possibility of becoming famous people might say, "I knew him when..."

Well...

I knew him when he was but a few hours old.
I knew him when he was learning to walk, read, spell and add.
I knew him when he did not know how to even play the guitar.

Who did I know when? My brother, Ben!

Ben has matured so much the last year. He is an amazing guitarist. He has a beautiful voice. And he has a deep seeded passion for Jesus Christ. He has also taken steps to pursue his desire to make Jesus famous through music.

Ben has no desire to pursue music for the end goal of fame. He does not want to be rich or popular. He loves music. He loves Jesus. And the two go together very well.

Last October he began his journey by becoming the Lead Worshipper (he likes this instead of Worship Leader or Music Minister) at Canyon Ridge Baptist Church. I have had the honor of traveling with him to Fort Collins (an hour and a half away) to help with the church plant. I have watched him grow, mature and develop in his musical and leadership skills.

He has also been strengthening and training his voice through personalized vocal lessons with a well respected man in the music industry.

In March he went to a singer/ songwriter competition in New Jersey. He competed in both songwriting and vocal contests, where he was judged by his voice coach, others such as Ginny Owens and top record producers. Of the 100 competitors he won third place.

Since returning home from New Jersey his voice coach has told Ben that he has improved by 90%. And I agree. There is a deeper, more smooth sound to Ben's singning. In just three months he has developed to the point where he probably would have won. Maybe next year.

In June Ben had the opportunity to lead 1,500 people at the Colorado Home Educators of Colorado Conference. It was the largest crowd, so far, that he has guided in worship. He looked so comfortable, so natural and so free.

Since Ben works at the Lifeway Christian Store he was asked to be staff for a conference in Estes Park this week. You might have heard of it; It is called Music in the Rockies. There are workshops and conferences but the main attraction is the competitions. The top producers, songwriters and vocal coaches in the nation gather to encourage the musical hopefuls. Some people that have been "discovered" at Music in the Rockies are Point of Grace, Rachel Lampa and Chris Tomlin.

So, since Ben is working with Lifeway at the conference, he has a pass to all the concerts and workshops. He will get a glimpse into the real competition and judge how he rates, in his mind, although he will not be competing this year. He will know what to do and what not to do next year.

Yesterday at Music in the Rockies he met with his vocal coach (Dr. Scott) and some people from the conference in New Jersey. They are hoping to start a similar competion in Colorado as in New Jersey. Since he is Dr. Scott's pet he was included in the planning meeting.

Sunday night my mom and I went to Estes Park for the Chris Tomlin, David Crowder and Louie Giglio night. As silly as it sounds, when I watched Chris Tomlin I saw my own brother, Ben. Tomlin talked about the first time he was in Estes Park as a musical hopeful. He challenged the people to not seek fame but to seek Jesus.

I cannot wait to see what God has planned for Ben's life. I am honored to be his sister and to watch first hand his journey. Hey, maybe one day he will be on stage in front of large crowds. That is definately not the goal... but it is fun to think about.

And I can say,"I knew him when...."

3 comments:

Dawn said...

I'm excited for him too! Can I clain I knew him through his sister when...? :-P

Sending your birthday present tomorrow! Ooo...I can't wait!

Anonymous said...

We knew him when...
We went on our first domestic mission trip, and were inspierd by his passion.
When he was loveing,caring,and learning from a little brown in africa.
When he lead Africans and us goofy amaricans in an anamazing worship serves, were he allowed the Holy spirit to move with out being worryed about staying in control of the serves or what people might think...
When he has been a clown (honk honk honk ehe ehe!)
When his heart has broke for the lost.
When his joy has been so great it just spills out and every one is infected.
When he thought he might loses his sister ( Read: Kissing, Fainting, and Trusting God)
And through a million other great and some not so great times.
Thanks for your freindship Ben.
We are excited to see what God dose with your willing heart!

BenZ said...

Wow, well not sure what to say about all that but I come back to the scripture
Matt 25:40
"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
NIV
I pray that I never lose sight of the least of these and that whatever stage God places me on I can truly say, "I'm not here because of anything I've done, but because God is using my willing and broken heart." I don't care if God has me feeding the hungry in India, or teaching english in Poland, or being a church planter for the rest of my life, or if he has me as a hymn writer for the church (such as Tomlin or Crowder) I pray that I will be faithful. As Keith Greene says, "And when I'm doing well, help me never seek a crown for my reward is giving glory to You." Thanks for your support everyone and I pray that God would be lifted high because of my meagre efforts!