From May 23 to May 30, I had the wonderful privilege of being one of the singing evangelists for Operation Blue Print’s pilot program. Operation Blue Print is an evangelistic series run by Pastor Ivor Myers which traces the plan of salvation through the Hebrew Sanctuary in the old testament of the bible. In addition to the plan of salvation, he used the Sanctuary to tell the story of how the war between Christ and Satan began in Heaven and how it continues here on Earth over God’s most valued earthly possession, you and me. The series began on the 9th of May, so I wasn’t there every night, but it was structured so that those who came could still get the main point of the series, which is that God uses the types in the old testament sanctuary to help us to see how he has worked on man’s behalf and how he is still working to save us from the penalty and the power of sin. When his purpose is realized, we will be able to stand in His presence and live. I don’t want to give too much of it away, since there is a website where visitors can download the sermon notes and watch the presentations. I’m not sure whether the musical selections were included in the recordings, but I know that they were a part of the live stream. My apologies for not letting you know about this event until after the fact. My excuse is that my new website went live while I was in San Francisco and I was still getting the hang of blogging. I also wanted to wait until I could figure out how to post each of my blog entries into a newsletter.

There were many things that impressed me during my time in San Francisco. The first thing I noticed almost right away was the fact that most if not all of the Bible workers were young people. For me, this is very significant because most Christian young people I know, at least the ones my age and younger don’t seem to have much interest in doctrine and even less interest in missionary work. I was told that in addition to generating leads and giving bible studies, the bible workers were also there to train church members how to give bible studies themselves and minister to their communities. This required them to invest a year of their time even before the series started. At the time when most are pursuing higher education or the best job opportunities, these young people were doing the work that matters most, the work of spreading the Gospel. Now I can’t help thinking of the time of my conversion when I was about their age and making similar decisions. I didn’t spend a year on the mission field or doing bible work, but at the time my decision was to leave my career in secular music and begin devoting my talents to the service of God and the advancement of his kingdom.

Well enough about me. Another thing that impressed me about my time in San Francisco, were the other pianist and singer I had the privilege of meeting. They were also young people devoting their time to the work of the gospel. Jackie, the other pianist and a fabulous one too, told me that she was ready to be a nurse. She had already completed her studies when God called her into full time music ministry. Her husband’s testimony is very similar to mine. He was a member of the band the Waifs, a group of musicians who are well known in Australia. Stories like this encourage me, because financially speaking; this kind of work is not for the faint of heart. I always tell those who I meet who want to do full time music ministry, that we don’t do this for the money or the easy life. We definitely don’t have it made in the shade. Of course, we receive many rewards, but this is a faith walk all the way. Both Jackie and her husband can be found on iTunes. They each have music listed under their names. If you’re interested in checking out there music, go to iTunes and search for Jackie Esposo and her husband Josh Cunningham.

The other group of wonderful people I met in San Francisco was Kelly, Carla and their Daughter Aliya. This was the family that hosted me for the eleven days I spent there. I want to thank them publicly for their kindness to me. They were wonderful hosts. Kelly was the person in charge of marketing for Operation Blue Print, so like all the other workers his home for the whole year was a church. I have been in music ministry now for about eleven years. I have been to many places and I have had many different experiences, I have been picked up from the airport in stretch limos, junk cars and everything in between. I have also stayed in five star hotels, motel six’s and people’s homes, but never a church. This experience was truly a blessing, because I had the opportunity to witness firsthand how people working for the Lord could be happy where ever they are. Because I come from a world where many musicians can’t see past themselves and because I have been exposed too many times to the idea that people in ministry must have the best of everything, it was really refreshing to spend time with the Morris family. It’s not that I didn’t know this before, but sometimes it’s good to be reminded in a personal and experiential way that a life of service is a life of sacrifice. Because of my time in San Francisco, I now have an even greater appreciation for missionary families like the Morris’s and Bible workers who do a work that most will not do. There are those who say that the church is in danger of losing its relevance and that it needs to relate to the postmodern mind by adopting some of its principles. I agree that the church is in danger of losing its relevance, but I disagree with the solution to this problem. The solution is the same as it always has been. It is the self-sacrificing service demonstrated by Jesus the apostles and those who were martyred for their faith. This was the seed that caused the church to grow under the most difficult circumstances.

I also learned the valuable lesson of being prepared while I was in San Francisco. In the process of learning, I got sick. So, I guess you could say I learned the hard way. There is definitely a spiritual application here. Find out what it is in the devotional thought.