Heart of a Servant -- Michael Puryear

 

When was it that God became real to you? If you ask Michael Puryear, he might just pinpoint that time, and then go one step further. Looking at how Michael chose to mark that occasion, how many of us could say that we similarly asked God, through a song, to put inside of us a “Heart of a Servant”? Nashville, Tennessee is a musical place (see its seal here), so that melodic gene was certainly all around Michael, was inside the church where he worshipped, and was permeating his own spirit, too. For Michael, the simple prayer song that he composed in or about 1992 summed up what he was experiencing with the newfound realization of God’s calling. What Michael prayed is like asking the Creator to build a small eternal flame inside one’s being, so that it acts like a perpetual engine with a constant light to show others the nature of the One who gives it. Its fiery presence, you might say, has consumed Michael’s life through all the music he’s been able to write in the decades before and after this special moment. This way of being consumed doesn’t destroy, but actually remakes a person.

 

Michael Puryear’s few words say volumes – so read and hear them for yourself, as he responded to this blogger’s email recently:  David, it (Heart of a Servant) was written soon after reaching a point that Christ became more than real to me. I was going to Ashwood Church of Christ (Nashville area) and wanted to basically write something that was meaningful and could be a worship tool.  The song seems to get to the core belief of Faith and the reason for being a follower of our Savior. Did you notice that Michael said ‘Christ became more than real’ to him? So, it wasn’t just a notable moment for this songwriter, but an extraordinary moment, when he suggests that Jesus was so present, that this God-Man could not be ignored. His own servant nature must have been so abundantly evident, that Michael wanted to mimic Him and urge others to do the same, in order to exalt Him adequately. Jesus deserves something ‘meaningful’, as Michael’s own words testify. What is at the ‘core’ of our faith? Michael must have been wondering, as others do when they first meet this One who claims to be God, then become more familiar with Him, and finally reach a crossroads – a decision point. If He’s really God, and really did behave like the ultimate servant, just to draw me into His saving life, how can I resist? Maybe Michael read what Paul wrote to some Philippians (2:1-11), or perhaps one or more other similar biblical odes –  with a musical edge to them -- as they venerate this servant Savior. If you love music the way Michael obviously does, what better way to amplify His hold on you than to appreciate Him via what He says through His musical messages in scripture?

 

He’s a beautiful God, and so it really makes sense that He tugs at us as though he’s gently strumming the strings of a guitar or tickling the keys of a piano. He’s not loud and obnoxious, but rather a servant, coaxing you and me with His loving, sacrificial nature. Michael describes this servant as tender, faithful, and true with the few words he crafted, as an echo of what Paul and others say about Him. But, don’t just stand there admiring Him. Imitate Him, and understand that you’re His tool for the community that He’s creating. What? I’m not equipped to do that! But, He provides the only thing you need – Himself, and the love example He provides. It will be some kingdom when we all see it, each other, and especially Him there! This kingdom of His has no perimeter fence to limit its membership. He wants the whole world, and you and I can begin this quest in our own small corners where we live.     

 

Thanks to Michael Puryear for his emails to this blogger on 9/3/2024 and 9/4/2024!

 

Read about the author-composer here: Michael Puryear | Belmont University

 

Read about the Ashwood Church and its predecessors and how it has evolved since 1992 here: https://www.woodmont.org/our-history

 

See information on the seal of Nashville here: File:Seal of Nashville, Tennessee.png - Wikimedia Commons…This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published in the United States between 1929 and 1977, inclusive, without a copyright notice. For further explanation, see Commons:Hirtle chart as well as a detailed definition of "publication" for public art. Note that it may still be copyrighted in jurisdictions that do not apply the rule of the shorter term for US works (depending on the date of the author's death), such as Canada (50 p.m.a.), Mainland China (50 p.m.a., not Hong Kong or Macao), Germany (70 p.m.a.), Mexico (100 p.m.a.), Switzerland (70 p.m.a.), and other countries with individual treaties. 

To the Least of These -- Randy Gill

 

He’d just found out that his friend was behind bars. That’s what it was, with no sugar-coating. Shock, disbelief, disappointment – those were all present on the day that Randy Gill discovered something about a friend, a guy with whom he’d felt a certain camaraderie existed. His friend now wore an emotional weight about his neck, perhaps not unlike a millstone that brings someone low, threatening to drown him. Such a person, one who has disgraced himself, might be in the same quandary as the homeless, destitute soul we too often see at the traffic light, a battered creature asking for a handout. (The image ‘Least of These’ shown here is the placard used by a group at this blogger’s church, a group that seeks to help homeless people in Washington, DC each week.) “To the Least of These”, Randy thought, as he studied scripture and cried out with his insides after mourning his friend’s circumstances all night. And so, with that prayer, Randy helped something productive emerge from a tough situation. Hear Randy’s own thoughts about this below, and consider the phrase ‘there but for the grace of God, go I…’, probably something that we all ought to contemplate the next time we see a fellow human in a deep struggle.

 

One afternoon I learned that a dear friend of mine had been arrested. A secret life none of us would have imagined had suddenly become very public. It was humiliating to my friend and devastating to all of us who loved him. In the days that followed he lost his job, his reputation and was fearful he’d lose his family. I couldn’t stop thinking about how a life could totally change in an instant and my heart broke as I tried to decide how to respond to someone I had loved and admired for years.

 One morning, after a sleepless night, I sat down at my piano and started playing a simple melody. I began thinking about Jesus’ words in Matthew 25 about responding to the least of these. The second verse was actually written first – a direct response to my friend:

 May we reach out to the broken - The beaten the battered

To all who have fallen - Disgraced and ashamed

May we be a comfort - Loving forgiving

and offering grace in Your Name

 That was my prayer. I wanted to respond to my friend with the same grace the Father had shown me. The first verse and chorus were meant to broaden the scope of the song. I’ve always loved the simplicity of the chorus.

 To the last, to the lost, to the least of these. Let us be Jesus today.

I’m happy to say that my friend is doing well in a new career and his family has remained supportive of him throughout his long rehabilitation.

Thanks Randy, for reminding us about the attitude of grace….there’s never too much about Jesus that we can share today.

 

See here some biographic information on the song’s author: Randy Gill | Directory | Lipscomb University

 

Many thanks to Randy Gill, the song’s author/composer, for sharing his memories of the song with this blogger on 9/4/2023.

 

The image of ‘Least of These’ was obtained from the Fairfax Church of Christ Website: https://fxcc.org/ministries/local-outreach/

Deep Calls to Deep -- Randy Gill

 

His family was enduring a deep hurt, so he figured there was no better place to go than to a psalmist who had likewise been suffering, and who called out to the Creator-Healer from a deep pit. Psalm 42 was where Randy Gill went in his abject despair, voicing “Deep Calls to Deep” in 2001, when he feared his family just might be disintegrating before his eyes (perhaps metaphorically ending up not unlike what would happen months later to the Twin Towers in New York…see the photo here). Could Randy have known that his own heart’s therapy would also be salve for a much bigger wound for thousands of people, even a nation? Read on to hear in Randy’s own words what ‘Deep Calls…’ meant when he wrote it, as we today remember a memorable, heart-rending day nearly 22 years ago.  

 

Deep Calls to Deep was written in the spring of 2001. Our adult son had been struggling with drug addiction for years and it was devastating for my wife and me. He would visit from time to time and we were never sure when he left whether we'd ever see him again. My wife and I had even had the very difficult conversation about whether our marriage would survive if he died. That spring was especially hard for all of us and I had taken to reading and re-reading Psalm 42. So many of the psalms are laments, but the language of deep calling out to deep really resonated with me. I wrote the song as a way of reminding myself that even in the worst of times, the psalmist was committed to praising God.

 

ZOE (an acapella singing group) recorded the song in the summer of 2001 and we decided to make lament the theme of our conference that fall. Several of us were dealing with challenges and we thought a conference focusing on the need for expressing our pain to God might be helpful for lots of people. We felt like the church needed to be reminded of the power and place of lament in worship. The conference and the release of the CD were scheduled for the first week of October, but I sent a pre-release copy of Deep Calls to Deep to my friend Larry Mudd who was the worship minister at the Manhattan Church of Christ. He received the song the first week of September. Neither one of us knew at the time how appropriate it was about to become. As far as I can tell, the first time Deep Calls to Deep was ever sung by a congregation was at the Manhattan Church of Christ the Sunday after 9/11.

 

I’m so humbled and moved that the song has meant so much to people in times of trouble and heartbreak. BTW - my son is now healthy and sober.    

 

What was it that fellow over 2,000 years ago said to a group of Corinthians?  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.(2 Corinthians 1:3-4). My misery and healing may be used to help someone else, so pass it along, Paul says. You might call it Grief Share…that’s the name of a ministry that a good Christian sister I know is using to reach others who need it, who need some soul medicine for deep hurts. You may also have heard of Celebrate Recovery; it’s for those who have finally admitted there is something amiss in their lives, and they too want Christian community healing. It all emanates from Him, the One who used His own deep hurt, and an incalculable price He paid, to draw us, His church. Yours might be a deep wound, but our God is a bottomless well of compassion. Thanks to Randy and all of you who serve and love others…you remind us how deep and amazing is our God.       

 

See here some biographic information on the song’s author: Randy Gill | Directory | Lipscomb University

 

Many thanks to Randy Gill, the song’s author/composer, for sharing his memories of the song with this blogger on 9/4/2023.

 

See link here for picture of the World Trade Center destruction in Manhattan in the wake of 9/11/2001: File:FEMA - 3969 - Photograph by Andrea Booher taken on 09-19-2001 in New York.jpg - Wikimedia Commons (This image is a work of a Federal Emergency Management Agency employee, taken or made as part of that person's official duties. As works of the U.S. federal government, all FEMA images are in the public domain in the United States. Additional media usage information may be found at https://www.fema.gov/photo-video-audio-use-guidelines)