Neither Paul Baloche nor Graham Kendrick planned to become musical composers when they considered their career goals as young men. Growing up in the 1960’s and 1970’s in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, Baloche thought he might become a priest, while Kendrick grew up in the 1950’s and 1960’s in Northamptonshire, England thinking he’d be a teacher. Both young men’s musical gifts called to them as they traveled, however, and in a way they’ve become what they started out to do. All Christians are priests (Peter tells us [1 Peter 2]), and Baloche and Kendrick as Christian artists have also become teachers of a new type of hymn, contemporary style. Both men are by wide acclamation leaders in the contemporary Christian music industry, and some have even called Kendrick the ‘father of modern worship music’. The words of the song they co-authored “What Can I Do?”, and the lives they live alongside their musical endeavors let us know they think of someone else as the true Father, however.
In this, the early 21st Century, Baloche and Kendrick have called us to recognize two ancient, but still axiomatic things in the composition “What Can I Do?”. How much have the sky’s or the galaxy’s beauty and their testimony about our Creator changed over time? It doesn’t matter if you and I think we’re living in the “modern-age”. Some of our peers today, our co-workers and our neighbors, scoff at the simple shepherds thousands of years ago with less education who marveled at the stars. The moon’s been visited, but yet which of us can fathom the vast unknown beyond? It all speaks of God the Father today as much as it did when Moses walked the earth. That’s what strikes me as I sing the first verse of “What Can I Do?” And yet, the third verse tells me the awesome Creator of the galaxy stooped to be like me. Absurd, right? And, He let Himself be killed, just so He could rise and deliver me from a sentence I cannot escape. No one who’s ever lived on this planet has ever gotten away from death, except by a miracle. So, I may be a “modern man”, but what Baloche and Kendrick make me see in this song are two things: I cannot deny God – his sky and heavens cannot be explained by even our moon-walking astronauts, 40 years after they visited there; and, my death is certain, but God offers me a doorway to a place where that is overthrown. What’s the logical response to these two truths – the unfathomable heavens have a Creator, and He wants to help me to a death-proof existence?
What can I do? When you know how Baloche and Kendrick spend their lives outside of their music, it really seems like they must have asked themselves their song’s query and answered in the only way that makes sense in our world. They’re saying ‘Hallelujah!’ in some notable ways that remind us of the Good Samaritan, shown in the picture above. Baloche has involved himself in CompassionArt. It’s a group of artists, like himself, who believe in social justice for all people, and who willingly give the profits from their musical ventures to help poverty-stricken people. Similarly, Kendrick participates in Compassion, a ministry to children around the globe, and March for Jesus, another social justice organ. In the same way that its composers have answered the call of its words, the song’s message should convict and compel me to action too. My church’s executive minister this week had a message in an e:mail about a project that reaches into the community about us …‘What can I do…he asked me and my fellow Christians to ask ourselves? Just think about how the song directs you. Look in the sky above this evening, and read the obituaries in your newspaper tomorrow morning. And, then do what seems rational.
Information on Paul Baloche’s story obtained from “Celebrate Jesus: The Stories behind Your Favorite Praise and Worship Songs”, by Phil Christensen and Shari MacDonald, Kregel Publications, 2003.
Some information on Graham Kendrick’s life is in “The Complete Book of Hymns: Inspiring Stories About 600 Hymns and Praise Songs”, by William J. and Ardythe Petersen, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2006.
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