Draw Me Close -- Kelly Carpenter

 

He was feeling overwhelmed, and was ready to chuck all that he was doing if that would allow himself to return to a closer place with God. “Draw Me Close”, Kelly Carpenter prayed one Sunday in his Kirkland, Washington home (northeast of Seattle, see the map here that highlights King County, in which Kirkland lies) in January 1994. Ironically, Kelly was involved with a worship and music ministry at the church that he and his wife loved, but that circumstance did not necessarily guarantee his spirit was in tune with the One he was trying to serve. Kelly had known for many years that music was his purpose, particularly since he had rededicated himself to Christianity over a decade earlier. So, what could possibly be wrong with an apparent calling that had him on a trajectory that he had been seeking for some time? Was his position just too much, too soon? Whose purpose was Kelly really serving in January 1994?

 

Perhaps it was a growing sense of unease that had been gnawing at Kelly Carpenter over the previous 18 months, as he breathed in exasperation one Sunday in January 1994. If his job had been strictly the music that he had wanted to write and perform, Kelly might have felt differently. But, organizing and directing all of the various parts of the worship ministry at a church of several hundred people was beginning to wear on him. How was he supposed to be a pastor to people? Kelly was leaning on his wife (Merrilyn) for help, but he still felt like an obsession with accomplishing all that was on the ministry’s plate was becoming too normal. Had this same phenomenon contributed to the previous minister’s departure? Kelly wondered if he was actually going to fail at this, as he also lamented a noticeable gap growing wider between God and himself. The shine had worn off of the enthusiasm he had once felt for serving in the kingdom, and he wanted to recapture that. He says that one line in the lyrics he composed – in just 20 or 30 minutes, with no changes made later – conveyed the heart of the matter. He’d ‘lay it all down…to be (His, God’s) friend again’. The only person he was interested in pleasing, in that moment sitting at his piano keyboard, was the Lord. Yeh, he was a pastor, but he realized that his connection to God was paramount. He was like a psalmist who had been cut to the heart, like one who was longing for water in a desert. Kelly’s ancient songwriting ancestor, David, had made similar entreaties to God – ‘As the deer pants for …water, so my soul pants for you, my God. (Psalm 42:1) Or, how about when David cried out to God because he acknowledged how far he’d strayed from Him – ‘Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.’ (Psalm 51:12) Kelly’s opening lyrics-song title sounded a lot like a contemporary David, longing to be in God’s embrace once more.

 

Kelly’s testimony says something pretty key for all of us fallible creatures, including ministers/pastors, whom unknowing church members sometimes place on pedestals. We can all get too caught up in our human endeavors, even ones in a church. It’s supposed to be all about Him, isn’t it? If what someone or some circumstance wants from me seems like too much for me to handle, what happens? STRESS, in big capital letters that can cast shadows too tall and darken my spirit. Yes, some things need to get done, and I need to be intentional about working diligently in what He’s given me to do. And if I have found His work energizes and helps fulfill my life, I can enjoy His life flowing through me as His tool. But, even ones chosen by God need help, especially in long-term efforts. Remember how Moses’ father-in-law Jethro advised him once (Exodus 18:13-26)? Get some help, share the load, and you’ll serve God and the people more effectively. God gives in many ways, including putting Merrilyn close to Kelly Carpenter to help him share the load. And, He also gave Kelly a sensation that something was still amiss, and a song that drew him back to his Maker and Sustainer. Does Kelly’s message speak to you, you stressed-out worker, today?        

 

 

See the story of the song in the books Celebrate Jesus: The Stories Behind Your Favorite Praise and Worship Songs, by Phil Christensen and Shari MacDonald, Kregel Publications, 2003; and, I Could Sing of Your Love Forever, by Lindsay Terry, Thomas Nelson publishers, 2008 

 

See the story of the song shared here also: Song Story:

 

See the story here also: Draw Me Close Meeting Place

 

See the composer-author perform the song here: Kelly Carpenter sings "Draw Me Close"

 

See information on the image here: File:Map of Washington highlighting King County.svg - Wikimedia Commons….the owner of the image has issued the following statement: I, the copyright holder of this work, release this work into the public domain. This applies worldwide. In some countries this may not be legally possible; if so:I grant anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law.

Who You Say I Am -- Ben Fielding and Reuben Morgan

 

Ben Fielding and Reuben Morgan were probably at or nearby a church in Sydney, Australia (at the Hillsong Convention Centre, see the picture) where they were ministers in 2017 when they wrote a song that they thought was especially needed by young people trying to overcome anxiety. “Who You Say I Am” – that’s what Ben and Reuben reminded them, and also those of us who are older (!), about how security and peace-of-mind is captured. Identity. If one word could sum up what these two thought God’s Son was saying to skeptics two thousand years ago, that would be it. With that certainty of identity comes certainty of one’s destiny, too. But even Jesus, the Son who brings this identity to those He made, must have realized during the extended debate with those skeptics that convincing people would be difficult. ‘Do you want to get well?’ (John 5:6), Jesus had once asked a lame man; and so, is He likewise asking you and me, ‘Do you want to be free of anxiety?’ Just believe in Him, and how you are connected to Him…that’s the solution, straight from your Creator’s mouth.

 

Ben’s and Reuben’s efforts actually yielded two songs – ‘Be Still’ and ‘Who You Say I Am’ – as they sought to provide young people reassurance, an indication at the depth of confusion that often accompanies anxiety. The cynics with whom Jesus was trying to reason were also confused, and though some believed, they still seemed very puzzled at Jesus’ claims about Himself. ‘I’m here to set you free’ (John 8:36) is a paraphrase of what He wanted to do for them. And yet they reacted as if they thought there must be another answer, and ultimately attempted to kill this freedom-bringer (John 8:59). Ben Fielding says he shared this story from scripture with the church in Sydney, including the words of Jesus about His coming to set slaves free, an assertion that he and Reuben underscored in the song’s lyrics. Some people who are limited in their spirits by earthbound conventional thinking, like those skeptics Jesus confronted, would no doubt contend ‘I’m not a slave!’ But, Reuben and Ben say with their poetry that if you’re ‘lost’ (v.1), or are a ‘slave to sin’ (v.2), Jesus has come to free you. He’s ‘brought (you) in’ (v.1); made you ‘a child of God’ (refrain); ‘ransomed (you)’, and made this transaction ironclad by ‘(dying) for (you)’ (v.2). ‘Free indeed’ (refrain), these two Aussie songwriters say with conviction, over and over again, as if they understand that these words might be difficult for some people loaded down with guilt and suspicion to accept. You can be certain that there’s a place for you in the ‘Father’s house’, that you ‘are chosen’, and that He’s ‘for (you), not against (you)’, they say elsewhere in the song. Ben concludes in an interview about the song by saying identity = ‘knowing ourselves in Christ’, and that in this knowledge comes a ‘stability’ for life.          

 

Am I willing to accept the title words of this song by Ben and Reuben, that I am ‘Who You (Jesus) Say I Am? A book in our 21^st Century (Now, Discover Your Strengths, authors Marcus Buckingham and Donald Clifton) has suggested that professionals in all organizations can maximize their abilities by knowing and zeroing in on their specific character identities. That’s how you improve an organization’s professional health, according to them. In Jesus’ day, some of the sick tried to get healthy by jumping into a miraculous pool of water (at Bethesda, John 5:7), while other Jews argued with Jesus and wished Him dead, when He told them how to find their true identities and achieve spiritual health. Jesus was eventually executed, but He came out of that grave, and so can you and I. There’s a lot to appreciate about freedom in an earthly place where you and I live every day. But, there’s lots that enslaves too, not least of which is that inevitable grave, the same one Jesus conquered. There’s a way through this, if you’ll listen to what Ben and Reuben remind you that Jesus can do. He wants you. Be free in Jesus.  

  

 

The song’s story is here: Who You Say I Am by Hillsong Worship - Songfacts   and here:  #941 - "Who You Say I Am" by Hillsong Worship | BEHIND THE SONG WITH KEVIN DAVIS | NewReleaseToday

See some information about the song here: Who You Say I Am (song) - Wikipedia 

 

See Hillsong Convention Centre image information here: File:Hillsong Convention Centre.jpg - Wikimedia Commons.  This work has been released into the public domain by its author, Tatie2189. This applies worldwide. In some countries this may not be legally possible; if so: Tatie2189 grants anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law.

Way Maker -- Osinachi Kalu Okoro Egbu

 

She knew she was entering a new time in her life, but wasn’t so sure she wanted to go to a new circumstance as she walked into this different time. Sinach (as she’s more commonly known, versus her full Nigerian name Osinachi Kalu Okoro Egbu) admits she felt comfortable where she was in 2015, perhaps not too unlike what someone else likewise felt centuries ago, though that part of Abram’s response to God (Genesis 12:1-5) is not shared for us to appreciate. He just obeyed. Sinach didn’t have to leave her native country (see Nigeria’s flag here), but she still felt uneasy, even as she decided to trust that God was her “Way Maker”. After reading about how Abram responded, Sinach held on tight and let God do the driving. Which direction will He take you? Can you trust His promise? Those are two questions that Sinach, and you and me, can expect to encounter.

 

Sinach admits that she knew God was drawing her to a new level in her music ministry, but that knowing that didn’t bring relief. Instead, she had to draw on someone else’s story (Abram’s) to find her own place in a new story that God wanted to write on the pages of human history. She says she was struck, that God told Abram that He was going to make him famous – ‘into a great nation…your name great…earth will be blessed through you.’ To say that that must have been a breathtaking revelation for Abram would undoubtedly be an understatement. That’s kinda where Sinach says she felt she was. She says she had already experienced a lot of success in the music she’d been writing for over 20 years, but felt God was telling her that there was another level where He wanted to take the music she would write. And so, she came to a place of trust, because He had said that her music would be able to ‘bring light to every dark situation’, that He’s still the miracle-worker. Could Sinach have understood that the song she wrote and sang in the middle of the decade would become a source of encouragement later that same decade, as the coronavirus pandemic took hold? The song would spread globally, perhaps as wide as the virus, and that was something that Sinach could not possibly hold back. So, when she said musically that He’s ‘moving in our midst’, that He’s a ‘way maker, miracle worker, promise keeper’, these were personal words she felt she’d been given. He’s the ‘light in the darkness’, the One who’s ‘touching every life’, who is capable of ‘mend(ing)/healing the… heart’, and ‘turning lives around’. If one meets a God who’s like that, what should one do? Sinach didn’t have to be coaxed into these words – they flowed naturally. ‘I worship You…I worship You.’ ‘This is who You are…I worship You.’

 

He tells musical history in His own way and for His own purposes. What does a person do when she realizes that she’s in the position that God has engineered? Stand with your feet in concrete, with arms folded, saying ‘No, I won’t!’ Another fellow – Moses (Exodus 4:1-14) -- tried spinning that obstinacy at God, stirring His anger. He wants to bring His presence to all people, but isn’t it amazing, and really just incomprehensible when we’re honest, that we can’t see why He chooses to use you and me to accomplish this? It’s just a real head-scratcher. Why, God? Sinach says she realized, as the song took on its own life – ‘you cannot outdo God’. She talks about being His tool, to touch the world musically from Africa – ‘it’s rare to see’. This is a rare God. He’s the only real One. Sinach is just telling us to let that sink in. Then, let it out for others to see. That’s Him using you, too.  

 

See an interview with the songwriter here, as she tells the song’s story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVENBMg7XVE (1:00 thru 4:05 of video)

 

See it here also: https://godtv.com/sinach-story-behind-waymaker-encounter-with-god/

 

Also see the song’s story here: https://freshsheetmusic.com/blog/the-story-behind-sinachs-song-way-maker/

 

See some information about the song here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Way_Maker

 

See information about the songwriter-author here: Sinach - Wikipedia

 

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