Talents

Matthew 25:14 For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.

You are His servant

Matthew 25:15 And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.

He gave you talents…use them wisely.

Matthew 25:21 Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.

Is there a better reward?

The Greatest Talent

As you can see, our theme this month is talents. I am going to talk about one specific talent: the talent of influence. Everyone has it to a degree, whether it is in their home, church, or elsewhere. It is the most powerful gift, but also the most deadly.

We can read in the Bible about influence and it's effects. Through the influence of his wife, Adam ate the fruit. Through the influence of the ten spy's, an entire nation had to walk away from the promised land. Through the influence of their neighbors, the chosen people turned from God and went to idols. Through the influence of bad counselors Rehoboam lost his kingdom. Through the influence of one Man, eleven went to turn the world upside down.

Yes, our influence has more power than we realize. But youth have more power to help other youth than anyone else.

"The youth, if right, could sway a mighty influence. Preachers, or laymen advanced in years, cannot have one-half the influence upon the young that the youth, devoted to God, can have upon their associates." (MYP 204)

Let us devote our lives to Him, and use our influence for the coming Kingdom.

The AMP

"I have a dream..." I want to change the American people for the better. I want to bring them into a new standing of integrity, morality and spirituality. Of course, this is almost impossible for me to do. There may be a way though. It is through music.  Plato said "In order to take the spiritual temperature of an individual or society, one must mark the music." If I change the music... I change the people!

Therefore, this is the beginning of the American Music Project (AMP). The goal of AMP is to bring American music to a higher level, and in turn bring the American people to a higher level. If you Google "American composers" and listen to the things that are currently being written you will find that they are most often atonal, nonsensical, and just plain ugly. AMP is going to change all that. It is going to bring back the "American Sound" that is found in Aaron Copland's Appalachian Spring, Conni Ellisor's Blackberry Winter, and Dvorak's 9th Symphony. It will recreate the simple beauty of American folk tunes such as I Come With Joy as well as The Old Folks at Home by Stephen Foster. Lastly it will encourage American composers to redefine the "American Sound" broadening its scope while remaining true to the spirit of the Declaration of Independence and the principles of freedom in God's Word.

So here is an invitation. If you compose music, will you join me in this project? There will be a landing pad for all this music sometime within the next 12 months. Take the time between now and then to rediscover American music as it truly was...and invite your composing friends to join our project.

Here is one of my compositions: Violin Concerto No. 1 in G (sounds prestiges, does it not?). It doesn't exactly have that "American Sound", but it's a step in the right direction. In the folder are the MIDI files for all three movements and a PDF of the score. It started as a one movement essay, but it expanded into a concerto. It is intended to be played in a church, so as I composed I tried to bring across the message of the titles. Hope you enjoy it!