Jason A Nelson
Life, Art, Fun

Sometimes life doesn’t go as we planned. In fact, I would say most of the time life doesn’t go as we planned. When I was a kid, I remember telling my mom that one day I would grow up and be a professional football player and I would make enough money to give us all a good life. When I got to college, I started off as a music education major thinking I wanted to be a high school choir director.

Neither one of those panned out, and in 2011 I closed the chapter on an 18+ year career in professional church ministry. Certainly not how I expected to spend a major chunk of my young adulthood. Apparently, other people knew I would go down that road…like Dr. Verl Capps, my childhood music minister at the church I grew up in…or Dr. Ed Spann, the Dean of the College of Music where I went to college…or Dr. Earl Tom Keel, a philanthropist in my hometown of Grand Prairie who had a large scholarship named after him that I won when I graduated high school…or my mom, though I don’t think she really knew as much as she hoped and prayed.

When I changed my major to Church Music my sophomore year of college, it truly was because I wanted to keep my full scholarship given to me by the university, not because I wanted to prepare myself for nearly 2 decades of vocational ministry. But, just two months after I changed my major, I was offered my first paying job as a music minister at a small church in my hometown.

Woody Allen is credited with saying, “If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.” I’m sure my life has given God quite a laugh as I tried way too many times to do it my way.

The past 18 years have afforded me many memories and lessons to carry throughout life. I have experienced some of the highest highs and some of the lowest lows. If anyone ever thinks working for a church is a “kum ba ya” experience, trust me, it’s not. In fact, in some ways its harder than working in corporate America because your “share holders” are volunteers who have a great heart for the church, but in many ways have no clue about the day-to-day functions it takes just to keep the doors open.

As I think back over my career as a full time church employee, I could easily share the good, bad, and ugly. However, I want to remember it for the blessings I experienced. So, here are my top 5 memories from nearly 2 decades in church work (in no particular order):

1. BAPTISMS, WEDDINGS AND FUNERALS - Being a Music Minister, you don’t get nearly as many opportunities to baptize, marry, or bury people. That role is generally reserved for the Senior Pastor or Associate Pastor. So, when I was asked by people to baptize them, or perform their wedding, or perform their funeral, it was such a gratifying feeling knowing that I made a difference in their life beyond the music. In all, I baptized 3 people, married 2 couples, and performed 1 funeral. No matter where life takes us, I will always hold these individuals deep within my heart.
2. SECOND CHANCES - In 2008, I was contacted by a lady named Zebrah Jahnke. I was not working at a church at the time, and she wanted me to come lead worship at her church. After several conversations, I joined her team and we led the ministry together for nearly four years. From the moment our time together began, until the moment it ended, my relationship with Zebrah can simply be defined as a relationship of second chances…as in, she continually gave them to me. From an outsiders perspective, it would be easy to be deceived by the nature of our relationship since she is a married woman and I am a single man. But what existed between Zebrah and me transcended to another realm that narrow minds cannot fathom. It truly was (and is) and brother/sister kind of relationship. Zebrah taught me so much about grace, forgiveness, and second chances, and even though our career paths have separated, I know she will always be my big sister.
3. SING A NEW SONG - There is no shortage of music available for churches. Between artists writing specifically for churches and artists writing specifically for the radio, there are new songs every week to choose from. In fact, a church could only sing every song once in a year and still have plenty of good music that had to be skipped over. That’s what made singing original music written by me or my team that much more special. Throughout my career, I was always surrounded by some amazing song writers and there was never a shortage of inspiration. I have written or co-written songs that were never written for the masses; they were written specifically for the congregation in which they were shared. There are many more songs that I heard written that never have and probably never will be heard by ears beyond the authors. The writing was the magical part that I will always cherish; the presentation was simply the icing on the cake.
4. DEDICATED STAFF - I’m trying to think of the number of people I worked with during my career, but I can’t put a firm number on it. It easily numbers over 200. Regardless of the number, I can almost tell you the name of every staff member I ever worked with, inside and outside of the music ministry. I can tell you this because they were more than just co-workers; they were family. There was a unspoken vibe of support during busy seasons like Christmas and Easter. There were tender moments of vulnerability that the public never saw. There were tough conversations that would make fortune 500 CEOs blush. In the end, though, there was a commonality that we all shared that cannot and will not be understood by those who have never worked on a church staff….that feeling of, “I love this so much that I would do it for free” kind of commonality. I will always remember the staff members I’ve had the privilege of doing ministry with, and for those still doing it I applaud you.
5. VOLUNTEERS - Anyone who has ever been involved in a church knows that it takes volunteers to make it run. Yes, the staff provides the structure, but without the volunteers it would be impossible to execute the vision. I never understood how someone could work 40-50 hours per week, maintain a family and household, and then still have time to volunteer 5-10 hours at the church every week. As I finally started to “get” it, I became envious of being a volunteer. To make your money somewhere else and give your time and talents freely to a church…I wanted that. I cherish every volunteer I ever had the privilege of working with, but the ones that stand out to me are Brian Crawford, Lisa Smith, Lisa Crawford, Christy Oakes, Gary Harman, Ben Rosumny, Chris Pozezanac, and Tim Miller. These folks not only were volunteers, but they were my teachers, and in some way or another, they taught me something about life that goes far beyond a paycheck, a song, or a career. I am a better man because of these volunteers, and their impact on my life will affect many people they will never know about.

I’m doing something different with my life now, and I love it. I’m making my money outside of the church and hopefully one day I’ll find a church where I can give my time and talent freely as a volunteer. I will always cherish my professional career in ministry, though. I will always remember every inspiration. I will always remember every situation I learned a tough lesson. I will always remember the lives I had an impact on. More than anything, I will always be grateful that God would choose a sinful, arrogant man like me to lead His bride and bring His people to the throne. For that, and that alone, I am humbled and I walk into this new chapter of my life with my head held high as I hear God’s voice say to me, “Good job, son.”

Sobonana…