reflections on the road from industry to ministry

lisalynne — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 00:11:04 +0000

It is overdue and almost strange to be creating a journal entry after several years distance from the making of “Hancock Place” and yet I feel compelled to put into words, for posterity’s sake, the gratitude I have for the place I find myself in currently. It seems one generally does not get to that gratitude-place until one has hit some speed-bumps along the way. We all have. I am no different. Things are never what they seem.
The stretch of years from the 10 year old being cast in the National Tour of Annie (didn’t go – Mom said no way) to the High School graduate, cocky and Carnegie-Mellon bound, was a pretty balanced happy time. With supportive parents, an athletic, hilarious brother, various boy-friends absorbing my classic teen-angst, there was little to complain about. I was totally unprepared for the butt-kicking I would receive at Carnegie-Mellon – I’m sure on many levels I deserved it and really it was probably necessary for me to understand what my gifts WERE and what they definitely WEREN’T. And a few magnificent professors sustained my sanity (to this day I miss Mel Shapiro).
But the conservatory years took their toll, to be sure, and I was reeling with insecurity and a lack of clarity on who I was and how in the world I would fit in to the Broadway scene. Off I was sent to L.A. and found myself wandering from tv audition to film audition, my exasperated agent begging me to get a boob-job and lose 15 pounds so I’d look better on camera. My “day job” at the YMCA seemed to be the only place of refuge where normal people worked and helped others, a novel concept in the narcissistic hell of L.A.
It was at this YMCA that I met my precious, miraculous Gil and off we went to into in-love land, engagement and moved to Amsterdam, Holland for the beginning of our marriage. Speed bump. No more resume building for this American cliche, I was fully immersed in Dutch culture and classical voice, trying to make up for lost time training to belt my guts out.
Nine months later I’m pregnant (woah!) and the birth of magnificent, demanding Hannah Grace turned my whole life into another direction.
Note: we do not regard the birth of a child as a diversion. Clearly it was part of the plan all along. I’ve learned so much from this child it’s astonishing. That growth has been a significant part of who I am today.
After only 2+ years in Holland, we were transferred by Gil’s work to Chicago, a total unknown to me, but a happy return to my Mid-Westerner fella. It is here that I found the best vocal training of my adult life, and that nodules on my vocal chords were diagnosed. Speed bump. Surgery would be delayed until the birth of my second child (wow, that was fast) ray-of-sunshine Audrey Lena. The laser surgery and 6 weeks of voice therapy proved astoundingly positive and my new voice developed into a classical instrument. Until we were transferred again, this time to New York. Speed bump.
It takes awhile to get one’s bearings. Even with two girls ready for school, it seemed as though finding myself at The Riverside Church in Manhattan took awhile. But the majesty of Rev. Dr. Jim Forbes’ sermons and his wife’s conducting the gospel praise team I quickly joined, soon enough became life-changing. Music in worship took on new meaning – the freedom of expression – bringing together the broadway bark with the classical tones – was a delicious merging of all the voices. If only Dr. Forbes weren’t ready to retire. If only Brad Braxton had been received as the new Senior Minister as he deserved to be received … no longer was the Spirit right to stay and, heart sick, I distanced myself … speed bump.
Now in New York, reconnecting with Carnegie-Mellon Survivors was an unexpected gift. Michael McElroy’s group, Broadway Inspirational Voices, was a welcome gift – healing to see brothers and sisters from those years – all singing with a new purpose. The shift from entertainment to ministry was taking a very strong hold at that point.
The opportunity arose, through a wonderful couple living in White Plains in Westchester where we lived, to be a part of a brand new worship service on Saturday nights. Within months I found myself “leading it” … unknown territory that became a clear calling within a year. Seven years later, that ministry has grown and thrived and I can’t imagine life without Modern Christian Rock music flowing through my veins! Who could have imagined me at Ridgeway Alliance Church … had to be a “God thing.”
It is, as I re-read this entry, not that interesting a story. For anyone reading it now, thank you for finding it the least bit meaningful. I can say that nothing is ever as it seems. The show-biz world left me heart sick and sad. The life of mothering is an incredible gift and an eye-opener to your best and worst self. Moving a lot is hard but it’s do-able. Relationships are life-sustaining and worth investing in. Music will forever be more than performing for me now; it is the treasure of living that reaches the heart where words can not. And when words accompany music, they are the shaping and transforming solid texts that bring someone into a closer relationship with who God is in them. I am but a grain of sand, here for merely breath and cherishing every moment, praying I will be used as a vessel for good and a blessing to others. No industry could ever give me that hope, that peace.

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admin — Tue, 25 May 2010 07:25:30 +0000

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The Lisa Lynne Mathis Journal

reflections on the road from industry to ministry

Hello!