Nashville Blast

Nashville Blast

Ahhh . . . the things one finds when he finally gets around to cleaning his office. I had been putting it off quite a while, always seemed to be something more pressing that I should do. When I finally get to it, it is always rewarding. Firstly, when you clean your office, you always feel better. An orderly environment translates into an orderly mind. You are just able to do things better, and when you can think better you get more done in less time.

But today I was rewarded in another way. Sorting through old papers I came upon an email from Suzanne Vaughn. Oh, the memories that came rushing back to me.

It’s quite a story, and it came from a time in the ministry that was very exciting and fruitful. I met Suzanne Vaughn in a most unusual way. I was in Nashville at the time, attending a conference of the GMA, the Gospel Music Association. It was the second or third day of seminars, and I must confess, I was highly underwhelmed. The whole focus of the conference was to teach young hopefuls how to produce music concerts and make a profit, emphasis on “make a profit.” Really, after hours of this stuff, I wanted to puke.

So on this day, I was sitting in the back of the room of about 60 or so young hopefuls. The teacher of the class was a concert promoter from Houston who had produced over 300 Michael W. Smith concerts in the previous year. Three hundred concerts in a year . . . that’s almost one every day. Talk about a machine!

Words like gospel, minister, edify, bless . . . none of those words ever came up., Virtually all the words were about a good business model and “making money,” so I nicknamed the GMA, “the Big Money Machine.”

The “money man” teacher asked for comments. I think he asked us as a class what we did and why we were there. I was slumped down in my chair, pretty bored with it all, and I raised my hand. What came out of my mouth was not typical of me at all, because usually I try to be tactful and I make an effort to be at least half-way kind in my words.

“I produce large youth events across the Midwest. We see a lot of people give their lives to Christ. The events are free . . . it’s not about money. It’s about seeing people come to Christ.

As soon as I said it, I wondered why I had been so blunt. I just opened my mouth and the words seemed to tumble out all on their own.

It was like the teacher froze and turned to stone with a permanent frown on his face. He didn’t like what I said at all, it was obvious.

When the class was over and most of the people had cleared out, I was still sitting in the back, slumped in my chair. A young woman who had been sitting in the front came back to me and said, “Sir, could I talk to you?”

“Well, sure . . . of course.”

She said that she wanted to do an event and wondered if I could talk to her about that. We went out onto the veranda of the hotel, found a table and sat down. Suzanne had two friends with her. They all looked to be in their late teens or early twenties. They were such sweet girls, obviously not jaded by the hard money oriented business model of the GMA.

I answered all of their questions as best I could. It was fun, very light-spirited and the joy of the Lord seemed to settle around us.

About two months later, I was going through Nashville again and I called Suzanne. She was so excited that I was willing to take the time with her. Why wouldn’t I? Suzanne was the very best kind of kingdom worker, unspoiled by the harsh things of the business and full of fresh zeal for the Lord.

Later, she sent me an email, summarizing that first encounter in the GMA class:

Last year a friend who know about my vision for Nashville asked me to join her for the Gospel Music Association Week. I was very excited about going and God provided for me to attend. I was in a concert promoter’s seminar for the first time. The man leading the seminar wasn’t quite what I expected. He made Christian concerts seem like a money market. And I really didn’t agree, but then again what did I know? This was my first seminar. I didn’t agree with that at all. To me Christian Concerts should be about Jesus, not making money., Finally, a voice from the back speaks out. It was George Halama. From the moment he spoke I felt the Spirit speak, “He is the one you want to talk to.” George stood up for Christ that day when it wasn’t popular. George voiced that concerts, especially Christian concerts should be focused on drawing us closer to God and leading the lost to Him. I was very impressed at his boldness and heart like Jesus to stand up for “the least of these.”

A week ago “George and I were able to have our first meeting. God really used him to encourage me . . . Where others seem timid and tend to compromise, George sees opportunity.

Well, no matter where you are at, even if you think your being there might be a waste of time, it isn’t if you follow God’s leading. It is not like me to speak out like that, contrary to the flow of the meeting, but God nudged me and I knew I must speak.

That girl, I would guess, might have gone home disillusioned, wondering why she had even attended, but as it was, God used me to encourage her and give her some direction.

Her heart was not to do the Gospel for money, nor should it be any of our desires to do the Gospel for money. I have met many individuals in kingdom work that are there for the money. If money is the number one focus, watch out! You’re in for a fall. God knows how to take any individual down if his or her motives are wrong. It doesn’t take Him long, either.

God’s money supply is a by product of obedience. That’s how it works, and He knows how to try the motives of our hearts.

That’s why it is always important to be you and to be real, and one should always be ready for the Spirit’s prompting. When He prompts, obey. If I had chickened out, and not said anything, I would never have met Suzanne and her friends.

God’s money supply is a byproduct of obedience. That’s how it works, and He knows how to try the motives of our hearts.

For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord Looks at the heart.

1 Samuel 16:7 NKJV

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Photo taken by Lorraine