Introduction- How I Got Here

The title of this blog pretty much explains what this blog is all about. Let me tell you a little bit about myself. I am 15 years old. I'm the youngest music minister in the state of Arkansas, and I am in love with my job, and I love the Lord. I'm the Minister of Music at Bayou Meto Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Arkansas. I've gone to church there all my life, and I never thought I'd be in this position.

In the spring of 2011, our music minister was called away and resigned. When he resigned, the church leadership team appointed a group of individuals to serve as the music search committee. My father served on this team, and he also served as our temperary worship leader. Another member on the team would serve as choral director for that year's Easter cantata. The team continued to seek out the right person for the job. In October, no one had selected a Christmas cantata. We were not going to have the choir sing a Christmas cantata. I didn't think that was right, so I selected a cantata called "A Song in the Air." When asked who was to direct it, I said, "I will." Now, I've been in Region choir, and school choir, and honor choir, and any other choir there is, but I'd never directed a choir. I took so much time learning it. It's no easy task, and it was a learning experience. The Christmas cantata ran smoothly, and I had already selected Easter music and planned rehearsals. When the new year came, my dad asked me to step in as a fill-in worship leader, and choir practice for Easter began. The search committee asked to speak with me. Shortly after this, I went through an interview process, and they voted to bring me before the church as a candidate for Music Minister. We had a time of question and answer and a fellowship. On March 25th, 2012, the pastor called a special business meeting to order to vote. I was voted in and accepted the position as Minister of Music at 7:00 PM. We presented our Easter cantata on Easter Sunday, and it went very smoothly.

                                                      This is me accepting the position
                                                      and shaking Bro. David's hand.

                                                 This is part of our Easter choir 2012         
                                                   
When I accepted the job, my job description was given to me. Some of my responsibilites are listed below:
Serve as leader of the Worship team
Serve on the church Leadership team
Direct the sancuary choir
Develop new choirs (such as children, youth, 50+, etc.) as the church grows
Oversee the ordinences (Lord's Supper and Baptisms)
Oversee use of the Audio/Visual Equipment
Select music for all worship services
Select music for the choir to present as specials
Offer assistance in selection of special music for individuals
Offer assistance at special services such as weddings and funerals
Oversee the music library

These are the ones that I can think quickly. There's a lot that needs taken care of. It's more than picking some songs out and putting them in the bulletin. When that's all I do, the church needs someone else because we never need to lose sight of what really matters. We need to keep a heart of worship, and focus on God. The main focus on this blog is going to be a journey, yes, but my journey is God-inspired. I didn't think I'd be in this position, but time and time again, God shows us that he doesn't call the qualified, he qualifies the called.

This post was just kind of an informative one. I'll post as often as I can. Hopefully you'll enjoy!

In Christ,

Benjamin Brockinton
Minister of Music, BMBC