Tag: The Academy of Arts

• Summer Pictures (2014)

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  My Summer Testimony – A Privilege and a Masterpiece

   

  September 1, 2014

  The Academy of Arts

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• Hidden Tears to Calmed Fears

  Once upon a time..

  There was a beautiful story;
  A story sweet to the ears;
  A story which gives hope a chivalrous name.

  And it begins with a young woman who inspired this poem:

  “Hidden tears, that carry fears.
  Oh what a smile you wear.
  A broken heart you seem to drown;
  Cries you’ll never share.
  
  You always cry beneath your laugh
  As others laugh as well.
  You live a daily nightmare,
  But oh you’d never tell.”

  But the question remains,
  “If the story is so beautiful,
  Why must it begin so solemn?
  Why must it begin in despair?”

  And so in response, I ask this:
  “Did Christ come make the good, better?
  Did Christ come to make the clean, cleaner?
  Did Christ come to make the proud, prouder?”

  No.

  Christ came to make the broken-hearted joyful.
  Christ came to make the hopeless victorious.
  Christ came to make the dumb speak, and the lame walk.
  Christ completes the beautiful story.

  Once upon a time,
  There was a beautiful story.
  It begins with hidden tears,
  And it ends with Christ calming her fears.

  August 16, 2014

  The Academy of Arts

  ---

• A Privilege and a Masterpiece

  

  This is my team.

  They are family.

  And this summer, under the banner of The Academy of Arts Summer Drama Teams, I had the privilege to travel south with them.

  “A privilege?” Yes. A privilege. And please, let me expound.

  I had the privilege to be a part of a team that was always joyful. Through the ups and the downs, they always contained a certain joy that could not, and can not, be explained by anything but the Gospel. And not only did they have a certain joy, but they shared a certain joy. It was mutual throughout, and it brought us together as a team in so many ways. It was indescribable, just as so many other things involving God are indescribable.

  I had the privilege to be a part of a team that always cared. When a team member was feeling down or discouraged, they always asked, “How are you?”, “Is anything wrong?”, “Can I pray for you about anything”, or sometimes.. a simple, “Good morning!” was enough to imply all the cares that could be said. It was uplifting in such a way that even when they didn’t think they were being an encouragement, they were still an encouragement.

  I had the privilege to be a part of a team that was creative. They decided to make a giant welcoming poster for a late-coming team member. They decided to play soccer on the sea shore with the team names, “Mongolia” and, “Zambia” (due to the fact that we had a team member from Mongolia and a team member from Zambia). They strapped a large fan to the ceiling of our van to make up for the absence of air conditioning. They moved our back row van seats back three feet into the trunk space to make more room to be sprawled out over, on our 7 hour drives (genius.. truly genius). They managed to pull off some legit performances with very small stage space while making all their movements look purposeful (it was really a matter of being stuck in a certain place on stage and standing there as if that’s how it was supposed to be). And they decided to share testimonies beside a waterfall (shout out to our team leaders’ creativity; very nice).

  I had the privilege to be a part of a team that grew spiritually. Although it wasn’t necessarily until the final testimonies that the grand scheme of things was revealed and explained, my mind was blown by where my teammates were, to how far they have come now. Lives were truly changed, and I am unspeakably grateful that the Lord allowed me a front row seat to watch His mighty works among my teammates.

  But most importantly, I had the privilege to be a part of a team that traveled from Church to Church with a drama called, “O Wondrous Love.” The play contrasted what the world views as love, and what God views as love. It took on the huge attack from the world that says, “Christians?! How can they say that their God is love if they’re not love? How can they say they their God freely gave if they’re not freely giving? Why would we want to hear what they have to say if their talk is different from their walk? If they would give us visible evidence, and then would hear them out.” The drama explained that true Christianity reveals Christ’s love and joy. It included incredible stories of men and women who have gone before us and freely given up everything, expecting nothing in return; stories that included laying down one’s life when escape is in the palm of his or her hand.

  That is love. Making the conscious choice to put another before one’s self. “Love suffereth long and is kind. Love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, does not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked. Love rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things.”

  “Love!.. never fails.”

  And it is my privilege to say,

  My team was always there for me when I needed them the most. My team was always encouraging when I needed the encouragement the most. My team was always caring when it felt like I didn’t deserve the care. My team was always supportive when it felt like I didn’t deserve the support. And in retrospect, God used them in my life in ways that I could have never imagined.

  This summer, God composed a masterpiece. And to be a part of a team that was instrumental in such a masterpiece..

  Well.. that, my friend, is a privilege.

  Exert Force Here to View Summer Pictures

  August 14, 2014

  The Academy of Arts

  ---

• Round Two: With a Different Swing

  Last summer, I traveled with the Academy of Arts.
  This summer, I will be traveling again.
  I am extremely excited, but for now, that will go unsaid.
  This is serious:

  Last summer, I grew in the Lord and had a great time!
  Talk to anyone from El Teamo Easto.
  They will corroborate that statement.
  But something went wrong.

  I developed a dependency upon my team:
  A real dependency.
  An unhealthy dependency.
  The whole summer I could say,

  “Finally! Hearts for the Lord!”
  “When I’m around them, I just feel so encouraged spiritually.”
  “When I’m with them, I can be more spiritual.”
  “They just love the Lord so much!”

  And I got really attached to that.
  Too attached.
  I stood on a rug,
  And when I got home, that rug was swiped from under my feet.

  Now, no matter how I spun the situation,
  The rug was still going to get swiped from under me,
  But the problem was this:
  I did not know how to stand on my own.

  I blew up.
  I could only be self-sustaining for so long.
  So I fell over
  And nose-dived into the worst spiritual low of my life.

  NOW! Let’s rewind and clear some things up. When you join an Academy of Arts Summer Drama Team, you are meant to be a team. You are meant to work together. You are meant to encourage each other. You are meant to love each other. You are meant to strive together. You are meant to minister. You are meant to further the kingdom of God. You are meant to grow in the Lord. That is just simply.. how it works! And praise the Lord for such an opportunity!

  But let me take the statement,
  “I did not know how to stand on my own,”
  And throw it in the mud.
  This was not, is not, and never will be about standing on my own, but about standing in Christ.

  I nose-dived into the worst spiritual low in my life because of this:
  I was dependent upon man for my relationship with the God and not God Himself. (Therefore, when man was taken away, so was what I considered my “Relationship with God”)
  BUT! If I am dependent upon no one but God,
  Christ is all-sufficient to fulfill me and sustain me in any and every way possible.

  (None of what was said was or is meant to undermine or degrade the believers’s dependency upon the Church and fellow believers (tomatoes and tomotoes, right?), but as the Church being the body of Christ, Christ works in and through His Church to accomplish His will)

  So to sum up this whole post, I would like to say a word to my fellow Academy of Arts members who will be traveling this summer:

  This summer will go fast. God is eternal.
  This summer will spread the Gospel. The Gospel is eternal.
  This summer will encourage you. God’s Word is an eternal encouragement.
  This summer will be drenched in prayer. Prayer is an eternal privilege.
  This summer will bless you with relationships. Your relationship with God is eternal.
  This summer will bless you with many God-founded memories. God will use those moments in time for His eternal plans.

  But if you are willing to take your stand upon the Solid Rock when no one else will,
  It will make it all the more beautiful when others stand beside you.

  All of that being said..

  Let’s do this!!! =]

  June 4, 2014

  The Academy of Arts, Traveling

  ---

• The Absence of Light, Recompensed

  Once upon a time..

  There were many rooms devoid of darkness.
  This was not due to a chandelier, light bulb, or candle however,
  But because of a young woman with a smile.

  And as beautiful as her smile was, it was simply the forefront of her brightness.
  Her true brightness came directly from her heart.
  And if anyone was asked to define her with a single word,
  The majority would simply say, “Joyful.”

  It is a such small word, but she gave it such big meaning.
  And if anyone asked her why she is so joyful,
  She would simply reply, “Jesus took my burdens all away.”

  However.. one night, while sitting outside,
  She said something that completely took me off guard.

  “A few years ago, my mom was diagnosed with terminal cancer,
  And we’re not sure how much time she has left.”

  Speechless. That’s what I was.
  To see a joyful heart in the midst of such a trial takes the firmest of breath away,
  Because it is a joy that cannot be fathomed.
  It is a joy only worthy of a heart which can sincerely say,

  “I’m so happy, and here’s the reason why;
  Jesus took my burdens all away.”

  I’ll never forget the young woman that didn’t just light up rooms with her smile,
  She lit up hearts..
  My heart.
  And if per chance, you ever meet her..
  Your heart.

  November 26, 2013

  The Academy of Arts, Traveling

  ---

• The Moments Held By a Very Tall Man’s Words

  Once upon a time..

  There was a very tall man.
  And on one, final, concluding night,
  In the midst of an extremely sorrowful and tear-filled crowd,
  He shook a young man’s hand and said,

  “I’m proud of you. You’re a man now.”

  But those words held more than meaning..
  They held moments.

  And those moments cannot be fully described,
  Nor can they be fully comprehended.
  To translate those moments into words would degrade the very moments themselves,
  Because words cannot fully reveal a soul touching another soul.
  Words cannot fully fathom the depths of a heart being changed.
  Words cannot fully grasp the tears of a child breaking down his walls of failure.
  Words cannot fully paint the picture of a child bravely lifting his head under adversity.
  Words cannot fully understand the story of a child becoming a man.

  And yet, those moments.. happened.

  So thank you;
  Thank you for lifting me up to Christ
  And for showing me what it means to be a man of God.

  I might never be as tall as you,
  But height was never what truly defined you,
  And that is what matters.

  November 9, 2013

  The Academy of Arts, Traveling

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• Summer Pictures (2013)

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  My Summer Testimony – A New Beginning

  November 3, 2013

  Nostalgia, The Academy of Arts, Traveling

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• Pursuing the Beauty Behind Music

  June 10, 2013, 11:30 a.m.:
  Team East was formed, and we began by sitting in a circle backstage and then saying one interesting thing about ourselves followed by one thing we hope to get out of the summer. My second statement was this:

  “I hope and pray that this summer God will show me what to do with my life.”

  But God cannot be put into a box. Likewise, when we pray, He is not bound by the answer we want, or the way we want it, but by the answer He gives, and the way He gives it..

  And so before I continue with the story, I will rewind to approximately a year or two earlier, when the confusion began.
  (Wibbly wobbly, timey wimey sounds)

  I prefer the music I like. Why? It feeds what the emotions I like. Why? It has the beat I want, the drive I want, and the style I want. Of course, my taste for music ranges throughout several genres, but none the less, unless the music contains any innuendoes or swear words, I’m cool with it. So, great instrumental tracks combined with heavy rhythms and beats that make me want to hop around and pump my fists in the air.. That’s where I’m at!

  But piano.. I started lessons in elementary. I was forced to practice. I quit. Things were said. I started lessons all over again in junior high with a new teacher. Since then, my parents have never forced me to practice, it’s just been a choice that’s been my own. And now, here I am. But when I’m surrounded by so many other kinds of music.. why devote myself to piano when I could engross myself in so many other aspects of music that I enjoy?

  The irony? People always gather around the piano to hear me play when most of the time I feel like half of those people could be drawing a crowd of their own. They are just that good! Seriously, there are at least five other teens in my youth group who are just as able to accompany as I am, but I’m the one who plays. To me, this makes no sense.

  My piano teacher has always told me this,

  “If music is going to be your career, you better love it, you better have a passion for it, and you better be willing to work harder than anyone else at it, because that is what it is going to take to succeed.”

  And so my internal response to this statement has always been this,

  “Well how do I do that when I’m not even sure what I’m looking for in music?! Do I go this way, that way, or no way at all?!”

  And so now we fast forward back to the present, which is June 12, 2013, 1:10 p.m.
  (Wibbly wobbly, timey wimey sounds)

  After being on Team East for two days, all of the Academy of Arts Travelers sat down for a sermon on music philosophy taught by Nicole Stratton. It was long, but it drove to the core of music:

  “Music is a part of God’s nature. And like everything else in God’s nature, there is a structure to it. Twist and turn the structure, and you twist and turn God’s intent for music. That is where Satan joins the picture. He is a musician, and he is good at what he does: deception and music. You go one way with music, and it becomes who you are. So go the wrong way with music, and who you are takes a wrong turn, no matter how subtle it is. If you reverse the structure of music, it impacts your emotions differently. All music impacts the emotions, but the question is if the emotions are God honoring and glorifying. Because, music, like everything else created by God, was created for His glory and not our own satisfaction.”

  I won’t go into the structure of music due to the depth within it, but please bear with me.

  “Music is a language. And that being said, the music beneath the lyrics is just as important as the lyrics themselves. If not, the music is more important. Because, if you listen to a song with a heavy beat and bass which makes you want to hop around, thrash your head, and pump your fists in the air, how does that line up with Gospel lyrics? And yet, there are secular artists who write beautiful masterpieces that make you want to cry, innocently dance, run for joy, or simply sit back and think. You can take a Pirates of the Caribbean song (lets take “Up is Down”) and narrate the coming back of Christ. The music lines up! Does that not make your heart yearn for His coming?! How about this, take a musically fun song and picture a bloody and beaten man upon an old rugged cross. Does that line up? No! And I didn’t even have to tell you! The music told you! Music speaks!!!”

  And that my friend, is the beauty of music. It speaks when so little else can. And when lyrics are set over music, the music can either change the meaning of the lyrics, or uphold and strengthen the lyrics.

  Nicole ended with these verses, Matthew 13: 18-23, and when I took these verses to heart, a war began within me. Something inside me wanted change, and I refused to rest at ease until the war was resolved.

  (Side note: Fast forward four months and my music philosophy was unrecognizable. I deleted 3/4 of my music library due to the Holy Spirit’s working in my heart, and I have no desire to go back)

  And so I consulted, cried, prayed, searched the Word, and the summer continued.

  I wasn’t very serious about piano. I was just naturally drawn to it whenever it was empty and I had time. However, the amount of encouragement I received from everyone during the summer can be summed in these three words, “An unbelievable amount!” Consequently, I played piano for offertory at many churches along with my teammate, Alex, who played clarinet. At one point, I played piano for an invitational. In fact, at one church my team leader, Will, came up to me and said, “You’re playing for the congregation in five minutes. You’re playing these two hymns and then whatever you want for offertory. I’m going to the bathroom now. See you then.” Surprisingly, I did well, but it was all to the credit of God because there was no way I would’ve done well on my own.

  Towards the middle of my summer, he told me this,

  “This is my advice to you, stop trying so hard to decide what to do with your life. Just let God show you. He gives us every gift for a reason. For example, in the Parable of the Talents, the Master gave each servant a certain amount of talents so that each would invest them and then return with more. When the servant who had received one talent buried it and then returned with only what he was given, the Master was ticked! What if the servant who had received five talents went and buried them also.. How much more ticked would the Master have been?! Yeah. Embrace the desires and talents that God’s given to you and then line them up with His Word.  Just know that God does not call everyone to the ministry, but He does call everyone to a ministry, so whatever you do, do all to the glory of God and do it to the best of your ability.”

  Now let’s fast forward to September 28, 2013.
  (Wibbly wobbly, timey wimey sounds)

  As I was reading through Exodus 3 & 4: 1-17, I realized that I’m just like Moses. God has been telling me through so many things/people/events, “Chris. This is it. This is what I want you to pursue.” But my response has always been, “Yeah.. but I’m just not good enough.”, “I don’t know if I want it badly enough”, “I don’t know if I love it enough.” “I’m just too lazy.”, “Way back, he told me so and so, and I’ve just come to internally believe what he said.”, “Why me? Choose someone else!”, or just “Yeah.. but.. but.. whatever.” But if God wants me to pursue music, who am I to say, “But.” He does great things through those who chose to submit to His will, and He always provides.

  But in my opinion, the most beautiful part of music is what’s behind it. And the beauty behind music is this:

  Pursuit. Every beautiful/powerful/inspiring/jaw dropping/incredible song that has ever been created or ever will be created, is created by someone who loved it enough to pursue it and work harder than anything else for it. Such musicians did not just pursue the beauty of music, they pursued the beauty behind music.

  The reason why music is worth pursuing is because it is a part of God’s nature, and God’s nature is simply beauty in its purest form.

  That night, September 28th, 2013, I had two college students separately tell me, “Pursue it.”

  And I agree.

  Piano major, here I come.

  

  “We all have dreams, plans, and ambitions, but if your goal is to please the Lord, your motivation is the judgement seat of Christ.”

  October 2, 2013

  The Academy of Arts

  ---

• The Morning She Became

  Once upon a time..

  There was a young lady who sat in the backseat of a joyful van.
  She received a text.
  As she read the text, her facial expression fell.
  She sat in silence.
  All the laughing and joy faded from her hearing, and all she could do was look up and quietly say,

  “My grandfather died”

  The few who heard these three words simply bowed their heads and prayed.
  They did not take these three words as their own to tell the rest, but instead they sat in solemn silence and prayer.
  The first teardrop slowly rolled down her pale cheek.
  Then the rest followed.
  When she felt ready, she told the rest, and the van pulled off the road and into an empty parking lot.
  Another young lady, without hesitation, jumped out of the passenger seat and rushed to sit beside her and comfort her.
  The van sat still in silence.
  It could have been ten minutes.
  It could have been thirty.
  Time lost meaning in such a moment as that.

  The death of a believer is a joyful death.
  For, “If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.”
  (Romans 14:8)
  But not knowing whether the death was of a believer or an unbeliever.
  It’s hard.
  Unspeakably hard.

  Later that night, a young man gathered the other young men together and simply said,
  “She has to know that we’re here for her and that we love her.”
  And so they did show these things,
  But through the smiles and encouragement, there was still the pain inside.

  However, the following morning something happened.
  Something truly moving.
  In the play she was performing in, she had many parts, but two stuck out.
  These were two parts that portrayed two historical people who had either tragically lost loved ones, or were in the process of loosing them.
  And so the quote was lived out which says,
  “I’ll give two cents to anyone who can act, but I’ll give a million bucks to anyone who can become.”

  So sir, I believe you owe a lot.

  During the play,
  The lyrics rang out,

  “When peace like a river attendeth my way,
  When sorrows like sea billows roll;
  Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say
  It is well, it is well with my soul.”

  As an ensemble sang this arrangement,
  She sat in tears.
  Each line in the script became her own.
  Each tear became her own.
  Each color which painted her heart in that moment became a  beautiful canvas for the audience to see.
  And as they say, “A picture is worth a thousand words,”
  This picture was worth ten thousand words.
  And although she was burdened with sorrow,
  Her heart spoke nothing but this,

  “When peace like a river attendeth my way,
  When sorrows like sea billows roll;
  Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say
  It is well, it is well with my soul.”

  That was a morning I’ll never forget,
  Because that morning, she didn’t perform.
  She became.

  September 23, 2013

  The Academy of Arts, Traveling

  ---

• A New Beginning

  

  This is my team.

  They are family.

  Keep that in mind as you read.

  “Hi, my name is Christopher Murray, I’m 16 years old (Now 27), I’m from Plymouth, Minnesota, and this is my first summer traveling with the Academy of Arts”…

  I was the kid whose only home was the house that he lived in. I was kid whose only friends mostly attended his school, youth group, and church. I was the kid whose only parent figures were the two parents he had, and his only siblings were the two brothers he had. I was the kid whose only known Wisconsin and Minnesota his whole life and been out of state a couple times, but never longer than a few days, and never farther than a few hundred miles.

  I had never been in a play before, nor done anything in drama. That changed when The Academy of Arts came to my school. They took a week out of my highschool’s time to teach us a play which takes place during the Civil War and is based off the story of the Prodigal Son. My friend, Rajan, played the runaway, and I played the drummer boy who challenged him with the message of the Gospel, which he accepted after my death and then returned home.

  Towards the end of the week, I had an opportunity laid before me. I was invited to join The Academy of Arts Summer Drama Team program. I was initially shocked because I was the only Sophomore invited, and I saw no reason why I should be invited in the first place. After all, I had only been in one play my whole life, and yet they were asking me to travel with them for a whole summer. Yeah. Right..

  But then I prayed.

  I initially said no, which over the course of a week turned into a yes. My parents initially said no, which over the course of a week turned into a yes. Circumstances initially said no, which over the course of a week turned into a yes. And after a week had gone by, there I was, the Minnesotan kid sending in his application.

  I was accepted, and a little over a month and a half later I was sitting in the Logos Theatre with 30+ other teens. Most of us didn’t know each other, nor did I know know anyone there. And yet there I was, in South Carolina, a thousand miles away from all my friends and family, embarking on a journey unlike anything else I had ever been a part of before. Funny how God worked that out.

  After funny, serious, and rudimentary auditions, it was decided that I be put on the 2013 Eastern Summer Drama Team. Soon after, I was sitting with ten other people I barely knew. My guy leader was Will, and my lady leader was Kara. The guys were Sam, Jeremiah, Caleb, and Peter, and the girls were Valerie, Alex, Becca, and Emily. They were pretty nifty if I don’t say so myself.

  But none the less, they were my team. We had two weeks of training to learn our lines, the choir songs/hymn arrangements, the play, how to set up the stage, how to set up lights and sound, how to run lights and sound, how put on makeup, how to do costumes, what to do when, where, why, how, and much more. All of this coupled with sermons, messages, devotions, and talks preparing us for circumstances/situations on the road. It was exhausting mentally, emotionally, and physically. It was those first two weeks that formed us into a team. We learned how to work together, and how to carry out what the following seven weeks would call for.

  After training was over, we were sent out on the rode for seven weeks. From South Carolina, to Indiana, up to New York. Technical difficulties. Trailer problems. Team members getting sick. Churches with small stages. Family situations. Injuries. Clashing personalities. Little sleep. Hours of work. I’d say it was a long summer, but never has any summer gone quicker. As a team, we pulled together. But what set our team apart from any other team in this secular world was that we didn’t pull together and then lean on each other. We embraced each other and then pointed each other to Christ. We embraced the trials and then laid them at Christ’s feet. We gave everything we had on and off stage. We prayed constantly asking for Christ’s help. We laughed with each other. We cried with each other. We encouraged each other. We got right with each other. We stuck with each other.

  But it wasn’t us that stuck. It was Christ. Had it not been for Christ, we’d have to reason to be where we were. We’d have no reason to be doing what we were doing. We’d have no reason to forgive each other. We’d have no reason to fall to our knees in prayer when everything else was falling apart. We’d have no reason to breathe. And yet Christ died for us, and who are we to not give everything in return. Who are we to not respect those people who gave everything they had for Christ. Who are we to not sincerely sing those songs which were written through tears at Christ’s feet. Who are we to not retell those miserable yet victorious stories of those true followers of Christ..

  And it was for those reasons that we weren’t just a team.. we were a family. We were a family held by Christ. And as a family held by Christ, we’ll always be a family, even if we’re a thousand miles apart. They didn’t give me a new beginning, but they taught me that Christ gives me a new beginning. They taught me that to live in past failure is to live in fear of failure, and to live in past sin is to live in present sin. Who I am now does not have to be defined by who I used to be.

  Because He didn’t just die for me. He rose for me.

  And for that reason, I have a new beginning.

  Summer Pictures

  August 17, 2013

  The Academy of Arts, Traveling

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