Land of Make Believe

This past weekend I was, for no apparent reason, rummaging through some boxes that we brought with us to Kennesaw. Much to my pleasant surprise, I came across several music posters that used to hang on my bedroom wall when I was in high school. I have no idea how or why they were moved to Kennesaw. I suppose I had assumed that my parents had long ago discarded it all.

Also in the box was a treasure. In almost perfect condition there was a program from a concert I had attended at the old Ovens Auditorium in Charlotte, NC. On a winter night in the late 1970's, I went with a group of friends to see Chuck Mangione and his Quartet (Grant Geissman on guitar, Charles Meeks on bass, James Bradley, Jr. on drums, and Chris Vadala on "everything"). Those guys totally blew me away (anyone ever see a bassist bend a low F at the first fret?). The talent on stage was incredible, but the one thing that stuck with me from that night was the passion and feeling with which these guys made music. You could not only hear the music, you could feel it, and you could see their hearts. Admittedly, the only Mangione tunes I knew before the concert were "Feels So Good", from radio play, and "Chase the Clouds Away" and "Land of Make Believe", from drum corps. But afterwards, I was hooked and for the rest of high school and most of college I listened to anything Mangione I could get my hands on.

In the early 1980's I went to see them a second time at the Carowinds palladium, an outdoor arena. The concert was plagued by steady rain, but the group never stopped and we never left. Three hours and three encores later, we were all still there clapping and dancing in the rain to "Main Squeeze". I still remember how much better Chuck's music always made me feel, and I thought at the time how cool it would be to have the ability to bring people a little happiness in the midst of Three Mile Island, the Iran Hostage Crisis and the Energy Crisis.

Saturday morning, as I finished thumbing through the pages of that program, I came to the back cover. There I found a quote from Chuck himself, and I believe the timing of seeing it was divinely appointed.

"When music is honest and full of love, labels aren't important... And people listen with an open mind."

Through the late 70's, Mangione was constantly having to answer critics about his music. Pop radio didn't like jazz and the jazz community didn't like his "crossover" material. I think that for Chuck, that one quote said it all. He did what he did honestly and passionately and tried not to focus on anything else.

I thought about that quote and drew some parallels to the current "hymns versus choruses" debate in churches today. Both traditional hymns and contemporary choruses reflect the honest thoughts and feelings of a sinful, yet sanctified writer toward a holy God. Both the older hymn and the newer song express a passionate love for our living Savior. Keeping in mind that God is our audience when we worship, I think that our labels aren't as important to Him as they are to us. For me, personally, that ultimately means I will try to put aside my own personal preferences and strive to keep an open mind about things and look for the good in it all. As we move forward in our local church, I hope that's what people will see and understand about my ministry.

The music is perpetual. Give It All You've Got. Thanks Chuck!