The Minister of Music

Continuing my "Get to Know Timm" series, here is the letter I wrote to the deacons at Valley Farms Baptist Church in application for the Director of Music job:

To whom it may concern,

My name is Timothy Rees. I am a licensed pastor through Valley Farms Baptist Church, in Lansing, Michigan. I have learned of your opening for the position of Music Director, and I believe I would be a perfect fit. I have a passionate love for music and an even stronger love for God. I would like nothing more than to be able to combine these passions to lead your congregation in Spirit led praise to God.

I am twenty six years old and have been a born again Christian since I was thirteen. Through the work and grace of God, I was granted an opportunity to get into the ministry as a pastor. I have been given many opportunities to preach and teach, but my passion is in music. I believe God has been preparing me for some type of music ministry for a long time.

I have been involved in music in some form since I was eleven. In sixth grade, I picked up a trombone. Since then I have also learned to play baritone, tuba, trumpet, saxophone, french horn, drums, piano, bass guitar and guitar. In the twelfth grade, I was selected as the drum major of the Lansing Everett Marching Band. Through the training I received as Drum Major, I also learned to direct bands and choirs. Through my independent studies under Josh Hicks in high school, I was able to pass out of my first year of college level music theory. I completed my second year of theory before I left college to pursue other opportunities in life.

In high school, I worked with the contemporary praise and worship team at Pennway Church of God. For the past seven years, I have been working closely with the praise team at Valley Farms. I have been singing and playing the piano and drums for many years, and have gained valuable experience through these opportunities. Now I believe that God is calling me to lead the praise and worship myself.

Through past jobs such as Youth Director at Valley Farms, and my current full-time, customer service based job with Staples inc., I have developed and proven many of the organizational and leadership skills demanded from this position. I have organized field trips, mission trips and weekend excursions for anywhere from 4 to 30 adults and teenagers. Throughout my life I have developed and utilized my people skills to the point where most would tell you that I can coexist with and work with just about anyone. I have developed a great rapport with the musicians I’ve worked with in the past, and I have the knowledge and experience to put together a wonderful musical presentation.

I am certain that the combination of my love for God, my passion for music and my experience in the field of praise and worship makes me the perfect candidate for this position. Given the opportunity, I’m certain I can make the pastor, deacons and congregation at Valley Farms proud of their music program. More importantly, I’m certain that through the work of the Holy Spirit and a willing heart, I can please God with my work as Director of Music at Valley Farms Baptist Church. Thank you for your time and consideration. God bless.

In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Rees

Special Thanks

A special thanks goes out to J Razz and J Razz Creations for the new custom header that now greets you at the top of the page.

Requirements for a Pastor

With all the talk lately about the requirements for a Pastor, I thought people might be interested in why I believe that I can fill such a role. I decided to share the letter that I submitted when I requested my pastoral license through the American Baptist Churches of Michigan. This is also a good chance for you all to learn more about me on a personal level:


To the Deacons at Valley Farms Baptist Church,

Within the last few months, God has laid it heavily on my heart to further seek his will in my life. I believe that his will is for me to become a pastor and one day oversee my own congregation. I am writing this letter to formally request your sponsorship for a Pastoral License through the American Baptist Churches of Michigan.

In First Timothy, chapter three it reads; "the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?) He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's trap." These are the requirements laid out in God's word for a pastor within His Church. I believe I meet these requirements.

God has been preparing me for this responsibility for a very long time. He provided me with the means to find Christ at the age of thirteen, thus allowing me to grow as a Christian for 12 years. He introduced me to my wife, Tabatha while I was still in high school, allowing me to build a meaningful and long lasting marriage while I was still young. He has taught me to keep a calm, cool, and collected temperament, allowing me to maintain good relationships with friends and acquaintances. He has provided me with the spiritual gift of teaching, allowing me to prepare and deliver sermons and bible lessons. He has also provided me with a wonderful mentor who, through watching both his triumphs and his struggles, I have learned a great deal from.

I have begun seminary school through Andersonville Theological Institute and am on course for an associate’s degree in Biblical studies. Once completed, I plan to re-enroll and begin working towards a bachelors Degree in Biblical Theology. Through this experience, combined with my continued counsel with Pastor Dave, or whoever God places before me, I will continue to mold and shape the type of pastor I will be.
Obtaining my pastoral license will do more for me than simply give me a title. It will allow me to speak at other churches and possibly fill in on an interim basis. It will also allow me to perform other pastoral duties, such as weddings, funerals, baptisms, etc. All of these responsibilities will be opportunities for further growth spiritually, mentally and emotionally.

The Apostle Paul also wrote in First Timothy; "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity." I have tried to make this my focus in life and have no intentions of faltering in this effort. If given this opportunity, I will strive for continued growth in my walk with Christ. I will keep my life focused on setting an example through all of the attributes listed by Paul. I realize that becoming a pastor is more than just receiving a title. It is accepting a responsibility and accepting the constant challenges that come along with that title. It requires a willingness to open yourself up to others as an approachable source for comfort and advice. It is a promise to God to always seek his will in your life, in others lives and in his church. These are responsibilities that I am willing and prepared to accept.

Therefore, given the reasons I have listed in this letter; I, Timothy Rees, ask the Deacons of Valley Farms Baptist Church for their support and their blessing, in becoming a licensed pastor within the American Baptist Churches of Michigan. Thank you for your time and your consideration. God bless.

In Christ,
Timothy Rees

For Craig and Layne

Craig has been complaining about my color scheme since the beginning. Well, I decided maybe it's finally time to change it.

Layne has been telling me since the beginning that eventually I was going to get too old to still call myself a young pastor, so I decided to change the title of my blog as well.

Please, tell me what you think of both the color scheme and the title.

The Generational Gap

I recently attended a service at my church that is geared towards the older members. One of the topics that they discussed during my time there was the generational gap between Christians closer to my age and Christians closer to their age. I was amazed to find that there are people ages 60 and up that blame themselves for this gap. They explained that it is their fault for not making it known to younger Christians that they know what the younger Christians are going through. Often times, after all, they have been through the exact same thing.

I don't subscribe to this school of thought. I believe that the gap is the fault of my generation. We have allowed ourselves to be brainwashed by our Schools and faulty teaching of many churches. We have been taught that the "old fashioned" way of doing things is the wrong way. We have taken on a post-modernish view of Christianity in which any way you feel like doing it is fine.

Don't get me wrong, I do believe that you can worship God however you see fit, as long as it's within the parameters laid out in His holy word. However, at some point in my generations quest for tolerance from the older generations, we've ceased to tolerate them. We want them to accept our praise and worship music, yet we have deemed their hymns "too boring" for our church services. We've deemed their social and spiritual issues "too irrelevant" for our sermons.

What both sides of this argument must understand is that our Worship is not about the style. It's about the content. We as young people must understand why the older crowd loves the hymns like the do. Have we ever stopped long enough to read the beautiful words of Amazing Grace or How Great Thou Art? No, because all we are concerned about is feeding our unquenchable appetite for stimulation.

We need to get back to the root of Christianity. We need to start practicing our faith as the Bible tells us to do so. Our faith is not about singing the catchiest tunes or preaching the wittiest sermons. It's about glorifying God. It's fine to find the way to glorify Him that best suits your wants and desires, but make sure you are doing it in a way that pleases Him according to His holy word. Most importantly, don't fault the other guy for doing it his way.