I have been active in the worship band of my church for more than 20 years. Normally, I play bass guitar, but five years ago took an interest in learning to play classical guitar. A guitar player most of my life, I learned classical guitar by studying The Complete Method for Classical Guitar by Aaron Shearer (Belwin, Inc), the Royal Conservatory of Music Guitar Series (Frederick Harris Music), as well as studying under guitar instructor R. J. Harmon at the Flint Institute of Music in Flint, Michigan.

Musically, I evaluated my playing and found style, but little substance. The Classical and Romantic periods represent the epitome of substance for the guitar repertoire. It was there that I found elegance in compositions that were free from present day influences. Each day I approached the task of learning guitar as a daily offering to the Lord. Before dawn I arose to play various warm ups, scales, etudes, and small guitar pieces asking that the Lord accept them, break them and multiply them for His purposes.

Over time, several original guitar pieces emerged. Eventually, some inspirational themes began to develop, but the lyrics were fragmentary. During a very special creative session at Faith Tabernacle arranged by John Thorn, Worship Arts Director, I was able to introduce these small pieces and ideas to Mark Gersmehl. The first began with the Jewish girl anticipating the arrival of her Messiah, with the working title "Will I call Him King?" Mark chose to introduce Mary’s dilemma of whether to call Jesus "son", or "King". A second musical theme is expressed in "Waiting." Israel is waiting for their Messiah, and Christians are waiting for their coming King.

While the guitar compositions were fairly well developed, and some creative insights were expressed, it wasn’t until Mark transformed these ideas into lyric and later into formal arrangements that the broader message of the Gospel became revealed. It became clear that these inspirational compositions would be the perfect introduction to new Christmas worship material. The expectancy and anticipation of a personal relationship with God heightens the emotional content of the music, just as it does in our lives.

In my earlier years I also studied some piano (Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan), music theory, trombone, and double bass (Redford Union High School, Detroit, Michigan). I played professionally in southeastern Michigan as an electric bassist and performed solo in coffee houses playing guitar. Currently, my repertoire consists of nearly forty short guitar pieces by the masters, including Carulli, Carcassi, Sor, Giuliani, Tarrega, Aguado, Handel, and J. S. Bach, as well as a number of original compositions.