Finding Madison

Once upon a time there lived a  fellow whose profession was that of a professor, although he also liked to go to churches and talk to people about God. He lived in a quaint town on the east coast where he and his family, a signature-nuclear family of dad, mom, son, and daughter, enjoyed life together. This professor, known as Doc, did more than teach in classes. He loved to hang out with people and especially go to places near and far to encourage people in their daily lives. 

Doc had some idiosyncrasies, including a love for reptiles and the bass guitar. But he particularly loved music and saw the important place music had in the spiritual lives of others. So along the way in his merry travels Doc decided to use his students (and eventually others) in the area of worship, for in fact most people who are of a spiritual mind also like music, and like a dead man from long ago named Luther said, “Next to the Word of God, music is highest to be praised.” So Doc figured a ministry of music and worship and teaching the Word would make for a nice arrangement, sort of like a nice bouquet of flowers, except this did not wilt. Like flowers.

So Doc started traveling with a group of students called Joy Made Full with some remarkable singers and fine musicians (except, of course, for Doc on the bass), led by a young man named Trent with an interesting accent as he was from South Africa.  Trent’s accent and love for another musician with a similar accent named Matt Redmond led Doc to refer to Trent as “Junior Matt Redmond.” But you probably had to be there to get that.

Time passed and things changed and students graduated, and Trent moved into a local church ministry, so Joy Made Full was, well, made full.  So the band ended without pomp or ceremony.

About that time Doc’s son became older (that seems always to happen with the passing of time) and thus became ready to travel with Doc, being an accomplished drummer (the son not the Doc).  Not coincidentally at the same time a classmate of the son and a new student at Doc’s school converged with Doc to form the band One Way Up. The name comes from an earlier time when young people seemed to like putting the Word and music and singing together called the Jesus Movement, but that is another story for another day. So this band traveled and ministered for several years, and along the way added others including a nice young college grad (who incidentally is getting married this Saturday!) Doc employed in ministry as well.  And the ministry grew and flourished and God seemed pleased and many lives were changed. We even had tee shirts and did a CD, but that is another story for another day.

Along the way the band members began serving in local churches, and/or graduated, and/or moved, and/or so on, to the point it became clear to Doc that it was time for yet another band.  But where, Doc wondered, would the band come from?  Who would they be?  So, Doc decided to hold auditions and to inquire of talent scouts and to seek out the finest portfolios in the land, because he had become a famous preacher and only wanted famous people to travel with him.  Not. Never. Nil. Rather, it just so happened that about that time Doc had committed to speak at a youth camp in Florida and to take some musicians.  In a twisty and curvy turn of events the final band that went to the camp did not look like those who were originally invited by Doc, but that is why Doc has always tried (sometimes with success) to trust the Lord and not his own limited wisdom about these things, for if Doc has learned one thing it is that G-o-d always is smarter than D-o-c.

            Therefore, a group who had never played together, and in some cases who had not even met, traveled a long way in a rented van to Florida.  And something wonderful happened.  First, we discovered Cosmic Brownies, which is a story in itself and will have to be told another day because people do not read stories like this one on the internet if they are long, and this one is already in danger of being ignored due to its length (and would have been better had this whole sentence been left out). Second, this thing Doc calls chemistry happened (because it sounds intellectual to call it chemistry rather than to simply say we like each other, and Doc is a professor).  In fact, the guys liked each other so much they moved all their beds into one giant room, and that is a story which will likely never be told, but it truly is not as bad as it may seem.

            The band had a wonderful time of ministry together and began to think and dream about the future. It seemed clear to all that God was actually in this and so…

that is the story of how we now have a band called Finding Madison. Finding Madison (Madison is from the name of the church—Madison Street Baptist—whose camp we did) came together sort of like one of those days when the sunset and the clouds and the horizon come together to make something pretty one did not expect.  Except when the sun came up the next day the band still seemed like a great idea.

            Perhaps that is why there is the “Finding” part of the name, because we just found ourselves enjoying ministry together.  Or perhaps that is because Doc and the band hope to find people who need Jesus, or who long to worship.  Or perhaps it is because they had such a hard time finding the camp (that sounds far less spiritual but is far more accurate).  Doc would do backflips to demonstrate how happy he is about this band but he has an artificial hip and doing a back flip sounds painful.  But Doc wants you to know he so wants you to know about this band he went so far as to write this story in third person, something he never tends to do.  So check out findingmadisonband.com and myspace.com/findingmadison and see what Doc has, well, found.