Today is National Coming Out Day. A day that I find myself reflecting on the last year and a half of living as an “out” public figure.

Far away from the public eye, I long contemplated the importance or significance of this fact being available for public knowledge. People accused, asked, wondered and hoped for a long time whether or not I would ever answer the question: Are you gay?

I seriously considered the idea that it really isn’t anyone’s business. I am who I am. I love who I love. What difference does it make whether or not people know? My partner, friends and family, and my faith have been the backbone to affirming in me a sense of pride, responsibility and compassion that I have always sought to reflect. Still, I can say it’s very strange to consider whether or not to issue a press release regarding my sexual orientation. So the pressing question was: What difference does it make?

For me, the difference maker was one of personal integrity. I am gay and that is the truth. I wanted to honor not only myself, but those who know me best. By believing in my own journey enough to claim it, I found that who I am is not written by the pen of others, but how I personally take responsibility for my life. By speaking aloud that I am gay, I soon began to realize the impact of that truth was not only personal, it has been powerful for others as well.

It is always a test of courage and self-worth to share yourself with another person. Perhaps that is why one of the greatest offenses to the human spirit is silencing the voice of another. Today, you may discover a friend, your child, a fellow church member or co-worker identifies as LGBT. Today, you may be asked to “out” yourself when you reveal how you feel about them. What difference does it make to you?

A cheeky video blog where I drop in on Liberty University

One of the most common questions that I get out on the road is how exactly one goes about turning the hobby of music into a full-time career.

My answer usually sounds something like this: Do music: Listen. Create. Play. Share it now, worry about selling it later.  (Seems like a better answer than: uh, I dunno?)

If I had never fallen in love with ‘doing’ music even when no one was listening, I’m fairly certain I wouldn’t be playing today.

At the risk of sounding trite, I think, so often, we put our fullest dreams in the cart and put it straight in front of the horse. My take has always been that music is a gift. In and of itself music can and should be enjoyed simply for the sake of it regardless of the employment possibilities. Thousands upon thousands of musicians are out there plugging away regardless of hope for income, and purely for the sheer joy of what playing/performing does for the human spirit.

Honor the music, honor your creative spirit, honor the listener…Listen. Create. Play.

Nowadays, you need go no further than your own computer to record your songs, your local coffee house to play them, or a click of the mouse to listen to others. If the only measure of success that we attach to music is one of popular recognition and marketability, then I suspect that we’ll miss the full purpose of joy and deep meaning that drew us in to listen and sing in the first place.

We have to water our creativity to make it grow. To inspire as well as be inspired.

I can truly say, it is has been an honor to be a small part of that process. I pay homage to the artists that have moved me to create. I am humbled when I am marked as one who has inspired others. Honestly, I don’t know how I got here, I’m just glad to be here. I get to meet some of the most fantastic people and incredible musicians.

Over the last year, I’ve accumulated quite the stack of music from indie artists/bands, local acts, at-home musicians, vagabonds and fans. You’re out there ‘doing it’ and I’m loving it! It’s inspiring to be reminded that music is just simply a wonderful thing to be able to do.

So in honor of all these amazing folks, I thought I’d share some of what’s going on outside of the mainstream far from the maddening hordes.

Thanks for sharing your recordings with me. I’ve enjoyed listening…

MEET THE INDIES

Jacob Jeffries Band took the opening spot for one of my Florida gigs last year. Professional caliber musicians by any measure, Jacob and his crew are excellent performers. Jacob is a crafty song writer with hooks that last for days. I walked away with a copy of Wonderful . My only complaint is that my recording is a CD and not vinyl. Seriously, this is a classic sounding record I would describe as Billy Joel meets Ben Folds. But make no mistake, Jacob is his own man.  Watch out for tunes like “Mr. Weatherbee Freeman” and “Flashlight “. Both are super catchy with romping choruses and a vintage flair that never gets old.

Lorna Bracewell I don’t remember how her record Flowers on the Chains got into my hands (sorry if we actually met Lorna…) but I’m digging it. It’s SO super hard to be an original guitar-weilding, ass- kicking chick songwriter come rocker, but Lorna makes her way without any need to apologize. Begrudgingly, I’ll mention Melissa Etheridge, Joan Jett and Ani DeFranco just so you’ll click through and listen…but then, as fast as you can, never mention their names again…and just say “Lorna!” If I’m lucky, maybe I’ll get a chance to see her live sometime when I’m in Florida.

Trees Leave unites Wyatt Espalin and Cobi Ferguson. Their indie recording The Gospel of Hurt is an honest fusion of the past and the present. Part country, bluegrass, folk and rock…I love this record! This is a work of art, modern southern men with all their joys and sorrows inexorably tied to the past. Wyatt & Cobi seem held by the haunting chains of mandolin strings, cursed by the devil in the electric guitar and released by God in the bowing of the violin…What’s better, is that these guys are local to Nashville…which means I get to see them live!

Share some of your favorite indies in the comments section. (click on the blog heading)

The cynicism that surfaces in conversations of Christianity are not merely for the secular observer, but a fact that is also often experienced by those who sit in the pews.

For my nearly twenty years in being in and around conversations of faith, I can tell you first hand, that it is easy to assume that Christianity is an exercise of separation rather than one of integration and expansion. There are points along the continuum of faith practice that incorporate  these qualities at some point, to helpful purpose as well as devastating exclusion. There are times when separating ourselves out from the whole is valuable and life-giving, but also a time when we must return. It is the strangest irony that separation can create heartache one time and yet be the greatest release into freedom and self-identity the next. …But eventually, we will seek return to community. In our return, this same irony seems to hold true. Sometimes we return to great rejoicing and community wholeness, the next we are the very fly in the ointment that seems to prove the need for distance.

Perhaps it is the artist in me that is familiar in watching these roles play out. The predictability of our human ways, acted out, for better and for worse, give insight to the beautiful narrative of our existence. More so, I am ceaselessly inspired when in our troubles and short-comings, we refuse to live shamefully, but rather with hope and courage. When, in our victories, we live humbly and charitably, sharing our bounty with others.

For all these reasons, I found it an honor to be asked to write the forward for RAW: A Poetic Journey. This inaugural offering from NuWine Press, in many ways, mirrors the conversations I have every single day out on the road. Ordinary people living out extraordinary lives. From resting in moments of silence and darkness to exploding to the surface with full strength and joy.

It’s a little book, an easy read, but trust me, there’s a lifetime in it. You can cruise through it if you want, but if you care to take the time, it will be by your side for a good, long while. Believe me, when I say, there are few books like this. No one here is trying to sell you anything, or trying to create some story to please others. These writings are ‘raw’ indeed. Unshielded, vulnerable, celebratory and often harrowing…it’s what we all think when we doubt, when we don’t believe, when we don’t care, when we care so deeply that we think we might split in two. More than that, these are vignettes of those willing to be put back together.

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