1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 - "Be joyful always, Pray continually, Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." NIV
1 Thess. 5:18 is a very important verse to Kelly Minter, for its meaning has brought comfort and encouragement during various disappointments, and her periods of struggle with the Lord. Kelly Minter is an excellent example of the practical observation which says, "Life is what happens when you are busy making other plans." Kelly Minter has realized that unfortunately what we think our goals, dreams, and plans are, may not jell with the Lord's plans for us, for our developing character and heart attitude, for a deeper relationship with Him and or our service to Him. Doors can be shut, but new, better ones do open in the Lord's time, in His way, for His glory, always in our best interests.
Kelly Minter has expressed in both her music found on WRESTLING THE ANGELS and her newly released, inspiring book, WATER INTO WINE, what she has discovered about surrender and obedience and true, loving servanthood to God, through her struggles with God, which she relates to as a tug of war, or wrestling with Angels, like Jacob did in Genesis. In the process and as a result of her personal struggles with God, she has deepened her relationship with the Lord, the most important thing of all.
Kelly relates, "I have endured my own periods of struggle, but feel like I have walked out so much richer because God cut away the branches that were not bearing fruit and bolstered the ones that were."
About Her Life....
Kelly Minter grew up in a Christian family, the daughter of Pastor Mike Minter, who hosts a Salem XM radio show, "Compelling Truth" in Oregon. She was taught God's word from an early age and was involved in church activities, developing her faith in God.
Kelly shares with ChristianMusic.com about her childhood and youth, being a Pastor's daughter, (PK), in Reston, VA. "Being a PK was a great experience for me, but I know such is not the case for everyone. My parents are very authentic people. What my Dad preached from the pulpit is how he lived outside the church. Our church, Reston Bible Church has always been very supportive of me. Of course, there are challenges that come along with being a PK, but for me it was almost entirely positive."
Growing up, Kelly loved sports and became quite good in basketball during her high school years. Music wasn't nearly as important to her as physical activity. Kelly, being very goal-oriented, strove to get an atheletic scholarship in basketball for college. She was thrilled to receive by verbal agreement an offer for a scholarship to a South Carolina College, a personal dream of Kelly's come true, one that her family couldn't afford on a pastor's salary.
However, the Lord had other plans for Kelly. Instead of going away to college, the Lord wanted her to study locally, develop other talents, give to others and start the long process of learning to really trust Him with the events and goals of her life, truly surrendering to His will, doing things His way, depending on Him and learning the joy of servanthood, areas that were true struggles for Kelly that would take time, which is ok, because the Lord is really patient with us all.
After making plans to attend this South Carolina College, Kelly received a devastating phone call from the South Carolina basketball coach, who told her that all the scholarship money had been given out and there was no money left for her. Suddenly, the bottom fell out of her goal of attending this college.
For 17 year old Kelly, this was one of those hurtful, disappointing low points of life, but she found hope and comfort from a verse she stumbled upon in her Bible, 1 Thessalonians 5:18: "In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." She was able to let go of her hurt and bitterness because she knew this verse was from God, a message of comfort and hope."
This experience among many other disappointments in her life helped prepare her for what happened to her when she arrived in Nashville, and had gotten involved with WORD Records.
Kelly shared with ChristianMusic.com, "This disappointment taught me that God is so much more interested in our hearts than He is with so many things we set our sights on. He wants to truly fulfill us, and only He knows what will do that for us."
Stepping out in her faith, the goal-oriented Kelly regrouped her future plans. Kelly decided to take classes at a local college and shared her knowledge about basketball with youth, becoming a high school basketball coach. She also turned to her guitar and began to express in music her struggles and experiences, which was the beginning of her music ministry for the Lord, a possibility that she hadn't even considered.
ChristianMusic.com asked Kelly Minter, "Did you study music as a child/ young person? Do any performing in church or school? We know your main interest was in sports, but was music in the background?"
Kelly shared, "Music was definitely mixed in there someplace. I always loved listening to CD's or tapes (back then). I enjoyed concerts and was always taken with that type of thing, but never really considered it a possibility for me until college."
During her college years, Kelly continued to develop her musical gifts, as the Lord continued to mold her thinking, her heart attitude and her character, and build her faith, to enable her to serve Him more effectively, which is not always an easy process.
Kelly explains, "The Lord used my college years to strip me of all I had ever trusted in and brought me to the lowest, most confusing point of my life. Little did I know that it was His unfailing kindness that was keeping me on my knees."
It began to dawn on Kelly that the Lord wanted her to share her musical gifts of singing and song writing, expressing what she had learned about her faith and the character of the Lord and her love for Jesus Christ. After some friendly "nudging of family and friends" and a chance meeting with Christian music artist, Kathy Troccoli, while baby-sitting for a dear friend of Kathy's, Kelly became excited and eager to begin this music ministry for the Lord.
Kelly explained to ChristianMusic.com, "Kathy would come in and visit and I would have some time to talk with her. I think she really symbolized what I wanted to do. Meeting her in person made it all seem more tangible and reachable."
So, Kelly became excited and inspired by this new goal of not only serving the Lord by sharing her Christian music with the world, but to shoot for the moon and become a successful, mainstream Christian Music Artist, and songwriter. In 1999, Kelly hit the road in her mechanically challenged "gun-metal-gray jeep", arriving in Nashville, Tennessee.
In chapter one of her book, WATER INTO WINE, Kelly said, "I had come to this town with eyes as wide as the ocean, dreams bigger than Dorthy's, and on a road I was certain was paved with yellow bricks. I was well aware that the competition was steep and the slots for rising stars were fewer than winning lottery numbers. But I also had very deep desires to sing and to write and to have an impact; so no matter how daunting, I had to come. I had no reason to believe that things would not go exactly as I had planned."
KELLY MINTER - GOOD DAY
A door to the mainstream Christian music ministry industry opened to her when Word Records first released her debut album, GOOD DAY, and then gave her a development deal, two years before she actually was signed. It seemed that another one of her dreams coming true. There was a hitch though. WORD Records was in the process of merging into Myrrh Records, who was then negotiating a sell out deal with Time Warner, during the whole time she was there, while she worked on her second album. Just when her 2nd album was ready to be released, another heartbreaking detour plopped down into the middle of her current goal. Word Records dropped her as one of their artists after being bought out by Time-Warner. Another door abruptly shuts tight, but the Lord had once again other plans for Kelly.
Kelly relates, "Basically, the record I had worked so long for never really got out. It was so deeply disappointing, especially after working with the label for three years - so difficult to have such high expectations, and then have something so out of your control happen."
The Lord used this huge pot hole in Kelly's plans and dreams to once again mold her, prune her character, develop her patience, and draw her into "a deeper and more authentic relationship" with Himself, as she endured through the long and difficult journey she found herself in, as she strived to get another recording deal, which proved to be very difficult, frustrating process.
Kelly described this time period as "a season which seemed to rub against every grain of my being." She describes this growth / changing period as if the Lord had lured her into the wilderness, in order "to turn a painful valley into a door of hope; to show His love for me."
Being without a record deal felt like being in a wilderness, a painful place with only the Lord to depend on.
Kelly further shares,"The drought in between record deals was long and arduous. I wasn't always sure how I would make ends meet, and suffered from the pain of watching other artists succeed and live their dream. I had seasons of feeling abandoned by God, wondering if I had done something out of His will to deserve what I was going through. It seemed that He was blessing those around me, though I couldn't seem to force an opportunity into existence, regardless of how hard I tried. It was as if God was holding every door shut for a time."
Looking back at this time in the wilderness, however, Kelly Minter now sees it as a time when she was "engulfed in a lot of song writing and journaling." These inspired creative endeavors and writings became a rich source for later songs, found on her new CD, WRESTLING THE ANGELS and a book, WATER INTO WINE, inspired by the servants in the water into wine story found in John 2:1-11, where Jesus told the servants to fill the empty wine vessels. Because there was no record deal or any business obligations looming, she was able to compose and write from her heart, expressing her struggles, as she strove to submit to the journey that the Lord was leading her on, stretching her thin patience as she learned to wait on the Lord, depending on Him to lead her through whatever was next.
ChristianMusic.com asked Kelly, "What helped you let go and let Him lead you to the next step in your journey?"
Kelly readily shared what she learned in her struggles. "Sometimes you let go because you feel you are supposed to, and other times things are ripped from your clutches. I've had both happen. But even when something is taken from you I think it is so important to release it to God in your HEART that is an important step that we all must take. I believe that we have to do this almost everyday in many cases, keep releasing things to God."
"After a while, we learn to trust Him, we learn that bleak things do turn out for good things. Sometimes we see them in this lifetime. Other instances, I don't think we'll understand until heaven." (Romans 8:28)
"In addition to these things, I also had different people who God brought along in my life who helped encourage and lead me through some of these difficult times. They were most helpful!"
While Kelly endured and struggled in this time in her life where she composed and wrote in her journal. Some opportunities to perform did come her way. Her first album, GOOD DAY, received "very good critical acclaim" and Kelly was invited to tour with Sonicflood, Bebo Norman, and Watermark, which must of been very encouraging for a struggling young Christian artist.
Finally, on the Lord's time table, Kelly's music was discovered by Cross Driven Records, because her music was noticed by people in the industry, through her tour with the Christian bands mentioned above and her first album, GOOD DAY. After Cross Driven Records signed her up on a contract, they connected her to Christian music legend, Margaret Becker and songwriter Paul Buono who co-produced her new album, WRESTLING THE ANGELS.
Kelly with Margaret Becker and Paul Buono
Not only did she reach her goal of long ago to release a 2nd album, but the quality of her music on this album, WRESTLING THE ANGELS, was greatly enriched by what she learned from challenging, sometimes painful experiences in having to wait on God, and will produce more fruit for the Lord than if she hadn't endured and learned from her wrestling with the Lord. Most importantly, she expresses what it means to have a deep relationship with the Lord, developed through her dependence on Him.
Kelly relates, "The Lord literally changed me. I know I'm not the same person I was. He had stripped me of the externals, causing me to focus on the only thing I truly have, which is Him."
Kelly further shares with Christianmusic.com, elaborating on these inner and outer changes. "I think the biggest thing that I can really see is a deeper peace and contentment He has created in me. There is a verse in scripture that talks about God working in us through difficulties so we can be complete and entire, wanting nothing."
She continues, "Before I really walked through these wilderness experiences, there were so many things that I thought I absolutely had to have for survival; whether it be a scholarship, a massively successful CD, an amazing career, a husband, certain relationships, etc. Now, I'm understanding so much more what it means to want nothing. It's not that I don't have desires or that there aren't things that I want, but there is really nothing in my life that I feel that I must have or have happen. I'm much more content and trusting that God is working His will out in my life and that is what matters today in the end."
Dennis Disney, Margaret Becker, Kelly and Shane, the Music Engineer
The Spiritual Truths that are illustrated through her Music .....
Her newly released book, WATER INTO WINE, all of which is based on her journaling, gives insight into Kelly's spiritual growth and revelations, which are so well expressed in her songs found on WRESTLING THE ANGELS. She discusses areas which trouble many Christians, where we all engage in "hopeful struggles;" Surrender, Obedience, Servanthood to the Lord and having a deeper relationship with Him. The title of her book was inspired by the wedding story found in John 2:1-11, where Jesus turned the water into wine, after the servants obediently poured water into the wine vessels TO THE BRIM. Being able to give to the brim depends on how much we are willing to surrender our will, able to obey the Lord's leading, and serve him with the right heart attitude, all areas that He is happy to help us with, even if we get into a wrestling match with Him.
About Surrender and Obedience.... Quote from Chapter One of her Book: "To say that I have had difficulty with surrender and obedience would be a profound understatement. There is nothing easy about it, despite the "Trust and Obey" childlike melody, which could lead you to believe that it's a walk in the park. Because my own desires rarely point in the direction of surrender, I find myself pondering over and over again the obedience fork-in-the-road: Do I go right - my way, or left-God's way? Or, of course, there's always the ever-popular option of forging down the middle where there is no road, thinking that somehow this will satisfy both God and me. It's just that it never works out that way. I end up pleasing neither, and then realize that on top of everything else I have missed out on having the luxury of a paved road under my feet. This is all part of the obedience dilemma; there is no middle road."
About Servanthood...Quote from Chapter One: "It seems our contemporary Christian culture has narrowly promoted the definition of a servant as someone who faithfully teaches the first grade Sunday School class, cooks for the homeless once a month, volunteers for this or that, or assumes another's unwanted chores. I have often latched onto some unappealing task - for which I had no gifting - and proceeded to hunker down under the burden of what I perceived to be the 'servant thing to do.' I quickly burnt out in my misguided attempts to serve at the altar of obligation rather than love. I am thrilled to be learning that it's not supposed to work this way."
"Over the past several years, I have been discovering a picture of servanthood that looks exceedingly different from what I had formally perceived. I had missed the very personal aspect of servanthood. I had fallen into the trap of serving a system, not a person. Servanthood is about people, and ultimately about God, because God desperately loves people."
As a Christian music artist, Kelly Minter has become involved with World Vision Tours to Africa, a ministry where she can use her gifts to spread the gospel to Africa, a place very hungry for the message of Jesus Christ. She has been blessed by her "servanthood" in Africa, and the experiences have broadened her understanding even more about serving the Lord. (If you want to sponsor a child, go to wvi.org)
Kelly Minter shares, "As God continues to mend my negative feelings and misconceptions about what the essence of being a servant is really all about. I'm finding it's a lot less about doing, and more about being. It's a spirit by which you live. It's a posture. Serving God or a person in the truest manner requires far more than volunteering..... It demands our heart. It asks for everything we are. It is a great deal more costly than I ever imagined - and much more rewarding as well."
As we grow spiritually in these three areas, surrender, obedience, and servanthood, our relationship with the Lord becomes stronger and deeper as a result of our dependence and trust in the Lord to be in control, bring about what is best for us and make us more like Christ.
Source: http://www.christianmusic.com/kelly_minter/kelly_minter.htm
