Hello, I'm David Early, and I am a musician and college student. I am currently attending Point Loma Nazarene University working towards a B.A. degree in Music & Ministry. I’ve been a musician since I was 10 years old. I play the alto and baritone saxophones, any in the clarinet family, acoustic guitar, and the electric bass. While my main goal is to be a music pastor at a church, I also want to pursue a career in teaching high school as well. I would love to get my credentials in Music, History, and English. I feel like being an adaptable person, who is a good listener, and is willing to share my knowledge and passion makes me a good fit for both of these professions.
I chose these traits because I feel like they make me a caring, helpful, empathetic person. I generally go with the flow when plans are being made or if something unexpected comes up. I will give my opinion, but I generally accept what the result is, since there’s not much I can do to change it anyway. I don’t like conflict at all, and I think that this fact paired with being adaptable makes me good at compromising. I am also a good listener. I know that if someone is troubled, they don’t always need nor want someone to try and fix their problem for them, they just need someone to listen to them talk it out. I’m like that myself. People may notice that I do not talk much at all during discussions, and those who may not know me very well seem to chalk it up to being shy, uncaring, distracted, or ignorant. My friends know that I am simply taking everything in, analyzing what’s happening, and thinking about what I’m going to say first before I actually speak it. Lastly, I love to share my knowledge. I am constantly in pursuit of more knowledge and self-improvement, and I love sharing what I learn with those around me. Though some may see it as loving to correct others, it is merely a desire to share what I know so that others may benefit from it.
As of now, I am relatively new in my pursuit of being a music minister. For many years, I was hell-bent on being a wildlife biologist or a zoologist. I wanted to go to a school like Northern Arizona University or UC Davis, and work at a zoo or with a conservation group. I have always loved music, and I never really thought I would completely stop doing it in some form. I started singing in church musicals since I was really little, and in the fifth grade, I began playing the clarinet at school. Music has always been a part of my life, and I believe God put it there for a purpose. The first time I thought more about music ministry- other than, “That would be fun to do as a volunteer like I do now. I love church music!”- was a defining moment in my life, not just my career path.
The spring semester of my senior year, I went to a Ron Luce Christian youth convention/event in San Francisco, CA called “BattleCry” which was being held in AT&T Park (where the SF Giants play baseball). I was pretty excited about it; though mostly about the music (Delirious? was headlining the event). I was sure good things were going to happen since they usually have at least one good speaker there. Little did I know that on the first night there, God spoke to me in the most tangible way I had ever experienced before.
As a high school senior, I had adopted a role of “help the youth leader with the junior high boys”. This, despite the slight ego boost I got, did actually help him quite a bit. After an awesome worship set by Delirious? and Michael Gungor, Ron Luce began to speak about the parable of the Prodigal Son. This story has always been something I have connected with fairly deeply. It seems to be one of those ways God is showing me that I’ve strayed off of the path too far and that I need to come back to him. I really feel like events like BattleCry and Aquire the Fire are great tools to win teens to Christ, or at least solidify the relationship they already have. At the altar call, I decided to take a group of junior highers down to the field where they had the stage set up to pray. Even though I was going through some emotional confusion, I really wanted these young boys to connect with God in a deeper way, so I put my problem on the back burner.
While I was praying for and with those boys, God came upon me like a ton of bricks. Delirious? was playing a song called “Rain Down” in the background, and San Francisco obliged, because it started pouring rain onto the field. From out of the blue, a voice in my head that was definitely not my own said, “David, you need to go to Point Loma Nazarene University to become a worship pastor”. It was an awesome, surreal experience. How could I avoid something like that?
Fortunately for me, I had already applied to Point Loma, but as a biology major. My plans were to take general education and basic biology classes there, and then transfer to another school to finish a B.S. degree in Wildlife Biology. To be quite honest, I was wholeheartedly avoiding Point Loma, though looking back now, I’m not really sure why. It has been a tradition on my mom’s side of the family to go to Point Loma, and I guess I didn’t want to go there because I felt like I had to (despite the fact that they didn’t have the major I wanted). It was on the bottom of my list of colleges I was applying to- after Oregon State, UC Davis, Northern Arizona University, UC Santa Barbara, and the University of Wyoming. God definitely had my life in his hands. Even though I was planning on obeying what he had told me to do, he gave me no other choice, as I was only accepted into Point Loma. All I needed to do was to change my major. I think that my experience so far is very similar to George Williamson’s (the worship leader for chapel at PLNU), as he said that he, “…Stumbled upon this life change in my own ignorance, but was guided by God’s wisdom”.
Going to Point Loma Nazarene University has been one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life thus far. I have grown mentally, emotionally, and spiritually here immensely more than I would have at a secular state school. I have made many dear friendships with people here, and met quite a few mentoring professors. I have been blessed to have supporting parents who did not try to shift my plans in another direction simply because it did not seem profitable. They have never even suggested doing something else, and have helped me along the way without disdain. They see my passion for music, the ministry, and for God; they know that this is the right path for me to be taking.
Most of the people I interviewed had similar things to say. Maribel Barajas, the worship leader of my home church- SonRise Community Fellowship, said that family was a big factor in nurturing her career choice. Kevin McPeak, the creative director of EastLake Church, said that his college professors provided him with a ‘toolbox’ that he can draw upon to fix problems he faces. This has solidified my goal in doing what God has called me to do with my life. I realize that life will be tough, especially on a minister’s salary, but I will love the work I will be doing and I know that it won’t be for personal gain but for God’s glory.
My plans for my future are fairly simple. I want to finish my Bachelor’s degree here at Point Loma, and find a ministry job as soon as possible after I graduate. While working at a church, I want to get an Associate’s degree in history, and then work towards getting my teaching credentials. My ideal set-up would either be teaching high school students and being a worship pastor, or being both a worship and youth pastor at a church.
I don’t really have a personal mission statement as of now, but the people I interviewed gave me good ideas as to how I should go about this new part of my life. It was interesting how things came out. Half of the people I interviewed have been involved in worship ministry quite a while, and the other half have only graduated college fairly recently. This gave me a variety of answers to my questions, but they also correlated in different ways as well. Kevin McPeak and Matt Long’s responses to what their mission/purpose statement was were very simple and very similar. Kevin quoted Matthew 22:37-39: “Love the Lord with all you heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind…and love your neighbor as yourself.” Matt said that his personal mission is to live and love like Christ did.
Rony Renfrow and Jeremy Clifton took a more of a practical approach than a biblical one. Rony said that, “My job is to focus the worship of people away from the things of this world to Jesus Christ. I am to prepare an environment where people can have genuine and unforgettable faith experiences!” Jeremy mentioned that his main concern was in leading people to faith in Jesus Christ not through preaching, but through music.
The statements that affected me most were by George and Maribel. Maybe it’s because I have a better connection with them, or I agreed with their beliefs a little more strongly. I feel like that they were very realistic in their thoughts. Maribel said, “My purpose has always been to do what God has created me to do and in the seasons He has for me. To never stop learning, continuing to prepare myself for the next step. To be faithful and helpful in what and where he has placed me now until my job is finished.” Plus, George told me this gem of a quote, to which I wholeheartedly agree with, “In music and ministry, my pursuit isn't perfectionism, it's always going to disappoint, but is for excellence. Excellence is honoring God by doing the best you can with what you have.” I think mixing all of these beliefs is a good start to forming my own purpose. I just want to be the best person I can be through God’s grace and power, and glorify him in everything I do and say.
