Terry was always a kingdom man
who would not hold anyone back and
wanted the best for everybody. He
always preferred me to lead worship in
any setting where he was ministering,
but I always felt inadequate. I wasn’t a
great singer or a great pianist, and we
were ministering at very large churches
with outstanding musical talent, yet
Terry constantly pushed me to excel
as he challenged me in my gifts.
Once at Carpenter’s Home Church in
Lakeland, Florida, in front of several
thousand people, I was playing “We
Bring the Sacrifice of Praise” in the key
of E flat. I knew I wanted the song to
lift, which meant a key change to E, but
as I went for it, I realized I couldn’t play
in that key. A moment of panic came
over me and I broke out in a sweat. In
a heartbeat, I decided I would just lift
my hands and worship without playing
and then transition again into the key
of F that I could actually play!
Back at the hotel, I told Terry, “That’s it!
I’m not doing this anymore. I’m tired of
being humiliated in front of thousands
of people every weekend!”
Terry calmly responded, “Well, that’s
exactly what you need—a good, swift
kick in the pants to get you doing what
God has called you to do.”
And that was the end of that
conversation. Nothing more was
14 • Solutions
said. He believed in me when I didn’t
believe in myself. I would not be where
I am today had Terry not pushed me
to grow past my own limitations.
He put a demand on my gifts. After
being humiliated, or at least that was
my perception, in front of thousands
of people each week for about three
years, I developed my own style. I’m
not sure exactly how to describe what
I do, but it was birthed from my being
pushed outside of my comfort zone
week after week for many years.
When Jesus first met Peter, he was
just a loudmouth fisherman. But then
there was that whole water-walking
incident. When Jesus asked the
disciples who He was, Peter was the
only one to answer. There was that
time Peter tried to tell Jesus he would
make sure He wouldn’t be killed and
Jesus rebuked him. Peter was the one
to ask the question about forgiveness
and received the seventy-times-seven