[ WM ] First of all , how did you get started in music yourself ?
[ John Morgan ] I played trumpet in high school and sang in the church choir but what hooked me into a life of music was seeing these four mop top guys on the Ed Sullivan show on a cold night in February . The audience was full of screaming teenaged girls . My buddies and I said , “ Hmm , we need to figure this out .” ( laughing )
Fortunately , there was an old Stella six string guitar in the house . My brother wanted to learn “ Froggy Went a-Courtin ’” but never got around to it . I picked up the guitar as a twelve-year-old and haven ’ t put it down yet .
In high school it was Friday and Saturday night dances , playing what would now be called “ classic rock ”. In college it was singer songwriter music and after meeting the Lord it was writing and singing scripture-based music . For the past several decades , it ’ s been worship music and finger style guitar gigging .
[ WM ] What was your journey like coming to know the Lord ?
[ John ] I grew up in a small town in southern Ohio . Church was part of our social life , but I never heard the Gospel in a way that I could understand . When I went to college there was a Christian group on campus ( InterVarsity ). They were good at communicating the Gospel and even better at living it .
The prevalent philosophy of the day was a mix of hippy , new age , Woodstock values . The people walking that road were not exhibiting any of what I would later learn was the “ fruit of the Spirit ,” the Christians were . I knew that was what I was looking for .
After many conversations , reading Mere Christianity by C . S . Lewis and studying the New Testament , I gave my life to the Lord . Connie , my girlfriend then , my wife now , and I were immediately recruited to form a Christian acoustic group . The Lord gave us songs and we began playing in churches , coffee shops , and any place we could .
[ WM ] How did this idea of ministering healing through music come about ?
[ John ] The short answer is I “ Forrest Gumped ” it – right place , right time and God opened the door .
The longer answer is that the dot-com I was managing turned into a dot-bomb . I was looking to get back into the corporate world when the 911 attack hit . The job possibilities I was interviewing for dried up . After some prayer and discussion , Connie and I decided that it would be a good time to see what would happen if I pursued music full time . Not long after , the door opened for me to play music for cancer patients as a volunteer . I was a musician looking for a gig , so I jumped in . Little did I know that I had entered the adventure of a lifetime .
[ WM ] Tell us a story about how the Lord moved in a believer ’ s life through this setting of music ministry ?
[ John ] There were so many times I was able to play for believers . “ Amazing Grace ” was by far , my most requested song .
One day when I was unpacking my guitar in the break room , I heard a couple of nurses talking about how brain cancer can have a dramatic impact on a patient ’ s personality – the kindly grandmother begins swearing like a sailor ; the gentle father becomes rude and aggressive .
Later that day as I was playing in the hallway , I noticed one room getting a lot of attention from the nurses and techs . When I got near the door , I heard the bed alarm go off and the sound of moving furniture . A tech quickly arrived and was struggling to get the man back into bed . He was arguing with the tech , “ Let me go out there . I want to see where the music is coming from .” I quickly stepped into the room and offered to play a song . The man calmed down and got back into bed .
He was an old school country fan . In between tunes by Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson we had pleasant conversations about his musical heroes . As I was playing his wife came into the room . She looked tired and unsure of which version of her husband she would meet . When she saw he was behaving like the man she had been married to for over fifty years , her shoulders relaxed , and she settled in . After more friendly conversation , the last song he requested was “ Amazing Grace .” He told me how much that song had meant to him throughout his life .
That evening at dinner when I was telling Connie about this situation , the phone rang . The caller ID displayed the name of a woman I hadn ’ t spoken to in ten years . She and her husband had moved to Haiti to run an orphanage . As soon as I answered she started right in , “ John , that man you played for at the hospital today is my Dad .” She went on to tell me what a wonderful , loving father he had always been . “ He was such a great and caring provider . Now this disease is wreaking havoc with his brain . Your visit today was like a kiss from Jesus .”
There were no dry eyes at our table that evening .
[ WM ] When you are playing for a non-believer that is severely ill , what is your approach to that person and how do you testify about the Lord ?
[ John ] One thing I learned early on was that every room is a different universe . I found the best approach to anyone is to treat them with respect and a listening ear . Many times , people near the end of life just want someone to listen to them . It ’ s not unusual for these folks to want to talk about spiritual things .
This isn ’ t a time for apologetics but as the old saying goes , “ There are no atheists in foxholes ”. When people know their time is very short , God is very near . As a believer , I ’ m always trusting that the Holy Spirit will shine through this broken
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