• INTRODUCTION
• IN CHRIST'S SERVICE
• SPARE SOME CHANGE

• THE WONDER OF WORSHIP
• RELINQUISHING CONTROL
• TAX EXEMPT STATUS

It's been awhile since our last newsletter. During this time, UNVEILED has been blessed, challenged and stretched personally as well as corporately. We believe that God directs us to come before you with 'unveiled' faces, as our group's founding scripture states:

It is our desire to give hope where there is hopelessness, encouragement to the discouraged, comfort where there is despair. One way we can do that is by sharing ourselves with you through the following articles.

Although I do not sing, play an instrument, or speak publicly, I have been a member of UNVEILED MINISTRIES for the past six years. In that time, I have invested in prayer and the teaching of God's Word on behalf of our small group. Along this faith journey, I have become a different man. It has been a process. I am not the same person I was six years ago. CHANGE has been the key word.

We have to BE exceptional in the ordinary things of life, and holy on the ordinary streets, among ordinary people - and this is not learned in five minutes. A.W. Tozer refers to this truth as "The Sacrament of Living" where EVERYTHING we do in life becomes a sacred offering of holy worship to our Lord.

Corporately, the members of UNVEILED have studied many amazing Biblical truths over the past six years. Father God has increased our desire to be more and more like his Son, Jesus Christ. We have and are being changed as individuals and as a corporate ministry.

At times, the most apparent change has been when the Lord has brought change i n our PLACE of service. John 13:16 reminds us that regardless of our PLACE of service, Jesus, first and foremost, has called us to Himself. We are called to be His own. Then we are called to co-labor with Him.

Jon Waller, our dear brother in Christ and one who has been an integral part of UNVEILED MINISTRIES from the very beginning, has experienced a change regarding PLACE of service. As our small group revisited mission statements and visioning for the future, the Holy Spirit prompted Jon to invest his time and energy in a new place. For the past year, Jon desired to serve as a full time music minister in his home church, Bridge Way Community. It was evident to Jon that it was time to announce to UNVEILED that he would be leaving. As a group, we talked, we listened, we grieved, we talked, and we listened some more. We then released our brother to God's fresh call upon his life.

Change in the believer's life is a process. Our Lord is so trustworthy. He shows Himself faithful even when we are faithless. As we put OUR perspective aside and embrace GOD's point of view, we can celebrate.

Jon, we dedicate this Unveiling to you. We love you and wait expectantly to see the beauty of Christ flowing through you into the lives of those you now serve. Thank you on behalf of UNVEILED, for being our teacher, our composer, our vocalist, our musician, our preacher, and our friend. Thank you for loving these imperfect vessels. We miss you, but rejoice that you are ever present in music, your gift to the body of Christ. Your utmost for His Highest.

I had never been someone who has liked change. I don't mean nickels and quarters ? I like them just fine. But change ? that unpredictable, relentless wind of circumstances that sweeps over you with no warning. I just start getting comfortable with the way things are and maybe even enjoying it, when suddenly the earth shakes beneath my feet. My footing is unstable. Dreams are shattered, hopes are dashed, security is breached, and the vision I had of what my life was supposed to look like is blurred. Is anyone with me?

This year has been one of those times in my life. It began in January, when my eagerly anticipated performance review at my job came with a warning instead of a bonus check. Our company, a recording studio, was in economic trouble, and lay-offs were possible if business didn't turn around in 60 days. I was shocked and crushed. I had worked so hard, putting in long hours, going way beyond my job description, to please my boss. He was not pleased. And I was in danger of getting laid off. I had never been in such a position before. I focused on marketing and trying to bring new business into the studio, but it was like being a cheerleader for the Enron softball team. My co-workers were deflated and unmotivated, so I laid down my pom-poms and felt powerless with them.

As much as we talked about the impending loss of our jobs, we never really believed it would happen. I had known for a while that God was calling me to move on, but I thought I had plenty of time to figure out what to do next. So I did nothing. I was secretly hoping God would just open the door for UNVEILED to either get signed to a big label or to go on tour with a national artist. Then I could move on with a clear sense of purpose and pride. I would just keep telling God what I wanted, and believe that, if I were faithful, He would grant my request. Sometimes we are so focused on telling God what we want that we completely miss His answer.

More changes … In May, our friend, keyboardist and genius songwriter, Jon Waller, told us God was calling him to church ministry. My brother in Christ, with whom we had shared this ministry for six years, was leaving us to pursue his calling. He was such an integral part of UNVEILED, musically and spiritually. We love him. How could this be happening? Once again, I felt shocked and crushed. Do you see a pattern?

Just two weeks later, my boss told me my job was over and I could go home. For good. Remember? He had warned me it could happen. I had talked about it every day. And, yet, I was still shocked and crushed. Denial is a powerful thing. I had been clinging to things so tightly, that I had choked the breath out of the Spirit's voice in my heart. Change unnerved me so much that I refused to accept it. But, just like a woman in labor saying, "no, I won't give birth," that baby is coming whether she's ready or not.

If I had stopped pleading with God about what I wanted, I might have heard His answer. I might have heard God say that He had wonderful things in store for me, new opportunities, new responsibilities. I might have heard the silent cry of Jon's heart as he painfully concluded that God had called him to move on. I might not have ignored that still small voice of my Lord, trying to quiet me with His love.

God's vision for our lives never changes, but His plans involve a great deal of change for us. This year, God has received my full attention. Since I lost my job, I had to move from an apartment I loved so that I could save money. And, you know what? I was neither shocked nor crushed. I realized God was in it, and he had prepared a new place for me.

This summer could have been a dark, faithless season of anxiety … No job, changes in the band, a new place to live. What would I do? I finally stopped telling God what I wanted. I stopped telling Him what I needed. I shut up long enough to realize He already knew. It wasn't what I expected. No. It was better! He opened the floodgates of blessing in my life like never before.

During my summer of unemployment, God positioned me to hone my skills as a speaker. I had the privilege of bringing the message on two Sunday mornings at Harford Community Church, and God sent me to speak for a week at a youth camp in Colorado! This is ministry I never could have done if I had been gainfully employed! And UNVEILED has had a wonderful summer of new friendships and musical combinations, as we have been blessed by the talents of Paul Soroka, Dale Coleman Jr. and John Parker. We were honored to open for Avalon at the Maryland State Fair. This new season for UNVEILED promises to be full of ministry ? on and off the stage ? creativity, renewed sense of purpose and mission, and divine appointments. We are His group, and I am His girl, no matter what plans may change.

Change hasn't been such a bad thing after all. I am so thankful to the Lord that He allows change to come. This is how we grow. This is how we are transformed. This is how we get to know Him. My thinking about change has changed so radically. I now believe the enemy is sometimes the one involved in keeping things the same so that we never dream, we never risk, we never really trust God with His vision for our lives. If a vision is from God, He can be trusted with it.

So, what is worship? To most of us, worship begins like this. We get up on Sunday morning and go to church. We walk into our church buildings and settle into our favorite seats, glad to be there. We look at the bulletin and proceed to pick out the songs we like and the ones we can't believe the worship team is going to do again. Once the music starts, we sing only the songs we really like, we ignore the ones we don't like, and we try to find something else to fill the time.

Sometimes we have a distorted view of what worship really means. Worship is communing with God, not just on Sunday mornings in our local congregations, but communing with Him every day through song, or by obeying His word every minute of our lives. It is spending time telling the God we serve what He means to us. Sometimes, we get confused and concentrate on what worship is going to do for us instead of asking ourselves "what can I give to God?"

If we aren't careful, we can hinder the worship we need to give to God and the worship He expects from us. In large part, worship is not about us. The part we play is that we get to participate with all Creation and the Heavens in celebrating the Creator of the Universe. When we come to the feet of Jesus and start to worship Him, we must set aside our wants and desires so they do not get in the way of our exalting our pure and holy God.

In my role as a worship leader at my church, I have seen many powerful things happen in times of worship. Strongholds have been broken, people have made decisions to trust Jesus, and people have been filled with unspeakable joy. When we worship, we defeat the enemy who wants so badly to tear us down and make us focus on ourselves and our own shortcomings and needs. In the presence of God, there is no room for self or ego. We must give Jesus everything that we are.

I'd like to challenge you with the words to a song that has become my motto.

Suggested Reading: The Unquenchable Worshiper: Coming Back to the Heart of Worship by Matt Redman

How many of you out there think you have things under control, know where you're going, know how to get there, and don't need anyone's help? I will admit, that's me in a nutshell. Even though I've been a Christian for a number of years now, sometimes it seems as if my past continues to challenge me. As someone of Philippine and African-American heritage, growing up in the 1970s in an all-white community made things a little difficult, if you know what I mean. My dad was a big-time Navy man traveling the world and defending our country, while my mom was back here in the states in little old Severna Park, MD, fighting for our freedom to stay in our neighborhood and to walk up to the bus stop without being harassed and getting into fights. My brothers and I had no problem defending ourselves; the real problem came when everyone else standing around was cheering on the other guy(s). Even the kids who claimed to be our friends were on the other side. After a while, you become a loner and start saying to yourself, "I can't wait to get through school and move out of this place!"

Out of school, away from that place and doing something that I enjoy, I began to think that life is good. I work when I want to work, I get along well with my peers, and my clients are very appreciative of my talents and the services I offer them. And, on top of that, I sing with and manage the group UNVEILED. What more could I ask for!?

Yet, perhaps that's not the question I should be asking. Maybe I should be asking myself, "Are things going so well because I think I'm in control of the present and am determining my own destiny? Are things so great because I think I have a firm grip on everything in my possession, proving to myself and the rest of the world that I have arrived?" There goes that past of mine again, stepping into the batters box.

Not ever feeling as if I'm really able to express myself and always feeling as if I weren't given a fair chance in life has left very deep scars. I have been a Christ follower for more than 15 years, and God is still chiseling away at my stubbornness, or should I say He's working to peel away the scabs that have grown over my heart to reveal a new surface that only He can make smooth. God can do the impossible. If He can move mountains, He can work with me. If He can part the Red Sea, He can separate me from my worldly ways of thinking and acting, and of always trying to use my own strength to take care of myself and those that I love. God has all the time in the world. All He is asking of me is for me to allow Him to do the work that is needed in me.

I've heard it said, "My purpose is not my decision but my discovery." I think that's true. Once we make a decision for Christ, we begin a journey that will last a lifetime. My purpose is to discover more and more about Christ and His ways and to allow Him to change me as He wills each step along the way.

The State of Maryland and the Internal Revenue Service recognize UNVEILED MINISTRIES, INC. as a charitable, tax-exempt, non-profit organization. The group, UNVEILED, is the embodiment of the corporation, UNVEILED MINISTRIES, INC.

The IRS defines UNVEILED as a charitable organization, because its primary focus is as a religious ministry. As a non-profit organization, neither UNVEILED nor its members are monetarily compensated for their performances. There are no salaries. It is not the group's objective to make money. UNVEILED's desire is to share the Word of our Lord through music and ministry. The proceeds the group raises go towards the ever-increasing financial expenses to bring their ministry to each venue. The monies received, without exception, are rolled back into the ministry to defray the costs of such things as the production of performances, advertising, recording costs, equipment rentals, insurance and a myriad of other costs, obvious and benign, associated with keeping the flame flickering.

The ministry of UNVEILED succeeds only through the generous support of the people it reaches. The most tangible benefit of receiving the IRS exemption is that donations made to UNVEILED are, within the bounds of the law, tax exempt. If you feel led to make a donation to this ministry, it will be received with the deepest gratitude and will be used solely for the purpose of furthering UNVEILED's ministry. Donations should be sent to:

  UNVEILED MINISTRIES, INC.
  4504 Cottington Road
  Baltimore MD 21236

If you have any questions in relation to UNVEILED's tax-exempt status as it relates to donations, please do not hesitate to contact Mario at 410-931-3060 or send an e-mail to unveiled@juno.com.