Episode 52: Leading Others to Jesus Through Music feat. John Finch

Listen to singer, songwriter, and worship leader John Finch speak about his musical journey from learning piano at an early age, to writing his own music, to leading large worship events all across the country. 

John's mission is to give others the opportunity to have an encounter with Jesus through his music. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:05

Podcast today. I'm joined by our pastor, Father Keith O'Hare. And today we have a very special guest, John Finch. You may recognize John from his work with the Vigil Project. John, thanks for being here today.

SPEAKER_01 0:15

Thanks so much for having me back. Grateful to be here.

SPEAKER_02 0:17

John, I want to know a little bit more about your musical experiences and history. So could you tell us a little bit about how you got started and your musical journey to now?

SPEAKER_01 0:28

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, I grew up in a very musical household. Um, one of four and my three sisters and I, we all took piano lessons uh from my neighbor across the street. And uh yeah, I was trained classically. Um I learned uh, you know, all of the typical uh, you know, uh compositions uh by famous composers. Um I would say uh, you know, after a few years um started to uh kind of venture off the pages and wanted to start creating uh, you know, uh my own my own music and would embellish here and there on the songs that I was learning. And and I felt like that was a sign that there was maybe a little creative, creative in me. And uh one thing led to another, um, you know, fast forward a fast forward a few years, um, I, you know, grew up in a very small parish, and uh we started a youth choir as part of the youth group, and we'd have a youth mass in the evening on Sundays, and um, and that was really my first uh exposure to contemporary Christian music, to old school praise and worship, songs like Shout to the Lord and The Days of Elijah and uh Awesome God, songs like that, you know, very foundational songs of of worship. And uh and yeah, so we got that up and running. And then fast forward even a few more years, um, I feel like at this point I was kind of untraining myself, uh, reverting from everything that I've learned because I was, you know, I used to sight read music and uh and be able to play that way, and then I was kind of reverting to just uh you know doing cool things with chords and and and teaching myself how to how to play worship music, which is uh I guess it my perception was just a little bit more simplified. Um and uh yeah, so uh in in high school, um I I switched parishes for for youth ministry and and and joined a parish that had just a little bit more of a program. They had they were doing live teen at the time. Um and there was a Bible study and holy hour every Wednesday night. And that is where um I really stepped into worship leading, expressed to my youth minister that this is something that I felt was stirring in me and that um that I felt the Lord really moving me in that in that direction of wanting to lead people in prayer and worship. And um, man, these holy hours were just were so special. It was always standing room only, it was a packed chapel. Um, there's just such a purity in the room, just the the worship was so pure and holy, and um, and it was just it was it was such a gift and a privilege to um to begin to lead worship at that point, um, to lead the chapel, to lead uh you know, to lead everyone in worship. So this is high school? Yeah, this is high school, very early on in high school. Um and I I guess uh you know, one thing led to another, doors kind of began to open after um, you know, after I began leading there, I would start leading for a few retreats locally um you know at the parish. And um, and then got to do some some work with the Archdiocese of New Orleans, which is where I'm from. And uh, you know, the Lord just began to open doors and to bring people into my life, and um, and that's where I felt uh this was this was the the the place that I felt that he was calling me to be. And and like Father O'Hare and I were talking about uh recently that you know it's like there's really never this point of arrival, you know, it's like you a lot of musicians like the dream is to you know to tour and to to uh to play on big stages and to to write great songs, and and while none of those things are a bad thing, um, I think for me, I had the realization, you know, a couple years back that well, there's really no point of arrival. I think what we what we uh the place that we hopefully land is is to just can constantly be obedient to what the Lord's putting in front of you like today, you know, um, which is a gift, you know, and to be able to do this work um is total gift. Um and I hope that what I do, um regardless of who knows me or who I play for or where I play, uh I hope people see Jesus. And I that that's that's really the mission is that I could hopefully facilitate an encounter with the Lord um and and to be a good steward of the gifts that he's given me.

SPEAKER_02 4:59

That's a beautiful mission. I'll say that makes me grateful. But a couple things had to line up, right? You had to have the aptitude, you had a good environment to grow that in. And you had to have people notice, like, hey, this is this guy's pretty good, right? You could have all the desires, but then if it maybe I'm sure there is a skill that needs to be developed, and I think that is your responsibility to develop the skills, so I commend you for that. But yeah, you're saying it's not about me, it's about Jesus. That's great.

SPEAKER_01 5:32

Yeah, I hope that I hope that people see that that you know we can we can we can write great songs and we can and I think that that's that is a way that we can glorify him. Um uh, you know, songs that the church will sing, um that that gives him glory, that gives him honor. Um but I think often there can be a temptation that that this work is about us, and and and it's that's the farthest thing from the truth, you know. Um I I think that for a while, you know, like I I maybe thought that it was about me, and that was a place that I didn't really want to be anymore because I I had this like realization in prayer over time that I was like, no, as exciting as this is, and like you know, people are you know, people are engaging with with my music and and are being moved by my music, it's not it's not about me, it's not about what I can do, but it's about what the Lord's doing through these songs, and we're only vessels, you know, we're just vessels of his love, his grace, his mercy.

SPEAKER_00 6:28

So yeah. Does that mean you don't have a sense of performing? See what I'm saying? Because a musician who composes and yeah, I don't want what what other word is there besides perform? Yeah, plays, I guess. You compose and then you play in front of others, yeah. But are you saying it doesn't feel like or it's not intended to be performing?

SPEAKER_01 6:51

Right. No, exactly. And I've and I've done many events where the expectation is to be a performer, and I don't know if they go very well. Yeah. I'm like, I think I probably royally disappointed that parish because I I and it's not and it's not because I think that's not a good, that's not a bad thing, because I think perfor, you know, there's there's uh uh a time and a place, and I think right people that are are are uh assigned, you know, like that that have a mission and a and a um what's the difference?

SPEAKER_00 7:24

What do you mean what do you mean by that when you say there is a a performance, yeah, genre, yeah, and then there's a what would you call it when it's not, I guess.

SPEAKER_01 7:33

Yeah, um I think for me that, and maybe it's it has something to do with my personality, but it's um I feel that I very much belong in a place that is um like if I didn't have to be in front of people, it's not that it bothers me, but I don't think I'm the most important thing in the room, you know. Like I don't I don't think that I have to put on a good show for someone um because really my audience is the Lord. Like I like I don't like I just need to to show up for him and to to to point my attention to him. Um but but back to what I'm saying, I don't think there's anything wrong with performance. I think um in a culture that tells you that you have to perform to be a you know to be validated or to be successful or um to have worth or to be to have the world's approval, you know, you kind of have to to perform. And maybe we're talking about two different kinds of performance. We're talking about music performance, sure. And uh, you know, my worth is based off of my performance, which yeah, of course, uh that was like a struggle for me for a long time. Is like, no, like I don't I I I don't have to look or or dress or like I don't have to do anything to earn the Lord's love, you know, like it's I just have to show up and and to be like I said, just like a really good vessel. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 8:50

I understand that, right? The performing aspect of like I don't know, who um an icon, like a Prince or Freddie Mercury or these people, these people they put on big, big shows. I I don't want to say that's less of an art, but the way you're talking about it, like you are this vessel. God is kind of coming through you, and you're that vessel that's creating this music, like it seems very pure to me. Um so I enjoy that imagery that you're that you're bringing up a vessel.

SPEAKER_01 9:24

Yeah, it's funny. Uh I know you mentioned earlier off script that it just how how peaceful the music is and and how um and I was joking that you know sometimes I can be called a musical epidural, you know. That's funny. It's very it's uh, you know, just uh yep, okay. Because the amount of times that people come up to me and they say, Wow, yeah, my kids love falling asleep to your music. And yeah, I was like, well, don't listen to it while you're driving, you know. Yeah, you just want to make sure you stay awake. And yeah, but you know, but I'm glad that people find peace and and that's that and that's really really uh the hope with you know, and I write some energetic songs. It's not a place that I I was actually I was recently on a co-write with a few other artists, and we both write, um, I don't know if you know Sarah Kroger, but uh yeah, she we were she and I were writing with uh another another artist and Andrew Lawbucker, and um, and we were we we uh well Sarah and I are both in a very like we both write pretty calm music, you know, very prayerful, very peaceful music. And and she we were both like, we're gonna write something really energetic today, and we're gonna see how this is gonna go. And it was in the afternoon, and we were both like like just like exhausted, and we were like, you know, we'll just see how it goes. But anyway, so yeah, so we don't generally, you know, I don't generally write energetic songs, but um I I do hope that that people are able to encounter the Lord and and rest in his presence and and and see his beauty, you know, in the songs that I write.

SPEAKER_00 10:48

That's really yeah, that's really the heart. I can offer a testimony, you know, that one of the ways you can pray is just go into a church and be in silence. You could do that. You can go into a church and read a passage of scripture, you can go into a church and read a passage from a spiritual book. Or another option is to put in the I was gonna think of earbuds or earbuds. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Earbuds, airpods. Okay, yeah, sure. I get confused.

SPEAKER_02 11:14

AirPod is a type of earbud. There, that's it.

SPEAKER_00 11:16

You're confused it. That and choose songs that draw you into prayer. And you have a lot of them that do. You know, so just that's something that your music does for people. It's the fruit of prayer, and it it can actually literally be an instrument to help them enter into prayer.

SPEAKER_02 11:34

Yeah. So, John, could you give us a little bit of insight into your vocation? What what is it that you do?

SPEAKER_01 11:41

Yeah, um, well, I'm a husband. Uh, I've been married for for five years to my wife Molly. Um, and we were blessed with a baby girl and her name's Sophie uh about a year ago. So she's 13 months old. So that is that is my vocation. Um, but I'm also very grateful to be a musician. Uh and uh I I serve first and foremost, um, yeah, I serve at home first. Uh or I okay, here we go. No, I serve God, and then I serve at home, and then I serve my parish, and then I serve everyone else. That's what I try to do. That's what I that's that's that's really the hope. I don't know if I do it very well. That was well said. I tried. I tried. Molly, if you're watching, no. Um, but I'm yeah, I'm I'm grateful to have the the privilege of going out and to to uh to minister at different parishes. Um and uh yeah, I I write and record music and um and offer parish missions and um lead music for retreats, conferences, um, holy hours, things like that. And uh yeah, and then very, very faithfully try to serve my parish um on Sundays when I can when I'm home. Um and also the surrounding area. I work with a couple uh Catholic schools and do campus ministry and um music for campus ministry. And uh yeah, I'm just really, really blessed to to get to serve locally um when and also getting to to travel. So it's it's a it's a gift, it's a total gift.

SPEAKER_00 13:04

And then recording, right?

SPEAKER_01 13:06

Yeah, yeah. So and then recording, yeah. I mean, I've I've uh put out a few uh full-length projects. Uh and then but these days, you know, it just release singles, you know, it's kind of the way to get music out. Um and so I've recently put out a few singles and have an EP coming up really soon and um and then have some other uh project ideas, hopefully, you know, in the near future. So yeah, very, very excited and and it's just a it's a gift.

SPEAKER_02 13:35

Very cool. Well, John, thank you very much. Thank you for give shining a little bit of light on what it is that you do. Thank you for being a vessel for people to encounter Jesus through your music. Thank you for the Lenten worship night that you led here at St. Louis. And I wish you all the best. Thanks, man. And God bless you and your family.

SPEAKER_01 13:54

Thank you guys so much. Just a total gift to be here. So I appreciate you guys. Thanks for all that you do.