I’d like to just take a moment and reflect on the life of a truly gifted man. I was a fan of Michael Jackson at age 3. In fact, my dad says that the first thing I ever sang was a high pitched “woo” like the one that emanated from my Fisher Price record player in the song “Billie Jean.” He was a man that was all too human and made many questionable personal decisions, but there is no denying the gift that God had given him and the time and support he gave to the many charities for the poor and orphaned of the world. Think what you will, I choose to remember the stories of how his songs have blessed my life in many unusual and amazing ways.
My first story of MJ was from when I was 4 years old. I remember riding in the car with Grandma and hearing Michael Jackson come on the radio. I staring singing at the top of my lungs, and when the song finished I asked my grandma, “Grandma, do you wike Michael Jackon?” (I had a trouble pronouncing the letter “L”). To which my grandmother laughed and laughed and replied, “no, no I don’t like Michael Jackson. You keep singing David, but I doubt that Michael Jackson will take you anywhere.” But my grandma never could have imagined…
Fast forward to college where I used to sing “Billie Jean” at karaoke nights once a month in Indianapolis, and I managed to get pretty good at it earning over $2,500 in the course of two years. If it weren’t for that song, I would definitely be stuck in even more college debt.
My final story is one all too common to Sidewalk Prophet concert goers, but I feel obliged to share it given the time and circumstances:
Early one morning, we, Sidewalk Prophets, were playing a festival in Lynchburg, Virginia. We were the very first band, and most of the people there were mingling, and we decided we need to play a song to get their attention. We discussed and decided to play “Billie Jean” to start the morning with some fun. While we played, I began to see some of my childhood heroes in the audience. I looked out and saw some of the members of Audio Adrenaline and Toby Mac in the crowd. I couldn’t believe my eyes and kept on singing. After the show we were fortunate enough to get to talk to Toby and got to hang out with Will, Audio Adrenaline’s bass player.
While hanging with Will, I remember laughingly telling him, “if Mark goes down tonight while singing, I know all of Audio A’s songs, and I would love to take over… if you need me.” He laughed and replied, “I was a little angry this morning. We were parked outside and suddenly we heard Michael Jackson blaring from the radio. I angrily looked around to find out who left the radio on, and then I opened the bus door, and it wasn’t a radio. It was you singing ‘Billie Jean.’ If you can bring it like you did on MJ’s stuff, I have the perfect spot for you. Tonight, after we play the song ‘Ocean Floor,’ you need to come on stage and grab the mike from Mark’s hands and sing a little.”
I was awed and honored and found myself, later that night, dry-heaving to the song, ‘Ocean Floor,’ while 15,000 people worshiped in the audience. As the song ended, I stepped on stage, approached Mark, went to grab the microphone, and was instantly pushed across the stage like a mugger trying to attack Arnold Schwarzenegger. I was shocked, and I looked at Will across the stage. He was laughing his head off! Then he looked at Mark, and Mark looked and him, and some sort of unspoken understanding coincided. Mark then began to line fans up across the stage and he gave the mic to a girl as she sang. Then he gave me the mic, and I did my best to sing Audio A in the way MJ might if given the chance. The crowd went wild. I mean, my entire being became a goose-bump. It was the most exciting moment of my life thus far. Mark stood slack-jawed in shock, and he asked if I knew their song, “Get Down.” I assured him that I did, and he directed me to the backup microphone to sing the grand finale with the band.
It was amazing. Confetti fell, lights electrified the crowd, guitars screamed, and I moshed with Will on stage. After it all, I found out that Mark had only been told that Will had a surprise for him after “Ocean Floor.” He knew nothing more. So my attempt to grab the microphone was a complete shock. But Mark and Will just laughed and thanked me for making the show “unforgettable.” And it all started with the decision to sing the first song that I ever sung. It all started with a little fun, and a little Michael Jackson.
Here is where it lies, at the heart of it all is Christ. It may sound funny now, but I know that He was moving while I sang “Billie Jean” that morning. After that experience, I suffered one of the greatest heartbreaks I have ever faced, but I knew in that time of despair that God was holding me. He had just given me the great joy of hearing thousands cheer because of a gift he placed inside of me, and I knew he had a bigger plan for my life. He wanted me to glorify His name. I am so blessed. That day I will remember forever as a day that God moved in my life in a very unusual and mysterious way.
So as you think of Michael Jackson, I hope that you will remember the joy his songs brought, the humanitarian that helped millions, and I hope that you will let God judge his faults and indiscretions. From “ABC” to “Billie Jean,” from “Beat It” to “Man in the Mirror,” Michael gave us some great entertainment. And at the heart, that is what it is, entertainment. But even entertainment can bring glory to the true King of Kings. “Even the king of pop will have to bow his head to the King of Kings.” Let’s give our praises to God and watch him move all the while.
Starting with the Man in the Mirror,
Dave