Please read Galatians 1:11-24
I was 17 years old in September, 1978 when my life changed. I had gone to pick up my friend for some typical Friday night running around, and he was still eating dinner. “Here, give this a listen,” he said, handing me his headphones as he headed back to the table. That was my introduction to the music of Frank Zappa; and my life has never been the same.
My already eclectic taste in music was immediately transformed that night by the first side of Zappa’s newest album, Studio Tan. I marveled at the musical genius, the artistic risks, the humor, the complexity of the rhythm, the lack of structure. It was unlike anything I had ever heard—really weird, strange, polyphonic sounds…and I loved it. The influences of Johnny “Guitar” Watson, Igor Stravinsky, and Lightin’ Slim were obvious. I spent the next several years buying every Frank Zappa album I could find, reading every interview or article, learning everything I could about Frank Zappa. I also spent an inordinate amount of time in high school and college trying to prove the artistic value of Zappa’s music to my friends. My militant efforts made a lasting impression, if only a very few converts. When Frank Zappa died in 1993 of prostate cancer, I received condolences from friends from whom I hadn’t heard in years.
My Zappa LP collection remains intact, and I’ve purchased everything on CD as well. Most of it is on one of my IPODs. I confess: I’m a Frank Zappa fanatic. There you have it.
If you are still reading, you may be wondering if this really is the weekly Johnson Memorial devotional. This may well be the first (and last) devotional to focus on Frank Zappa, but I promise—you’re in the right place. There’s a connection.
In this week’s Epistle reading, the Apostle Paul writes of the dramatic transformation in his life that occurred “when God…was pleased to reveal his Son” to him. You know about the dramatic conversion of Paul; he was a persecutor of Christians, and then became the one who would spread the message of the love and grace of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth. Paul became a fanatic for Jesus Christ.
Chances are, you are fanatical about something, too. It may be a college or professional sports team, a politician, an author, a movie or television show, a rare collection that you try to expand…there’s something that you are passionate about. You schedule around it, you budget around it, you defend it, promote it, try to persuade new enthusiasts.
Sadly, when I compare my fervor for Zappa with my fervor for evangelism, I fall short. Sometimes we need to examine our priorities and ask ourselves whether we are as passionate about God and spreading the good news of Jesus Christ as we are about our own interests and hobbies.
Jeff Taylor
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