Today, I'm honored to interview Morgan Trotter from Huntsville, Alabama. I became acquainted with Morgan by being in a couple of Facebook groups he was in dealing with Christian music. He's since started a third dealing with current events and culture. I have enjoyed sharing conversations with him on-line for the past several years.
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MT: The musicians who influenced me the most are Randy Stonehill, Phil Keaggy, Keith Green, Steve Camp, and The 2nd Chapter of Acts. Randy Stonehill and Phil Keaggy influenced my songwriting. Keith Green and Steve Camp influenced my outlook through their high levels of personal commitment, encouraging me to be more dedicated to Christ. The 2nd Chapter of Acts encouraged me to be more open to the work of the Holy Spirit in my life and also taught me to listen to God and for God with my heart as opposed to just with my mind.
JR: I believe Christian music has a potential to be used to make disciples and give an answer for faith, but it also has the ability to conform to the world and may actually lead people from the faith. Is there anyone in music you consider examples of being faithful ministers in proclaiming the truth in the ways I mentioned?
MT: Some of the ones I think have been great examples to this day are Keith Green (who sadly left us way too soon), Scott Wesley Brown, Bob Hartman of Petra, the members of the 2nd Chapter of Acts, and DeGarmo and Key (Dana Key left us too soon, too).
JR: One ministry you currently have is being a moderator for a pair of groups on Jesus Music and one on Contemporary Culture. How do you feel those groups are helping us grow in the faith?
MT: I sure hope they’re helping people grow in faith in some way. Of course, the medium of social media is limited in terms of personal connection. I feel one reason our nation is currently so divided politically and ideologically is because people are having discussions online rather than in person. This breeds misunderstanding and hostility. I doubt many people have changed their minds because of something someone said on Facebook. In light of this I’m very aware of the limitations of trying to minister or witness via social media. In the Jesus Music groups you mentioned sharing the gospel is complicated by the fact that the topic under discussion is primarily the music and only secondarily the gospel. And in fact, in one of those groups the rules prohibit theological discussions, so the amount of in-depth witnessing one can do in that group is limited. In the other Jesus music group, I’ve tried to create more of an atmosphere of openness in which spiritual and theological issues may be discussed more thoroughly. My hope and prayer is that something that’s shared there might positively influence someone’s life. I also hope those with spiritual or theological questions will feel free to ask them there.
As for the Contemporary Culture group, I created that group as a place for Bible-believing Christians to be able to discuss current events from a biblical perspective. Social media tends to create “echo chambers” in which like-minded people get together and share their views, and I’m sure that group is like that to some extent as well. But the desire was to have a place where Christians can find answers in the Bible’s truth and authority. We try to stay away from purely political discussions, but when politics intersects with matters of faith then the group is a place to discuss those things as well. I hope people in the group who are struggling with their faith or with certain issues will find it a place to ask questions and find biblical answers.
JR: Thank you for your time, Morgan, and may the Lord Jesus Christ richly
MT: And you as well. Thank you for having me, Jeffrey.
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What musicians and ministers have been an influence to you?
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