There are many facets to Be The Change Youth Initiative (BTCYI), but one of the most far reaching (and personal) is Be The Change Collective, the music arm of the ministry. BTCYI was built on the idea that every child has a gift or talent they can use to help others and, for Sydney, her’s has always been song writing and sharing her music with others.
Over the past couple of years, the Lord has connected her with some amazingly talented artists who have given their time to help her make the Collective a reality. (The larger goal is too create a space where teens, like herself, can work with industry professionals to make music that champions others… and they are in the final stages of production for the first song that includes two other teens!)
In 2019, Sydney released four songs under the Collective. Her goal was to reach 100,000 streams by the end of the year, which was a HUGE goal. But, with one month still remaining, the song count is already over 200,000 streams. We don’t really know how to explain it… and neither does anyone else… except to say that it’s the Lord. But, there’s one conversation in particular I want to share with you, that might help shed some light on our inexplicable faith walk.
That last week in May, I had a phone call with the booking agent from the management team. She’s also the person in charge of playlist pitching for Spotify. During the phone call, she made a confession to me about Sydney’s latest release, The Journey. The team had another song releasing on the same day. One that was more upbeat with a contemporary pop sound. (The Journey, written and performed with Ryan Delange, is a song about the journey parents go on when their children are facing potentially life threatening diseases. It was specifically written for the parents of children involved with Make-A-Wish America.)
The team member went on to explain that everyone in the office was convinced the other song was going to out perform Sydney’s song. It was more in line with what people want in music and it was getting placed on twice as many playlists as The Journey. But, here’s the thing: The Journey had THREE TIMES as many streams as that other song and no one could explain it. But, we could.
It was Jesus.
There was an anointing on that song, from the moment Sydney and Ryan wrote it, that was inexplicable. I went on to explain to her that we knew our approach to the music world was different than most everyone else’s. To those on the inside, it might look like we don’t take it seriously, or that we’re not really invested, but that’s not the case. Not by a long shot. We’re just not interested in MAKING something happen. If the Lord wants to open doors, He will open them. And He has. There were a lot of things we were absolutely clueless on, but of this we were MOST certain: The Lord was calling us on a different path when it came to “business” practices. We knew it didn’t make sense to the world, but, I guess that was the point. No one could look at us and say that we’ve manufactured this.
The following day, this young woman sent me a text. In her daily bible reading, she came across Proverbs 16:20, “One skilled in business discovers prosperity, but the one who trusts in God is blessed beyond belief.” Almost like a sweet reminder from the Lord that we were, indeed, on the right path. Something we questioned ALL THE TIME back then. But, we haven’t questioned at all recently.
In fact, now if we get an idea that resembles the ways of the world in any way, we’re more likely to put it aside. It’s not the path He’s calling us to. Sometimes I feel like He’s calling us to make our own trail and, honestly, we hate it. It’s so much easier to follow a path that’s already there. Creating a path takes work and you’re always second guessing yourself. We expend so much energy carving out the path…. and maybe that’s the point.
Following the Lord can be a lot easier when you have no expendable energy left to do your own thing! And if that’s actually true, then I guess we’re doing it right because that’s exactly where we are.
Searching for Jesus in America 