Interview: Gary Humble

Pursuing Your Passion: An Interview with Gary Humble

Worship Pastor, Song Writer, Singer, blogger, and friend Gary Humble has released two original albums, The Worship Project and Glory All to You, and has been a featured songwriter by Worship Leader Magazine’s Song DISCovery in 2004. He serves as the Technical Director at Cross Timbers Community Church in Argyle, TX.

I’m happy to have him as a guest on Ubervice to talk about his recent album and how he pursued his passion in music.

Steve: Your recent album, Glory All to You contains 12 original songs that you’ve written and is now available on iTunes. What are you most proud of about the album, and what have people seemed to enjoy most about the album?

Gary: Well, I guess that I’m most proud of the fact that the album was recorded in it’s entirety in one day. Please don’t try this at home. A crazy thing to do, but budget demanded that the project be done in an expedient manner.

Steve: You actually started off going to college for an entirely different field. Can you tell us about that and when you first realized your passion for ministry and music?

Gary: Well, I began leading music in the church at the age of 15 for the youth group that I was involved with at the time. I knew that there was a desire to do more, but it wasn’t until I began leading worship in college that I realized perhaps God had something more in mind. Being a young worship leader, or perhaps anyone that is on a platform and looked to for leadership at a young age can be a very difficult thing to sort through. Being in my teenage years and a college student, I was still trying to figure out who I was. In the meantime, I could tell that God was using me to affect peoples lives in significant ways through music.

It was in those formative years that I realized I had a great desire to have a positive impact on the lives of others. Since I had some musical ability, it just seemed like a natural fit to continue pursuing opportunities to lead worship environments in the church.

Steve: Changing your career goals from being a doctor to going into ministry must have seemed to go against the norm for what most people look for in a career. What gave you the confidence and determination to pursue your passion?

Gary: As a Christ follower, there was certainly a passion to pursue an opportunity to serve in the church and help to further the message of Christ. To some degree, the process of making this a career choice was actually a bit of trial and error. I began my college education pursuing a career in medicine and actually that had been a dream of mine since I was an elementary school student. I think everyone in my family and anyone who knew me fully expected me to become a doctor. So, obviously making the decision to drop out of college and enter into ministerial studies was a difficult decision and one where I felt like I might not be meeting the expectations of others. But the truth was, I was absolutely miserable and unfulfilled in my pursuits of what I thought for so many years was the height of success.

In the end, I sought out peace. I decided that doing something that could be construed as completely ridiculous was better than having to live life asking that dreaded question, “what if?” I’m a risk-taker, so that’s what I do…I jump!

Steve: What was the biggest obstacle you came up against in pursuing your passion?

Gary: FEAR. Even though I knew that pursuing music was inline with pursuing my passion, I had my doubts due to the fact that at that time in my life I had a very limited amount of exposure to the world of musical performance and leadership. Was I really good enough? Could I make enough money to support a family? Is this realistic or am I pursuing a pipe dream? And the questions went on and on.

Stepping into the unknown is never easy, but I’m convinced that it is an absolute prerequisite to success and realizing a dream. That said, being a man of faith made this step a little easier. In the end, I was not only taking a leap of faith on my own account. But I was trusting that God was stepping with me.

Steve: What do you see yourself doing in five years? What are your biggest dreams now, now that you’ve produced two albums?

Gary: Honestly, it’s been a great experience to have had the opportunity to produce two albums so far, but these records have simply been an overflow of what God has done in my life up to this point. For me, albums are not the end game, though, I don’t think I’m done just yet. My dream is that I am still an effective leader over the next five years and the next. My heart is the church.

Steve: What advice would you give to people who fear making a change from their current secure job to pursuing their passion?

Gary: I would say to pursue opportunity, wait and then take it. Here’s what I’ve learned. Life is comprised of seasons. Seasons change and seasons come and go. The one thing you can count on is that a new season is coming your way. The key is waiting for your season, for your time. I heard a quote in bible college by Leonard Ravenhill, “the opportunity of a lifetime must be seized during the lifetime of the opportunity.” I’ve never forgotten that quote and I’ve done my best to do that very thing throughout my life.

Often times, we are presented with incredible opportunities that we either miss or simply choose not to acknowledge. There are a few reasons for this. Lack of confidence or awareness. Fear. The opinions of others. Peer pressure. Depression. Financial circumstances. And many others.

Pursuing an opportunity certainly comes with risk and does not guarantee reward. In fact, chances are good that you’ll experience failure. But the truth is that failure will only bring you one step closer to success. I met with a life coach once and to my surprise the first question that he asked me was, “have you ever been fired and if so, how many times?” After answering that question, he said his reason for asking was because he believed that until someone has been fired at least twice in their lifetime, they’ve never really done anything of any consequence. A pretty interesting perspective I thought.

Steve: What would you recommend for people who don’t enjoy what they are currently doing, but aren’t sure of what their passion is?

Gary: There’s obviously some practicality that comes into play here. But seriously, at what point does unhappiness and settling for less become practical for you? My advice, jump…head-first and right into the deep end! We have only one life to live and a limited number of years in which we have the opportunity to impact the world around us. So, get out there and do it. Perhaps, get fired. I’m being a little funny here, but seriously, these types of circumstances in life are sometimes the greatest catalyst for positive change. If you find yourself in this predicament right now….make the most of it.

Steve: Finally, what is your secret to balancing so many things at one time (Worship Pastor, Husband, Singer, Songwriter, Producing Albums, Practicing Your Music, Blogging) and being successful at all of them? Are there sacrifices you’ve had to make? What can you tell our readers to help them achieve a simpler, more efficient, more abundant life?

Wow. I certainly don’t have any secrets, sorry. The only answer I can give to this question is that it is Christ who strengthens me and it’s in Him that I find the promise of an abundant life. Life is hard, challenging and can be very complicated. I can’t even begin to imagine having had to face some of the challenges that I’ve faced thus far without having some sort of foundation to hold on to….for me, a relationship with God. Outside of that, I simply continue to do whatever it is that’s in front of me and attempt to do it to the best of my ability.

Steve: Thanks, Gary, for the wonderful interview and for be such a blessing to our readers!

To read more about Gary’s thoughts and wisdom about music and ministry, visit his blog: GaryHumble.com. To hear his latest album Glory All to You – you can purchase it on iTunes or from his website.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!