Logan Martin is a local to Salem and a familiar face at Corban; or, at least he used to be. I think he still should be.
In 2007, Martin released his full-length record “Colorless,” and he came and performed in Corban’s very own Psalm Center. I remember him leading a time of praise and worship during chapel. His passion was so clear in his music and his message. His heart is for God and for leading people in worship.
This year, Corban invited him back. On Dec. 5 Martin hosted the Salem United Christmas Worship Experience. This was Corban’s second Salem United community worship night, the first of which was Oct. 10. I was so excited that students could be blessed by Martin in the way I was blessed years ago. My hope was not realized.
My question: Corban, where were you?
Perhaps the event was not clearly publicized, which would be a fault of mine as your ASB Communications Coordinator.
Perhaps the event coincided or conflicted with other Christmas events.
Perhaps the event was too much of a stress to attend, as students struggle to finish assignments, write papers and study for finals.
The fact of the matter is that from a student population of roughly 1,100 students, only roughly 60 students came, 20 percent of whom were the students who organized the event.
Students need to know they missed out on a wonderful event.
Martin did not simply lead the meager audience in Christmas carols; he was intentional in following the direction of the event organizers, student worship leader Chris Spivey and ASB Ministries Coordinator Carrie Bernard.
Martin shared his passion for worship, describing it in this way: “The joy of Jesus fills us [when we worship] so that we can’t go back to where we were.”
Despite my own disappointment, Chris Spivey expressed his excitement about the number of students who did come. He realized that the time of the year was a conflict for some people.
“The band was great,” Spivey said. “Logan Martin and company played well and as though there were 1,000 people there. They had a clean, crisp sound and were very professional.”
Students need to know they missed out but should not continue to miss out on an amazing outlet that will push them outside of the “Corban bubble” they tend to find themselves in.
Provost Matt Lucas once said that the Corban bubble is merely something created by students. This Corban bubble is a limit we place around ourselves. Geographically, Corban is somewhat outside of the city. It is easy to feel secluded on the Corban hill.
I know from experience: I spent my first two years at Corban without a car and in a circle of friends without cars. We spent hours mapping bus routes to take us from downtown Salem to the Lancaster mall and back. It seemed like such an inconvenience, but always ended up being worth the extra hour or two of travel and wait time for bus changes.
Salem United is a unique and wonderful worship experience designed by students who saw the problem of the Corban bubble and sought to solve it. It’s open to students, families and individuals throughout Salem to join together in a time of worship, a time of union.
If Corban cannot show up, how can we expect the rest of Salem? Aren’t we called to be a witness?
Then what are we doing, Corban?