The Man I Used To Be

I don't know why I was thinking about this today. Crazy how the brain works. This article was written about me probably in 2003. Not sure what to say about it other than I am so not this person anymore. I feel like a completely different person. Perhaps this is the alternate world's (via Fringe) version of me. I may have to write more about this later. For now it's just...strange.

Marty Gordon...A Creative Ministries Journey
Marty Gordon’s creative ministries journey began in 1990. Having grown up at Olive Baptist Church in Pensacola, Florida, and accepting Christ at the age of 17 at youth camp, Marty was no stranger to ministry. His formal education to become a visual artist began in 1980 as he entered college but his frustration soon grew as he found few ways to use his talents in the church. There was the occasional poster that needed to be drawn and the Christmas and Easter Pageants were there for some musical and dramatic opportunities, but Marty wanted more.
In 1990, Olive’s college minister, Rew Randolph, sensed Marty’s frustration and provided him with an opportunity that would change his life. With Rew as his guide, Marty attended the 1990 National Drama Festival held at Two Rivers Baptist Church in Nashville, Tennessee, and sponsored by the Southern Baptist Convention. At the festival, a whole new world of ministry possibilities opened up. At the festival, Marty attended several of the many classes offered in puppetry, clowning, interpretive movement and drama. He also witnessed many wonderful performances by Christian artists. A standout for Marty was The Company, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary’s drama team. On the way home from the festival, Marty and Rew were so inspired that they planned a creative Christmas service for college students and performed it in December of that year.
Having been jolted into the reality that artists can use their gifts for God, Marty soon accepted a call to ministry and started at Southwestern in 1992. In 1993, he joined The Company, the group he was so inspired by at the festival in 1990. During his stint in The Company, Marty honed his skills as a dramatic artist. He returned to the National Drama Festival in 1994, only this time as a faculty member. After leaving The Company and the seminary behind in 1995, Marty joined Face to Face Ministries. This group was comprised of former Company members pursuing their vision to communicate the love of God through artistic mediums. After a year with Face to Face, Marty left to take a youth ministry position in Columbia, SC.
When Marty arrived in Columbia, two new creative ministries opportunities opened up to him. He was contacted by Angela Dowless of the Youth Ministries Group of the SC Baptist Convention about helping write scripts for Evangelympics. Marty is now in his sixth year of serving on the scriptwriting team for youth events such as Hardball and Summersalt.
Around the same time, Marty attended the SC Creative Ministries Festival where he ran into Rose Crane Grayson. They had met the year before when Face to Face served on faculty at Curtain Call, the North Carolina Festival. Rose asked Marty to not only serve on faculty but to be a part of the planning team for the festival. Marty just recently served at his sixth festival in SC.
Marty presently serves as Minister of Arts and Worship at Lakewood Church in Irmo, SC, where he attempts to communicate the gospel creatively through all of the arts.