WHEN POPULAR music chart topper Junior Tucker got saved, he saw in his future a life as a gospel artiste. He was enjoying life in Jamaica and the fellowship in his church, Swallowfield Chapel in Kingston. He was seeing many of his friends converting to Christ.
Then one day God said to him: "Do you want to be a gospel artiste or do you want to be a worshipper?" Junior was puzzled. He said to the Lord: 'What do you want me to be?' The Lord , replied saying 'I want you to be a worshipper.'
"I said: 'Does that mean gospel artistes do not worship?' The Lord replied, 'No you don't understand. To be a worshipper I have to build the man. Anybody can be a gospel artiste but not everybody can worship'," Junior recalled. "
"The skill of performing is something I have had since I was five years old. God gave it to me. And I can do it whether or not I am a Christian. That is what the Lord said to me four years ago when He told me to move to Florida. He said you can go and be a gospel artiste and your gift will make room for you but I am not going with you.
A worshipper, said Junior, " is someone who when no one else is looking and it's just him and God, is truly willing to let God show him and take away everything that is evil within him."
NEW HORIZONS
He continued:"When I went to Swallow (Swallowfield Chapel) I was very good at performance. I grew up doing that all my life. It came very natural. I knew all the tricks - all the little things to do to get the crowd to move. I came to Swallow and I saw two people who were not necessarily great singers but when I saw them worship - they had a major effect on the people. I later learnt it was not them but the Holy Spirit through them. I wanted to know how I could do that. I think what really prepared me and is still preparing me to be a worshipper is my daily time spent with the Lord in the Bible and in prayer and worshipping in spirit and in truth. Swallowfield prepared me as it taught me the value of that private walk with God."
Though the Swallowfield experience was invaluable, Junior is happy he followed the Lord's leading to Florida as his experience has opened up new horizons for him as a worshipper. His Bishop, Tony Miller is a major worship mentor in his life. "My bishop, always tells me 'If you minister from your head, you will touch people's head. If you minister from your spirit you touch people's spirit.' Now if I don't have anything in my spirit I can't give anything to people."
Junior and his family packed up and relocated to Florida where they have since been living for about four years. He sold many of his possessions and went to Florida not knowing which church he would join. He knew very few persons there. He sat down at his rented home for about four months waiting on God to direct his steps. Then one day, Bishop John Gordon, of the Covenant Community Fellowship in Broward called him and invited him to his church. He worshipped at this 200-member-strong church comprised mainly of West Indians for about 18 months and then he became the Music Minister there.
Then the Lord led him to predominantly white New Harvest Church in Clewiston, which is at the south-west tip of Lake Okeechobee in central Florida. Clewiston is a fishing town with about 7,000 inhabitants. Junior has been serving there as Music Minister for almost three years. As a fulltime Music Minister he is part of the church's leadership staff of 15 persons. He supervises 30 persons and oversees everything related to the praise and worship segment of the worship service. He also oversees the choir, the band and ministries in drama, singing and dance. He is also charged with ensuring that the sound equipment is always in tip-top shape. Bishop Tony Miller ( who is on television in 70 different countries) or Pastor Chuck Pelham might periodically approach him and say the sermon for Sunday is going to be on subject 'x.' That is Junior's cue to ensure that songs, drama and dances complement the subject of the sermon.
A FULLTIME MINISTER
As Music Minister he is not paid a set remuneration by his church. Yet he is a fulltime minister. He is living entirely by faith. "I have been living that way for six years. I used to live by faith for the devil. I have never worked a secular job in my life. I believe that if Satan took care of me when I was doing secular music then how much more will God take care of me," he said.
When he became Music Minister at New Harvest Church, Junior had to adapt to contemporary pop music, alternative rock and learn the congregation's musical styles and culture. In this regard, he said, he has learnt how to worship in virtually any atmosphere and in any culture. "What I see God doing is shaping and moulding me not just to be a Jamaican minister but a Minister - period.
That moulding is being aided by his enrolment in International Seminary headquartered in Plymouth, Florida (www.internationalseminary.com), where by correspondence he is pursuing a Bachelor's Degree in Ministry. "I can clearly see that God is shaping me to be more like a Minister-Pastor kind of person. I have been getting a lot of calls to be a preacher and a worship seminar leader. God is shaping me to be a full Minister. Being on the staff of the church has helped. It allows me to see up close how a church runs."
He looks back with appreciation to the spiritual foundation he received at Swallowfield Chapel. The moment he walked into that church - a discipler was assigned to him. His disciplers have included Roan Earle, Chris Henry, Ricky Mahfood, Kevin Stewart. By the time he left Jamaica, he had matured to the extent that he was himself discipling new converts. Other significant influences on his life at Swallowfield included Junior Nash, Pastor David Henry and Marcia Henry.
Junior has been married to Allison (who is more commonly known by her middle name - Trudy) for the past 11 years. They have three daughters, ages seven, four and 18 months. Allison is also ministry-minded. She got saved at Junior's baptism at Swallowfield Chapel in 1997. She has a Bachelor's degree in Marketing and Business Administration from the University of Technology. She does accounting work for the church. However, last month she preached in church for the first time. "She is stepping into that calling," says Junior. "She seems more oriented towards ministry to children."
Junior, 37, has, however, not abandoned gospel music. A child star, he became the darling of Jamaicans as he was thought to be the nation's answer to the young Michael Jackson. In fact, some of Jackson's early recordings became a staple in Junior's repertoire in his early years. As a secular artiste he had several number one songs and was voted singer of the year on two occasions. Before he was saved he churned out several albums. Since embracing Christ, he has produced two gospel albums Brand New and Ready For The Rapture.
UNSPIRITUAL PEOPLE
He was in the island August 16, 2003 to sing for free at the Recharge show held in Kingston at the Ranny Williams Entertainment Centre.
Asked if Gospel music has been kind to him, he replied: "Christ has been kind to me. God took me from money, owning property, cars, to renting an apartment in Florida. I see God blessing me now where I can own a house. If I were to look at it purely from a business point of view, gospel music was a bad career move strategically. Gospel music being good to me is neither here nor there. I did not come to gospel music. I came to Christ." "When I was growing up, a lot of preachers preached over my head. They did not speak to me where I was at culturally, musically or even theologically. They spoke to me as if I knew the Bible and Christianity - and then they judged me for not living out the Bible and Christianity. You cannot expect spiritual things from unspiritual people... My major mission in life is to be a soldier who makes the Gospel relevant. I don't want to be just another preacher. I want to be a relevant preacher," he said.
"For 29 years I was walking without the presence of God in my life and I don't want to go back to that. I ain't going back... Since I became a Christian I have been in a very serious pursuit of God..."
