July 7, 2024 • 56 mins
In this episode of "Adventist Waves," we meet Eric and Monique, a musical couple who traded stable jobs for a life of radical faith and ministry. Discover how they were led to volunteer in Ukraine, study at Arise, and embark on a journey of evangelism through music. Eric and Monique share the inspiration behind their album "Everlasting," reflect on the challenges and joys of music ministry, and offer encouraging advice for those pursuing a similar path. Get ready to be inspired by their story and learn how you can use your own gifts to make a difference for God.
đź”— Connect with them: https://www.ericandmonique.com/
đź”— Connect with us: linktr.ee/adventistwaves
Music Attributions:
“Coming of Time” by Rafael Krux, (https://music.orchestralis.net/track/28566285), Available for use under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en)
“The Blinding Lights” by Symphonic Collective, (premiumbeat.com/artist/symphonic-collective) Used with Creator licence from PremiumBeat.com.
”He Knows, Take Us Home, Honour the Lord, You Alone, Everlasting, Orion, There we arise, God Is Love.” - by Eric and Monique, (www.ericandmonique.com) Available for use under the CC BY 4.0 license (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Welcome to Adventist Waves.
(00:20):
They left their stable jobs to pursue a year of radical faith and it led them to an unexpected
path, one filled with music, ministry and a message of hope that resonates across continents.
Who are Eric and Monique and what led them on this extraordinary journey?
(00:40):
Find out on today's Adventist Waves podcast.
When Eric and Monique were both growing up, they loved music.
Eric grew up in Australia, a part of a musical family and discovered that he had a talent
for music performance and loved it.
(01:02):
Yeah, so I've always, I feel like I've always had an interest in music and I'm not sure
whether that's just because as a small kid, I just watched my, my auntie who actually
is a music teacher herself just do this crazy stuff on the piano and she would like just
improvise and play Beethoven but with a twist.
(01:22):
It was just really cool as a kid.
I was probably only like five years old and plus my grandpa was into banjo and I guess
yeah the musical side of the family from watching them and yeah just got really got into playing
piano as a kid.
(01:45):
So your auntie had a big influence in your life.
Yeah I think so.
I think that was probably my initial memory growing up is watching her and just thinking
how cool it was.
I mean at the time I just was excited to put it on like the thunder clouds and the trains
like you know on the MIDI keyboard so you can just like do all that crazy stuff but
(02:07):
yeah I realized pretty quickly that I found it fun to also write music myself.
Like I discovered that even if it was like really simple, simple songs at the time as
a kid but yeah just love just making up songs on the piano and it would eventually go and
do formal lessons I guess for three or four years but I mean that's that's a story in
(02:31):
itself because I ended up quitting that as a lot of teenagers do and just loving just
writing music and having a bit more of a less I guess formal learning playing by ear and
stuff so yeah really enjoy it.
Did you belong to a church when you were growing up at that stage?
Yeah so I've been yeah I've been in the church all my life so I grew up in a little place
(02:56):
called Mulan Bar up near I don't even say that right Mulan Bar.
Mulan Bar is better.
Like your hometown.
Yeah and just went to church there all my life and as I got older I think the teachers
(03:16):
also had a huge influence because they would encourage it they would say hey notice that
you play the piano why don't you do a special item at school assembly like chapel and I
was too scared to sing at that point I kind of convinced myself that I didn't sing I
just played piano and that was it but eventually I would be brave enough to sing in front of
(03:36):
people and I think yeah just through the influence of watching family and the teachers as well
and especially church like I got into the worship music at church and yeah just through
all that it's sort of sent on a path towards where we are now I guess.
(03:57):
On the other hand Monique had a talent that took time to mature.
Well my mom is a music teacher and so I started getting lessons in music when I was super
young I had violin lessons from when I was three or four and I had piano lessons when
I was like six or something and but the problem is is that because it was my mother I wasn't
(04:23):
great at practicing it was like this rebellion thing that I had so that's a big regret of
mine that I didn't actually practice it and actually have consistency in it throughout
my life but yeah so that was on and off my whole life I was in choirs and stuff but I
(04:45):
became incredibly shy due to several different events and things that happened and to me
singing in front of people or doing any kind of music in front of people became something
that was just like a nightmare and I didn't want anything to do with it and I went far
away from all of that kind of thing before I met Eric.
(05:09):
Yeah I was a lot more into writing that's something I've always really really loved
just the creative writing and creating a story in a whole world using words that's something
that I really really love.
So when I met Eric he actually never heard me sing for the first two years of our relationship.
(05:42):
Like there's a difference right so there's like you're in the in the pews singing worship
songs and I mean everyone's blended in together right and but even then I'd be singing pretty
softly yeah you're like really timid in that area but it wasn't until later that I was
like whoa like you can sing.
(06:03):
So we're not like a lot of musician couples that kind of meet through both of us doing
music and kind of hanging out in a friendship that started that way ours did not.
But it sounds like you came from a musical background anyway.
Yeah your parents encouraged you to to get into violin and piano early.
Yeah my mum and dad were actually in like a music group when they were young they used
(06:27):
to go around to different churches with some of their friends when my brother was a baby.
That's right I forgot about that.
Did you grow up in the church as well?
Yeah I did.
My parents were high school teachers for the church and we moved around quite a lot up
into Papua New Guinea and around Australia and New Zealand.
(06:50):
It was while they were at college that their paths crossed and their love blossomed from
there.
Well I had gone away for I was at Avondale College for three years and then I took a
year off to go volunteer in Ukraine and it was in the year when I was over in Ukraine
(07:10):
Eric came to Avondale at the end of that year and so when I came back to finish my final
year I met him in a library with him pretending he needed computer help but he didn't like
he's very good at computers.
I like computers.
It was just to try and talk to me.
(07:33):
So yeah we talked for like several hours the first time we talked and it was just really
really cool and then he left asking if he could take me home because I you know lived
off campus he was going to walk me home at night and he tripped over a rubbish bin as
he left.
So it was a good first impression I think.
(07:59):
I think it wasn't too long after that I can't remember if I actually invited you or whether
you just turned up.
Student services I can't even remember who asked but they said oh they were aware that
I did music and could you do like a little concert so in the cafe thing so.
Yeah you told me about it because we were just friends at that point and you told me
(08:21):
about it and so he was playing this little mini concert at the top of student services
in Avondale and I remember walking up the stairs with my friends and I heard this voice
and we just all stopped we were like wow sounds amazing and then we're like that couldn't
be Eric could it be Eric and we walked up and when I saw it was Eric I realised that
(08:45):
I liked him more than a friend and I proceeded to ignore him for the rest of the night because
I was so shocked that I actually liked this guy.
Who you thought was like a first year for a while.
Yeah I was like he's so young.
Similar age anyway but anyway yeah.
Oh wow and we continued being friends for a bit and then.
(09:11):
I think we were just hanging out a lot.
We were just hanging out and you told me you liked me.
Yeah it was that kind of stuff and then I'm pretty sure.
You started.
Yeah we were dating we were pretty much dating but for some reason you didn't think that
we were but we were.
I thought it was pretty clear but anyway.
There was a bit of confusion.
(09:32):
But yeah and then we just started hanging out a lot and.
Yeah we dated for.
It was nine months before we got engaged.
I graduated and moved down to Melbourne and we were long distance for a year.
Eric was pretty amazing he used pretty much all of his money to be able to come and visit
me so.
(09:52):
Yeah I was working at college with a random job and that was back when flights were I
wouldn't say cheap but they were a lot more cheaper than they are now.
And so I tried to get down every month I used all my money basically.
Hey Adventist Waves listeners we are so glad that you're tuning in.
(10:16):
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(10:39):
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(11:00):
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After they got married they decided to quit their jobs and dedicate their lives to ministry.
(11:23):
Monique explains their experience.
Eric took some time off college and came down and he was working for the church in two different
churches like as a youth worker.
It was like a youth Bible worker.
And it was during that year that we I don't know how sometimes when you first get your
(11:45):
wage and everything it can be easy to get caught up in society and caught up in the
lifestyle and things that you're meant to be doing that society tells you should be
doing and we realized that and we realized that rather than doing ministry for the ministry
sake, we were working for the church but our hearts really weren't into it and we didn't
like that.
(12:06):
So we prayed a lot about it and we decided that we would quit our jobs and give our year
to God, just an open ended year to God that we would be open to following his path for
our life rather than us creating a path that we thought was his path just because it was
(12:28):
working for the church.
Does that make sense?
And so we quit our jobs and that was right before the financial crisis of 2009 was it?
Yeah, oh wait, oh wait, so we got married in 2008.
Yeah, so right before the financial crisis of 2008 happened and we had already quit our
jobs and like, okay God, well, our life's in your hands now.
(12:53):
So yeah, we ended up volunteering in Ukraine and we bought a one way ticket to Ukraine
and that's kind of how the rest of this whole thing started, how music actually started
by doing that.
As a couple, yeah.
As a couple.
Yeah.
(13:14):
Yeah, we went to Ukraine for a while and then we felt called to go to a Bible college.
Erica Minnick's faith was tested when they decided to up and go to the west coast of
the United States and study at Arise.
We had no money to do that and so we prayed to God that if he wanted us to go to Bible
(13:36):
college that he would need to provide us the money for it, to get the tickets to actually,
first of all, go to the Bible college and to pay for the Bible college and so we prayed
about that and we applied for the Bible college and it was Arise, they were in California
at the time.
Within just like a month or so, money had come from all different locations, all different
(13:58):
things, some of the money we didn't even know who gave it to us.
There was one situation where for whatever reason they'd underpaid me so I got like a
lump sum randomly, hit the bank account which happened to pay for one of our tuition fees.
The timing of the guides and everything, it all sort of everything, you take that step
(14:20):
of faith and then it just all sort of snowballed.
We actually, we had enough money in the end to pay for all of the tuition for Arise but
the tickets, we could only have enough money to get to the east coast of America.
There wasn't enough to pay to get to the west coast and I was talking to my grandparents
once and we were just talking about that and they said, hey, what month are you needing
(14:43):
to go from the east coast to the west coast and we told them the month and they said,
we're going to be in America at that time and we're wanting to do our last RV trip
because they owned an RV in America and my uncle and some cousins live in America so
they used to go and visit him and they said, we're wanting to do this RV trip and then
my grandmother's like, but to be honest with you, it would be really good if like your
(15:08):
grandfather didn't have to drive all the time.
He's like in his eighties.
It would be good if he didn't have to drive.
Would you guys want to hitchhike a ride with us?
And so like if you drive Eric, you can just hitchhike a ride and you would only have to
pay anything that would be beyond what we're going to pay anyway, because we're going
from the east coast to the west coast.
(15:29):
So we ended up hitchhiking a ride with my grandparents and we went on this one month
holiday with them through all of the national parks and everything and just only having
to pay like, you know, the extra little bit for two extra people on these campsites and
it was a really amazing special experience just to spend time that much time with my
(15:52):
grandparents and to, you know, get to know them so much better.
It was just such a special time.
And yeah, it got us to a rise.
It's like how God just puts together all of these things because they would go and visit
my uncle, but they rarely ever went to visit him and to do these trips in that time period
(16:15):
when we needed it.
But that for that year, for some reason, I believe it's God, they were doing it at the
exact same time, the right time when we needed to get from the east coast to the west coast.
Yeah, just really lined up just even before that, like even the flight, getting the flight
across to the States from Ukraine, we didn't have enough money for that.
But then back in Australia, they were giving people like a lump sum under a certain tax
(16:40):
bracket, which we work as we're volunteering.
And that was the exact amount we needed to get across, like across to the state, albeit
ailing us.
But you know, we survived.
To the east coast.
Yeah.
And I don't know, I think there's so many stories we can't tell them all right now,
but there's literally story after story of how living that year and just putting it into
(17:02):
God's hands, how we would get down to like our last couple of dollars and someone would
come up and randomly hand us an envelope.
It's just all these different experiences where God just provided and we just had to
trust him.
The couple's experience at RISE helped shape their ministry.
It drew them together and started their journey as musicianaries.
(17:25):
Yeah, so at RISE, the class was very international.
We probably had 50% of the class from overseas and quite a few Aussies as well.
A lot of people from Europe.
They're also very musical.
Very musical group.
And our teachers picked that up pretty early on.
(17:46):
People like James Rafferty, was he that year?
No, he wasn't that year.
It was just David Ashrigg, Maffara.
Yeah, that sort of group.
And they wanted to use that for evangelism.
So the church, Zanora Church at the time, we had this evangelistic kind of concert that
(18:10):
they were planning.
And so it was up to each of the students that were into music to come up with different
special music items to put into a concert format.
And yeah, we...
Eric was going to do one.
I was not because that's a nightmare for me at that point in my life.
(18:30):
And so Eric was practicing his song.
It was this song called, I don't know if you know our song, He Knows.
And Eric had just written that in Ukraine.
That was written in Ukraine.
Yeah.
And so he was just practicing it and I was sitting next to him and I was bored.
And so I started to like, you know, just very quietly like sing.
(18:53):
And I was singing like little harmonies and stuff really quietly.
And a friend of ours, a fellow student, his name is Ben.
He walked through the door and he heard me before I could see that he was there.
And he came over and he's like, are you guys singing that for the concert?
And Eric's like, yeah, yeah, I'm going to be singing it.
(19:13):
He's like, wait, Monique, aren't you singing?
That sounds really good.
And you know, I'm like, no, I'm not singing.
Because you're doing harmonies, right?
Yeah.
And I'm like, no, I'm not going to sing.
He's like, you have to sing.
And I'm like, no, I don't sing.
It's not something I do.
And so he ended up annoying me for a couple of days.
It took like two or three days to wear me down.
(19:36):
Every single time he saw me, he was just like, Monique, you got to sing with Eric.
You have to do it.
Like every single and I was like, no, I'm not going to do it.
And eventually it just got to the point where I said, yes, will you stop asking me if I
say yes?
And that is how that's how I started singing with Eric.
Yeah, that's where it all.
(19:56):
And God somehow used this guy and just being annoying to get me to say yes.
I was very un-stubborn.
But so we did it the first time and I was terrified, like honestly terrified.
And there was this grand piano, like a music stand and a lamp on the grand piano.
We actually have a photo of it.
It's very embarrassing.
(20:17):
And I'm like, I decided the best place for me to stand would be behind Eric, the grand
piano, the music stand and the light.
You can barely see me.
I'm like right back there sitting there.
And that was the only place I would sing.
So that's how we did our first song together.
And it was that song that David heard it and he came up to us afterwards and he said, that
(20:40):
song's perfect for this sermon series I'm doing at GYC this year.
He had this vision of getting different Adventist singer songwriters and musicians to sing the
appeal song at the end of each of his sermons.
And he also had this vision about this like evangelistic music tour thing that he was
(21:02):
interested in as well.
And so we prayed a lot about it and we didn't have money to go to GYC either.
It's like the story of that year.
We had no money, but God did.
God provided the money and we ended up going to GYC and that was the third time we ever
(21:25):
sung was in front of thousands of people.
And it was terrifying.
Absolutely terrifying.
I remember beforehand I was so scared because I don't know if you've heard David preach,
(21:48):
but he never preaches on time.
And like the time limit was there.
So we went behind and we just were waiting and waiting and waiting.
It was like 40 extra minutes and we were behind there.
Like for a person who's nervous about being in front of people, I was just getting more
and more nervous and I was getting into my head.
(22:09):
And I had gotten so far down into my head.
Because they were also filming it as well.
Like Eric was up like waiting to go on and I was like sitting down because my legs wouldn't
work and I was just praying and praying like, God, I can't do this.
You're going to have to somehow do it for me because I cannot.
If this is something you're wanting me to do in my life, you need to give me the ability
(22:33):
to, because I don't think I can even walk out onto that stage right now.
And when it was the time, I remember walking out onto the stage and it was like this literally
felt like this tidal wave that just went over me and all of my nerves disappeared.
It was gone.
Like there was not one bit of nerves.
(22:56):
And it was honestly the most amazing experience because it was for an appeal.
It was for an appeal and everyone was kneeling down.
And it was like this real moment for both of us when we realized that this is for God.
That this is about worshipping God and everyone's worshipping God together.
(23:18):
It's not about us.
It's not about our nerves, our ideas that we have in our head or it's about God.
And that's what music should be to focus on Jesus.
And yeah, it was a really big turning point I think in our lives.
(23:39):
It was at this GYC that the idea of the Songs of a Sintour was born.
Yeah, it was.
And even that night, I think it was the end of GYC.
So people were hanging out together as late as they could into the night.
And then this brainstorming session happened about getting together.
I don't think it was the very next year but it was the year after that to do this thing
(24:02):
that they would call Songs of a Sint where the concept is preaching but with having music
that weaves its way through the message.
And yeah, we'd meet other musicians that we're still very close friends to.
Like literally, we were on tour with them last month.
(24:23):
And yeah, that would be the next part of the journey.
Yeah.
I just couldn't agree on that.
After GYC, they returned back to Australia where they recorded their album, Pilgrim.
Back to Australia.
I'd been given a Bible teaching job at Gilson College in Melbourne and Eric started doing
Bible work again.
(24:44):
And we did that for three years while we recorded Pilgrim.
And we did that with Salter Music that was running at the time in Sydney from the media
centre, Adventist Media Centre.
We were so grateful for that opportunity to be able to record with them and that they
(25:05):
provided us with that opportunity.
And then the following year, we went on tour in America with about four other Adventist
musicians and a couple of evangelists and we did that throughout California.
And we did three songs of Ascent evangelistic tours over the next couple of years.
(25:27):
I think it was four different groups as well.
I asked them what lessons that they had learned along the way.
The biggest lessons I think were how to separate ourselves from our music ministry.
And I guess what I mean by that is to make sure that the number one focus is Jesus and
(25:53):
the ministry you're doing, that the number one focus is how Jesus is actually using your
music and that that is the most important thing.
It's not the numbers, it's not anything external, it's not anyone's praise or anything, but
to make sure that your head is focused on Jesus, is focused on what, how he is using
(26:22):
it.
And I think that was the biggest lesson because whenever you're doing anything creative, people
will always come up to you and say good things about it.
Yeah, there'll be people who say bad things, but there's also a lot of praise that comes
along with it because that's what makes people feel sometimes like they're a part of what
(26:44):
you're doing.
If they're encouraging you and all of that.
And I think that a bit of a trap that musicians can get into, no matter how much you want
to focus on Jesus, is that it can get to your head if you're not careful with it.
And I think it's really important for any musician to actually make sure that they have
(27:06):
a group of people or they even have just a couple people who can pull you up if you start
to go down that road.
And I think that's what this Songs of Ascent thing did for us in that beginning, to be
able to make sure that no matter what other people are saying, that your focus is, I'm
an instrument of God.
(27:28):
This is about Jesus, this is about sharing Jesus with others.
And then it never wavers from that.
For me, because it was linked with an evangelistic style of approach, like with preaching and
that's kind of the goal is to bring people to God.
Because the music was so integrated with that, helping you focus on the ministry aspect,
(27:49):
not less so on the music.
Music was the vehicle and we took a lot of those initial learnings and we sort of took
it on as our vision as well.
And down to our concerts are not what you would describe a typical concert, there's
preaching in the concert.
It's sort of kept those original learnings and I guess it became our sort of thing that
(28:14):
we did, our style I suppose.
There's a lot of stories we can't remember them all, but of where someone was brought
to the concert at just the right time, where something was happening in their life and
one of the songs or what they were preaching about was the exact thing that they needed
in their life.
And I think that seeing that firsthand, it kind of really taught us how music can break
(28:42):
down our spiritual walls and God can use that in a way that just words sometimes can't.
Like there is a place for music in ministry and in evangelism because it's, what's the
word for it?
Just give me a second.
Oh, it's like an entry point.
Yeah.
(29:03):
Easy entry point.
It's an easy entry point into Christianity.
It's like, what's easier to invite someone who's against Christianity, Hey, we've got
this concept or Hey, we've got this person like a preacher.
Like someone inviting people to music is just such an easy thing to do.
And I think God can really use that very powerfully when it's paired with the gospel.
(29:26):
I think we saw that very clearly on that first tour and it kind of, yeah, it just really
helped us to know where to go from there.
It also gave us lots of lessons with money in ministry, which is a difficult thing to
talk about sometimes, but it's a fact of life.
(29:47):
Like no matter what you were doing, it does cost money.
And we were all very nervous at the beginning about, you know, asking for an offering or
asking for different things.
And one of the evangelists, Matt, he came up to us and he's like, why, why didn't you
guys announce the offering after this thing?
(30:09):
And we said, because it was the first concert we all did.
And we're like, Oh, we're just feeling really nervous.
You know, we wanted this to be about Jesus and we're wanting, you know, the focus not
to be our music.
And he was like, but that doesn't mean it's not like without telling people that they
could contribute to your ministry, you took away their ministry.
(30:29):
Yeah.
For some people, the only way that they can contribute to ministries like what you guys
are doing where you're going around and you're sharing Jesus is to give money to it.
Yeah.
Support it.
To support it.
And to offer people that opportunity, you're taking away their opportunity for ministry.
And I had never, we had never thought about it that way before.
(30:52):
Yeah.
And I mean, even from that, people have different approaches, which is fine, but we always felt
very strongly about just having it as a free will.
Yeah.
So there's no ticket sales.
Um, yeah, just free, free will stuff.
And the biggest learning we ever got from that is God always provides no matter what,
which is incredible just to think about, I mean, we're talking crazy stories, like a
(31:16):
bunch of concerts being canceled and then some random person comes up with a white envelope
and in it is exactly the amount that you would have gotten, like that kind of stuff.
Amazing stories.
Yeah.
Music ministry can be a very powerful thing.
This one story that I have from those early years is we went to this church in WA and
(31:42):
took their church service and kept going on tours, didn't think anything of it.
Months later, we got this email from this lady who she said she had gone to this church
service and she told us that she was giving God one last chance, that her life had gone
really down a hill and she just didn't trust in God anymore and she basically told Jesus,
(32:05):
God, you know, I'm going to church one more time.
You need to convince me that you care about me or you're out of my life.
And we just happened to be doing the church service that day.
And she said that God used our songs and what we were saying to just break down the walls
in her heart and to show her that he was there for her.
(32:25):
Because that was the theme about that was actually the theme about concert series during
that tour.
And she said that she just broke down and she started to, you know, do Bible studies
with Jesus again and then read the Bible and have devotions.
And she recommitted her life to God after that and got rebaptized and then got into
(32:47):
Bible like all this stuff.
Yeah, that's crazy.
And we had no idea.
We just did it and went on, but that's the God used it in a way that we never could think.
And there's just so many stories like that.
And that's why we like music ministry.
Let's explore the heart behind the music.
(33:11):
Another album that the couple have created is called Everlasting.
It was written and produced in 2015.
Let's explore the heart behind the music.
I wanted to delve more into the inspirations that drove them to write the songs on the
album.
And this is what they shared with me.
So we wrote those songs during the early years of doing music ministry.
(33:35):
And so a lot of the stuff about all the songs about doubt and faith and that is where we
were living.
We were living by faith at that point for several years and it just hit us multiple
times how even when you're living by faith and you have so many stories where you can
see firsthand God literally providing what you need in the moment.
(34:00):
It's still so easy to fall back on doubt.
Like it's so easy to let those doubt filled thoughts to go into your head and let alone
if you haven't seen those moments of faith recently because sometimes we live our lives
and we don't see them right in front of our faces.
But I don't know it just that experience made us understand that Israelite's a bit more
(34:26):
like how you can see it right in front of your face and yet Satan's you know we just
bring all these little lies.
And so that's where the inspiration for a lot of the songs on that album about faith
and doubt came from our personal experience with that.
And then we really wanted to focus on God because I think we had this little kind of
(34:51):
thought that how so many songs that we sing in church so many of the songs are about us,
about our faith and in relation to God but there aren't you know hundreds and hundreds
of songs that are just focused on God on who He is without any mention of us.
(35:16):
And so we wanted to focus on God because we think that when you're focusing on God that's
when your faith can grow and your doubt can die.
Yeah this sprinkling of songs just right through the whole journey of that time and yeah we
wanted to focus in on like the character of God.
(35:36):
I think some of the inspiration came from Arise itself like the things that we'd learnt
at Arise and songs like Everlasting which ended up being the title track for the album.
Those kind of songs came very easy like some songs came like they took a while to come
up with but Everlasting was quite quick.
(35:59):
We wrote it in like 20 minutes and we have never touched it since.
It was completely from God I don't know it just happened very very quickly.
The creative process is what musicians go through when they write their music.
Eric and Monique's process is simple.
(36:20):
Eric composes the music and Monique writes the lyrics.
They unite their talents to reveal God's character through their music.
Eric usually starts playing around the piano.
And I'm usually in a chair with a Bible and a pen and a book.
(36:40):
And then we usually try and figure out from what Eric's little tune is what kind of biblical
theme or thing about God or our life is that kind of inspiring us to.
And then from there we start thinking of words and then we're sharing it with each other
and yeah.
(37:02):
The best songs always come through like an attitude of worship like if you're having
a worship session essentially like you would at church like singing songs you know you're
just worshiping God.
Just whatever comes next you can be surprised sometimes like you might hit a certain pattern
of notes or chords which will end up turning into like a song or yeah just letting it free
(37:27):
flow really and then that can happen together that can happen individually at times like
sometimes I'll just go and play and then say I've got this idea for a song and then Monique
will try and fit words to it and then I'll say oh that's too wordy let's simplify that
a bit.
Yeah we're usually pretty free flowing at the beginning when it's just the beginning
(37:49):
stages of it but then once we have a general flow down of words then we'll start getting
into a little bit more of the nitty gritties like whether it actually rhymes what the patterns
of it and all that kind of thing and that's usually something that we do after we've started
the free flow but we aren't seeing like songwriters that will force it.
(38:13):
We generally if it's free flowing and it's an easy process and you know it's kind of
in the heart of worship then we'll keep going with it but if we start getting frustrated
by it we'll take a break.
We don't usually force it to happen.
They end up being songs that well we typically don't use because it just comes across I don't
(38:37):
know it's hard to explain it just doesn't sit right.
That's a beautiful thing.
That's the creative process for you it doesn't have to be perfect.
I find that I remember someone was saying like out of 2000 ideas one of them is a really
(38:58):
good idea and so maybe the musical process is kind of the same thing as well.
So we have a lot of ideas that we just didn't go anywhere.
It doesn't go anywhere it just goes away.
Yeah I think over thinking is one of the biggest enemies I think just not in music just in
(39:19):
everything in life like you can over think everything and it's hard to explain like I
think it's I'm sure it's the same in many different creative endeavors.
You just sort of know if that makes sense like if you're doing I don't know like writing
a song I won't speak for other disciplines but if you're writing a song you just have
this sense that yeah this will work you just it just makes sense.
(39:42):
It sits well with you.
Yeah you could I can use the word vibe get a good vibe from it.
Yeah we usually try and make sure that there's like some kind of hook.
I think that's an important thing in songwriting that there's some kind of hook in it that
it's a memorable that's memorable and usually you know if you can't get it out of your own
(40:06):
head then that's a good sign but if you can get out of your head then you've got to have
to you're going to have to do some work on it.
And once we actually have all of that down we actually like to with the music part of
it and with harmonies we like it to somehow reflect the meaning of the song like with
(40:26):
the harmonies that I choose to sing or who is actually singing or how Eric's playing
we like it to reflect the theme of the song so that everything is focused towards the
same thing.
So nothing detracts from the message that we're trying to show with that song.
So like an example of this is in Everlasting the first chorus we sing it in melody both
(40:52):
of us so it's completely in unison and we try and the way that I sing the melody with
Eric if I was just singing normally I wouldn't sing in that register but we sing it in a
way so that we meld and it tries to make it sound like one voice and we wanted to do that
(41:13):
to reflect that God is one God and then in the second time we sing the chorus I go into
harmony and that's to show that even though God is one God he's three in one and that
he is multifaceted in his character and so he's his creative God.
So we kind of try and have little tiny musical ideas like that for different songs.
(41:45):
Their music reveals their personal experience and faith in Christ.
A lot of the songs are definitely stories from our own life and then there are other
ones which we try and make sure that in some way a Bible verse can be found within each
of our songs.
(42:06):
It's mostly not word for word for the Bible but if you're looking for it you can find
the different like a Bible verse in every single song.
I think there's some of the newer songs that aren't even on album yet.
Just thinking about some of those they're definitely like there's a song called This
(42:27):
I Know That We Sang a Lot on our latest tour and that's a time from around like the pandemic.
Like you can work in multiple different situations but when I think back to the words and the
way it is it's like oh yeah you wrote that during the pandemic so it's everything about
you comes out in a song all your experiences like it's crazy like everything you've heard
(42:48):
in your like all influences just come out in songs whether you can pick it up or not
at the time it's just there.
Eric and Manik are very purposeful in the way that they create their music.
Through it they want people to experience the peace that they have been given.
Well our overall goal is to help people rest in Christ through word and song that's like
(43:14):
our motto we just want people to find peace through the music just to be able to connect
with Him through the songs.
Yeah because I think this world is just getting more crazy and we're in this like stress pandemic
as it were people are rat race way too busy you know just if people can just come away
(43:37):
for a while and be in a space of worship where they can just focus on God and reflect on
you know who He is and that's sort of our goal our main goal.
And praise the Lord for your ministry it's like I think that's so needed in this time
that we're living in today.
(43:57):
I think it all reflects more so like in upcoming project that we have an idea on like it's
interesting each album that you do is a sort of a snapshot of that time of your life and
I think the next one we'd want to have it a lot more acoustically driven and a bit more
(44:18):
sparse if that makes sense.
The future is bright for the couple who's recently got back from a tour in Europe.
They shared with me what they're currently working on.
We're working on like an acoustic type album that's something that we kind of started recently.
(44:41):
And a lot of the songs on it I would say they're very very personal songs like the last several
years we've gone through quite a lot as everyone has with the lockdowns and whatnot.
Like I personally went through like postpartum depression and anxiety through that time and
(45:03):
so a lot of the songs reflect that and they're very personal very opening songs about relationship
with God through those types of times.
And yeah as Eric said we're wanting that to be more of an acoustic album more of a live
type of acoustic thing to show that rawness I think.
(45:26):
So working on that we just came back from a Europe tour to some German speaking countries
Austria Germany and Switzerland and we did that with these musicianaries from America
Matt and Josie Minicus.
They have beautiful music we love them dearly and you should definitely interview as well.
They have an amazing amazing story.
(45:51):
We've known them since the Songs of Ascent tours.
And we're wanting to collaborate with them for another tour in America in a couple years.
And then I'm also writing like a book for primary school aged kids.
I did a festival of faith at a primary school recently.
(46:12):
It was like this creative story about these two little kids James and Sammy who went on
this journey imaginative journey to the cold planet of Neptune I think it was.
I need to remember.
But yeah and it's all about like the whole journey of having a relationship with Jesus
(46:33):
and struggling with sin and then being able to go home with him to heaven and I'm writing
that down into a book.
That's probably the thing I'm currently working.
During the COVID-19 pandemic the couple have not been able to do any touring but now they
(46:54):
have caught the bug again and it's possible that more touring could be on the horizon.
We're dreaming of and we're talking with our friends Matt and Josie about going back
to the States for a tour and also he's a very good audio engineer so we'd love to do some
recording in his studio over there.
(47:14):
Whatever that happens to be that would be great to do some recording.
There's a couple churches in Victoria that have asked us to come by this year but yeah
we've kind of just finished a six-week tour and because Eric's a pastor we use his holiday
time for it.
(47:36):
So we kind of sprinkle it in but yeah that was the first tour we've done since 2019.
We had a little bit of a break with the COVID of course but then also I was struggling with
postpartum depression and anxiety and our daughter decided that she hated me singing.
(47:57):
So we're like okay well let's just take a break from music touring and stuff and it
was good in a way because we had been doing it non-stop since 2009 and so sometimes it
kind of wears you down a little bit to give that much of yourself and to constantly be
(48:18):
doing that all the time and having a little bit of a break kind of refreshed it for us
and kind of gave us more creativity and more passion again.
So even Jesus rested sometimes.
Sometimes it's nice to have a rest and to get some perspective.
Yeah thinking back to that time, yeah I think I was either burnt out or approaching burnout,
(48:44):
I'm not sure but yeah just thinking about that time.
Because yeah it was our full-time thing for like over 10 years and when you're doing something
for that long and I don't know if it's like the like you talked about before trust and
doubt like that back of your mind is God going to provide this time when he always does but
(49:07):
it's like you're sort of living by faith and taking it step at a time so whether all those
mental stresses were just yeah.
It can be difficult.
It's also like when we were touring before Eric was a pastor we would be away from our
home for like around six or seven months a year and so you're on the road visiting church
(49:28):
after church after church just meeting new people constantly and it's amazing.
It really truly is an amazing experience to hear so many people's stories, to meet so
many people and to be able to be used by God in that way but it also it's hard to be able
to really be in a local community and to have roots in a local community because you're
(49:51):
not there half the time and so we had a really beautiful church community.
We went to Lee and Garth the SDA church while we were doing that and they're wonderful like
the most amazing church and they were always so welcoming and like we were a part of that
community but not being able to 100% kind of give to a local community after a while
(50:14):
we really kind of missed that in a way so it's been nice with Eric being a pastor to
be able to have that type of opportunity as well to yeah.
Have somewhere where you call home and yeah.
Eric and Monique have a heart for musicians who want to get into ministry.
(50:37):
Are you ready to step out in faith?
Know your why.
Why are you actually wanting to do it?
Like if God has called you to be a musician for Him, why?
Like what is your why and to make that even and make it a statement something that you
can look back to in the hard times because trying to put music out there, trying to put
(51:01):
yourself out there isn't easy.
You're always going to everyone has opinions on music even people who can't do music at
all.
Like everyone has an opinion on it and there's also a lot of especially in the Adventist
church there's a lot of controversy and there's a lot of different ideas because as soon as
you start to do music people unfortunately lump you in with the last music ministry person
(51:25):
they saw and so whatever issues they had with that person they put on to you and I think
that having your why especially when it's connected to Jesus can help you to remove
yourself from criticism enough that you can continue focusing on the music and the ministry
(51:49):
and that when the difficult times come that you can refocus yourself on Jesus and you
know that that's why I'm doing this.
It's not for personal gain, it's not for popularity, it's not for money, I'm doing this for Jesus
because everything else will come and go.
It's like a roller coaster.
(52:11):
If anyone out there is listening that's aspiring to do that and has that dream in their heart
and that vision and that sort of that thing they can't ever get out of their mind they're
just thinking about it comes up all the time I would just say don't ignore that because
you'll regret it one day if you never try and it's always like yeah just to step out
(52:35):
in faith and to give it a go because and watch the Lord take you on a journey, an amazing
journey like I feel like in the last decade or so like it's been a whole other lifetime
just the amount of experiences you get when you step out in faith it's just an amazing
adventure with God.
So if you're even a bit like curious about it and you have a passion for it give it a
(53:01):
try because you most likely will regret it if you don't at some point in your life.
Yeah, step out of faith and focus on Jesus because as soon as you put your focus on yourself
and your own abilities that's when you'll start to fade.
(53:28):
Their journey from leaving the comfortable lives and well-paying jobs to throwing themselves
into the deep end of the sea of the world's needs have taught them to go all in.
They have given their lives to God and inspires many to do the same.
Don't be afraid to be different for Jesus.
Don't be afraid to go away from what society and what everyone thinks is the right path.
(53:52):
If God's calling you in a different route go for it.
Yeah this time I mean seriously like you can always be a teacher 10 years later it's okay
you know what I mean like just this time I mean obviously I say that pretty bluntly but
at the same time yeah obviously you've got to be responsible as well you are responsible
(54:14):
I mean if you've got young ones obviously you have to be responsible for that but yeah
just yeah just just go for it and I think you should I think people need to be very
uncomfortable with being comfortable.
The comfort zone is is a scary place to be I think yeah normal normal should terrify
you.
We always need more musicians who are doing stuff and who are writing songs in the Adventist
(54:36):
Church.
There is so much room for you like if you have something to say and Jesus has put it
on your heart there's so room for you.
To connect with them please check out their social media platforms and check out their
music on Spotify.
You can find us on Spotify for our music that's just Erica Monique if you type that in search
(54:58):
it and basically if you type that name into anything Instagram you should find us and
yeah Instagram Facebook all the socials yeah all the socials they have a website ericomanique.com
yeah yeah we'd love to connect with you and if you are interested in doing music ministry
and you have any questions you want to ask us we are always open to chatting yeah we
(55:22):
love meeting other musicians.
We hope this episode of Adventist Waves has given you a fresh perspective on how media
can be a powerful tool for ministry.
If you enjoyed today's conversation don't forget to subscribe leave a review and connect
with us on social media.
(55:42):
You can also support our work directly by becoming a patron at patreon.com forward slash
Adventist underscore waves.
Your generosity enables us to produce more high quality content and reach a wider audience.
Special thanks to our production team at Blue Vineyard Audio and our producer editor mixer
(56:04):
and sound designer Khan Elmers.
We'll see you next week as we continue to explore the art of sharing the gospel through
everyone Adventist Waves.
Welcome to Adventist Waves.
(00:20):
They left their stable jobs to pursue a year of radical faith and it led them to an unexpected
path, one filled with music, ministry and a message of hope that resonates across continents.
Who are Eric and Monique and what led them on this extraordinary journey?
(00:40):
Find out on today's Adventist Waves podcast.
When Eric and Monique were both growing up, they loved music.
Eric grew up in Australia, a part of a musical family and discovered that he had a talent
for music performance and loved it.
(01:02):
Yeah, so I've always, I feel like I've always had an interest in music and I'm not sure
whether that's just because as a small kid, I just watched my, my auntie who actually
is a music teacher herself just do this crazy stuff on the piano and she would like just
improvise and play Beethoven but with a twist.
(01:22):
It was just really cool as a kid.
I was probably only like five years old and plus my grandpa was into banjo and I guess
yeah the musical side of the family from watching them and yeah just got really got into playing
piano as a kid.
(01:45):
So your auntie had a big influence in your life.
Yeah I think so.
I think that was probably my initial memory growing up is watching her and just thinking
how cool it was.
I mean at the time I just was excited to put it on like the thunder clouds and the trains
like you know on the MIDI keyboard so you can just like do all that crazy stuff but
(02:07):
yeah I realized pretty quickly that I found it fun to also write music myself.
Like I discovered that even if it was like really simple, simple songs at the time as
a kid but yeah just love just making up songs on the piano and it would eventually go and
do formal lessons I guess for three or four years but I mean that's that's a story in
(02:31):
itself because I ended up quitting that as a lot of teenagers do and just loving just
writing music and having a bit more of a less I guess formal learning playing by ear and
stuff so yeah really enjoy it.
Did you belong to a church when you were growing up at that stage?
Yeah so I've been yeah I've been in the church all my life so I grew up in a little place
(02:56):
called Mulan Bar up near I don't even say that right Mulan Bar.
Mulan Bar is better.
Like your hometown.
Yeah and just went to church there all my life and as I got older I think the teachers
(03:16):
also had a huge influence because they would encourage it they would say hey notice that
you play the piano why don't you do a special item at school assembly like chapel and I
was too scared to sing at that point I kind of convinced myself that I didn't sing I
just played piano and that was it but eventually I would be brave enough to sing in front of
(03:36):
people and I think yeah just through the influence of watching family and the teachers as well
and especially church like I got into the worship music at church and yeah just through
all that it's sort of sent on a path towards where we are now I guess.
(03:57):
On the other hand Monique had a talent that took time to mature.
Well my mom is a music teacher and so I started getting lessons in music when I was super
young I had violin lessons from when I was three or four and I had piano lessons when
I was like six or something and but the problem is is that because it was my mother I wasn't
(04:23):
great at practicing it was like this rebellion thing that I had so that's a big regret of
mine that I didn't actually practice it and actually have consistency in it throughout
my life but yeah so that was on and off my whole life I was in choirs and stuff but I
(04:45):
became incredibly shy due to several different events and things that happened and to me
singing in front of people or doing any kind of music in front of people became something
that was just like a nightmare and I didn't want anything to do with it and I went far
away from all of that kind of thing before I met Eric.
(05:09):
Yeah I was a lot more into writing that's something I've always really really loved
just the creative writing and creating a story in a whole world using words that's something
that I really really love.
So when I met Eric he actually never heard me sing for the first two years of our relationship.
(05:42):
Like there's a difference right so there's like you're in the in the pews singing worship
songs and I mean everyone's blended in together right and but even then I'd be singing pretty
softly yeah you're like really timid in that area but it wasn't until later that I was
like whoa like you can sing.
(06:03):
So we're not like a lot of musician couples that kind of meet through both of us doing
music and kind of hanging out in a friendship that started that way ours did not.
But it sounds like you came from a musical background anyway.
Yeah your parents encouraged you to to get into violin and piano early.
Yeah my mum and dad were actually in like a music group when they were young they used
(06:27):
to go around to different churches with some of their friends when my brother was a baby.
That's right I forgot about that.
Did you grow up in the church as well?
Yeah I did.
My parents were high school teachers for the church and we moved around quite a lot up
into Papua New Guinea and around Australia and New Zealand.
(06:50):
It was while they were at college that their paths crossed and their love blossomed from
there.
Well I had gone away for I was at Avondale College for three years and then I took a
year off to go volunteer in Ukraine and it was in the year when I was over in Ukraine
(07:10):
Eric came to Avondale at the end of that year and so when I came back to finish my final
year I met him in a library with him pretending he needed computer help but he didn't like
he's very good at computers.
I like computers.
It was just to try and talk to me.
(07:33):
So yeah we talked for like several hours the first time we talked and it was just really
really cool and then he left asking if he could take me home because I you know lived
off campus he was going to walk me home at night and he tripped over a rubbish bin as
he left.
So it was a good first impression I think.
(07:59):
I think it wasn't too long after that I can't remember if I actually invited you or whether
you just turned up.
Student services I can't even remember who asked but they said oh they were aware that
I did music and could you do like a little concert so in the cafe thing so.
Yeah you told me about it because we were just friends at that point and you told me
(08:21):
about it and so he was playing this little mini concert at the top of student services
in Avondale and I remember walking up the stairs with my friends and I heard this voice
and we just all stopped we were like wow sounds amazing and then we're like that couldn't
be Eric could it be Eric and we walked up and when I saw it was Eric I realised that
(08:45):
I liked him more than a friend and I proceeded to ignore him for the rest of the night because
I was so shocked that I actually liked this guy.
Who you thought was like a first year for a while.
Yeah I was like he's so young.
Similar age anyway but anyway yeah.
Oh wow and we continued being friends for a bit and then.
(09:11):
I think we were just hanging out a lot.
We were just hanging out and you told me you liked me.
Yeah it was that kind of stuff and then I'm pretty sure.
You started.
Yeah we were dating we were pretty much dating but for some reason you didn't think that
we were but we were.
I thought it was pretty clear but anyway.
There was a bit of confusion.
(09:32):
But yeah and then we just started hanging out a lot and.
Yeah we dated for.
It was nine months before we got engaged.
I graduated and moved down to Melbourne and we were long distance for a year.
Eric was pretty amazing he used pretty much all of his money to be able to come and visit
me so.
(09:52):
Yeah I was working at college with a random job and that was back when flights were I
wouldn't say cheap but they were a lot more cheaper than they are now.
And so I tried to get down every month I used all my money basically.
Hey Adventist Waves listeners we are so glad that you're tuning in.
(10:16):
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(10:39):
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(11:00):
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Waves family.
After they got married they decided to quit their jobs and dedicate their lives to ministry.
(11:23):
Monique explains their experience.
Eric took some time off college and came down and he was working for the church in two different
churches like as a youth worker.
It was like a youth Bible worker.
And it was during that year that we I don't know how sometimes when you first get your
(11:45):
wage and everything it can be easy to get caught up in society and caught up in the
lifestyle and things that you're meant to be doing that society tells you should be
doing and we realized that and we realized that rather than doing ministry for the ministry
sake, we were working for the church but our hearts really weren't into it and we didn't
like that.
(12:06):
So we prayed a lot about it and we decided that we would quit our jobs and give our year
to God, just an open ended year to God that we would be open to following his path for
our life rather than us creating a path that we thought was his path just because it was
(12:28):
working for the church.
Does that make sense?
And so we quit our jobs and that was right before the financial crisis of 2009 was it?
Yeah, oh wait, oh wait, so we got married in 2008.
Yeah, so right before the financial crisis of 2008 happened and we had already quit our
jobs and like, okay God, well, our life's in your hands now.
(12:53):
So yeah, we ended up volunteering in Ukraine and we bought a one way ticket to Ukraine
and that's kind of how the rest of this whole thing started, how music actually started
by doing that.
As a couple, yeah.
As a couple.
Yeah.
(13:14):
Yeah, we went to Ukraine for a while and then we felt called to go to a Bible college.
Erica Minnick's faith was tested when they decided to up and go to the west coast of
the United States and study at Arise.
We had no money to do that and so we prayed to God that if he wanted us to go to Bible
(13:36):
college that he would need to provide us the money for it, to get the tickets to actually,
first of all, go to the Bible college and to pay for the Bible college and so we prayed
about that and we applied for the Bible college and it was Arise, they were in California
at the time.
Within just like a month or so, money had come from all different locations, all different
(13:58):
things, some of the money we didn't even know who gave it to us.
There was one situation where for whatever reason they'd underpaid me so I got like a
lump sum randomly, hit the bank account which happened to pay for one of our tuition fees.
The timing of the guides and everything, it all sort of everything, you take that step
(14:20):
of faith and then it just all sort of snowballed.
We actually, we had enough money in the end to pay for all of the tuition for Arise but
the tickets, we could only have enough money to get to the east coast of America.
There wasn't enough to pay to get to the west coast and I was talking to my grandparents
once and we were just talking about that and they said, hey, what month are you needing
(14:43):
to go from the east coast to the west coast and we told them the month and they said,
we're going to be in America at that time and we're wanting to do our last RV trip
because they owned an RV in America and my uncle and some cousins live in America so
they used to go and visit him and they said, we're wanting to do this RV trip and then
my grandmother's like, but to be honest with you, it would be really good if like your
(15:08):
grandfather didn't have to drive all the time.
He's like in his eighties.
It would be good if he didn't have to drive.
Would you guys want to hitchhike a ride with us?
And so like if you drive Eric, you can just hitchhike a ride and you would only have to
pay anything that would be beyond what we're going to pay anyway, because we're going
from the east coast to the west coast.
(15:29):
So we ended up hitchhiking a ride with my grandparents and we went on this one month
holiday with them through all of the national parks and everything and just only having
to pay like, you know, the extra little bit for two extra people on these campsites and
it was a really amazing special experience just to spend time that much time with my
(15:52):
grandparents and to, you know, get to know them so much better.
It was just such a special time.
And yeah, it got us to a rise.
It's like how God just puts together all of these things because they would go and visit
my uncle, but they rarely ever went to visit him and to do these trips in that time period
(16:15):
when we needed it.
But that for that year, for some reason, I believe it's God, they were doing it at the
exact same time, the right time when we needed to get from the east coast to the west coast.
Yeah, just really lined up just even before that, like even the flight, getting the flight
across to the States from Ukraine, we didn't have enough money for that.
But then back in Australia, they were giving people like a lump sum under a certain tax
(16:40):
bracket, which we work as we're volunteering.
And that was the exact amount we needed to get across, like across to the state, albeit
ailing us.
But you know, we survived.
To the east coast.
Yeah.
And I don't know, I think there's so many stories we can't tell them all right now,
but there's literally story after story of how living that year and just putting it into
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God's hands, how we would get down to like our last couple of dollars and someone would
come up and randomly hand us an envelope.
It's just all these different experiences where God just provided and we just had to
trust him.
The couple's experience at RISE helped shape their ministry.
It drew them together and started their journey as musicianaries.
(17:25):
Yeah, so at RISE, the class was very international.
We probably had 50% of the class from overseas and quite a few Aussies as well.
A lot of people from Europe.
They're also very musical.
Very musical group.
And our teachers picked that up pretty early on.
(17:46):
People like James Rafferty, was he that year?
No, he wasn't that year.
It was just David Ashrigg, Maffara.
Yeah, that sort of group.
And they wanted to use that for evangelism.
So the church, Zanora Church at the time, we had this evangelistic kind of concert that
(18:10):
they were planning.
And so it was up to each of the students that were into music to come up with different
special music items to put into a concert format.
And yeah, we...
Eric was going to do one.
I was not because that's a nightmare for me at that point in my life.
(18:30):
And so Eric was practicing his song.
It was this song called, I don't know if you know our song, He Knows.
And Eric had just written that in Ukraine.
That was written in Ukraine.
Yeah.
And so he was just practicing it and I was sitting next to him and I was bored.
And so I started to like, you know, just very quietly like sing.
(18:53):
And I was singing like little harmonies and stuff really quietly.
And a friend of ours, a fellow student, his name is Ben.
He walked through the door and he heard me before I could see that he was there.
And he came over and he's like, are you guys singing that for the concert?
And Eric's like, yeah, yeah, I'm going to be singing it.
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He's like, wait, Monique, aren't you singing?
That sounds really good.
And you know, I'm like, no, I'm not singing.
Because you're doing harmonies, right?
Yeah.
And I'm like, no, I'm not going to sing.
He's like, you have to sing.
And I'm like, no, I don't sing.
It's not something I do.
And so he ended up annoying me for a couple of days.
It took like two or three days to wear me down.
(19:36):
Every single time he saw me, he was just like, Monique, you got to sing with Eric.
You have to do it.
Like every single and I was like, no, I'm not going to do it.
And eventually it just got to the point where I said, yes, will you stop asking me if I
say yes?
And that is how that's how I started singing with Eric.
Yeah, that's where it all.
(19:56):
And God somehow used this guy and just being annoying to get me to say yes.
I was very un-stubborn.
But so we did it the first time and I was terrified, like honestly terrified.
And there was this grand piano, like a music stand and a lamp on the grand piano.
We actually have a photo of it.
It's very embarrassing.
(20:17):
And I'm like, I decided the best place for me to stand would be behind Eric, the grand
piano, the music stand and the light.
You can barely see me.
I'm like right back there sitting there.
And that was the only place I would sing.
So that's how we did our first song together.
And it was that song that David heard it and he came up to us afterwards and he said, that
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song's perfect for this sermon series I'm doing at GYC this year.
He had this vision of getting different Adventist singer songwriters and musicians to sing the
appeal song at the end of each of his sermons.
And he also had this vision about this like evangelistic music tour thing that he was
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interested in as well.
And so we prayed a lot about it and we didn't have money to go to GYC either.
It's like the story of that year.
We had no money, but God did.
God provided the money and we ended up going to GYC and that was the third time we ever
(21:25):
sung was in front of thousands of people.
And it was terrifying.
Absolutely terrifying.
I remember beforehand I was so scared because I don't know if you've heard David preach,
(21:48):
but he never preaches on time.
And like the time limit was there.
So we went behind and we just were waiting and waiting and waiting.
It was like 40 extra minutes and we were behind there.
Like for a person who's nervous about being in front of people, I was just getting more
and more nervous and I was getting into my head.
(22:09):
And I had gotten so far down into my head.
Because they were also filming it as well.
Like Eric was up like waiting to go on and I was like sitting down because my legs wouldn't
work and I was just praying and praying like, God, I can't do this.
You're going to have to somehow do it for me because I cannot.
If this is something you're wanting me to do in my life, you need to give me the ability
(22:33):
to, because I don't think I can even walk out onto that stage right now.
And when it was the time, I remember walking out onto the stage and it was like this literally
felt like this tidal wave that just went over me and all of my nerves disappeared.
It was gone.
Like there was not one bit of nerves.
(22:56):
And it was honestly the most amazing experience because it was for an appeal.
It was for an appeal and everyone was kneeling down.
And it was like this real moment for both of us when we realized that this is for God.
That this is about worshipping God and everyone's worshipping God together.
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It's not about us.
It's not about our nerves, our ideas that we have in our head or it's about God.
And that's what music should be to focus on Jesus.
And yeah, it was a really big turning point I think in our lives.
(23:39):
It was at this GYC that the idea of the Songs of a Sintour was born.
Yeah, it was.
And even that night, I think it was the end of GYC.
So people were hanging out together as late as they could into the night.
And then this brainstorming session happened about getting together.
I don't think it was the very next year but it was the year after that to do this thing
(24:02):
that they would call Songs of a Sint where the concept is preaching but with having music
that weaves its way through the message.
And yeah, we'd meet other musicians that we're still very close friends to.
Like literally, we were on tour with them last month.
(24:23):
And yeah, that would be the next part of the journey.
Yeah.
I just couldn't agree on that.
After GYC, they returned back to Australia where they recorded their album, Pilgrim.
Back to Australia.
I'd been given a Bible teaching job at Gilson College in Melbourne and Eric started doing
Bible work again.
(24:44):
And we did that for three years while we recorded Pilgrim.
And we did that with Salter Music that was running at the time in Sydney from the media
centre, Adventist Media Centre.
We were so grateful for that opportunity to be able to record with them and that they
(25:05):
provided us with that opportunity.
And then the following year, we went on tour in America with about four other Adventist
musicians and a couple of evangelists and we did that throughout California.
And we did three songs of Ascent evangelistic tours over the next couple of years.
(25:27):
I think it was four different groups as well.
I asked them what lessons that they had learned along the way.
The biggest lessons I think were how to separate ourselves from our music ministry.
And I guess what I mean by that is to make sure that the number one focus is Jesus and
(25:53):
the ministry you're doing, that the number one focus is how Jesus is actually using your
music and that that is the most important thing.
It's not the numbers, it's not anything external, it's not anyone's praise or anything, but
to make sure that your head is focused on Jesus, is focused on what, how he is using
(26:22):
it.
And I think that was the biggest lesson because whenever you're doing anything creative, people
will always come up to you and say good things about it.
Yeah, there'll be people who say bad things, but there's also a lot of praise that comes
along with it because that's what makes people feel sometimes like they're a part of what
(26:44):
you're doing.
If they're encouraging you and all of that.
And I think that a bit of a trap that musicians can get into, no matter how much you want
to focus on Jesus, is that it can get to your head if you're not careful with it.
And I think it's really important for any musician to actually make sure that they have
(27:06):
a group of people or they even have just a couple people who can pull you up if you start
to go down that road.
And I think that's what this Songs of Ascent thing did for us in that beginning, to be
able to make sure that no matter what other people are saying, that your focus is, I'm
an instrument of God.
(27:28):
This is about Jesus, this is about sharing Jesus with others.
And then it never wavers from that.
For me, because it was linked with an evangelistic style of approach, like with preaching and
that's kind of the goal is to bring people to God.
Because the music was so integrated with that, helping you focus on the ministry aspect,
(27:49):
not less so on the music.
Music was the vehicle and we took a lot of those initial learnings and we sort of took
it on as our vision as well.
And down to our concerts are not what you would describe a typical concert, there's
preaching in the concert.
It's sort of kept those original learnings and I guess it became our sort of thing that
(28:14):
we did, our style I suppose.
There's a lot of stories we can't remember them all, but of where someone was brought
to the concert at just the right time, where something was happening in their life and
one of the songs or what they were preaching about was the exact thing that they needed
in their life.
And I think that seeing that firsthand, it kind of really taught us how music can break
(28:42):
down our spiritual walls and God can use that in a way that just words sometimes can't.
Like there is a place for music in ministry and in evangelism because it's, what's the
word for it?
Just give me a second.
Oh, it's like an entry point.
Yeah.
(29:03):
Easy entry point.
It's an easy entry point into Christianity.
It's like, what's easier to invite someone who's against Christianity, Hey, we've got
this concept or Hey, we've got this person like a preacher.
Like someone inviting people to music is just such an easy thing to do.
And I think God can really use that very powerfully when it's paired with the gospel.
(29:26):
I think we saw that very clearly on that first tour and it kind of, yeah, it just really
helped us to know where to go from there.
It also gave us lots of lessons with money in ministry, which is a difficult thing to
talk about sometimes, but it's a fact of life.
(29:47):
Like no matter what you were doing, it does cost money.
And we were all very nervous at the beginning about, you know, asking for an offering or
asking for different things.
And one of the evangelists, Matt, he came up to us and he's like, why, why didn't you
guys announce the offering after this thing?
(30:09):
And we said, because it was the first concert we all did.
And we're like, Oh, we're just feeling really nervous.
You know, we wanted this to be about Jesus and we're wanting, you know, the focus not
to be our music.
And he was like, but that doesn't mean it's not like without telling people that they
could contribute to your ministry, you took away their ministry.
(30:29):
Yeah.
For some people, the only way that they can contribute to ministries like what you guys
are doing where you're going around and you're sharing Jesus is to give money to it.
Yeah.
Support it.
To support it.
And to offer people that opportunity, you're taking away their opportunity for ministry.
And I had never, we had never thought about it that way before.
(30:52):
Yeah.
And I mean, even from that, people have different approaches, which is fine, but we always felt
very strongly about just having it as a free will.
Yeah.
So there's no ticket sales.
Um, yeah, just free, free will stuff.
And the biggest learning we ever got from that is God always provides no matter what,
which is incredible just to think about, I mean, we're talking crazy stories, like a
(31:16):
bunch of concerts being canceled and then some random person comes up with a white envelope
and in it is exactly the amount that you would have gotten, like that kind of stuff.
Amazing stories.
Yeah.
Music ministry can be a very powerful thing.
This one story that I have from those early years is we went to this church in WA and
(31:42):
took their church service and kept going on tours, didn't think anything of it.
Months later, we got this email from this lady who she said she had gone to this church
service and she told us that she was giving God one last chance, that her life had gone
really down a hill and she just didn't trust in God anymore and she basically told Jesus,
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God, you know, I'm going to church one more time.
You need to convince me that you care about me or you're out of my life.
And we just happened to be doing the church service that day.
And she said that God used our songs and what we were saying to just break down the walls
in her heart and to show her that he was there for her.
(32:25):
Because that was the theme about that was actually the theme about concert series during
that tour.
And she said that she just broke down and she started to, you know, do Bible studies
with Jesus again and then read the Bible and have devotions.
And she recommitted her life to God after that and got rebaptized and then got into
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Bible like all this stuff.
Yeah, that's crazy.
And we had no idea.
We just did it and went on, but that's the God used it in a way that we never could think.
And there's just so many stories like that.
And that's why we like music ministry.
Let's explore the heart behind the music.
(33:11):
Another album that the couple have created is called Everlasting.
It was written and produced in 2015.
Let's explore the heart behind the music.
I wanted to delve more into the inspirations that drove them to write the songs on the
album.
And this is what they shared with me.
So we wrote those songs during the early years of doing music ministry.
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And so a lot of the stuff about all the songs about doubt and faith and that is where we
were living.
We were living by faith at that point for several years and it just hit us multiple
times how even when you're living by faith and you have so many stories where you can
see firsthand God literally providing what you need in the moment.
(34:00):
It's still so easy to fall back on doubt.
Like it's so easy to let those doubt filled thoughts to go into your head and let alone
if you haven't seen those moments of faith recently because sometimes we live our lives
and we don't see them right in front of our faces.
But I don't know it just that experience made us understand that Israelite's a bit more
(34:26):
like how you can see it right in front of your face and yet Satan's you know we just
bring all these little lies.
And so that's where the inspiration for a lot of the songs on that album about faith
and doubt came from our personal experience with that.
And then we really wanted to focus on God because I think we had this little kind of
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thought that how so many songs that we sing in church so many of the songs are about us,
about our faith and in relation to God but there aren't you know hundreds and hundreds
of songs that are just focused on God on who He is without any mention of us.
(35:16):
And so we wanted to focus on God because we think that when you're focusing on God that's
when your faith can grow and your doubt can die.
Yeah this sprinkling of songs just right through the whole journey of that time and yeah we
wanted to focus in on like the character of God.
(35:36):
I think some of the inspiration came from Arise itself like the things that we'd learnt
at Arise and songs like Everlasting which ended up being the title track for the album.
Those kind of songs came very easy like some songs came like they took a while to come
up with but Everlasting was quite quick.
(35:59):
We wrote it in like 20 minutes and we have never touched it since.
It was completely from God I don't know it just happened very very quickly.
The creative process is what musicians go through when they write their music.
Eric and Monique's process is simple.
(36:20):
Eric composes the music and Monique writes the lyrics.
They unite their talents to reveal God's character through their music.
Eric usually starts playing around the piano.
And I'm usually in a chair with a Bible and a pen and a book.
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And then we usually try and figure out from what Eric's little tune is what kind of biblical
theme or thing about God or our life is that kind of inspiring us to.
And then from there we start thinking of words and then we're sharing it with each other
and yeah.
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The best songs always come through like an attitude of worship like if you're having
a worship session essentially like you would at church like singing songs you know you're
just worshiping God.
Just whatever comes next you can be surprised sometimes like you might hit a certain pattern
of notes or chords which will end up turning into like a song or yeah just letting it free
(37:27):
flow really and then that can happen together that can happen individually at times like
sometimes I'll just go and play and then say I've got this idea for a song and then Monique
will try and fit words to it and then I'll say oh that's too wordy let's simplify that
a bit.
Yeah we're usually pretty free flowing at the beginning when it's just the beginning
(37:49):
stages of it but then once we have a general flow down of words then we'll start getting
into a little bit more of the nitty gritties like whether it actually rhymes what the patterns
of it and all that kind of thing and that's usually something that we do after we've started
the free flow but we aren't seeing like songwriters that will force it.
(38:13):
We generally if it's free flowing and it's an easy process and you know it's kind of
in the heart of worship then we'll keep going with it but if we start getting frustrated
by it we'll take a break.
We don't usually force it to happen.
They end up being songs that well we typically don't use because it just comes across I don't
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know it's hard to explain it just doesn't sit right.
That's a beautiful thing.
That's the creative process for you it doesn't have to be perfect.
I find that I remember someone was saying like out of 2000 ideas one of them is a really
(38:58):
good idea and so maybe the musical process is kind of the same thing as well.
So we have a lot of ideas that we just didn't go anywhere.
It doesn't go anywhere it just goes away.
Yeah I think over thinking is one of the biggest enemies I think just not in music just in
(39:19):
everything in life like you can over think everything and it's hard to explain like I
think it's I'm sure it's the same in many different creative endeavors.
You just sort of know if that makes sense like if you're doing I don't know like writing
a song I won't speak for other disciplines but if you're writing a song you just have
this sense that yeah this will work you just it just makes sense.
(39:42):
It sits well with you.
Yeah you could I can use the word vibe get a good vibe from it.
Yeah we usually try and make sure that there's like some kind of hook.
I think that's an important thing in songwriting that there's some kind of hook in it that
it's a memorable that's memorable and usually you know if you can't get it out of your own
(40:06):
head then that's a good sign but if you can get out of your head then you've got to have
to you're going to have to do some work on it.
And once we actually have all of that down we actually like to with the music part of
it and with harmonies we like it to somehow reflect the meaning of the song like with
(40:26):
the harmonies that I choose to sing or who is actually singing or how Eric's playing
we like it to reflect the theme of the song so that everything is focused towards the
same thing.
So nothing detracts from the message that we're trying to show with that song.
So like an example of this is in Everlasting the first chorus we sing it in melody both
(40:52):
of us so it's completely in unison and we try and the way that I sing the melody with
Eric if I was just singing normally I wouldn't sing in that register but we sing it in a
way so that we meld and it tries to make it sound like one voice and we wanted to do that
(41:13):
to reflect that God is one God and then in the second time we sing the chorus I go into
harmony and that's to show that even though God is one God he's three in one and that
he is multifaceted in his character and so he's his creative God.
So we kind of try and have little tiny musical ideas like that for different songs.
(41:45):
Their music reveals their personal experience and faith in Christ.
A lot of the songs are definitely stories from our own life and then there are other
ones which we try and make sure that in some way a Bible verse can be found within each
of our songs.
(42:06):
It's mostly not word for word for the Bible but if you're looking for it you can find
the different like a Bible verse in every single song.
I think there's some of the newer songs that aren't even on album yet.
Just thinking about some of those they're definitely like there's a song called This
(42:27):
I Know That We Sang a Lot on our latest tour and that's a time from around like the pandemic.
Like you can work in multiple different situations but when I think back to the words and the
way it is it's like oh yeah you wrote that during the pandemic so it's everything about
you comes out in a song all your experiences like it's crazy like everything you've heard
(42:48):
in your like all influences just come out in songs whether you can pick it up or not
at the time it's just there.
Eric and Manik are very purposeful in the way that they create their music.
Through it they want people to experience the peace that they have been given.
Well our overall goal is to help people rest in Christ through word and song that's like
(43:14):
our motto we just want people to find peace through the music just to be able to connect
with Him through the songs.
Yeah because I think this world is just getting more crazy and we're in this like stress pandemic
as it were people are rat race way too busy you know just if people can just come away
(43:37):
for a while and be in a space of worship where they can just focus on God and reflect on
you know who He is and that's sort of our goal our main goal.
And praise the Lord for your ministry it's like I think that's so needed in this time
that we're living in today.
(43:57):
I think it all reflects more so like in upcoming project that we have an idea on like it's
interesting each album that you do is a sort of a snapshot of that time of your life and
I think the next one we'd want to have it a lot more acoustically driven and a bit more
(44:18):
sparse if that makes sense.
The future is bright for the couple who's recently got back from a tour in Europe.
They shared with me what they're currently working on.
We're working on like an acoustic type album that's something that we kind of started recently.
(44:41):
And a lot of the songs on it I would say they're very very personal songs like the last several
years we've gone through quite a lot as everyone has with the lockdowns and whatnot.
Like I personally went through like postpartum depression and anxiety through that time and
(45:03):
so a lot of the songs reflect that and they're very personal very opening songs about relationship
with God through those types of times.
And yeah as Eric said we're wanting that to be more of an acoustic album more of a live
type of acoustic thing to show that rawness I think.
(45:26):
So working on that we just came back from a Europe tour to some German speaking countries
Austria Germany and Switzerland and we did that with these musicianaries from America
Matt and Josie Minicus.
They have beautiful music we love them dearly and you should definitely interview as well.
They have an amazing amazing story.
(45:51):
We've known them since the Songs of Ascent tours.
And we're wanting to collaborate with them for another tour in America in a couple years.
And then I'm also writing like a book for primary school aged kids.
I did a festival of faith at a primary school recently.
(46:12):
It was like this creative story about these two little kids James and Sammy who went on
this journey imaginative journey to the cold planet of Neptune I think it was.
I need to remember.
But yeah and it's all about like the whole journey of having a relationship with Jesus
(46:33):
and struggling with sin and then being able to go home with him to heaven and I'm writing
that down into a book.
That's probably the thing I'm currently working.
During the COVID-19 pandemic the couple have not been able to do any touring but now they
(46:54):
have caught the bug again and it's possible that more touring could be on the horizon.
We're dreaming of and we're talking with our friends Matt and Josie about going back
to the States for a tour and also he's a very good audio engineer so we'd love to do some
recording in his studio over there.
(47:14):
Whatever that happens to be that would be great to do some recording.
There's a couple churches in Victoria that have asked us to come by this year but yeah
we've kind of just finished a six-week tour and because Eric's a pastor we use his holiday
time for it.
(47:36):
So we kind of sprinkle it in but yeah that was the first tour we've done since 2019.
We had a little bit of a break with the COVID of course but then also I was struggling with
postpartum depression and anxiety and our daughter decided that she hated me singing.
(47:57):
So we're like okay well let's just take a break from music touring and stuff and it
was good in a way because we had been doing it non-stop since 2009 and so sometimes it
kind of wears you down a little bit to give that much of yourself and to constantly be
(48:18):
doing that all the time and having a little bit of a break kind of refreshed it for us
and kind of gave us more creativity and more passion again.
So even Jesus rested sometimes.
Sometimes it's nice to have a rest and to get some perspective.
Yeah thinking back to that time, yeah I think I was either burnt out or approaching burnout,
(48:44):
I'm not sure but yeah just thinking about that time.
Because yeah it was our full-time thing for like over 10 years and when you're doing something
for that long and I don't know if it's like the like you talked about before trust and
doubt like that back of your mind is God going to provide this time when he always does but
(49:07):
it's like you're sort of living by faith and taking it step at a time so whether all those
mental stresses were just yeah.
It can be difficult.
It's also like when we were touring before Eric was a pastor we would be away from our
home for like around six or seven months a year and so you're on the road visiting church
(49:28):
after church after church just meeting new people constantly and it's amazing.
It really truly is an amazing experience to hear so many people's stories, to meet so
many people and to be able to be used by God in that way but it also it's hard to be able
to really be in a local community and to have roots in a local community because you're
(49:51):
not there half the time and so we had a really beautiful church community.
We went to Lee and Garth the SDA church while we were doing that and they're wonderful like
the most amazing church and they were always so welcoming and like we were a part of that
community but not being able to 100% kind of give to a local community after a while
(50:14):
we really kind of missed that in a way so it's been nice with Eric being a pastor to
be able to have that type of opportunity as well to yeah.
Have somewhere where you call home and yeah.
Eric and Monique have a heart for musicians who want to get into ministry.
(50:37):
Are you ready to step out in faith?
Know your why.
Why are you actually wanting to do it?
Like if God has called you to be a musician for Him, why?
Like what is your why and to make that even and make it a statement something that you
can look back to in the hard times because trying to put music out there, trying to put
(51:01):
yourself out there isn't easy.
You're always going to everyone has opinions on music even people who can't do music at
all.
Like everyone has an opinion on it and there's also a lot of especially in the Adventist
church there's a lot of controversy and there's a lot of different ideas because as soon as
you start to do music people unfortunately lump you in with the last music ministry person
(51:25):
they saw and so whatever issues they had with that person they put on to you and I think
that having your why especially when it's connected to Jesus can help you to remove
yourself from criticism enough that you can continue focusing on the music and the ministry
(51:49):
and that when the difficult times come that you can refocus yourself on Jesus and you
know that that's why I'm doing this.
It's not for personal gain, it's not for popularity, it's not for money, I'm doing this for Jesus
because everything else will come and go.
It's like a roller coaster.
(52:11):
If anyone out there is listening that's aspiring to do that and has that dream in their heart
and that vision and that sort of that thing they can't ever get out of their mind they're
just thinking about it comes up all the time I would just say don't ignore that because
you'll regret it one day if you never try and it's always like yeah just to step out
(52:35):
in faith and to give it a go because and watch the Lord take you on a journey, an amazing
journey like I feel like in the last decade or so like it's been a whole other lifetime
just the amount of experiences you get when you step out in faith it's just an amazing
adventure with God.
So if you're even a bit like curious about it and you have a passion for it give it a
(53:01):
try because you most likely will regret it if you don't at some point in your life.
Yeah, step out of faith and focus on Jesus because as soon as you put your focus on yourself
and your own abilities that's when you'll start to fade.
(53:28):
Their journey from leaving the comfortable lives and well-paying jobs to throwing themselves
into the deep end of the sea of the world's needs have taught them to go all in.
They have given their lives to God and inspires many to do the same.
Don't be afraid to be different for Jesus.
Don't be afraid to go away from what society and what everyone thinks is the right path.
(53:52):
If God's calling you in a different route go for it.
Yeah this time I mean seriously like you can always be a teacher 10 years later it's okay
you know what I mean like just this time I mean obviously I say that pretty bluntly but
at the same time yeah obviously you've got to be responsible as well you are responsible
(54:14):
I mean if you've got young ones obviously you have to be responsible for that but yeah
just yeah just just go for it and I think you should I think people need to be very
uncomfortable with being comfortable.
The comfort zone is is a scary place to be I think yeah normal normal should terrify
you.
We always need more musicians who are doing stuff and who are writing songs in the Adventist
(54:36):
Church.
There is so much room for you like if you have something to say and Jesus has put it
on your heart there's so room for you.
To connect with them please check out their social media platforms and check out their
music on Spotify.
You can find us on Spotify for our music that's just Erica Monique if you type that in search
(54:58):
it and basically if you type that name into anything Instagram you should find us and
yeah Instagram Facebook all the socials yeah all the socials they have a website ericomanique.com
yeah yeah we'd love to connect with you and if you are interested in doing music ministry
and you have any questions you want to ask us we are always open to chatting yeah we
(55:22):
love meeting other musicians.
We hope this episode of Adventist Waves has given you a fresh perspective on how media
can be a powerful tool for ministry.
If you enjoyed today's conversation don't forget to subscribe leave a review and connect
with us on social media.
(55:42):
You can also support our work directly by becoming a patron at patreon.com forward slash
Adventist underscore waves.
Your generosity enables us to produce more high quality content and reach a wider audience.
Special thanks to our production team at Blue Vineyard Audio and our producer editor mixer
(56:04):
and sound designer Khan Elmers.
We'll see you next week as we continue to explore the art of sharing the gospel through
everyone Adventist Waves.
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