Fishers of Men

Storme Shaw

In 1952, the Evangelist came to our State Street Baptist Church in Presque Isle, Maine, and he talked about how Jesus loves us and wants us to spend eternity with Him. I already knew that, at age 4, because my Mom and Dad had told me that, and they told me how Jesus had died for me to become the Sacrifice to God the Father for all the sins I would ever commit, for all the disobedience and the human nature I had inside me from birth. And when the Evangelist said that the only way to spend eternity with Jesus was to accept Him as Savior and Lord, I thought: “That’s what I want!” And that night, with my Dad in tow, I went to the altar and asked Jesus to come into my heart and be my Lord. At that time I didn’t have a lot to be sorry for, but I knew there had to be some things I needed to change, and most likely in the future years I’d probably do one or two things that Jesus would have to take care of with His Father. J

That same year a couple of other things happened in my life: my Mom propped me up on a stool in front of a microphone at WAGM radio on the Danny Pike Hour, and I sang The Anchor Holds live to some nice lady playing a sorta out of tune piano.  I wasn’t sure what an anchor was, being a bonafide landlubber, but my Mom thought it meant either Jesus was the Anchor of our faith, or maybe our faith itself was the anchor that held us close to God. In either case, I sang my heart out, not realizing there were probably two or three hundred people listening on radio, and I have been doing the same for most of the fifty-six years since.

Keyboards & Vocals

The other milestone, was my entrance into Kindergarten where later that Spring I “tuned” and directed a “waterglass” band of my co-students, grades 0 – 5. My folks figured I might have some musical talent, so two years later when they were sure I wouldn’t fall off a piano bench too often, they purchased a used upright piano and enrolled me in weekly piano lessons … which I eventually learned to hate.

God’s been good to me throughout the years, in spite of myself. I often pushed ahead of what and where He wanted me to be, and generally suffered the consequences. I attended Moody Bible Institute in Chicago for a year, and messed that up by meeting and marrying a fellow classmate in the first year. We later organized a family gospel group, cut an album and sang and eventually toured for four years parttime. And I pushed too hard and too heavy and paid the consequences. Ended up playing in a country band in honkey tonks for a couple of years and figured God was done with me at the ripe old age of 24.

I was wrong.

God is a God of second and third chances. I endured a brief stint of maybe five years after coming back to Him in a great Methodist church in Pennsylvania where the minister seemed not to like or trust me – a divorced and remarried former gospel singer. Sang in the choir, church quartet, a trio, and did solo work — even was the announcer for the church’s daily 15-minute radio program. And a series of events and bad choices — not God’s leading — landed us in California, and eventually another divorce, albeit amicable.

In 2003, lying on a hospital bed in Bangor, Maine, the Lord sent a Pentecostal minister to my room and after conversation he invited me to his little church in Old Town. Two weeks later, crying my eyes out at the altar, I gave up — got out of God’s way — told Him, whatever He wanted was good enough for me. That has led to stints in a Pentecostal worship team, solo work, and now a keyboardist at Cornerstone Baptist Church in Exeter, Maine, temporary a.m. pianist at Grace Bible Church in Sangerville, Maine, and the privilege of participating in the special music rotation.

I live in Charleston, ME with my wife of 21 years, Linda (we met at age 14 in Allagash, ME at Bible camp), and our cats. In addition to solo concerts and participation in piano and singing rotations in two churches, the offer arose to sing, work and play with a great group of men (and their loving and supportive spouses) Fishers Of Men.  After prayer and much thought, I felt God was telling me that life and service for Him is never over until He calls us Home.  Besides, if I pray for the Lord to open doors, it is always best to walk through the ones He opens, don’t you think?  Please pray for me and for Fishers of Men that we will continue to be what He wants us to be, and as He opens doors for us, we will always dare to walk through them — with Him.