Hi, my name is Alex Domeier, and I’m a Christian.

(That’s the most important thing you will read in this entire post, so I wanted to write it first, even though it’s also my thesis statement. Carry on!)

Almost two years ago, a retired Pastor who attended and  preached at the same church I attended in North Carolina, told me that I should start a website. This suggestion was a part of a larger conversation that we had about the value of having some sort of archive to place written down thoughts, ideas, beliefs, things that could eventually be shared with others. I had found the idea very interesting, and I immediately got to work on building a website. Taking into account the context of our conversation, you might have thought I was building a website to talk about my faith, but the website actually turned into something more centered around Music Education. I had seen music ed. specific blogs, websites and social media accounts all over the internet, and felt the desire to join in on the venture. Plans were made to share my teaching adventures, tips, and occasional posts about what I was up to as a trumpet performer. In the last two years, I’ve posted a number of pictures on my professional social media platforms, written a small handful of blog posts, and connected with a number of other music educators who do the same thing. I won’t lie though, it’s been hard. 

The further I’ve gotten into it, the less of a desire I’ve had to post. I would say it’s been difficult to find the time to devote to this project, but really, I just haven’t wanted to. I’ve told myself that I want to, I’ve written a couple of “long time, no see/hear” blogs when I go on a hiatus for a month or two, but it’s not amounted to more than that. I map out everything I want to do for a month, and maybe I accomplish the first couple of things on the list before I get off track from the posting schedule and give up entirely. I’ve found it immensely difficult to admit to myself that I just don’t love writing about what it’s like to teach music as much as I used to. I still love to teach, and I still love music, but I’ve found myself wanting to spend time doing other things, which leads me back to the very first sentence in this blog: Hi, my name is Alex Domeier, and I’m a Christian.

As I mentioned before, the whole reason why I even started a website in the first place was because of a conversation I had with that retired Pastor, whose name is Tim by the way. Pastor Tim and I had both been participating in virtual bible studies as the Covid-19 pandemic had begun to rage across the world, shutting down places of worship and forcing congregants to connect via means of communication like Zoom. Ironically, I probably spent more time thinking about God during the pandemic that I did when I could attend church in person. With these Zoom calls being as much a way to connect with people as they were a means to have discussion on faith, I found myself in them quite a lot. I particularly loved these sessions though because we often discussed how our faith was meant to be played out in the real world. I grew up as a Christian, attended church regularly, and was very involved in the inner workings of the congregation, but I never really applied my faith to my everyday life. Sure, I prayed regularly, and I could quote you a bible verse or two, but having an intimate knowledge of scripture, knowing what it means and letting it guide my everyday actions was not something that I had really embraced. I ended up attending these bible studies every week for the better part of a year, if not longer. I started reading my Bible more, I prayed more regularly than I had ever prayed, and I developed a desire to truly know God, his teachings, and the example he sent us in the form of his son, Jesus.

I mentioned before that I have felt the desire to post about music education rather absent from my life. In its place though, I’ve felt the desire to talk more about my faith, what I believe and have learned, and to do it in a more public way. Back in January of 2022, I met a very nice kid who attends Middle Tennessee State University, named Connor. Connor has his own website titled “Faith, Family, and Flugelhorn”. In his website, he writes both about playing the trumpet, and about his faith journey and how that has impacted his life. When I saw his website, I asked myself “why can’t you do that”? I don’t bring this up often, but my love for music first started in the church, listening to hymns, hearing the choir sing, and being a part of the music ministry as a middle schooler. Being a Christian is who I am, and it’s the most important part of me, yet I don’t spend nearly enough time talking about it. In Matthew 28, Jesus tells his disciples 18 … “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” This was his Great Commission, not just for those gathered there, but for all of us to share his good news with the world. I believe a large part of why I haven’t felt the desire to write about music is because I have felt pulled by God to write more about him, to talk more about him, and to be more open about who I am as a follower of Christ with people beyond those close to me. If you’ve made it this far, thank you. If you feel called to talk more about faith with me, please reach out! I pray to God that he would help me try and live a life that is more open, honest, and public about my Christian values.