Mark Baynes

Some of you on my last radio show may have heard Mark Baynes on my program Good Friday Week. The e-mail newsletter at his church, Triad Baptist Church in North Carolina, had this fine article on Mark. The Web version, which has photos, is at http://www.triadbaptist.com/Connections/Articles/connections_revelationroad_06152009.htm, but otherwise here is the story below. Mark is a great Christian musician and you deserve a chance to hear or obtain his music, if you have not already. His own Web site is Mark Baynes.com. ED HOWELL

Journey with Christ: Mark Baynes' Latest Recording Takes Listeners Down "Revelation Road"
Revelation Road is Mark Baynes' third album.

"Christianity is not something that we have figured out, rather it is something that has been and continues to be revealed to us daily. And those revelations only come along the road as we follow Him." Mark Baynes

By Wayne Thompson

Triad Baptist members will soon hear a familiar voice on WBFJ-FM and other Piedmont radio stations — music from "Revelation Road," the third album by Mark Baynes, associate pastor of praise and worship and single adult ministries.

More than three years in the making, the recording's acoustic-based Christian Celtic folk reflects Scotland's musical imprint on Baynes' life and music. He fell in love with Scotland in 2002—and met his future wife there—while visiting friends studying at King's College in Aberdeen. He married Dawn in 2004 and stayed until 2007 when he returned to the United States to join the staff at Triad."The very first CD I did in Nashville, Tenn., was more of a pop/country sound," Baynes said. "Over the last 10 years, I have moved more towards the folk/Celtic style by adding the mandolin, hammer dulcimer and Irish whistles to the instruments I play."Dawn and I have always loved the old hymns, and living in Scotland exposed me to numerous hymns that I had never heard before."

The result was "Hymn of Season" featuring Dawn's lyrics and Mark's music. "I was always encouraging Dawn to write some lyrics, telling her I would try and put some music to it," Baynes recalled. "She gave me the first two verses several years ago and I thought they were brilliant. I tried a variety of melodies and nothing seemed to fit and then I finally had a breakthrough to what you hear on the CD.

"After I had the music, I went back to her and pleaded, 'Please write two more verses!' She did and I couldn't be more happy how it turned out."

A perfectionist who believes in giving God his best whether preaching or singing, Baynes considers "Revelation Road" his most professional recording to date. Nashville recording engineer Gil Gillis put the project together from sessions in Dublin, Ga., and digital files Baynes prepared and mailed.

"Revelation Road" is available for purchase from Baynes, iTunes, Amazon.com and CD Baby, a digital music distribution service.

A constant theme throughout the recording is the Christian life as a journey, whether a sailor daring to set sail again across the sea in "The Winds of God," or a follower boldly saying "yes" to a new life in "Journey With Christ" —one of Baynes' two favorite songs on "Revelation Road."
"I began writing that song while on a trip to Israel," Baynes said. "My home pastor in Dublin, Dr. Cliff Morris of First Baptist, was teaching about the calling of Matthew while we were standing beside the Sea of Galilee. It could have been a day like this, perhaps very near here, he told us, that Jesus looked at Matthew and said, 'Come follow me.' The simplicity of Jesus' call overwhelmed me in that moment as I saw with fresh eyes what the Christian life is: following the Jesus who calls us."

Baynes' other favorite on "Revelation Road" is the musical tribute he wrote to his father, Jack, who adopted Mark shortly after he was born in Atlanta, Ga., and later adopted his sister, Katy, too. "Dad's Song" has since become an audience favorite at Baynes' concerts."It certainly doesn't have a 'Celtic' feel to it but, at the end of the day, I thought it belonged on the record," he said. "My 'Dad's Song' is the most personal song to me for obvious reasons. I'm most grateful to God for that song. After all the labors of love my dad has done for our family, I wanted to give him back a labor of love from my heart. It's just a small reflection of all that he has invested in me. Outside of knowing Jesus Christ and being married to Dawn, I can't think of anything I'm more grateful for than that William Jackson Baynes is my father."

Writing many of the songs in a cramped Scottish apartment, Baynes said that one of his own revelations was realizing a life of faith is always on the move. "The Christian life is never static," he said. "We cannot stand still and follow the Lord. The phrase 'along the road,' occurs in Mark's gospel repeatedly, especially after Peter's confession of Christ. From then on, Jesus is heading directly to the cross. We must follow Jesus along the road as well."When people listen to 'Revelation Road,' I hope they enjoy the excellence of the music. I pray they will not be satisfied with a comfortable routine but will be inspired to ask God, 'What road do you want me walking down?' I hope they will see life as a journey that ends with Jesus Christ. Jesus said, 'I go and prepare a place for you, so that where I am, there you may also be.' I long that they will keep their eyes fixed on God for revelations of Himself along the road they are called to travel."