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BY BARBARA COWARD
UMCONNECTION CORRESPONDENT

For many churches Advent was a time of quiet expectation. But at Savage UMC, the congregation took a fresh look at the season with 'Wait - It?s a Musical!', a 45-minute biblical pop-rock musical that combines narrative and song to tell the story of the Jewish people who are waiting for God to improve their lives with a new king.

'We had such a great time,' said Cami Wise, the Rock ?N Prise choir director, who learned about 'Wait' while researching musicals on the Web. 'It was a different outlook on the traditional Christmas story and our congregation loved it.'

The play is the creation of local artist Chris Anderson, a songwriter and independent musician who is a member of Floris UMC in Herndon, Va.

'I?ve tried to make it fun, fresh and new,' said Anderson. 'It is an upbeat way to get to know characters in the Bible who were behind the birth of Jesus and to better understand who these people were.'

Although it was written to be performed at Christmas time, it provides a message that is relevant all year long.

'In today?s society, if we have to wait five minutes to do something, we get mad,' said Anderson. 'If we want a better job, we want it next week. But our souls and our being are not wired for that. God does not instantly grant wishes to come true. It can take generations for things to move. Part of walking the Christian walk is to develop the habit of patience.'

For Anderson, the evolution of the musical was a test of patience itself.

An active member of her church choir, Anderson had always shown a love of music. Early in her career, she worked as a disaster planner for a local government but played in bands on the side.

After she married and had her first child, she stopped playing in a band and didn?t do anything musically for about 10 years.

Then she started classes at Wesley Theological Seminary, where she took a class in playwriting and drafted a play about the angel Gabriel and the Annunciation. Although she received a good grade for it, it never felt completely finished and the idea kept nagging her. 'I knew that I wanted to write it to music,' said Anderson.

In 2002, the play was finally put to music and was performed in a Christian coffee club called 'Jammin? Java' in Vienna, Va.

In the span of just a few short years, the musical took off nationally. Churches of different denominations in Minnesota, Alabama, Florida, and North Carolina heard about the musical on the Web and bought performing licenses.

Along the way, it has picked up an award at the 2003 Grammy Demo contest. That same year XM Radio aired the entire musical on Christmas Day and Christmas Eve. The musical also received a favorable review in The Washington Post.

One reason for its popularity is its adaptability. The play can work for churches of all sizes as long as there are at least five people to perform the play, said Anderson. As many as 40 people in a church choir performed it in Minnesota.

Whatever the size of the church band or drama group, the goal is to bring people to a different place in worship, said Anderson.

Anderson sees the musical as a relevant tool for the conference?s Disciple-ship Adventure. 'It can serve as an excellent outreach to the unchurched,' she added. 'Part of its appeal is its modern language and the songs, which are commercial length.'

'When I wrote it, I wanted to see how someone who didn?t understand or know the Christian story could learn it,' said Anderson.

'I want to peak people?s interest so they want to learn more about it,' she added. 'My goal is to have people pick up the Bible. I want to ?dangle the hook.?'

Anderson knew that she was accomplishing the goals she set out to achieve with the musical when a mother told her after a performance that her elementary school son asked her if that really happened in the Bible. 'She told me that he then went home and opened the Bible,' said Anderson.