It didn't take long.
When Greater Vision tenor Jason Waldroup announced his pending departure from the trio, I wondered if someone would suggest that he and former Gold City lead vocalist Jonathan Wilburn would soon be starting a group. Within an hour, I had my answer.
What a conspiratorial bunch we Southern Gospel music people can be - you probably already know what came next: "If a baritone and a bass leave a group anytime soon, we know what's going on."
Right.
Both Jason and Jonathan had their reasons for leaving their respective groups and unless it's the best kept secret since the knowledge of why Ed McMahon never knocks on my front door, I don't think you'll be seeing a new group anytime soon.
People love to speculate and juggle "what-if's." There's really nothing wrong with that, I suppose, as long as it doesn't get out of hand. And let's be honest: Some of the more outrageous speculation offers some truly humorous moments.
Like the time six years ago when word circulated that I purchased all of the stock of Singing News. The first thing that I thought of when I heard that was "Wow! I had that much money?!?!?!" People were speculating this, that and the other...and the more I thought about putting those rumors to rest, the more tempted I was to see just how far they would go. (I finally let it be known that the ownership had not changed - but it was kinda interesting to see how many new "friends" I picked up during those couple of days.)
Anyway, people are naturally curious as to why an artist makes a career change. And if the press releases announcing those changes are somewhat vague, then some people want to either fill in the blanks with their own ideas, or, more or less, demand an answer. All of which then leads to the age-old debate of whether or not living in the public's eye gives anyone the right to unlimited access. (That's a topic for another day.)
'Course, you'll always have a handful of people who will always be convinced that "there is more to the story." No matter what one says, does, or produces evidence of, the opinions of those people never change.
When changes come along, we all should just accept the fact that changes happen. If we're given a reason, whether it be sparse in facts or detailed with all the information anyone would ever want or need, read it...and move on to the next press release. NOTE: I didn't say it would be easy, nor did I say we'd forget about it. I just said we should move on.
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One side note that I personally find humorous (and sad at the same time): Every now and then, when an artist leaves a group, there will always be someone who punches what I call the "prayer button." They'll want to know ALL the details so they'll know how to specifically pray for that person.
Unless I've missed something, I think God still accepts the prayer of "You know what he (or she) needs most. Help and bless them."
