CommonCall: Making beautiful music together

BRENHAM—Hands are a marvel. Undoubtedly, the brain is more complex, but the 27 bones, 34 muscles and 123 ligaments of each hand bring ideas to life.

Robert and Martha Haydon have spent decades using the giftedness God placed in their hands for his praise. For the last 40 years, they have played the organ and piano at First Baptist Church in Brenham.

The early years

They met at First Baptist Church in Dripping Springs when she was 15 and he was 16 after the church called her father, Bracy Bledsoe, as pastor.

“Right away, our mothers both started saying: ‘They both play the piano. I bet they’re going to really hit it off.’ Well, we didn’t,” she recalled.

It didn’t take too long, however, before they began to date. At that point, she played the organ at church, and he played the piano.

“Depending on how our Saturday night dates went, that’s how good the music was the next day during the service,” she quipped.

Life as a young married couple

They married in 1968 while he was a pre-med student at the University of Texas at Austin and she was an elementary education major at Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos. They continued to play at the Dripping Springs church throughout their college years.

In 1970, they moved to Galveston so he could attend the UT medical school branch there. In 1972, after playing for a few rehearsals when the regular accompanist was not available, Minister of Music Charles Vance asked him to become the organist and she the pianist at First Baptist Church in Galveston.

The church was much larger than any place they had played before, and the prospect made them both nervous, but they agreed.

“Only God could have orchestrated this huge blessing,” she said.

He played the massive pipe organ there, which Pastor Grayson Glass nicknamed Jezebel, because it often seemed to have a mind of its own.

On to Brenham

They stayed there until 1976, when they moved to Brenham so he could start a family medical practice.

Robert and Martha Haydon have spent decades using the giftedness God placed in their hands for his praise. (Photo/George Henson)First Baptist Church in Brenham already had accompanists leading in worship, so the Haydons they thought they would get a break while he started his practice and she went about the job of mothering two small children.

Within a month, however, the pianist moved to another community, and Martha was asked to take over.

Only a short time later, the organist also decided to quit playing, and the church asked Robert to take over those duties. First Baptist Church celebrated the Haydons’ 40 years of service in September with a reception following a concert.

Four decades of praise at one church

During those 40 years, the Haydons have worked with five pastors and eight ministers of music.

Their zeal for instrumental music has not waned at all.

“Every week, we get excited,” she said. “We’ve had such wonderful people to work with—they’ve kept it exciting.

“Every new music minister brings a whole new set of gifts and talents. He begins to build his team, and that is always our prayer, that we become part of his team and how he sees worship and how he wants to present it. It’s been amazing that we have been gifted with so many great guys.”

Charles Covin, current minister of music at First Baptist in Brenham, calls the Haydons “a dream to work with.”

“From Day 1, they have been the greatest assets in worship. It is such a rare thing to have the ability they have, but also the humble servant-hearted attitude that you are looking for in worship leaders,” Covin said.

Offering a sacrifice of praise

The Haydons do more than play musical instruments, however. They lead in worship by worshipping.

“It’s our gift that we are presenting to God,” Robert said.

“Playing is our sacrifice of praise,” Martha added. “It is what brings us to his throne. Even if it isn’t perfect, that isn’t the important thing. The important thing is the heart that is going into the music. We strive for excellence—I don’t mean that’s not important—but that’s not the No. 1 thing.”

The longevity of their service has made for deep and lasting relationships with many in the congregation.

“What we’ve been through these 40 years is a part of their family, part of their lives,” Martha said. “We’ve help wed them; we’ve played as they have buried their parents. It’s like with Robert in his medical practice—for some families, he sees five generations. We’ve had that same relationship with our church family. It’s such a blessing.”

Communicating with God through music

Throughout the years, from Dripping Springs to Galveston to Brenham, God provided opportunities for the Haydons to minister through their musical talents. They have played so long, it is hard to imagine not playing each Sunday.

“If we weren’t doing it, there would be a huge hole,” Martha said. “ That’s one facet of my communication with the Lord. We all pray, read our Bibles, go to Bible study and church services and any special thing we can to enhance our growth, but we have the privilege also—like anyone who has a talent, because there are so many types of talent—to use that as another venue to communicate and worship—to grow spiritually.

Their talent progressed to a calling.

“When I was 14 and we were at Immanuel Baptist Church in Temple, I felt a definite calling to special ministry,” she said. “I didn’t think it was for mission work, but for a special calling. I think that is what God is still doing—honoring my commitment to do a special service for him.”

In addition to the day-to-day ministry, they also look forward to the large seasonal presentations, such as Christmas and Easter, Robert added.

Forty years is worth celebrating, Covin pointed out.

“Especially to be a husband and wife team that have done it so well for so long, it is really unique,” he said. “Their ministry is appreciated now as much as it has ever been. There have been a number of ministers of music here who have passed the torch to one another, but they have been the one constant. They have been consistently pouring out their abilities, compassion and love for worship and music out into this community and into this church for four decades. That is special.”

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