CUBAN WORHIP LEADER ENRIQUE MELCHOR
A Conversation with Tom Brooks , Part 2

Tom: It sounds like your music is much like ours here in the U.S., aggressive, bold, powerful; are there other churches in Cuba like yours?

Enrique: The church in Cuba did go through a time where it dried up. Then they started to hear American praise music like Ron Kenoly and others. Now there are all kinds of styles of music in the church; Rock, Reggae, Cuban… Today there is a great variety of musical styles in the church in Cuba. In spite of the political isolation of Cuba we have not been entirely isolated from what God is doing around the world in praise and worship. It has been a huge blessing and an inspiration.

This last year we decided to use praise and worship music as a method of evangelism. We started a project called ‘Project Caravana’ and we traveled throughout Cuba giving concerts with rented sound systems, borrowed instruments and basically anything we had or could get from friends. It was an amazing experience and we saw a lot of people come to Christ as a result.

Tom: Do you hear the music of Marcos Witt, Marcos Vidal, Julissa, Aline, and others in Cuba, does that music come to Cuba? How does it get to Cuba?

Enrique: There is only one way that this music gets to Cuba. When someone in the church in Cuba has the opportunity to travel out of Cuba then they bring this music back. Then we “share” it with each other which we know is illegal but there is no other way possible for the music to reach and bless the worship leaders and churches in Cuba. On my first trip to the United States I was able to meet Roberto Orellana and he gave me copies of all his music and gave me his permission to copy it in Cuba and get it out to the churches there.

Tom: What other Christian artists have you been able to listen to in Cuba?

Enrique: Basically, Marcos Witt, Danilo Montero, Marcos Vidal, Julissa. Juan Luis Guerra’s evangelical album has been an explosion in Cuba—even on Radio and TV in Cuba which is something really amazing because it is illegal for any Christian message to be broadcast on TV in Cuba—Ron Kenoly, Paul Wilbur, …

Tom: We premiered the new Spanish albums from Paul Wilbur and Julissa last month live at Expolit in Miami…

Enrique: I had every intention to be at Expolit this year but in the end my travel plans were delayed and I was unable to attend. We know that the enemy doesn’t want the church in Cuba to receive the blessing of all the wonderful developments in praise and worship, but eventually we do receive these and in the end we do have the victory!

Tom: Would it be illegal in Cuba to have a tape or CD of Christian music?

Enrique: No, it’s not illegal

Tom: Is it illegal for a store to sell Christian music CDs or tapes in Cuba?

Enrique: No, I don’t think it would be.

Tom: Would it be legal then to distribute Christian music in Cuba if there were some way of getting them into the country?

Enrique: I think that it would be possible, but probably not in large quantities. But I do think it could be worked out. If the music got there, then I think we could distribute to all the churches through the association of Christian musicians that I belong to.

Tom: Your church belongs to the ‘Buenas Nuevas’ (Good News) denomination in Cuba. How many churches are there in this association?

Enrique: I think there are over 50 churches (those churches that have their own official building) and more than 300 house churches (churches that are in process of building or are established in homes).

The ‘Buenas Nuevas’ is one of the fastest growing groups in Cuba. I think that has a lot to do with the leadership. The leadership has kept itself from corruption and any of the temptations that the enemy is using in Cuba to cause church leaders to stumble and become corrupted.

Tom: Do you ever gather all of the churches in the family together for a conference or an annual conference?

Enrique: Yes! Thank the Lord there are several conference facilities for churches in Cuba. At the Methodist conference facility of ‘Canaan’ near Santa Clara, the ‘Buenas Nuevas’ has at least two annual conferences. One of the annual conferences we have is the Worship Conference and worship leaders from all the denominations in Cuba come together here each year. One of our goals is to have worship leaders from other countries come and take part in this conference. Perhaps next year’s conference will include guests from outside Cuba.

Tom: Many of our friends and other worship leaders want to help the church in Cuba. What would you say to people who want to help, how can we help the church in Cuba?

Enrique: I have always tried to be practical in my life. The Christian faith is not theory it is something we have to put into practice. So I think the first and most fundamental need is for people to pray that oppression will cease in my country and that the gospel could be brought openly and lived out freely in my country. That is the first thing that I am asking of worship leaders, musicians, and believers all over the world.

Speaking specifically of the needs of the worship community in Cuba, I would say that there is a tremendous need for musical instruments and sound equipment. These things are very difficult to get in Cuba and they are very expensive. I would encourage anyone who comes to Cuba to bring at least a set of guitar strings. Any musical instrument would be a blessing and any supplies for musical instruments and sound systems would be a blessing. Even a guitar strap would be a blessing!

Recently we’ve had an opportunity with a contact in our church to take advantage of special pricing on sound support equipment for institutions in Cuba, so I would suggest that one way of assisting us would be economic assistance so that we could have a good quality sound system for our events. I spoke earlier of the ‘Caravana’ project that we started last year. We traveled throughout the island and it was a tremendous success. We’d like to do it again this year and I think it would be wonderful to have some brothers and sisters—even as tourists—visit us from your country so that they can experience both the wonderful things that are happening and the tremendous need that exists.

But I’d like to say something to my brothers here, if all we have is a single guitar or a single piano if that is all we have then we will see God’s victory with what we have in our hands. Because the victory that comes through worship doesn’t depend on musical instruments and sound systems, if we have them then glory to God, if we don’t then, my brother, I can tell you that we will move forward. God doesn’t stop moving!

Tom: When you were praying and planning to come to the United States this time, did God put a specific purpose in your heart? In other words, when you write the diary of this trip what would be the miracle of miracles that God promised would happen as a result of this trip?

Enrique: Before anything else I thought that God’s purpose when I was planning to travel to the United States was Expolit and then that couldn’t happen, and I have learned that when God frustrates my plans, it’s because He has other plans.

I was praying for some time and when I arrived here I was in Miami and I spent a number of days just waiting and praying, and I was saying, “Lord, why did you bring me here? I don’t understand this very well.”

And God put a word in my heart. I felt that God said, “Enrique, I want you to speak something specifically to the church here in America.” It’s a word that has been on my heart for some time. It is a word of thanks and encouragement to the Christians here in the United States because the power of the missionary effort around the world depends in great measure on the church in the United States, because the Christians in the United States love the work of God in all of Latin America in a way that is truly impressive. Even though throughout the entire world the United States is suffering from a bad reputation, we in Cuba have believed this is not the case. This is a great nation, it’s a beautiful nation, it’s a county that God has blessed because it was founded on biblical principles, and it’s a generous nation. The United States has been an ally of Israel for many years, and the Bible says that God blesses whoever is with Israel.

In second place, the US has been a source of blessing for many people in many places. And I would like to say, my brother, with all my heart – it’s my desire and the desire of many other believers in Cuba that you all take care of your country. Don’t let anything divide this land. Pray for this land, that the people would turn again to God. Because I tell you the truth, if the US were to go under – God forbid – along with it, the world would also go under. I hope you can see the degree to which we in Cuba believe that this is an important country. I believe that in this moment I am fulfilling the purpose that God has for me on this trip to be able to share this word of encouragement, so I encourage you to keep moving forward. Don’t stop. The world needs you. That is the word that God put in my heart for the United States.

Now as to the biggest, craziest dream that I had for this trip, that I didn’t even dare to think when I came to the US this time, was that I would be able to establish the ministry and friendship contacts that are necessary so that the work of the Lord in Cuba in praise and worship would be able to keep moving forward. I thank the Lord that in 2002 I was able to come here to record my first worship album, but I wasn’t satisfied with that. In my heart I feel that God is calling me to be an agent of unity in the church in Cuba. I want to establish a bridge where spiritual and material resources can go back and forth between worship ministries in Cuba and worship ministries from the United States and all over the world.

So the deepest desire of my heart for this trip would be for me to be able to establish that bridge. Never in my life have I dreamed that I would be sitting here having a conversation with this beloved brother that I have here by my side. It never crossed my mind, sincerely, it never crossed my mind, and I see God’s purposes in it. I think that this idea of the bridge is what is most important.

Tom (to John Northrup, prior to his translation): This is exciting to me – I can tell by Enrigue’s voice that this is a powerful statement, and I can only understand 10% of what he is saying!

Enrique: Yes, God definitely has his purposes. We believe that God is working out His purposes. Sometimes we don’t understand why God does things the way He does. And sometimes God puts things in our hands and you see that you have these things and you say, “God why have you given me these if I don’t know what I am supposed to do with them?” Not too long ago in our own church, sometime before I left for this trip, somebody gave us a piece of property. It’s quite large; it’s like a small farm. It’s close to the capital city. And the first thing that we did when it became the property of the church, we said to the Lord, “What do you want to do with this? Why have you given it to us?” And we felt that God responded and said, “I want you to build a worship center and a conference center where Christians in Cuba can come and have great and important events, a center for training, and that is the reason why I am putting this property in your hands.” It seems crazy, because we don’t have the resources to do any of that. So we said, “Lord, this is crazy. We don’t have those resources.” And we felt the answer in our hearts was that God said, “You don’t have the resources, but I do. And in a way that you have not imagined or can understand, I am going to open the doors and I will be your source.”

And so I believe that another one of the purposes that God had in permitting me to come to the US is to share this vision of the construction of this place, and I think it would be wonderful if we could achieve this. And I know that we will achieve this with God’s help and secondly, with the help of many believers who may see or hear this interview. God is going to touch their hearts and we will be able to do something together in that place – not only that they would invest money to build this center – our desire is that they would come and work with us. The desire of our heart is that people would come, they would pick up the tools themselves, that they would get their hands dirty in that place. I think it would be very exciting if we could organize missionary trips to Cuba so people could work in that place, to make music, to participate in “Caravana”, to preach in the Buenas Nuevas churches, even to go to Varadero Beach to rest – it’s a beautiful beach in Cuba – I think it would be great if from this point forward these kind of trips would start to happen so that the work of the Lord in Cuba can move forward.

Tom: As you get ready to go back to Cuba, if you could give one message to all the Christians here in the United States, what one message would you want to leave the believers here in the US?

Enrique: Don’t allow anyone to divide your nation . Don’t allow it. I have been watching in the news and seeing how citizens of this country, that I suppose love their country, they seem to use this avenue of information for their own means and for publicity and they don’t seem to understand the responsibility they have to properly use and disseminate information. Don’t let divisive thinking have its way. Take care of your nation- Love it with all your heart. And think about the effects that your information will have throughout the world before you publicize a negative report about your country. This is a beautiful country that God has given you. Take care of it. Value it. God has given you the amazing privilege of being able to live from the fruit of your labor. God has given you the privilege of being able to work and buy a pair of shoes. This is impossible in my country. God has given you the privilege of having a car, of buying your own home and of being able to go swim on any beach or stay in any hotel without anyone telling you, “You can’t do this, it’s prohibited.” So take care of this country. Don’t let anything or anyone take away the unity from you, the unity that God has given you. This is my message for this country, not only for the believers here, but for the entire nation. Don’t allow anyone or anything to divide you as a nation.

Tom: I am curious to know if there is a vision in the hearts of the Cuban believers. Can they even imagine a day in which they will be free to express their Christianity? Can they see a path to get to that point?

Enrique: This is my opinion on that question. The Cuban in general, not only the believer, but the everyday Cuban, has lived in a system that has existed for more than 40 years. And the people of my generation, for example, have a concept of the world that they learned in school. The school system is run by the government. It is prohibited in Cuba to be educated anywhere else but the Cuban government schools. And for more than 40 years, Cubans have been experiencing a process of indoctrination. It’s an indoctrination process that says, “The rest of the world is bad and everything in Cuba is going well.” When you watch Cuban television, it’s plain to see that all of the news from around the world is bad news. But when they speak about the news in Cuba, it’s all positive propaganda. Now that has caused a certain kind of effect in the thinking of the people, and the result is that any Cuban is unable to function in liberty. I would say that it’s going to be extremely difficult for any Cuban to live in liberty. It’s going to be a very difficult transition for the Cuban to adapt to freedom. And I think the question you have asked me is a very good question, a serious and thoughtful question that few people are asking. Today the Cuban church is not ready for this change, and I think this is one of the key reasons why this hasn’t happened. The enemy has been able to divide some churches and to some extent sow discord between some of the leaders and if the leaders don’t have a vision of unity and a vision of what they want to accomplish with the church, then the average Cuban Christian is not going to have it either. I think it’s the time for the Christian leaders in Cuba to be in unity in order to understand God’s vision for His church there. God is not only thinking of a church that is peaceful and singing, but He wants a church that is ready to conquer and a church that aspires to positive social change, a church that aspires to a system of government that is based on the Word of God with laws that would come from God’s throne and are there in the Bible. And in order to achieve this, I think the church in Cuba needs to mature a little bit more, grow a little bit more, and permit God to work. I think that may be one of the reasons why we have not seen physical freedom in Cuba.

But I think that a time of change is coming. There are many people who have matured, many emerging young leaders, who are bold and fearless – new blood – and they have studied and are prepared and have been in God’s presence seeking His throne. I believe God is raising up this new generation and He is counting on us, and I hope that we will be faithful to God and responsible with the future of Cuba, because the future of Cuba is not in the hands of the United States, it’s not in the hands of Venezuela or China. The future of Cuba is in the hands of the Cubans. God has put it in the hands of Cubans, specifically in the hands of the church. And the church has still not understood that. And so we need to pray so that the church in Cuba would open their eyes and understand that it’s not the United States, and it’s not only God’s angels, but we also have a role to play in His will for Cuba. And we should seek God’s face so that God can show us what our part is in His plan.

Tom: Why is it that music is such a point of connection for the Cuban people?

Enrique: If you think about it, God made the human being as a rhythmic being. Our hearts go thump, thump, thump. The heart beats with a certain rhythm. Everything functions in sync, in time. And so I believe that, not that I think the Cuban is the most special thing in the world, God made the Cuban very rhythmic. We have music in our blood. And it’s a nation that, in spite of the sufferings and the blood and the tears that have been spilled, it has not lost the capacity to be joyful. And that has been reflected in the church. You might meet someone who hasn’t eaten all day and you see him singing and dancing and jumping in praise and worship in spite of the heat and the discomfort and the hunger, sweating and singing and enjoying the joy of the Lord. Music and worship have been a source of strength for the church in Cuba, and I think it is going to be an important element for change. It’s interesting, nobody pays attention to the politicians because they are known to be liars and unfortunately, many people can’t even listen to some pastors and spiritual leaders because they have been disgraced. However, think about this detail. The youth in the secular world listen to the musical artists. One word spoken by Michael Jackson probably has more impact than anything said by a politician. We have understood that the worship leaders and the music ministries in Cuba have not only been called to lead music but to be a voice that will be heard, and we are already being a voice that is being heard in Cuba. And it’s interesting; God is using music to bring about change in the people. And so that is a responsibility that we as musicians and worship leaders have in Cuba. We have this responsibility because the people are listening to us. We are communicating a message through our music. And so this, I believe, will be an important element for change in our nation.