Thursday, April 1, 2010

Matthews Archery & McPherson Guitars



I’m continuing Power Week with a story I came across in a really interesting way… I might even suggest it was a small miracle. I was headed for my gate in the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport last June (2009) and “happened” across a really nice marketing display in the middle of the walk way. It was a glass display case with a couple of really unique looking acoustic guitars inside. I’m not a musician, but I am in marketing and I brake for anything that’s done really well. I liked it so much in fact that snapped several pictures with my digital camera and grabbed a few guitar brochures off the display case.

I went on to board the plane and got a really nice bulk-head seat. I called my wife Susy for a quick early morning prayer time that we have together over the phone whenever I’m on the road traveling. A lady sitting in my row overheard our prayer and that started a conversation about our mutual Christian faith. She was reading a book by Bill Johnson, Senior Pastor of Bethel Church in Redding, California. “Ironically” it was a book I had recently seen referenced in a magazine article and had been searching Barnes & Noble and Borders high and low. After some conversation I asked if I could scan her copy for a few minutes.

A few weeks later I purchased the book, devoured it, and went on to buy and read about everything Bill Johnson had written… including my favorite, Dreaming with God.  Imagine how shocked I was when I’m reading along and there on page 117 is the story of Matt McPherson… the founder of McPherson Guitars. It’s a great career story that I will share with you here mostly in the words of Bill Johnson.

Johnson writes, “Matt McPherson is known as a man with great passion for God. His love is to minister the Gospel through music and leading in worship. However, after being handed a $15 check for a weekend of ministry, he realized that it would be a very challenging way to support his family. Soon after that experience the Lord gave him this wonderful promise: I am going to prosper you in business, so you can be self-sufficient in ministry. The following is a brief report of God’s faithfulness to that promise.

Matt’s approach to life is refreshing, as he is bothered by mediocrity. The thought of being average is frightening. He has no desire for fame or power, but refuses to be passive with his life. He wants to make a difference. His love for God has created a passion for excellence and creativity that is admirable.

One day God spoke something to him that would forever change his life. He said, I know every answer to every problem in the world. If men would only ask me, I would give them the answers. Matt was overwhelmed with the promise and sense of awe he had for God in that moment. He dropped to his knees and cried out to God about the things that concerned him. As a young man Matt developed a hobby of making and shooting compound bows. He obtained the love of archery, while hunting with his father and brothers, in his early years. Following the revelation about God having the answers to every issue in life, he asked God about how to build a better bow. He knew of hundreds of ways not to build one but wanted to take God’s invitation to ask for answers to any problem. Several weeks later, at around 3 o’clock in the morning, he woke up seeing a piece of paper suspended before his eyes. It looked as though it was torn from a notebook. On it was a sketch of a compound bow, revealing a new concept. When his wife, Sherry, asked him what he was doing, he said, “I think I’m having a vision.” He was. In response to his prayer, God gave him the initial concept for what would eventually launch the Mathews Archery Company, changing the archery industry forever…

Today, Mathews is the largest archery manufacturing company in the world. They not only sell volumes of bows; they sell a product of superior design and excellence in craftsmanship… Matt is the owner of 20 patents with more pending.”

Leveraging his Matthews Archery Company success, Matt pushed off into the guitar manufacturing business. Today McPherson Guitar makes arguably the most innovative acoustic guitar there is. Country music star Brad Paisley writes, “The McPherson Guitar is the most significant new design in acoustic guitars since the debut of the dreadnaught. I feel like they have perfected the acoustic instrument, and achieved new heights in tone and craftsmanship. I am very proud to play these pieces of art.”

Matt and Sherry McPherson are now living the life God promised them so many years ago. They travel, do their music ministry, and consistently bring God-Ideas to their sphere of influence.

If you are in need of a great bow or guitar check out his web sites:
http://mathewsinc.com/
http://mcphersonguitars.com/
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