You may remember me talking about my friend, Matt Straughn.  He is a great blessing to Acappella Ministries and is assembling volunteers to help us with various projects, including assisting with the Acappella.org web site.

Matt e-mailed me directly from his flight to Bangalore, India through the plane's wireless internet service.  He was 350 miles east of Baghdad when he sent the message and said they had just showed him the map of their global position.  Isn't technology fascinating?


Speaking of technology, I am a new convert.  A mac convert, that is.  I found it hilarious that the employees at the Apple Store in Nashville had t-shirts that described their work as "intervention specialists."  I was very familiar with the term "intervention" through the work of Kyle Deagge, who assists families in rescuing family members from religious cults.  The Apple folks are trying to rescue people from the PC platform to join the loyal Mac user family.  It's funny, instead of their intervention saving me from a cult, I believe I may have just joined one. 

So, how many of you are Mac users?
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Apparently, many of you are interested in this subject, judging by the e-mails I have received. I hope you get a chance to attend one of Melissa Kirby's sessions sometime. She pointed out that voice problems are usually not caused by one factor but by multiple factors over a period of time.

Melissa stressed that the best way to care for the voice is preventative care. We must avoid the things that we know create problems. She covered (in depth) the abuse, misuse and overuse factors that contribute to voice problems. Overuse has been a problem for me lately.

Indulging in an extreme amount of talking in combination with a lot of singing forms a pattern of overuse that is a recipe for serious problems. If she would have sung an invitation song, I would have responded. Overuse has affected my voice lately.

Yelling, shouting, smoking and using your voice when you are sick are things that fit into the "abuse" category that we should avoid. There is a threshold of how much the voice can take and you must stop BEFORE you are worn out. One of her slides emphasized that "Voice rest is not the answer but voice management is."

There are a lot of myths about what is best for the voice. Certain things should certainly be avoided, including caffeine (after I kicked the Star Bucks habit and soft drinks, I've made a lot of progress in that area.) Throat clearing is absolutely one of the worse things for your voice. Drinking plenty of water is very helpful.

We were blessed with two hours of intensive training in how to care for the voice. She began with videos of the vocal cords in action and presented thorough explanations of how the voice works. God, the Creator is truly amazing! I have made my living with my voice. I need to take better care of it. Perhaps you need to hear this too?

Have you had voice problems before? If so, how did you recover?

Vocalists should treat their talent very seriously and take proper care of their musical instrument.  Today, some of our singers were blessed by Melissa Kirby who is an expert in this area.  She works with grammy award-winning artists and does an outstanding job in presenting strategies for taking care of the voice.  I plan on inviting her to conduct the same clinic for our singers at Madison.

I love working with the Madison Church. This month, I began my ninth year as the worship minister. Most churches have only one full-time minister, but with larger churches like Madison, it is a blessing to work with a team of ministers. Here is a photo I took today of most of the Madison staff.



I am blessed by the amount of encouragement I receive from this church family. Last night at our Sunday service, one dear brother who led the opening prayer said, "Thank you Lord for our smart ministers here at Madison." In his very next sentence he added, "And thank you for Keith and for how he leads our worship."

Should public prayer be scripted?  Yes or No?

Yes - Much planning should go into preparing to lead public prayer (whether for 30 or 3,000.)  It can be helpful to make notes.

No  - Prayer is very personal and should be from the overflow of the heart and more spontaneous.

For this poll, all that is required is a one word answer - yes or no.  You are welcome to add comments after you have chosen which answer (yes or no) best reflects your opinon.

Sorry for the delay this week, everyone.  I got back from my Thanksgiving vacation quite a bit later than I anticipated yesterday, and still had a lot to get ready for our worship assemblies this morning.

So, this was a ranking poll.  Seven possible choices.  I'll give the overall ranking, along with the total score and total number of votes for each choice.
-JP

1. Communion
Score: 68
Votes: 12

2. Prayer
Score: 64
Votes: 12

3. Singing
Score: 62
Votes: 12

4. Fellowship
Score: 48
Votes: 11

5. Preaching
Score: 31
Votes: 11

6. Giving
Score: 30
Votes: 11

7. Other
Score: 19
Votes: 5

This ain't New York City.  Earlier this year, we were blessed when Dave and Donna Strong showed us some beautiful sites in Arizona.  Here is an example of some early high-rise dwellers.

If you are not completely bored with my photos, check out these photo albums:

Washington D.C.

Sedona, Arizona

U.S.S. Ronald Reagan

San Francisco

Acappella Company

Motorcycles

Favorite Photos

It's also easy to view them as slide shows.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

So many, many things to be thankful for.  Including old friends.  Not that George Pendergrass is old, mind you, but I heard from him this week.  Here's what he is working on now (with fellow former Acappella vocalist, Barry Wilson.)

Things In Common

How can it be that, instead of leading the way toward righteousness (when the church is compared to school, work place, government and organizations), Sunday morning is still the most segregated hour in America?

We planned some variety into our annual ThankSinging at Madison.  Some of the songs were led by three leaders: Jonas Weathers, Steve Smith and me.

Someone asked, "Where do you find the book, chapter and verse for three song leaders?"  One of our sweet, elderly sisters replied, "The same place you find it for one."

Our annual “ThankSinging” was an electrifying experience of celebration in song.  With Thanksgiving this week, it's such an appropriate time to join the  song of thankfulness.  Our upbeat music should always ring of victory!  Check out Gary Kirkendall’s post today about worship attitudes.

 

 

Photo by Todd Hibbs

 

Madison has always been known for great congregational singing.  Let’s hope their current worship minister continues that tradition.    We began with a song from our first through fourth graders and concluded with “Days Of Elijah.”

The Assembly

 

This week’s question is a tough one.  Forgive the simplistic approach, but please bear with us as we go through this thought-provoking exercise together.  If you were asked to rate the most important elements in a worship assembly, how would you rank them?  Place the most important at number one, and the second one next, etc.

 

Preaching

Giving

Singing

Fellowship

Other?

Prayer

Communion

 

Additional thoughts - After you have assembled your list, comment on how your assemblies reflect or differ from your priority list.

Well, folks, this week's poll was statistically pretty straight-forward.  How many prefer standing praise teams, and how many prefer seated praise teams?

There were 25 votes total.
Standing: 18 votes, or 72%
Seated: 7 votes, or 28%

-JP

Name that Tune.  For extra points, name the Artist.

What song went to #1 on adult Top 40 in the year 2002, included these words:

"I don't have diddly squat"

If you're keeping up with the blog, today you will find the final post of what turned out to be a "series" from our brief Washington D.C. trip last week.  The Pentagon is not open to the public, yet we were greatly blessed that Jim Shoenhard gave us a personalized tour, including the place that was struck by the 9-11 hijacked aircraft.  It was an errie feeling to stand in the exact spot (though it has been rebuilt) where this tragedy took place.  22,000 people work at the Pentagon that was first constructed during World War Two.  Unfortunately, cameras were not allowed inside.

Here's a view of the Pentagon from the new Air Force Memorial.  Notice the Capitol Building and Jefferson Memorial also.

This Memorial reminds me of the St. Louis Arch.

A great visit.  Great fellowship.

I previously shared that San Francisco is my favorite city to visit.  Washington is in the top contenders of my other favorite places.  What is your favorite city to visit and why?

Washington D.C. is so beautiful at night time.  I'm learning more and more about photography and enjoyed taking these shots.

I have been to Washington many times, but it is special every time we come.  A family trip to Washington is highly recommended.  There is so much to do and see, providing so many educational opportunities.  Compared to the dollars I have spent at Disney World, the nation's Capitol proves to be a very affordable family vacation.  There is so much more than you can actually see in one visit and new features are added all the time.  With so many new memorials added, which one would you really like to see?  This is the first time I've gotten to see the World War Two Monument.

I enjoy trying to frame different monuments in the same picture.  As you can see above, The Washington Monument is viewed from the entrance to the World War Two Memorial.  Also, notice the Lincoln Memorial peaking through the pillars of the World War Two Monument.

Water is important to the ambiance in the Memorial District.

The Memorial Bridge.

Notice the Capitol Building from these different vantage points.  The bottom view is from the Lincoln Memorial, which is making news this week for the new Martin Luther King Memorial.

Perhaps the greatest American President of all time was Abraham Lincoln.  Who do you think was the greatest President of all time?

If you are in the Nashville area this Sunday, join us at Madison at 6:00 P.M. for our annual ThankSinging to enjoy some spine-tingling congegational singing.

George Washington was more than an outstanding man.  Although we have visited Washington D.C. a number of times, this was our first visit to Washington's home, Mount Vernon.

Sharon L and our friend Mike Tune

Anyone who studies the life of this founding father will be fascinated by his vision, integrity, hard work and entrepreneurial spirit.

What a view!  The front yard overlooks the Potomac River.

Just days ago, the new educational addition to Mount Vernon was opened which features interactive exhibits about his life.

Have you been to Washington D.C.?  Ten years ago we visited the FBI building and took the tour that has since been discontinued.  Ford's Theatre was an interesting and sad visit.  If you get a chance, go see how our paper money is printed.  Also, the Smithsonian Museum provides more opportunities than anyone can reasonably fit into their vacation time.  What is your favorite memory of our nation's Capitol?

What great singing echoed the halls of the Falls Church building this weekend!  The congregational harmony, was stunning with over 28 congregations represented from around the Washington, D.C. area.

Hymnologist, Dr. Jerry Rushford brought fresh life to well-known hymns as he revealed the backgrounds of these treasures in his superlative, story-telling style. One day, we hope to join him on one of his hymns tours to Scotland and England.  What an interesting trip that would be!  (Maybe Madison will send us on our 10th anniversary with the church - it doesn't hurt to dream.)

Jerry has directed the Pepperdine Lectureships for 25 years.  Not only does he seek the best lecturers for this annual event, but assembles many singing groups and worship leaders for stirring praise and worship.  You preachers, teachers and leaders should consider Pepperdine as one of your renewal resource events.  (The scenery isn't too shabby either.) 

I'll have to admit that I have become so accustomed to using screens that it was unusual to be in a setting where the song numbers are normally announced before each song.  We used projection and a screen for the Mid-Atlantic Fellowship, but not on Sunday morning.  (Of course, I managed to slip in some medleys.)

      

This church spoiled us with their hospitality, including the fellowship of Brother Pigg (originally from West Tennessee) who is a retired commander of the Navy - yet continues to work as hard as ever with his current international organization and his service as an elder. (Next month the Piggs will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary!)

Sharon and I enjoyed sweet fellowship with longtime friends (30 years) Mike and Monica Tune who serve the Falls Church church.  Monica is still a great cook and also gave me some great pointers for my worship leading seminars!  It was delightful to visit with their son, Michael, who really loves living/working in the Washington D.C. area.  Mike served in the ministry at the East Wood Church in Paris, TN and has also worked with churches in Monroe, LA and Lebanon, TN.

Again, we were blessed with opportunities for amazing visits.  Mike led us on a tour of Mount Vernon and gave us a night tour of Washington, D.C. (pictures forthcoming.)  Jim Shoenhard, a member at Falls Church gave us a personalized tour of the Pentagon where he works with 22,000 others (and who was also present when the plane struck on 9-11.)

Mike is an outstanding teacher of the Word.  He offers a Bible Study through USA Today in the Thursday editions.  One of his gifts, far from "spoon-feeding" his congregation, he equips them with study skills in order to discover the richness of the Text themselves.  We need more Mike Tunes in the church to help Christians grow in their knowledge and dedication to the Lord.

This question assumes you have experienced a worship setting with a praise team.  Do you prefer that the team be seated or standing?

We'd like for everyone to weigh in on this survey with one word:

___ Seated   or   ___ Standing

After giving your one word answer, you are welcome to add coments if you choose, but primarily we are asking for one word (seated or standing) and we'll calculate the results on Saturday.  What's your preference?

There is a potential musical element and a visual element to praise team ministries.  Should the team stand up front with the worship leader or remain “seated” with the rest of the congregation?  (Some call this the “stealth team” approach.)  Let’s look at the options.

 

Pictured:  Jerome Williams, Acappella & Free Indeed at Garnett (Tulsa)

 

If a praise team stands up front, the responsibility to “model” worship greatly increases.  (This reminds me of the New Testament admonition that not many should be teachers.)  Of course, this is important for any worship leader to consider.  How many times have you seen a song leader singing a song and his facial expressions and emotions seem unrelated to the words he is singing?  How can an expressionless person convey the extreme joy that some of our songs exude?  Or worse yet, what about a scowling facial expression that blatantly contradicts a song of peace, joy and love?  I am saddened when I witness a very demonstrative person (animated and enthusiastic in other settings) transform into a completely unemotional leader.

 

This principle is important for all worship leaders, not just in considering praise teams.  Okay, to get the negative analogies over with, I admit that I have seen praise teams standing up front who really distracted my worship.  At the risk of sounding judgmental, I could easily see how they could be interpreted as appearing dead, unengaged, or worse, exuding a “prideful” attitude – a sort of “I’m a great singer and you’re not” impression.  We must prevent the praise team ministry from becoming an avenue for skilled musicians to display prima dona abilities in a prideful manner.

 

Of course, our emotions should be genuine and a natural expression of our respective personalities.  There is something very engaging in seeing people who are “caught up” in worship, displaying the wide range of joy and jubilation, gratitude, peace, reverence, brokenness and humility.  When the team models heart-felt worship, the atmosphere becomes conducive to truly experiencing God.  There is nothing like the assemblies where God is honored with everything we have to offer, in contrast to a “check-list” mentality of going through stale motions in a feeble attempt to seek God’s approval.

 

I believe the Zoe Singers set the standard for praise team excellence.  No doubt, they are highly skilled musicians with a stellar musical blend who take their craft seriously (doesn’t God deserve our best?)  But, when they stand in front of a group to lead worship, it is obvious they are serious about leading people into the throne room of our Creator as they pour their talents and individual personalities into the worship – thus providing an ideal atmosphere for everyone to make the worship journey together.

 

Another consideration is the women’s issue.  Are women usurping authority over the worship leader when they stand with him?  If women are to remain silent in the assembly, what gives them the right to sing in the first place?  Are the sopranos and altos leading the other women or leading the entire church?  These and other questions are prayerfully discussed every day in light of the Holy Scriptures.  Some congregations are more comfortable with the “seated” model.

 

At Madison, we enjoy the “musical” benefits of the praise team but not necessarily the “visual.”  The powerful influence of the praise team enhances our worship every week.  Standing praise teams? I’ve seen the standing team modeled poorly and also I've seen them handled very effectively.  (I can say the same for “seated teams.")  There is nothing like being drawn into worship through the encouragement of others who are obviously “poured out” in worship.  I’d be curious to see what percentage of churches using praise teams choose the standing versus seated model and why.

 

Every Sunday, I post a new worship survey.  Some polls inspire lengthy discussions (nothing to calculate per se), as was the case with last Sunday’s survey.  Tomorrow’s survey deals with this topic and will allow for a one word reply.  We’ll ask Jonathan to post the results on Saturday.  Thanks for participating.

Radiance Bible Studies    Lesson Three 

 

“THE FIFTH DIMENSION”

 

Song Lyrics

ALL MEN WILL KNOW

Words & Music by Keith Lancaster

©2005 Anthony K. Music ASCAP

I have lived among you here on earth

I have shown you love

I have shown your worth

Now it's nearly over you will find

That the Spirit will remind you

Of all the things I had in mind

Now I want you to remember

All men will know

All men will find

All men will see

That you are Mine

All men will know

All men will find

All men will see

That you are Mine

Now the time is coming I must go

But the Comforter will guide you

In the things you need to know

No it won't be easy you will see

They will hate you and despise you

All the same they did to Me

Now I want you to remember

Chorus

Very soon His own disciples found

The testing quickly came around

To share their faith with boldness, without fear

Now today we face an equal test

Divinely called to do our best

To share with the world -- What will they hear?

Chorus

 

Scripture Source:

Read John Chapters 13, 14, 15, 16

In the passage under consideration, Jesus addressed his disciples as He prepared to go back to the Father. “My children, I will be with you only a little longer” (13:33.) The disciples would be left on the earth to carry on the work for which they had been trained:

“Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later” (13:36.) These men and all the others that touched by the life and work of Jesus would remain in the world to serve His purposes.

 

PART ONE: SERVING GOD IN THE WORLD OF FOUR DIMENSIONS

1. Jesus called the disciples to serve in the world of four dimensions:

height, length, width-- and the fourth dimension of time.

Despite the passage of years, these are the same four dimensions in which we all live today.

 

2. But Jesus knew that it would take special, non-natural help for these servants to function effectively, so He promised the coming Holy Spirit, the other Counselor that He promised would be with them “forever” (14:15.) He lovingly promised, “I will not leave you as orphans” (14:18.)

 

3. The Holy Spirit would come to them and add another dimension to their world and to their work; a dimension not defined by, nor confined by, height, width, length nor even time. “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (14:26.)

 

4. The work of the Spirit takes place within, and using, a FIFTH DIMENSION! This is the eternal dimension, without which the apostles cannot complete their work, and without which the church cannot survive.

 

5. Unlike dimensions of substance and of time, this FIFTH DIMENSION cannot be quantized—that is, it cannot be gauged nor calculated. Nor is it subject to formalization in mathematical terms. It is eternal and therefore not measurable. Eternity is, by definition, not quantifiable in human terms; and this fifth dimension partakes of eternity itself, from whence it comes.

 

6. Because of the presence of the Holy Spirit, the church of the apostles’ time –and the church of today -- live in an environment or context consisting of five dimensions. Four of these of these are temporal; that is, they have to do with earth and time.

 

7. But the Fifth Dimension is unique. It is invisible and eternal. Even more than that, it is determinant. It has the ability to affect and change any one – or all—of the other four dimensions. Thus ours is a universe of dimensional hierarchy: The fifth dimension is at the apex of the hierarchy and the four temporal dimensions are at the bottom.

 

8. This Fifth Dimension doesn’t just affect the other four dimensions, it is actually

causal. This ability of the eternal to cause results here on earth is demonstrated in the miracles of Jesus. He said: “Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves” (13:11.)

 

9. According to Jesus, this Fifth Dimension will be the cause of the apostles’ ministry, the basis for the church, and the explanation for Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. It’s true that resurrections occur in the world of the four dimensions – but those dimensions can’t explain a resurrection! Only the Fifth Dimension does this.

 

10. Jesus warned the apostles that the world is highly resistant to the Fifth Dimension. Unbelievers will try to explain it away or dismiss it altogether. When that won’t work, they’ll turn to hate, persecution, and even murder. The apostles, Jesus said, should expect this kind of reaction (15:18-25 and especially 16:1-4.)

 

11. Furthermore, people who are mentally locked up in the four-dimension world will have a distorted view of the Fifth Dimension (14:15-17.)

 

PART TWO: THE CREATION OF resonance

resonance occurs when two entities vibrate at the same frequency. For instance, when someone blows on a pitch pipe or strikes a tuning fork to begin an a cappella song, the corresponding replication of that sound by vocal chords is a type of created resonance. This concept of resonance helps us demonstrate the interactions between the dimensions. We begin to understand it first of all by seeing the role of the Holy Spirit:

 

The Holy Spirit links the Fifth Dimension to >The world of the Four Dimensions

 

Such a linkage creates a resonance between the Fifth Dimension and earthly things. For instance, the action of the eternal God performing miracles caused people and events to resound in response to His power. However, it’s equally true that an inferior resonance is created between unaided human intelligence and the world of the four dimensions:

 

Human intelligence -----resounds with --------------the four earthly dimensions

 

In contrast, the Fifth Dimension does not resonate with the four earthly dimensions unless they are linked by the force and power of God. Thus these results:

 

The Fifth Dimension ---------- resounds with ---------------Holy Spirit

The Fifth Dimension ----------- resounds with ---------------the Word of God

The Fifth Dimension ------------- resounds with ------------------ the believer

 

All of the above lines of resonance pull the Lord and a believer together

 

Love—the kind of love that Jesus talked about in the passage we’re studying-- is a manifestation of resonance between the Word of God and the believer: . . .

 

For the rest of this Bible Study, go to Acappella's web site to additional resources: Bible Studies All Men Will Know

 

We are grateful for brilliance of Mike Strawn and Latayne Scott.

Also see Representational Resources.