Readers of my blog learn about my heroes and Lee Milam is on that short list.Lee is a talented brother who always uses his talents for God’s glory.Whether in the studio singing back-up vocals for Olivia Newton John or teaching High School Music and Bible, Lee has given his all to the task at hand.Lee is a lot of fun to be around and has a sense of humor that is more warped than mine.
A graduate of Lipscomb who majored in music and communications, Lee served as a Chorus Director before becoming the Youth and Family minister and finally the Worship & Family Minister for the MayfairChurch in Huntsville, Alabama.He assists Baja Missions and serves on the board of directors of The City of Children.One of the reasons I admire Lee is for his persevering with the same congregation for twenty six years!In an age when ministers often leave their local ministries before two years of service, it is rare to witness servants committed for the long term as Lee and his family have managed.As I begin my ninth year at Madison, I realize through first-hand experience that long term dedication is a challenge.
No doubt, Lee’s whole-hearted commitment has contributed to Mayfair’s exemplary growth.This church is immersed in the Lord’s mission.Their facility is so impressive that some have dubbed it “Six Flags Over Jesus;” but anyone who closely examines Mayfair will realize its unparalleled contribution to kingdom business.
Having led worship for several events there, I am very fond of their walk-in refrigerator.Being known to perspire profusely while leading singing, it is always a treat for me to stand in that cool room in preparation for worship.
Lee, thanks for all you are and all you do.Also, congratulations on receiving your AARP card!
Keith asked me to post the results directly, instead of sending them to him first, because he's out of town. So without any other editorial, let me just say how surprised I was by sheer variety of songs listed!
Here's how this will work today. The list is absolutely huge (59 songs!). So instead of posting all the statistics for each song, I will first give you the top 5 by score, then post the full list showing how many times each song was voted for. Enjoy! -JP
Top 5 favorite traditional worship songs (and their weighted score): 1. It Is Well With My Soul (27) 2. O Sacred Head Now Wounded (20) 3. Our God, He Is Alive (7) 4. Peace, Perfect Peace (6) And 5th place is a 3-way tie. 5. All Hail The Power Of Jesus' Name (5) 5. Amazing Grace (5) 5. Holy, Holy, Holy (5)
List of all songs, in order of number of times voted for: 11 votes: It Is Well With My Soul
9 votes: O Sacred Head Now Wounded
3 votes: All Hail The Power Of Jesus' Name Holy, Holy, Holy Our God, He Is Alive
2 votes: Amazing Grace Be Still, My Soul Be Thou My Vision Christ, We Do All Adore Thee Dear Lord And Savior Of Mankind Fairest Lord Jesus Peace, Perfect Peace Sing And Be Happy
1 vote: A Wonderful Savior Abide With Me All Creatures Of Our God And King At Even When The Sun Was Set Be With Me, Lord Blessed Assurance Count Your Many Blessings Doxology Faafetai I le Atua Farther Along Follow Me Hallelujah, We Shall Rise Happy Am I He Leadeth Me Home Of The Soul I Believe In A Hill Called Mount Calvary I Will Meet You In The Morning I'll Fly Away Jesus Paid It All Just A Closer Walk With Thee Just A Little Talk With Jesus Let The Lower Lights Be Burning Let There Be Peace Living By Faith Looking For A City Mansion Over The Hilltop Oh, Praise The Lord On And On We Walk Together On Zion's Glorious Summit Paradise Valley Purer In Heart Standing On The Promises Sweet Hour Of Prayer Sweet, Sweet Spirit Teach Me, Lord, To Wait Ten Thousand Angels The Love Of God There Is A Fountain Filled With Blood There Is A Redeemer There's A Fountain Free There's Not A Friend Like The Lowly Jesus When I Survey The Wondrous Cross When This Passing World Is Done When We All Get To Heaven Where Could I Go But To The Lord Where No One Stands Alone
Variety is something we try to plan into our weekly worship assemblies.However, I believe it is important for our congregational singing to have consistency.The fact is, most churches use multiple song leaders with each leader adopting different arrangements, keys, tempos, styles and/or song structures.This hodge-podge approach undoubtedly brings confusion.When I travel (as I’m doing this weekend) and arrange for worship leaders to fill my normal assignments, I don’t have to worry about consistency problems with leaders like Mark Spears and Kevin Dunnebacke.
Kevin Dunnebacke
What can your congregation do to ensure consistency?
Build unity among the worship leading team. After all, this is not about competition.
Reach a consensus in choosing arrangements.This can be a daunting task when evaluating five possible arrangements for a given song, especially in light of the diverse preferences of your congregation.
Standardize your leading signals.If you use signals, every leader should use the same ones so the congregation doesn’t have to learn multiple styles.
Seek what is best for the congregation.Avoid making it all about your individual tastes.
Of course, every leader has a unique style and personality. That is good.I’m simply suggesting we make the singing and worship as natural and meaningful as possible by providing consistency in our leadership.
A few weeks ago, I was invited to lead worship for a Homecoming in Jasper, Alabama. They arranged lodging at a Holiday Inn Express for Sharon and me and our praise team. The thriving church was very friendly and we found those Alabama ladies sure can cook!
When he introduced me, Craig Brown said, "Keith knows absolutely NOTHING about singing and worship leading. But, he did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night!"
(Apologies to our non-U.S. readers, since this is a joke based upon one of our humorous television commercials.)
This week, Sharon, Allison and a complete praise team are traveling with me to San Diego for a Praise & Harmony Seminar. I am so excited about these seminars because of the potential for both worship renewal and a resurgence in vocal and musical training. The key to these events is the amount of preparation on the part of all who attend to really learn these songs and work on singing four-part harmony, many for the very first time!
This weekend's event will be held at El Cajon Blvd Church of Christ and will be a wonderful time of singing and praise. It's a small world - the minister at this church, George Little, was working for the NorthWest Church in Sydney, Australia when I conducted a praise and worship seminar in the "land down under."
TuneTown Show Chorus outdid themselves at their eighth annual "Encore" concert Saturday Night. This championship group hosted a spectacular concert which included special guests, Metropolis (from California) and an outstanding "clean" comedian, Rik Roberts. They were hurting in the emcee department, but I really had a blast singing "Shut De Do" with these outstanding singers. In October of 2007 they will be competing in the International Championship competition in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. I will be very shocked if they don't win first place. Their Master Director, Sherry Lewis has demonstrated superior skills in bringing out the best in this chorus.
For those of you who follow my blog, you realize that I'm on a personal mission to preserve the beautiful art of four-part harmony singing. I have discovered some new friends who have dedicated themselves to this very same purpose. Ladies, you would enjoy finding a local chapter of Sweet Adelines International to join in the singing and fun, while men can sing with the Barbershop Harmony Society. The Acappella Company officially moved our headquarters to Nashville and I hear that the Barbershop Society is moving their headquarters to Music City soon.
Thanks again to Jonathan Paden for computing the results of our survey:
1. Personal Preference Average: 38.833% Traditional61.167% Contemporary Median (mid-point): 37.5% Traditional, 62.5% Contemporary Mode (most popular): 30% Traditional, 70% Contemporary Data Points (or samples): 30
2. What my home church does Average:49.714% Traditional,50.286% Contemporary Median: 40% Traditional, 60% Contemporary Mode: 40% Traditional, 60% Contemporary Data Points: 28
3. What I think my home church should do Average:45.28% Traditional, 54.72% Contemporary Median: 50% Traditional, 50% Contemporary Mode: 50% Traditional, 50% Contemporary Data Points: 25
I like to document my thoughts before hearing your great comments to these weekly worship polls.As we pondered preferences, I chose 80% contemporary and 20% traditional.Contemporary simply means “of this age.”In some circles, “contemporary” has become a bad word, when it simply means to be “up-to-date.” I personally don’t want to go back to the “horse and buggy days” nor do I want to live without in-door plumbing and telephones.So Wyane, my percentage preferences happened to be the same as yours.
Our situation at Madison offers people the choice of a more traditional Sunday morning “early” service or a more contemporary Sunday morning “late” service.This has been our elders' strategy to help meet the needs of multiple generations.The key in this process is ensuring that the entire church respects all generations and cherishes unity in the midst of diversity (yes, Diane, God is a creator of variety.)
One of our elders, Buck Dozier, reminds me that when people leave our assemblies and get into their cars to drive home, every one of the many different radio stations are being dialed up because of the eclectic tastes of our diverse membership.That humbles me as I plan worship for this varied collection of preferences.Lee Milam said, “Leading four generations of worshippers into the presence of God in one assembly can be overwhelming at times, but we find great value in the middle.”
We worship God through our own personal “heart” language -- and that varies with each unique individual.Imagine attempting to require a Chinese national to worship God in Portuguese, when the Chinese Christian doesn’t know that language.
I’m also aware of how certain songs evoke strong emotions and memories of previous experiences in our lives.For some, the “older” songs are worn out and antiquated.For others, they are fresh and brand new.Older Christians are sometimes reconnected to their life-long journey in the faith through music.Drew pointed out that it is tragic when a church chooses to completely ignore a complete generation of their membership.
And yes, I was very surprised by how many young people prefer the older songs nowadays.Golfman said, “I would surmise that it is some of our younger song leaders (25-30 yrs) who prefer to lead traditional hymns. Our older members seem to prefer the more contemporary hymns.”Wyane said that background and conditioning may account for the number of college students who prefer traditional over contemporary.Cathy pointed out that the younger generation cherishes the identity found from adopting traditions.
Yes, Brian, we should remember that all old songs were “new” at one point.My Canadian friend, Robert noted that it would have been very interesting to tie age ranges with the worship poll answers, further clarifying the results.
As Clarissa and Scott said, we should honor our heritage and honor our older people.At the same time, the seasoned believers should honor the younger Christians (“honor one another above yourselves”), and all of us should be sensitive to seekers -- as long as it does not dilute our own worship experience (we should probably discuss this topic later.)Outreach was mentioned by several of you and I realize that some churches are “watering down” their worship as a method of outreach, consequently leaving disciples hungry.
Les said that the songs he grew up with do not work for him now, which is interesting because others prefer only the songs they grew up with.Todd said that he likes worshipping with traditional but listening to contemporary.Kris stated that growing up with the traditional songs in Australia was discouraging and new life was found in the brand new songs (and how surprisingly the older people now love the new songs.)
Jon and Lee, I love it when worship leaders breathe new life into ancient songs through enthusiasm, (as Andrew said to “rework” arrangements) and treat them with fresh respect. Joe, I love Scripture songs too! (It becomes more difficult for mankind to mess up God’s message if they are direct quotes from the Word.)I agree with Scott and Mike that “timelessness” is a quality that we should strive for in choosing songs.But Mike, if worship can reflect an individual’s heart language, what if I’m a cheesy person?
Hal, Bret, Gary and Shane made excellent points how worship should not be planned in a cookie-cutter fashion, but selections made based upon the appropriate message/need, without regard to whether the song is old or new.Continuity is important in planning worship, James pointed out. Wes is wise in planning medleys mixing the old and new together.As Kristen shared, setting the tone is important, since the same song can sound completely different in different settings (good or bad).
Many of you commented on the problems in deciding what is “new”, realizing that early 1970’s songs are decades old now.Some mentioned 1995 and after as being new.I guess it’s all a matter of perspective.I agree that there are some songs we (people in my circumstances) shouldn’t try to sing that meant a lot to the original culture who wrote and sang those songs.For example, it is improper for me to sing “hardly a comfort can afford,” when my life is filled with comforts.
Again, I am being blessed by the rich ideas shared in these comments.There is so much to learn and we only have so much time on this earth.Jeff pointed out that I’m in the “dark ages”, but hey, I’m trying to be a life-long learner! But thanks, Jeff, for reminding us that we should be “checking our compasses and ensuring that we are following The Way, The Truth and The Life.”
In June, I enjoyed the opportunity to teach a class on worship at the North American Christian Convention in Louisville. Our class was taught by three instructors from different backgrounds, including Barbie Jones and Ken E. Read. Ken serves as Professor of Music and Worship at Cincinnati Bible College and Seminary.
Although the Independent Christian Churches have more mega-churches than any other religious group, Ken pointed out Biblical teachings that seem to be opposite of some super-church concepts. I was encouraged by my brief fellowship time with him.
There are so many books on the theory of worship, written from a philosophical view point. In Created to Worship, Ken masterfully clarifies worship in the most practical ways imaginable! The book begins by providing tools for assessing our churches to help us clearly understand our current situations. The book moves naturally to assist in discovering where we want to be. The Scriptures are examined for guidance in determining our worship priorities.
After a solid foundation of thought-provoking study, the following section focuses on practical ways to improve our worship, including "how to's". Current and future worship is considered, as well as becoming a worship leader.
I believe that anyone who is involved in a church leadership capacity should read this book. In fact, this book would make an IDEAL guide for study groups and for all who are serious about the eternal journey of worship for which we were created.
The apostle Paul said, "I am the chief of sinners." I'll have to admit, I am the "least of the losers." Six weeks ago, several of the Madison team set out to lose 20 pounds in six weeks. The final results are in and I failed to reach the goal of 20 pounds. Coming in at number one is Todd Hibbs, who lost a whopping 27 pounds. Keith Hall lost 26 pounds while Tim Coats weighed in with a loss of 22 pounds. Our pulpit minister, Phil Barnes managed to shed 21 pounds. These guys are the biggest losers.
I only lost 12 pounds while Mark Carver lost 10. Hey, I thought that 2 pounds a week was pretty significant! So, how did we celebrate our losing victory? We dined at Judge Roy Bean's Texas Barbecue in downtown Nashville. Don't worry. All of us are committed to continuing our losing streak. In addition to my weekly worship poll, we ought to conduct a national survey comparing Texas barbecue with the Tennessee style (pulled pork versus beef brisket). On second thought, that discussion might become too emotionally heated, don't you think? (I have a bunch of Texas friends who read this blog.)
I really got excited about blogging when I learned how to upload photos. Because of this new-found skill, a camera phone has become a "necessity." (I like gadgets and technology, as long as it doesn't break.) While in Abilene, I just may have found my next hair style.
Do you think the elders would allow me to adopt this style for my hair?
We had breakfast with Wade Hodges , the pulpit minister for the Garnett Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I asked him about the decline in attendance of so many of the long-running large events such as the great Tulsa Workshop (which he directs every other year) and he attributes it partially to the availability of sermons and resources on-line. He pointed out that the primary reason now to attend these "big" events would be for the fellowship and "reunion" aspect.
I see what he means, because we got to spend some time with George and Pam Pendergrass, who now serve as House Parents for the Hershey School in Hershey, PA.
George is excited about the re-establishment of ACAFEST in 2007 and the upcoming 25th Anniversary Acappella concert in Nashville. I haven't seen Barry Wilson, but know that he is here in Abilene too. Our current "sky-high" tenor of Acappella, Zac Wilson, flew to Abilene to sing on his brother Pete's praise team, as Pete is leading worship for this event as well. Guess who filled in leading worship for me Sunday Night when I was stuck at DFW airport? Steve Maxwell, who is now serving in full time church ministry in the Dallas area. Reunions are sweet!
is working on some very exciting projects with church plantings around the world. I pray that Acappella will be able to participate in some of these mission efforts. Darrell Bledsoe, full-time worship minister in Amarillo, Texas taught me hand signals for the different degrees of the scale. Watch out Madison Praise Teams! I have a new teaching tool to unleash.
Greg Straughn, the chairman of the music department for ACU has scheduled me to speak to the music majors this morning. Greg's brother, Matt is a great friend of Acappella Ministries who developed our new web site and is helping to serve in many different ways. Matt will also be joining some of the Madison praise team singers as we conduct a Praise & Harmony seminar in San Diego later this month.
Yesterday was a hectic day. We made every effort to get to Abilene in time to lead worship for the kick off of the Abilene Christian University Lecturship, but it was not to be. We circled Dallas for what seemed like a couple of hours. Once on the ground, they repeatedly postponed the projected departure times for Abilene. At 7:00 P.M., I was supposed to be leading worship in Moody Coliseum; at 11:00 P.M. we finally arrived in this Texas town.
Tonight was a different story. The leadership of the Lectureship graciously re-arranged the schedule so I would be able to lead worship tonight for almost 4,000 people. What a joy. What an experience to worship with such a large group. God is good!
In your opinion, what is the best mix of older songs versus contemporary songs in our worship?Please give your personal preferences in percentages based upon 100%.I know of traditional churches/services who sing 100% hymns.There are many churches who now utilize newer songs 100% of the time.Some congregations choose to go right down the middle with “blended” services and plan 50% contemporary songs and 50% hymns.
We realize that worship is about pleasing God, but the purpose of this poll is to determine your opinion.Begin your comment to this post with answers to the three below, then, add any comments after that.
1.My personal preference would be:
___% of traditional ___% of contemporary
2.The mix that best describes my home church would be:
___% of traditional ___% of contemporary
3.Given the composition of my church, I think it should be:
___% of traditional___% of contemporary
Please participate as it will be interesting to see the variety of thoughts and styles and perhaps to discuss and understand the reasoning behind these choices.
I didn't post my list before first hearing what your thoughts were. My personal top two choices were: 1. Poor Worship Leading, and 2. Lack of Enthusiasm. After I had jotted down my top five, I kept thinking there needed to be one for particpation levels being less than 100%. My overall thinking was this -- if the worship leader is prepared spiritually, vocally, musically and is a good director; and, if he has adequately prepared in every way, the worship and singing can be the best experience possible. The idea is to lead by example; if he has enthusiasm, most likely it will be contagious. Similarly, if he has a heart that is hungering for God, hopefully, others will be drawn into God's presence as well. There were so many wonderful comments and my inclination is to say something about all the thought-provoking ideas that were shared - but I thought this post might become too long. Maybe we can discuss the results here and see what the surprises are.
A special thanks to Jonathan Paden, who computed the results for us. Thanks Jonathan!
Sometimes you long for fellowship with those kindred spirits who are immersed in the same kind of full-time ministry as you. Camaraderie is instantaneous and the fellowship is enriching. Such is the case with Randy Gill, Ken Young, Brandon Scott Thomas and me. Obviously, all of us really enjoyed the sweet fellowship at lunch today.
Ken Young has been full time in worship ministry for sixteen years! The last three years have found him leading the dynamic ministry at the Fourth Avenue Church in Franklin. He has written songs like "Thomas Song," "Faithful Love" and continues to lead Hallal Music.
Randy Gill has spent the last nine years of full-time ministry at the Woodmont Hills Church.
Prior to his worship ministry he spent twenty years as a college professor. He has written many songs, including "At The Name Of Jesus," "Deep Calls To Deep" and "Shout Hallelujah."
Brandon Scott Thomas has been in full time worship ministry at the Otter Creek Church for eleven years.
In addition to his work at Zoe, Brandon has produced a host of albums, including work with Max Lucado and his recent children's album, Playground.
I've heard some funny wedding stories. It's true that some people choose very unusual locations for their special event. I have officiated a number of weddings and have sung for countless others, but none as unique as this one.
Since the bride and groom were both employed by Krystal Hamburgers, they decided to wed in the middle of Krystal's Restaurant. You should have seen the expressions of the customers during the normal operating hours! Kimberly, Allison and I sang for this Destin, Florida wedding. Anthony was extremely excited when it was time for food and they opened up the complete menu to all the guests.
I have heard of funny things happening at weddings. What examples have you witnessed? Share it with us.
I have received a lot of e-mails from people who are having trouble signing up for my blog.After checking with technical support and going through the process again myself, maybe this step by step guide will help:
Click the “Create Reader Account” on the right column of the blog.
On the next page, look for and click the underlined words create one.
This will take you to the User Signup page.Fill out all the information, including your time zone (the URL line is optional) and click Signup.
You will receive an e-mail, prompting you to click the blue link if you want to confirm the Signup.
After you click that link, you will receive an e-mail telling you that you have successfully created a blog reader account.Finally, you have enough information to participate by returning to my particular blog and remembering your username and password.
You will be invited to fill out a complete profile and prepare for your own blog, but that is not necessary.Don’t try to sign into my blog from the admin login page.
This is important.Now return to the Main Page of my blog, fill in your user name and password then click login and you will be welcomed by your username.Congratulations!
Finally, you have the option to click subscribe and you’ll be ushered to the Subscription Options page.At that page, you can easily choose the option of being notified by e-mail when new articles and/or comments are posted.You can choose all categories or any combination of categories.Don’t forget to click Save Changes.Now you are all set.
Thanks for taking the time to do this.Please regularly share your comments.
The old saying goes that you are only as good as you rehearse. That's why it's important to rehearse with a well thought-out plan and to give your best during rehearsal, resisting the tendency to "coast." Whether you are a professional singing group or a local praise team, rehearsals can propel you on the pathway to excellence.
Robert King is the "king" of rehearsals. He lives for the rehearsal - emphasizing its importance to the point where the actual performance is secondary. We were honored when Robert came to Madison to clinic our praise teams. The sessions were amazing, helpful and informative. If you are serious about your singing group or praise team ministry, I highly recommend that you bring in a skilled coach to improve your skills. Robert is a miracle worker.
Former Acappella bass, Tim Storms has set a world record. In 2000, Tim set a Guinness World Record for the lowest note produced by a human by vibrating his vocal chords down to 8 Hz, which is almost two octaves below the piano. He also set a Guinness World Record for the widest range for a male. His records have been published in the recent hardbound release of the Guinness World Records 2006.
Danice Sweet has the unique honor of being the only female back-up singer to ever be chosen to tour with Acappella.That girl can “SANG!”Her soulful talent is electrifying and a blessing to everyone who hears her sing with the group, Revival.Danice’s talented husband, Chet, also served Acappella Ministries as audio engineer and bus driver.
While on tour, it was normal to fall into routines.When stopping to fuel the bus, there was usually plenty of time to purchase snacks, visit the restroom or grab something to eat.In order to make the best use of time, people were notified of the upcoming stop in order to wake up (if napping) and stay on schedule.
On one particular trip to Texas, Danice was feeling ill - so she decided to stay in her bunk and not exit the bus when everyone else did.Upon re-boarding the bus, no one checked to see if she was still in her bunk, assuming she was still sleeping; however, unnoticed by the others, she had decided to go inside the food/fuel station.The bus pulled out and proceeded down the Texas interstate . . . far down the interstate . . . without Danice.I don’t recall how far the entourage traveled , but it was a very long distance before they realized she was not with them.
At that point, the tour was unable to turn around without missing the concert that evening.The local sheriff patrol escorted her to the county line, where she was escorted by another helpful servant to the next county, and so on.Eventually, after several shuttle hours and unique experiences, Danice was reunited with the rest of the gang.I wonder how the conversation went with her husband-bus driver later that night?
I’d like to know what you think are the greatest obstacles to good singing in most churches.Choose 5 from the list below (or add some of your own) and list them, numbering 1 through 5 - number 1 being the greatest obstacle.These are simply our opinions, but an interesting discussion may help us understand the problems and seek solutions.
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(I have a bunch of Texas friends who read this blog.)
Who will join us in becoming losers?
George is excited about the re-establishment of ACAFEST in 2007 and the upcoming 25th Anniversary Acappella concert in Nashville. I haven't seen Barry Wilson, but know that he is here in Abilene too. Our current "sky-high" tenor of Acappella, Zac Wilson, flew to Abilene to sing on his brother Pete's praise team, as Pete is leading worship for this event as well. Guess who filled in leading worship for me Sunday Night when I was stuck at DFW airport? Steve Maxwell, who is now serving in full time church ministry in the Dallas area. Reunions are sweet!
