We had nine numbers submitted for this poll by seven people.  So here are the computed statistics.
-JP

How many channels do you regularly use in your assemblies?
Lowest: 5
Highest: 18
Middle number: 13
Most popular number: 13
Average: 12

Many times I am asked, "Of all the albums you've recorded, what Acappella album is your favorite?"  Most of the time, these kinds of questions are more difficult to answer than it would seem.  I believe Set Me Free is the one that comes to my mind most often.

Monday morning, around 7:30 A.M., look for Acappella on Nashville's local Fox Television Station.  They'll be singing and promoting ACAFEST and the 25th Anniversary concert.

How far would you drive to hear your favorite artist in concert?  I have friends who purchased tickets months in advance (sometimes as high as $250 per ticket) and have driven hundreds of miles.  How far would you go (or have you traveled) to hear your favorite artist?     ("Elvis has left the building.")

Next week, we will be enjoying a stellar line up of free concerts at ACAFEST.  Committed A cappella Chorus is among the many excellent groups that will be appearing.

I hope you are making plans to be a part of the evening of 7 - 7 - 7 (at 7 P.M.)  July 7, 2007 will mark twenty five years of Acappella touring the world, singing a cappella Gospel music.  No audio or video recordings of the occasion will be available, so you've got to be there.  The ticket prices are better when purchased in advance.

When was this photo taken?

"Often it takes dozens of years to become an overnight success."

How many channels do you regularly use in your assemblies?

So we had six answers to this tally-able poll.  Which worship presentation software are people using?
-JP

1. PowerPoint
Votes: 0

2. SongShow Plus
Votes: 0

3. Easy Worship
Votes: 2 (33%)

4. MediaShout
Votes: 4 (67%)

5. Other
Votes: 0

Remember: This is a non-smorking blog.

O, how our tastes change.  Can you remember the first time you were introduced to a kind of food you had never experienced before?  Many examples come to mind in my experience.

We discovered another beautiful state park in Kentucky.  Have you visited this area?

This will come as a shock to some of you, but after searching for many years, I finally found wisdom.

When visiting Nashville, I hope you get to see the replica of the Parthenon.

I enjoyed a wonderful Father's Day, although I really miss my Dad.

It was such a lovely day, leading worship in Knoxville.  The singing for the traditional service was outstanding, as a "seated" praise team of Farragut members supported the congregational singing.

For the very first time, all four of our children joined me up front as a "standing" worship team for the contemporary service.  What a blessing!  This service began with a baptism and ended with three more.  How exciting to witness God at work.

Which projection software do you prefer?

This week in Tulsa,  Oklahoma, officials unearthed an unusual time-capsule.  A 1957 Plymouth automobile was buried under the city's courthouse lawn fifty years ago to celebrate Oklahoma's 50 years of statehood.  With that time period being the dawn of the space age, I’ll bet many people believed that we’d be flying around today instead of sustaining the popularity and dependency upon automobiles.


Another unusual story about time passage has received a lot of attention.  According to press reports, nineteen years ago, a Polish railway worker, Jan Grzewski, was hit by a train and fell into a coma. After his doctors concluded nothing more could be done for him, Mr. Grzewski’s wife, Gertruda, cared for him at home, moving his body and feeding him by hand. “I would fly into a rage every time someone would say that people like him should be euthanized, so they don't suffer,” she told Gazeta. “I believed Janek (an affectionate nickname) would recover," AP reported.

Recently, he woke from what doctors called a “permanent vegetative state”. Can you imagine being asleep for nearly 20 years? Before his coma, in 1988, Poland was still communist.  When Grzewski woke, he found all the changes astonishing. He is quoted as saying that shops filled with food compared to communist rationing, and the excessive number of people speaking on cellphones in the street made his head spin.

Reading these interesting stories focusing on dramatic changes inspired  me to speculate about what other Rip Van Winkles would think about transitions that have occurred over similar periods of time.

If someone went to sleep while Ira North was preaching for the Madison Church of Christ and woke up today, what would they think about the changes in the expressiveness of worship?

This reminds me of the scene in "Back To The Future" of astonishment over the revelation that film actor, Ronald Reagan was to become the President of the United States.

Here’s another thought to consider.  I hear people saying how they want to be “exactly like the first century church.”  My guess is, when serving communion, the “early church” culture expected women to handle this menial task of service.  What exactly would they think if they woke up today and witnessed how churches do things today?

What changes and situations do you think would be most surprising to people from 20 years ago?  50 years ago?  2,000 years ago?

How many of you have sung in a choir?



Church?  High School?  College?

What did you learn from the experience?

What kind of job did the director do?

I know some of you can name that tune just by looking at the photograph.



Who was the only female back-up singer for Acappella?
(Extra credit: what's the name of the group she sings with, who will be appearing at ACAFEST this year?)

Who are these guys in the white shoes?

"He who throws dirt, always loses ground."

My son, Anthony and I have been hired by the Farragut Church of Christ in Knoxville, Tennessee to be in charge of worship.  Anthony and I are very excited about working with this very special church family.


This team effort makes a lot of sense in many ways.  First of all, with my Praise & Harmony workshops thriving around the country, I continue to need a "home base" church where I can make a significant difference in directing a worship ministry.  Secondly, I've been hoping for an opportunity to spend more time in training Anthony, who possesses so many God-given gifts in music and worship.  He will lead worship when I'm out of town and will help in providing consistency to the singing.  Also, this is an exciting opportunity because Farragut is a church that is not restrictive at all in encouraging contemporary worship.  The possibilities are limitless!  (I have often felt that many churches have squelched the singing talents and other gifts of their members by not allowing opportunities for people to use their gifts for God's glory and for the edification of the church.)

In the beginning, Durant (even more family involvement) is serving as the contemporary praise team, including additional special presentation songs to enhance the worship.  When Durant needs a substitute, some of the Acappella vocalists have been filling in for praise team duties.  Not a bad singing line up, eh?

The Farragut elders are godly men of vision.  God has assembled a very strong ministerial staff, including Daniel Harris, Paul Phelps and Phillip Brackney.  We are highly honored to join this team.

As we learned in the "Experiencing God" study, we would do well to find where God is working and join Him.  God is definitely working at Farragut!  When you are in East Tennessee or visiting the Smokies, come by and worship with us.  We offer a traditional service in addition to the contemporary worship.
_ _ _ _

Do you feel that churches have restricted the talents of members in the context of worship?
When is the last time you have been ecstatic about a church and its ministries?
How do you meet the needs of those who prefer traditional and those who prefer contemporary in the same congregation without limiting the potential of either style?
What can we do to stem the tide of young people leaving our churches?