Tomorrow, we'll be posting pictures of the MCA Awards program.

Do you sing bass, tenor, alto or soprano?  What percentage of your congregation sings in parts?  If you learned to sing a part, how did you learn?  Does your church offer ways for people to learn to sing?

We enjoyed an excellent concert on Saturday by the Vocal Union.



They even let me make a guest appearance.
I plan on loading a gallery of Vocal Union pics from that concert as I get time.

Photography has become a perfect hobby to combine with my grueling travel schedule.  Although I began with the primary purpose of "documenting" our visits and journeys (not unlike how we like to document birthdays, graduations, parties and special family events), I have been trying to increase my "artistic" skills as a photographer.  This blog is also a great outlet to discuss and share this subject.

Linda asked a question the other day about purchasing a nicer camera in order to photograph God's wonderful creation.  In a different post, Bill shared a great web site with us that shares some great photos and insights.  Here is a link to Ken Rockwell's message comparing a $150 camera to a $5,000 camera.

Are you like most people who use a camera every once in awhile to capture special moments?  Or, are you a serious hobbyist who is focused upon increasing your skills?

“A great man quotes bravely, and will not draw on his invention

when his memory serves him with a word so good.”

Allen and Anne could not be with us at Acafest in July for a very good reason - their daughter Rachel was married the same weekend.  Speaking of Rachel, she has never known her dad without a mustache.  I almost missed him at the airport because of his new look.

Meet Allen French.



I've been friends with Allen French for many years.  He's the worship minister for the Overland Park congregation and is one of the most spiritual men I know.  I call him a "Barnabas," because he is constantly encouraging me.  His heart for God is very obvious.  As I ponder my music background, I can understand how worship leaders can lean heavily toward an inordinate musical emphasis and miss the spiritual priority of what we do.  Allen's tender heart qualifies him to lead God's people in worship.

Allen's previous full-time worship minister role was with the Memorial Drive Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma.   You'll see him at the Zoe Conference most years (including later this year) as he strives to fill his cup to better prepare himself to serve others.  I'm proud that Allen has just completed his Masters degree through Pepperdine University.  I hope you get to meet Allen sometime - although you'll find someone who knows as many corny jokes as I do!

There's a lot of variety in our Praise & Harmony traveling ministry; not only the geography and diversity of regional cultures, but the size and personality of the congregations.  Overland Park is a rather large congregation with over 1,000 members.  It was a privilege to work with the talented singers who serve in both the early and late services.  At a recent Praise & Harmony professional recording, no church was more represented than Overland Park.





I don't have in my possession the other pictures that were taken for the weekend, but you can see some portraits that I took of smiling Overland Park members in my Portraits Gallery.

It was a treat to work with minister, Curt Sparks.  As in most of our Praise & Harmony weekends, the preacher chooses a message on worship, praise and celebration to weave into a theme with congregational readings, prayers and songs.  Curt served the Sycamore View Church in Memphis before moving to Overland Park.  We stopped by there three years ago when we were conducting a boot camp for a new configuration of Acappella.

As a photographer, I'm always looking for potential photos.  Sitting on the front row, I could not help but notice the way that Curt's hand gestures mimicked the silhouette on the screen representing praise, almost as if the screen was his shadow.  I grabbed several shots that you can catch at the Overland Park Gallery.



What a powerful message and an inspiring weekend of worship!  Check back at my galleries at  www.AcappellaPhotos.com as I plan on adding more photos from the weekend at Praise & Harmony Overland Park Gallery.  Also, I'll be adding some photos I took of the Vocal Union concert during our Overland Park weekend and some shots of our visit to the the very photogenic Plaza of Kansas City.  Allen and Anne really spoiled us with unsurpassed hospitality.

What's the funniest thing that you have witnessed happening in church services?

If you haven't visited my Favorite Photos Gallery lately, click the link and don't forget to leave a comment in my guest book.  You can also vote on your favorites by clicking the thumbs up and it will appear in the "most popular."  I appreciate hearing from you.

Having made the conversion in my laptop choice around Thanksgiving of 2006, I have found the "I'm a Mac" commercials quite humorous.  It seems that Microsoft is ready to fight back.  Check out this article about how the software giant is employing Jerry Seinfield and Bill Gates in a counter-commercial advertising campaign.

What about you?  Will you remain loyal to PC or have you made the transition?  Have I mentioned that macs are immune to viruses?  Which platform do you prefer?

Say what?  Drive-in worship?

To borrow the tone from an old "Where's the beef?" commercial -  let's ask, "Where's the community?  Where's the fellowship?"
Although this article presents a very unusual approach, it's not hard to conclude how their attitude is not that different from our people who regularly avoid community, participation, fellowship and accountability.

Check out this article,  A Georgia church tries drive-in worship.

What are we teaching and providing to help believers transition from being spectators (and detached "God-fearers") into fully-participating members of the Body?

"Stronger than an army is a quotation whose time has come."

I captured this shot yesterday in Valdosta of this famous house.

How well is your congregation utilizing technology to enhance worship?
What are your thoughts?

A return visit to the Central Avenue Church finds them growing and seeking excellence in worship.


We enjoyed a great turn out from worship leaders this afternoon and an inspiring session of four-part singing this evening.

I don't know how much relevance this information has upon deciding who will become the commander in chief of the United States, but here are their ten favorite songs:

Barack Obama's top 10:

1. Fugees - Ready Or Not
2. Marvin Gaye - What's Going On
3. Bruce Springsteen - I'm On Fire
4. The Rolling Stones - Gimme Shelter
5. Nina Simone - Sinnerman
6. Kanye West - Touch The Sky
7. Frank Sinatra - You'd Be So Easy To Love
8. Aretha Franklin - Think
9. U2 - City of Blinding Lights
10. will.i.am - Yes We Can

John McCain's top 10:

1. ABBA - Dancing Queen
2. Roy Orbison - Blue Bayou
3. ABBA - Take A Chance On Me
4. Merle Haggard - If We Make It Through December
5. Dooley Wilson - As Time Goes By
6. The Beach Boys - Good Vibrations
7. Louis Armstrong - What A Wonderful World
8. Frank Sinatra - I've Got You Under My Skin
9. Neil Diamond - Sweet Caroline
10. The Platters - Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

Abba made it twice on John McCain's list.
Where's the Acappella representation?

Picking my all-time favorite songs would be really difficult for me.  Can you name even your top THREE all-time favorite songs?

I received a newsletter from John Staiger, the minister for the Morning Side congregation in Auckland, New Zealand.  Here is an excerpt from his message:

"Keith Lancaster’s Singing Workshop/Worship. When receiving an Email from Keith to be with us, I put it to the church (and beyond) and they came back with a resounding ‘YES!’ It was a good day. The man can certainly sing. You can’t help but be impressed at his ability to bring the best out of the congregation. Since I don’t have space to go into the whole story, I will sum up by saying that we were completely satisfied with the workshop and worship service. We are a better church for the experience. Check him out if you haven't already."

We praise God for these positive reports as we make plans to minister to other churches around the world.  We are striving to provide practical training that allows churches to sustain the positive things they learn.  Thank you for your prayers for this ministry of singing and worship.

We enjoyed an evening of spirited singing at White House Sunday night, including some time with their song leaders afterwards.  Yet again, we were able to introduce shaped notes to some people who had never noticed the different shapes nor understood what they represent.

While in Texarkana, we were treated to a tour of this lovely theater, across the street from the Scott Joplin Museum.


The Perot Theater was originally called the Saenger Theater and has hosted a wide range of celebrities.  Cary Grant's final public performance was in this theater.  We saw Tim Conway's autograph on items backstage. 


The acoustics are wonderful in this venue, leading me to think that this would be a great recording site for a future Praise & Harmony album.  The decor is classy and the ambiance is very special.  There's a lot of interesting history in this place.