Acappella Ministries is searching for an extremely gifted and spiritual lead vocalist with a tenor range.  Deadline is quickly approaching (next week).

How can anyone not be moved by the sacrifice of God Himself -- specifically, Jesus - the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world?  One of the most moving passages in Holy Writ offers these words: "By His wounds, we are healed."

On Sunday, Melissa, Kimberly and I presented this song to the congregation in Itu' Brazil.  Kimberly does a fabulous job with the solo sections.  Here are the lyrics to this Stuart Townsend song:


I was pleased by how the harmonies were locking up, until we came to the final words, "His wounds have paid my ransom."  For a person who is known for smiling when I sing (joyful songs), I could not hold back the tears when thinking of how my sins caused Jesus' agony. 

"And this I know with all my heart - His wounds have paid my ransom."

The Brazilian Acappella fans are unsurpassed!

The morning after our Saturday evening concert, we enjoyed worshiping with the church family at Itu', Brazil.  Our daughter, Melissa, is serving as the sound engineer for this entire tour.  Having engineered Acappella's two most recent albums, she is no stranger to mixing music.

In 1961, the USSR beat the USA into space, by how many days? 

With the younger generation, is the worship leader and quality of worship becoming as influential a factor in their choosing a church as the preacher?

Waiting in line for a special experience in Venice.

"More songs, less talk" sounds like a radio station slogan, emphasizing an effort to showcase more music.  This happens to be a phrase from Terry Rush's blog post about improving worship.  I agree, that this one principle can make a tremendous difference in the atmosphere of the assembly.

Does your song leader always start, stop, start, stop, start, stop, pausing in between every song?  Or, does he plan medleys of songs that flow seamlessly together through related keys or thematic / related topics?

How many stocks are followed in the Dow Jones Industrial Average?

What’s the difference between a song leader and worship leader?

What a treat to sing with Acappella CLASSIC this week!  All of us were participating in a private gathering of believers for a special week of renewal.

Starbucks is closing 600 stores. This is going to be very inconvenient for a lot of people.

They may actually have to walk across the street to the other Starbucks.

                                                                                               - Alex Kaseberg

Look at the crowds of this mid-day view of Venice.  It was hard to become accustomed to the fact that this city does not have any roads; just canals and boat traffic.

When did the volcano Vesuvius erupt, destroying Pompeii and Herculaneum?  

Acappella will be singing in Brazil later this month and in early August.  Here is the new church building in Itu' - one of the places Acappella will be appearing.  The tour will also include Recife' and Brasilia.

Has God’s demand for purity (as evidenced in the Old Testament) changed?

Who would have thought that our home church would be the Park Plaza Church of Christ in Tulsa, Oklahoma?  God moves in mysterious ways.  Here’s the recap . . .


This congregation is no stranger to our Praise & Harmony ministry.  Keith Webber (now the business manager for the congregation) made a concerted effort to ensure that our workshop came to Park Plaza, and we did just that; in fact, three times.  One visit, I was invited to lead worship on Sunday morning at the new civic center in town, allowing all the services of the church to combine into one very special Sunday celebration.

But why Park Plaza? Simply put, Park Plaza is an Antioch church.  I have never seen a congregation that is more outward-focused and so heavily involved in missions around the world; even to the point of involving a majority of the members in all types of missions and mission trips - - Park Plaza is seriously immersed in kingdom business.


With an outstanding group of elders, this congregation is also very committed to encouraging and preserving a cappella congregational singing.  Instead of merely offering a tepid endorsement, the leaders are willing to invest in strengthening the practice and participation of singing and worship.  In addition to developing worship leaders and enhancing the singing at Park Plaza, Sharon and I will continue our busy Praise & Harmony workshop schedule as well as international mission trips. 


We are grateful that the congregation is sponsoring  a great deal of our mission efforts; so much so, that the elders have bestowed upon me the title of “Musicianary.”  I’m very happy with the implications of this label, as I’m fully convinced of the power of music to convey the tenants of the Gospel, as well as being the ideal language through which to address our Creator.


Senior minister, Mitch Wilburn, is a true man of God who knows the Word and delivers it with skill and unsurpassed passion.  It’s a joy to work with him and to see the way he lives his sermons.  I’ve always been thankful for preachers who are not afraid to bear their souls and express deep emotion when sharing the message.


Our workshops were not our first introduction to Park Plaza.  In 1984 (the previous century, you know), the Acappella van and trailer rolled into this church’s parking lot, to unleash the latest version of our group at the time.  I remember how five of us presented a concert as we were beginning a tour to the West Coast.


But why Tulsa, Oklahoma, you say?  Actually, it is not that strange for this Tennessee boy to feel totally at home in Tulsa.  In fact, I consider it more of a “Jerusalem” to me than how others might claim Nashville, Abilene, or such.  Our first introduction to this oil town came as Sharon and I were students at Freed Hardeman, attending the very first International Soul-Winning Workshop.  Hearing David Powers, Marvin Phillips and so many others preach a practical message geared toward mobilizing for evangelism, proved to be a magnet to our hearts.


It was at Tulsa that I first learned of Williamstown Bible College.  The second annual International Soul Winning Workshop in Tulsa found us attending as newlyweds, about to move to West Virginia to continue our studies in the Scriptures and in Christian service.  Although I thought I’d given up a serious musical pursuit upon graduating high school, the first semester at Bible College provided a surprise opportunity to audition for an a cappella quartet that was destined to travel the country on behalf of the school (and would become the prototype of ACAPPELLA Ministries.)


By the third year of the Tulsa International Workshop, our college quartet was featured at Garnett and throughout the workshop.  We developed a relationship with my mentor, Marvin Phillips, a relationship that has now spanned decades.  In fact, some of the greatest mission memories that I cherish are of spending time as a “Silas” to Marvin in accompanying him in Australia, South Africa and across this nation.

It’s great to be at the same congregation with Marvin, as we held many worship workshops in the 90’s, (a definite precursor to our Praise & Harmony ministry.)  I love Marvin so much, that in 1982, as we were moving back to Tennessee, I was trying to decide if I wanted to launch a full-time a cappella group, or approach Marvin about being a worship minister with him.  (God led us to launch a full-time singing group.)


Yes, I’m a Tennessee boy.  Reared in West Tennessee and with a home in Nashville, we spread our time between Tennessee and Oklahoma and claim “dual citizenship.”  Most of you know how strong the church roots are in Nashville and Dallas.  But now, maybe you can understand why I can claim such a tie to Oklahoma and to the good people who live in this area, viewing this as "my Jerusalem."


Tomorrow, we’ll spend time with the Clark family, who serve the Agape church in Portland, Oregon.  They are also supported by Park Plaza.  We are looking forward to conducting a workshop for them in September.  Earlier this week, we spent quality time with the  Calegari family who minister to the church in Brasilia, also sponsored by our congregation.  We’ll look forward to being with them in Brazil in only a few weeks from now, as we join Acappella to conduct evangelistic concerts.


We’ve been approached to minister to another church sponsored by Park Plaza that is in New Orleans.  The list goes on and on.  You can see, there is a parallel to the Biblical mission home base of Antioch.  One of my dreams has been to find a home congregation that views our ministry as an extension of their work around the world. God has blessed us more than we asked or imagined.


Although we continue to travel quite extensively, it’s always a blessing to return home to recharge, meet with the worship committee, fellowship, lead singing and gear up for the next mission - whether that mission is Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria or the “uttermost parts of the world.”

Keith Lancaster
 -  Musicianary