Acafest Podcast

Acafest is almost upon us. I am looking forward to seeing many old friends. I had intended to take a little handheld recorder with me and do some interviewing for the Pitch Pipecast. While that will still happen, another opportunity has presented itself.

I mentioned to Byron (the director) how fun it would be to host and record a round table discussion at Acafest. Before I knew what had happened, I find out it's happening. Twice.

On Thursday and Friday night at 10:00 P.M. I will host an open mike roundtable discussion with many of the artists who will be present at Acafest. This will be considered a late-night event (read: post-schedule printing and after the last event of the night) and each evening will be recorded for broadcast on the Pitch Pipecast. It will happen onstage in the Allen Arena where the evening's concert will have just concluded.

So if you are going to Acafest, mark this down on your schedule. If not, look for it in the coming weeks on the Pipecast. Should be a lot of fun.

Real Passion

This past Sunday, our Pulpit Minister delivered one of those sermons that just leaves you saying, "wow." We had initially planned this Sunday's theme around the idea that God has given us our passion and we should return it to him, or at least honor him with our passions. The text came from Col. 3:23-24, "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving."

About Thursday afternoon, I found out that Ronnie had taken a slightly different direction with this idea. What came out of it was a barn-burner of a sermon. If you have 20 minutes, I would suggest giving it a listen. This is one of those sermons every preacher wished he could preach and not have to worry about repercussions. You can hear it by clicking this link. Enjoy...

Pitch Pipecast Episode 5

The newest Pipecast is now available. It is an interview with Gary Miller of the Vocal Union as we preview their new release, Just Like the Old Days. The album will be available in late June, but you get to hear six songs from the album early... and only on the Pipecast!

You can find the Pipecast (and previous post as well) at PitchPipePro.com, or you can download the file directly from this link. I hope you enjoy this sneak peak preview of the new VU album.

Miscellaneous Ramblings & Tony Brown

Today is Friday and I am at work. I am the Friday MOD (Minister on Duty) for this week. That means I had yesterday off. I spent the day setting up our new above-ground Intex swimming pool. I am amazed at the quality of these pools. We had an in-ground pool back in Corpus and the kids took serious advantage of it. But here in Midland we have nada.

Anyway, this is a 12x24 above ground with ladder, pump and all the accoutrement. My kids were so excited about it that they were in the pool when it had about an inch of water in it. They spent the next 5 hours in the pool as it filled (it took 10 hours, but they were worn out). And today my son proudly wears the trophy his marathon swim earned... he is red as a brick and can hardly move. That's two weeks in a row he's had a bad burn. Last week he got lobsterfied in the mountains. I think he's learned a painful lesson.

I just received an advance pre-release copy of Vocal Union's new album Just Like the Old Days. This is good stuff. I will be doing a Pipecast very soon featuring the music from the album with Gary Miller adding color commentary. I'll save my comments for then.

I've heard from Tony Brown of AVB and Watershed fame. He is currently searching for a position as a worship minister. I know the feeling of needing a job and not knowing where to look. If anyone reading this blog can point Tony toward a ministry position, please drop him a line at "tonybrown3 at mac dot com" (I printed out the email instead of writing it in normal form so spambots won't pick it up, hopefully).

Speaking of Worship Ministers, I've read on Keith Lancaster's blog that he and his son Anthony are now co-leaders at Farragut Church of Christ in Knoxville, TN. I think that's fabulous. I only hope that I can someday give my son on-the-job ministry training like that.

Enough for today. Have a good one...

Of Water and Reunions

I am back from vacation. My family spent the week in Glorieta, NM at the Glorieta Conference Center. We had a family reunion scheduled for the last half of the week, so we went in a few days early and had some fun family time.

It was not overly restful. As most family reunions go, this one was packed with stuff and very little sleep. We came home from our vacation needing a vacation to recover. Such is life.

Ashley, my 13-yr old daughter, was baptized on Saturday, June 9, in Glorieta. We knew this was going to happen, but I did not contact the conference center until Friday night to find out about using their baptistery. Here's is the actual conversation as best I remember it...

"Hi, one of the people in our group would like to be baptized tomorrow and I need to see about using your baptistery. Who do I need to see about that?"

"I"m sorry sir, we don't have one."

"Excuse me?"

"We don't have a baptistery on campus."

*pause*

"You mean this is the largest Baptist encampment in the southwestern United States and you don't have a baptistery?"

"No sir..." pause... "I guess I ought to put that on the suggestion list."

"I would think so..."

So I spent Saturday morning driving around Glorieta and Pecos looking for a church that might be open and allow us to use their baptistery. We ended up just down the road at a little church building that seats about 100 if they all hold their breath, the Glorieta Baptist Church. The water was pumped in that afternoon at our request and was straight out of the mountain. It was so cold we walked in and lost our breath. Ashley will never forget her baptism. She came out white as snow and blue as ice.

Speaking of reunions, for those of you still reading, I have another one coming up soon. July 5-7 are the dates for Acafest 2007, the International Acappella Christian Music Festival. I will be teaching a few classes during this week. The event will culminate on Saturday evening with the 25th Anniversary Reunion Concert of the group Acappella.

For those of you unaware, Acappella is a singing group I used to travel with. For eleven years.

Anyway, I am not completely sure of the entire line-up, but I do know who I'll be singing with. Keith Lancaster and Rodney Britt will certainly sing together, and I will get to sing with my brothers, Wayburn Dean, George Pendergrass and Duane Adams. I'm looking forward to it, although at this point I have absolutely no idea what we are singing. That should be interesting...

Connor Brown

This has been a tough week. I have not posted anything mainly because I did not know what to say about it all. Many of you may already be familiar with this story, but for those who are not... Tod Brown is the Executive Minister at Golf Course Rd Church where I am the Worship Minister. This past Monday, Memorial Day, he and his family were heading back from Brownwood where they had spent the holiday. No one is quite sure how it happened, but somehow the suburban hit the culvert and flipped and rolled.

Their oldest daughter, Bailey, was severely injured and has since undergone several surgical procedures. She has a very long way to go in recovery. The saddest part is that their 13-year old middle son, Connor, did not survive the wreck. He was thrown from the car when it started flipping and then was hit by the car itself. I will not go into details here.

The family has not been able to return to Midland until Bailey could travel. This evening (Sunday) they held visitation at the church gym for everyone to express their love. Hundreds of people lined up to love on the Browns. Not only Golf Course folks, but people from all over the country. I met a man from Focus on the Family. Several folks from Nashville have come down. And tomorrow at the funeral we expect many more people from outside of Midland. The Brown family has touched many people.

I will share more later about this amazing family. I even wrote a song for them. I hope to share that with you sometime soon as well. Keep Tod and Lee Ann Brown in your prayers along with their children Bailey, Hutton, and Reagan as they continue to deal with the loss of Connor.

Pitch Pipecast: Episode 4

Episode 4 of the Pipecast is now online. I had a great conversation with Jordan House of Acappella. You can find the Pitch Pipecast at pitchpipepro.com, or you can download the file directly from this link.

Pitch Pipecast: Episode 3

I have posted the 2nd half of the interview with Alan Beard of True Lift Ministries. You can find it at pitchpipepro.com. You'll also hear news about Rescue Ministries, Acafest, and a preview of episode 4 (I feel like George Lucas).

Or, as always, you can download the Pipecast right now directly with this link.

Excelsior!

Pitch Pipecast: Episode 2

I have just posted episode 2 of the Pitch Pipecast. I had a great conversation with Alan Beard of True Lift Ministries in Thousand Oaks, CA. Since 2003, Alan and Jeremy Johnson have joined forces to deliver a truly excellent singing ministry. True Lift has released five albums, three of which are excellent renditions of old and cherished hymns. Our conversation was right at 30 minutes, so I decided to make this Pipecast a 2-parter.

As always, you can find the Pipecast at pitchpipepro.com. Or, you can download the podcast directly from this link. Enjoy!

~Gary

Ashley of Narnia

Here's a picture of my daughter, Ashley. We're not sure, but we think she may have been one of the Ice Queen's dwarves in the Chronicles of Narnia. Either that or maybe she's actually Stumpy or Bumpy from Snow White. Or maybe she's related to the Amish folk from central Missouri where my Mom's side of the family comes from.

Or maybe she went a little haywire with her ponytails on the last day of school.

Nah.... I vote for Stumpy.

Doolittle Rant

In my opinion, the best singer of the past several seasons was voted off American Idol tonight. The two who are left, Blake Lewis and Jordin Sparks, are good singers, but they can't even touch Melinda Doolittle's heels. She stands so far above them it is laughable.

It's just another example of the lack of talent in the music industry effecting what America thinks real talent should be. The label execs have foisted so much garbage on us that we think it smells good, and anything that doesn't smell like what they throw at us must not be good either. So real talent, like Melinda Doolittle, gets tossed aside in favor of a cute 17-year old and a beat boxer who can't quite stay in tune.

It's a shame, and everyone on that show knew it. You could tell by the look on their faces. So now they can take the winner and mold him/her to look like all the other stuff out there. That's okay. Let Melinda do her own thing. Her talent will shine through whatever she does.

On the same topic, someone should vote Ryan Seacrest off the show. I'm really getting tired of his elementary antics and jabs toward Simon.

My girl's off the show. On to 24 and Heroes.

Pitch Pipecast Launch

I am using this particular entry to announce the launch of my new podcast, or in this case a pipecast. Starting today you can catch the Pitch Pipecast on a somewhat regular basis. There is a large and devoted core fan base out there for Christian a cappella music. My new podcast will deliver news, reviews and interviews of the artists who do this music well.

Eventually my own URL (pitchpipepro.com), will point to the site. But for now you can listen in at http://pitchpipecast.libsyn.com. UPDATE: The URL pitchpipepro.com now works for the new podcast home.

If all goes well, it should be available on iTunes within the next couple of weeks. Or you can listen to it right here:

Pitch Pipecast: Episode #1

There's a lot to come. I hope you enjoy it. ~Gary

GCR Missions: India

Here is an update we are showing this weekend on the work in Northeast India. I had the chance to shoot and edit this video. Our normal AV guy (who is amazing) is snowed under with tons of other things. So it falls to me.

For those of you who are familiar with the work GCR supports, this is about Gary Tate and Joe Crabtree. They reference the continued work of Dimbeswar Burman, Shyam Salam, and Dr. Tarun Mahanta.

The Price of a Ride

A few months ago, when the price of gasoline rose dramatically, there was a great outcry from the masses... so much that Congress jumped into the middle of it. Prices dropped back down.

Up to now I have believed the pundits when they stammer on about supply and demand, etc. But once again, just as vacation time rolls around, prices have jumped. Here's an article from the Santa Monica Mirror that will certainly make your conspiracy radar jump. And another from the Salem News. And yet another from the Arizona Daily Star. I could go on. Google is my friend.

All I know is that it cost my wife $35 to fill her tank in her small economy car. I'm living in the heart of oil country. You can't throw a rock in this town without hitting an oil exec and we are paying $2.95 per gallon. My feelings for the oil industry are approaching my level of ire for Microshaft. UPDATE: As of May 13, gas is now $3.09.

But then I guess I shouldn't bite the hand that feeds me (he shakes his head in slight frustration).

Movie Reviews on YouTube

As you can see from the previous post, I have already reviewed The Last Mimzy on this site. I got to thinking about it and decided to check YouTube for movie reviews from a conservative viewpoint. I found very little.

I plan to do video reviews of movies from this point on. Included below for your viewing pleasure is the first movie review by The Conservative Mostly Bald Guy. And yes, it is pretty much a video rehash of my earlier post on The Last Mimzy, but you gotta start somewhere. Enjoy.

Movie Review: The Last Mimzy

For anyone who's been around the Internet for a while and may have dropped by my site on Geocities way back in the last century, you would know that I kept a pretty exhaustive movie review section going. I thought I would start that up again here on my blog. I don't see near as many movies as I used to, but I can still comment on what I see from time to time.

I believe I will start with a movie I saw this afternoon. My children and I went to see The Last Mimzy. This PG rated film is based on the book "Mimsy Were the Borogoves" by Lewis Padgett and was released by New Line Cinema. At first blush it is a delightful film, full of family values, adventure, drama and sci-fi. The fact that the tagline to the movie says "The future is trying to tell us something" should give you a clue to the nature of the movie.

When I tried to describe the feel of the movie to my wife afterwards, the closest I could come was, "It was like a modern-day Escape From Witch Mountain... but with a different storyline." It was certainly much better than Witch Mountain, but you come away with the same kind of feeling. Mimzy includes all manner of Witch Mountainy things... two kids trying to pull off an incredible feat with the help of "otherworldy" powers, older people who don't understand and try to stop them, glimpses of something out there that's not quite normal, etc.

That's as far as I will go with the comparisons because Mimzy is a much better movie overall and I don't want to drag it down. The plot involves time travel and some great sci-fi. In that regard, it is 90 minutes of engrossing fun. My 11 and 13 yr old were highly involved.

I have two problems with the movie. The first is that it is pretty heavily immersed in New Age thought. You'll find heavy doses of ESP, psychokinesis, Saganism, Indigo Children, Tibetan transcendentalism, reincarnation, and much more. It is woven skillfully into the story and often pays a major part. If you have small kids watching this movie, it will probably require some deprogramming afterwards.

Secondly, on a higher level this movie takes a pretty good swipe at the Bush administration and current policy, as well as giving a boost to Al Gore and his wild hair end-of-the-world theories. Every movie needs an antagonist. Here, they have chosen the Dept. of Homeland Defense. During one scene, Homeland Defense breaks into the house and captures the entire family. When challenged about a warrant, they reply that it is not needed under the Patriot Act. It's a well orchestrated jab at Bush's anti-terror efforts. Thank you Hollywood.

And as far as the Gore stuff is concerned, the basis of the entire movie revolves around the idea that we are polluting ourselves into the end of the world as we know it and something drastic must be done. There's even a scene in a science class that would make Mr. Gore proud.

Overall I would give this 3.5 stars out of 5. The kids will enjoy it. Parents will as well, if you can rise above the baggage.

Easter at the Snowpark

For several years now Golf Course Rd Church has held Easter at the Ballpark. It's a big city-wide Easter Service held at Citibank Ballpark where the Midlands Rockhounds play (AA Oakland A's team). We average about 4000 each year. So tomorrow is Easter. We've been praying for sunny skies and 70 degrees.

Here's a picture of what we got. It was coming down in potato chip size flakes when I took this picture. Needless to say, we will not be at the Ballpark tomorrow. If it keeps this up, we may not have many at all at church.

We've been in Midland five months now and it's snowed 3 or 4 times. Two of them were pretty good with nice ground cover. This is like being back in Tennessee, minus the trees, rolling hills and humidity. I saw this in Corpus only once while I was there, and that was a rare event for the city. This is kinda fun...

Los Mejores de la Final Four

I know mostly nothing about basketball. For me, soccer is life. But the office staff at GCR did the March Madness bracket competition thing, and so I joined in. The winner at the end would get his or her meal paid for at a restaurant of their choosing.

Again, knowing nothing about basketball, I opted for a little help. I went to ESPN.com and did a little research. They had 10 different journalist give their predictions for the brackets. I spent 30 minutes and averaged out their results. What came out were my picks for the entire bracket of 64.

And today I got to pick the meal because I won, thank you very much. We went to Abuelo's where I ordered Los Mejores de la Casa... bacon wrapped fillet mignon and honkin' big shrimp stuffed with cheese and jalapeños and wrapped in bacon. I also had Raspberry tea and chili con queso for everyone at the table. $27 worth of winnings. Thank you Florida State!

Joyful Worship Pt.2

Here is pt. 2 of the Sunday bulletin series I am doing. This is the unprinted version. I am going to remove the "Maybe this" paragraph for print. This is sort of like the deleted scenes version. Once again, kudos to my friend Dan Morris for help on this topic.

* * *
So what is worship? How do we approach worship? Is it something that can be defined? Let’s take a quick look at history.

The Israelites had been crying out in captivity for 400 years. No response. Within a very short period of time, God makes himself known powerfully. Plague after plague strikes their captors. Release comes. Millions line up and march out of Egypt. They find themselves trapped against the Red Sea, only to see it lifted out of the way. Finally, they stand before the mountain of God, covered in fire, thunder, and lightning. The earth trembles.

What would it have been like to be there? They were instructed to erect a fence so that not even an animal would touch a single stone of the mountain. God was going to descend upon it in full view of the people and they had three days to prepare. Four hundred years of silence and now you have 72 hours to get ready. How do you approach holiness and not be changed forever? What do you say in the presence of Jehovah?

Maybe this… “Why don’t they sing that tambourine song they used to sing? I really liked it when Miriam sang that song. Why don’t they sing old songs like that again?” Or maybe, “ I wish Aaron would lead worship. I don’t really like it when Moses leads worship. Too slow. I’d just as soon go home.” How about, “All this smoke and fire and trembling, that’s too formal. I like a relaxed atmosphere. Why does it have to be so formal?” Or possibly, “Three days to get ready for worship? Doesn’t he know we have things to do? If he talks that long, I’m out’a here.”

Would you say something like that in the presence of Jehovah? And today, what do we say in the presence of the Holy? We may not have a mountain of fire, but He is here nonetheless. God has descended upon us in full view. As we worship together, God inhabits our praise. The spiritual foundations of the earth tremble as the worship of his people is lifted high. The “how” of worship takes a distant second place to the “why.” Could it be that part of true worship is in understanding His presence and reverence at the awe of his majesty?

Oh God, we come seeking your presence, your mercy and your power. Help us to have eyes that see you and hearts that reverence your holiness. May our worship honor you and you alone.

Spiritual Intimacy

I spent a good part of last weekend at the Zoe Conference in Lubbock. I was glad to go. Even though I lived in Tennessee for 15 years, I never cashed in on the opportunity to go to the Zoe event in Nashville. I intended to a couple of times, but something always came up.

It was a refreshing experience. The worship was wonderful and I got to reconnect with lots of old friends. Growing up in Lubbock, I saw a lot of people from my youth. I also got to connect with folks from my old road life, like Nathan Tillotson, Brian Randolph, Randy Gill and Jeff Walling.

While the worship was great and the messages were moving (get the CD of Jeff speaking about being "closer"), it was the small group experience where I was most challenged. I participated in the worship leaders small group, which was led by Brandon Thomas of Zoe and Rich Smith of Levi Ministries.

Rich is an amazing young man. It is obvious that the Holy Spirit has done some powerful work in his life. I'd love to know more about his background (which apparently includes some serious work), but his humility seemed to keep most of it behind him. That's cool.

Anyway, he gave me one of those "aha" moments. I have talked about John 17
many times over the course of my life. For years, it was a centerpiece of Acappella's ministry. Vs. 20-21 "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me."

I've preached the unity of believers from that passage many times. It's an important message. Unfortunately, I've worked that passage so much that I missed another important element. He prays not only for unity of believers, but for unity of them with HIM. The lesson I took away from this day:

We have whatever level of intimacy with God as we will pursue, even up to the level that Jesus had with God.

I've always strived for a closer walk with God. I don't think I ever realized that I've put boundaries on that. It was certainly unintentional, but there nonetheless. Who am I to say that I can only come so close to God and no closer when Jesus himself prayed that we would be one with him as he was with God?

Again I say, "aha!" Excuse me... I have more pursuing to do. ~Gary