The greatest story ever told…anew…

This time of year, what has been termed the "greatest story ever told" is told again...and again...and even more times.

Of course, it is the story of the miraculous birth of Jesus of Nazareth...to adherents of Christianity(like me)the Lord and savior of the world, and the embodiment of the eternal God of the universe.

This story was first told widely in the New Testament of the Bible, in the gospels of Matthew and Luke. From there, it was re-told repeatedly by ministers of the Christian faith, its' preachers and evangelists...and even put to art, poetry, and music by those so gifted and eager to lend their gifts to the cause of proclaiming the Christian message to everyone they could.

That story directly led to the season that most of the world is celebrating right now, called Christmas in honor of the one whose birth is being commemorated. From it came secular traditions like Santa Claus, and the admirable tradition of giving gifts to people we know.

This weekend, I heard one of the most remarkable radio presentations I have heard in my life.

At the radio station I work at, we carry the Glenn Beck Weekend talk program. Beck is a fast-rising talk star who is not only featured on radio, he has been on TV quite a bit in the past year. It would seem that Beck is also a Christian. I don't know that for a fact, but based on the segment I'm about to discuss on his show which was aired this weekend, I'd be willing to wager as such.

The segment is a retelling of the Christmas story, produced and narrated by Beck. A segment like this is quite remarkable in light of the fact that Beck is syndicated by a most secular company, Premiere Radio Networks(syndicator of such talent as Rush Limbaugh, Laura Schlesinger, Coast-to-Coast, and Jim Rome)...especially when one considers the widespread resentment of parts of today's society toward endorsing the Christian message.

Beck's rendering of the Christmas story focuses on the two regular people(as opposed to saints or celebrities)directly involved in the birth of Jesus...Joseph and Mary. Beck's narrative illustrates their(more than likely)real and striking fears involved in the issues of the story(unmarried pregnant young woman, loving man terrified at the news of her pregnancy and the circumstances surrounding it), and in a way that simply isn't captured in the Biblical narrative(how can it be?), pictures them as humans just like us, with identical reactions as we would have were we in their situation.

But the profound truth and beauty of this story is that despite their plight, the young couple understands that their circumstances are engineered and chosen by their God, and despite their fear, confusion, and humanity, trust this God in their circumstances and proceed in obedience to Him.

Beck's narration(and song selection to accompany it)draws this out. This is significant, in that regardless of the almost idyllic way the story is told in the Bible(with manger, cradle, wise men, etc.), most modern Biblical scholars agree that this story is a powerful polemic to illustrate not only the significance of the birth of Jesus(and who He grows up to be), but the necessity of faith in the one true God, just as the Old Testament stories are.

Beck masterfully refuses to paint this time honored story with a broad brush, as most societies have for centuries, but with a deft human touch, relating it to us as struggling human beings, searching for answers to our dilemmas in a hostile, hectic world.

My jury is still out on Beck the talk show host(although he seems to be a quite good one to me thus far), but my personal kudos go out to Beck for this remarkable radio segment, in which he does the Kingdom of God on earth a great service, IMO, by telling one of the world's most famous stories in a dynamic and compelling way, and making it touch where we live and breathe.

If you're able to hear Glenn Beck, and hear this segment, I predict it will touch and bless you, too.

UPDATE: Well, I learned a little more about Glenn Beck tonight. And if you read closely what I typed above, you might think me an ideal person to strike up a wager with.

I opined that based on Beck's presentation of the Christmas story, he must be a Christian. Well, not quite.

Turns out some seven years ago, Beck turned from a life of alcoholism to join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints(aka the Mormon Church). I am very glad for Beck that his demons of alcohol have left him, though I wish he would join an authentic Christian fellowship and embrace what I believe to be the true faith of the Bible.

To those of you who might suppose me a bit intolerant, not at all. I defend the right of anyone to be whatever they choose to be. This does NOT mean that I have to embrace or otherwise endorse or accept a creed that is different from mine. You see, that is my right, too.

Having said the above, I am glad to concede that Beck appears to be a conscientious, dedicated man who is friendly on the air(for the most part)and says many things that I personally agree with. Obviously, based on that last comment, I have yet to hear him discuss his faith or church affiliation on his show. Hey, we've only carried his show for four weekends!:-)

But I stand by my thoughts in the above post. I heard nothing heterodox in Beck's analysis of the birth of Jesus...rather, I found it to gibe with everything I learned about it through my own study, and my brief time as a student auditing classes at Fuller Theological Seminary in California.

And as such, I maintain that his powerful exposition on the story of the birth of Jesus remains a service to the Kingdom of God on earth, based on its content, if not on its messenger(and CERTAINLY not his church affiliation). So I still recommend it for anyone who cares to sample it.

The box is open!

I've always wanted my little corner of the web to be an interactive one...so I'm going to give you all that chance.

A couple of entries ago, I inferred that I would be more than willing to take suggestions, requests, etc. for future postings here. I MEAN that...since I put all this stuff out here for you to read, and enjoying hearing back from you on my thoughts, why not take requests once in a while?

It might inspire me to be more than occasional in my postings here, since when things tend to get busy in my "real" world, I tend to not come up with a lot of ideas for posting purposes.

That and the fact that on occasion, my thoughts have been misunderstood or even intentionally taken out of context, tends to make one a little "gun shy" about going forward with too much polemical commentary in nature.

During those periods, it occurred to me that I could be less sporadic if I posted on something I knew people would be interested to read. Why should I have to think of EVERYTHING all the time?:-)

So I formally open my corner to you all for ideas. I can't promise I'll post on every single idea I get, but maybe I can be more of service to you all if I posted on things you wanted me to post about.

I got one suggestion in that aforementioned post, and I am now "woodshedding" to prepare myself for posting on that suggested topic...and I am open to the rest of your ideas as well. It can be gospel music oriented, or it can deal with other things I(and you)are interested in, e.g., politics(which, in all fairness, doesn't interest me that much), other genres of music, sports, radio(my career for almost 25 years), philosophy and theology, or anything that comes to your mind! As I said, I'll consider anything....and try most anything...at least ONCE!

They'll still be my thoughts(for this is my blog, after all)...but rather than just bore you with stuff that just pops into my mind, I can bore you with stuff YOU want me to bore you with!:-)

JUST KIDDING! Actually, I just want to share this space with you all a bit more than I have to date.

So keep those suggestions clean, and send 'em my way! I'm looking forward to giving this a shot!

Kwitchurbelyakin!

Sorry for the long delay between posts.

Time to take a brief break from gospel music posting, and check out how the rest of the world is doing.

We are fast approaching not just the Christmas season, but the college football bowl season as well. And with the advent of the Bowl Championship Series, otherwise known as the BCS, college football has been trying to implement a method to determine its' "national champion". This is already being done in the sport's lower divisions, but in college football's "big leagues". i.e., Division 1A , the issue continues to raise controversy.

In other sports(basketball, baseball, soccer, lacrosse, etc.)there are already relatively sound methods in existence to determine a champion. But because of the nature of college football, and the way that games are scheduled(weekly as opposed to a more frequent basis), the powers that be in division 1A have yet to come up with a truly equitable system for determining a champion.

What we have now is a system based on national rankings(which in itself is flawed)...where at season's end, the top two teams are dettermined and one of the major postseason bowl games(Rose, Orange, Sugar, or Fiesta)is the game in which these two teams meet for the so-called national championship. The rest of the bowl games are determined in the way they've always been(by invitation), with the exception in some cases being tie-ins with different leagues which may determine those participants.

As you can see already, this can easily lead to controversy over who ought to merit selection for participation in the national title game. And this year, what with the great number of surprise outcomes in key games, the controversy is taking on new levels.

Specifically, this year's controversy centers on the two teams that have been selected, Ohio State and LSU, the #1 and #2 teams respectively in the polls. The selection of LSU has caused particular controversy in that they are the first team with two losses in a season to play in such a game. Supporters of Oklahoma and USC, both also two-loss teams, feel that their teams are more deserving to be chosen. And then there is the nation's only major unbeaten team, the University of Hawaii(12-0)which will play Georgia in this year's Sugar Bowl.

Further, fans of Georgia(another two-loss team)contend that they ought to have been considered a choice for the title game, based on their strong finish this season in what is generally accepted as the toughest college football league, the Southeastern Conference. The problem with their claim is that not only did the Bulldogs not win the league, they didn't even win their section of it...thus making spurious any claim they might have to play in a national title game.

As for the other teams mentioned, true, LSU did lose two games. But both those losses were in multiple overtime, meaning that in the days before overtimes were instituted and ties counted as ties, LSU would be undefeated if the rules had not changed. And Oklahoma and USC's losses still would be losses under any other system, and since they were, with the exception of USC's loss to Oregon, to unranked, unheralded teams, these losses were particularly costly in the system being used today. And Hawaii's unbeaten record, though impressive under any circumstances, can't be held in the same light as the other schools mentioned, for it was achieved against markedly inferior opposition. The fact that the Warriors are facing Georgia is a reward for the fact that they DID finish unbeaten, which does still mean something.

But the fact remains that under the system in use, the choice of Ohio State-LSU is probably the most equitable solution under the circumstances. If anyone has a better system, suggestions are still being taken for ideas on how to improve it.

Many have advocated a playoff system similar to that used in basketball, to determine the champion by elimination. I have said for years, though, that there has never been a method for establishing the criteria or system to do it in a truly equitable manner. Given the way in which schedules are made, and taking league affiliations and traditional rivalries into consideration, there doesn't appear to be a workable way to make a playoff format a reality.

So...what we have is the way it is. And under that system, perhaps there is no better matchup. It would be nice if all the fans whose teams didn't make it as far as they might have to focus their frustrations not on a system they have no power to change anyway, but on their teams for not winning the games that they otherwise might have won.

It's nice to be a passionate fan, but let's get real here.

Why Thanksgiving is special to me

Of all the holidays we celebrate during the year, Thanksgiving Day is probably the most special one for me.

In a way, it's kind of unfortunate that we need to set aside a particular day to remind us to do something we ought to be doing every day anyway, but at least if nothing else, the thought will enter our minds for at least one day during the year.

Now don't misunderstand, I love Christmas, particularly when it's centered on celebrating Christ. And for the same reason, I also enjoy Easter. And Independence Day, Memorial Day, and Veterans' Day all serve to summon the requisite feelings of celebrating the freedoms and lifestyle and country that I enjoy. Even Labor Day is a day where I can pause to celebrate a segment of our population that is the backbone of our society.

But Thanksgiving brings forth thoughts and feelings inside me that ought to be there every day, and unfortunbately, too often aren't.

For it's easy to point out what we lack in life and what we wish we had but don't...we do it to some degree every day. But if we just stop a moment and take a good look around us, we soon realize what we have, and just how precious that which we have actually is. And if we look upon it long enough, we realize that we don't have it half as bad as we think. And for that good which we have, we ought to be thankful for it.

For many years, I did the regular talk show on KMJ on Thanksgiving Day(and the other holidays as well), and I tried to stress that concept to our vast listening audience across Central California. In the process, I tried to demonstrate that it wasn't that hard to be thankful, IF we really wanted to be.

For if we made up our minds to do so, we could focus on our blessings as I described above, and maintain that attitude for an entire day, if we so chose.

And if we could do it for one whole day, why not another whole day? And if for two whole days, why not an entire week? And if we could do it for a week, why not keep it going for a month? You get where I'm going with this, don't you?

The point is, we COULD be thankful every day if we chose, and not just one day in late November, a month before Christmas...but every single day we awaken each morning.

And why not? The feeling we have when we do is a lot better one than the one we have when we're kvetching and moaning about our disappiontments and failures. And from what we can understand of God through a careful reading of the Bible, why would we not WANT to feel thankful every day?

So I hope all of you feel especially thankful about how you're blessed on this Thanksgiving day. And I want to challenge you all to keep that feeling going for as many days in a row that you can. I think it will help you to enjoy life more.

You might find that a lot of the things you used to get so easily annoyed over will disappear, replaced by a feeling of faith and confidence that will enable you to deal with just about everything life can throw at you.

Try it...and let me know what happens!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Another local boy makes good

I must make one disclaimer at the outset on this posting.

If you're not from Fresno, or you haven't spent significant time there, who or what I'm about to write about more than likely won't mean much to you.

But if you are, or you like to read about good people who become successful, you might enjoy this posting.

Bill McEwen is a featured political columnist for the Fresno Bee, the local newspaper in that fast-growing Central California city of some half million or so people. He took his present position there in 2002 after several years of working in the sports department, first as a reporter, then editor and columnist. Bill's passion was always hard news, and he patiently paid his dues on the sports pages while waiting for his chance to fulfill his ambitions.

I've known Bill since the early 1990s, when I was called in to help him launch a sports talk radio show on a small independent Fresno radio station. We became friends there, and I tried to help him translate his sports savvy to a medium he was not entirely comfortable with. Bill was never entirely at ease with communicating his sports opinions on the radio, even though he was superb at handling callers who would try to challenge him.

But his columns were concise, well-written analyses of the top national and local sports of the day. One that I remember vividly was one he wrote the day after the Fresno State football team massacred New Mexico 94-17. It was obvious that in the first half of that game that Bulldog coach Jim Sweeney was trying to run up the score at the Lobos' expense as much as possible, and Bill correctly characterized the charismatic coach as somewhat of a bully, despite his charming personality and his quotability.

That was not the only reason that game and column stand out in my memories...for my mother passed away the following day.

But Bill's columns would always get my attention, for they were well-written, occasionally quite humorous, and I agreed with most of them. I liked his incisive reasoning, and his ability to cut through the excess that so many sports observers are accustomed to, and get straight to the point, and hit it squarely on the head. All the while, I wondered how long he would remain on the sports page, because he yearned for more, and he was too good to be confined to the "toy department" of news, as the late Jimmy Cannon called sports.

Sure enough, in 2002, Jim Wasserman stepped away from his popular Bee political column, and Bill stepped right in. I liked Jim very much, but I knew Bill would become a more than capable replacement. And sure enough, five years later, his best columns have now been published in book form, under the title, "It's A Dry Heat".

And I like to publicize and salute my friends when they achieve something siginificant, so I salute Bill on this book...he's deserved one for a long time.

For Bill, like me, is a native Fresnan, who remembers Perry Boys Smorgies and the Lesterburgers, as well as all the famous and infamous people who make Fresno what it is(and was), and in the last five years, he has done an extraordinary job of chronicling their activities in his columns. And if anyone would like to know what makes Fresno tick, I would recommend they buy this collection of Bill's work in "It's A Dry Heat".

Bill has that love of his hometown that is quite natural, and he has dedicated his newspaper work during the past 25 years to helping make Fresno not only a better place to be a sports fan, but a better place to live, and maybe raise a family. He is well qualified in his role, being a lifelong resident of this area, and being a husband of a devoted and talented wife, and father of a pair of fine sons. And this book also shows Bill in his role as family man, and citizen.

But Bill is more than that, and the book shows that, too. He writes balanced and finely critical portraits of local leaders such as supervisor Bob Waterston, mayor Alan Autry, and even California governator Arnold Schwarzenegger, all the while filtering their accomplishments and setbacks through his unique vision of what type of place Fresno ought to be. And he's lived here long enough to know what that might be.

He also paints word portraits of people that have touched lives in Fresno, such as legendary radio and TV pesonality Al Radka(who I was fortunate to briefly work with and call "friend"), and high school history and humanities teacher Alan Amend, who shaped and influenced many a life, including Bill's(and mine...I was a student of his in 1975, and he did much to inspire me to be a critical thinker).

Bill is a big man, with big ideas, and the ability to express them in writing in a skillful and provocative manner. And his affinity for publicizing and exalting the less well-known, but all the same important and significant people, is something that has been a great influence on me since I turned to writing regularly in 2004.

So, in that vein, I take a break from my regular gospel music musings to salute Bill McEwen, friend, former colleague, and now published author, for a lifelong job well done in serving his audiences and fulfilling his dreams and ambitions.

I’m still here

I know...it's been a week, and nothing new has been posted here. Well, the explanation for that is quite simple, really.

I haven't had anything to say, or thoughts to share interesting enough to post...so, in keeping with my previously stated philosophy, I have remained silent.

One thing I'm looking forward to hearing about is my friend and fellow blogger Daniel Mount's impressions when he finally gets to hear actual albums by the Couriers. Daniel claims not to have heard the original Couriers quartet or trio, and I'm curious as to how he evaluates them once he does. I trust he'll tell me...and if he has anything worth commenting on, I'll do it.

I could comment on such phenomena as the current flap about Rush Limbaugh, or the unpredictability of the baseball playoffs and the NFL season, or any number of other gospel music topics. But I don't really have all my thoughts in order at this time to do so...so, I shall wait. Please be patient with me.

Once more, with feeling

Once again, congratulations to my friend Daniel Mount.

I got my copy of the October Singing News today, and I saw that Ken Kirksey gave Daniel's new book, "The Faith Of America's Presidents", a very favorable review.

As I wrote earlier here, I only saw the book once, and didn't really read it in detail, but merely scanned through it, but judging from Kirksey's comments, I would likely enjoy the book once I DID read it. I get weary of my well-meaning brethren who try to rewrite the history of our country, and make our early Presidents people they clearly were not. Daniel's book(according to Kirksey)avoids these errors of analysis, and is worth a good read to all interested in that sort of reading. I DID notice that Daniel's book is highly annotated, and it's apparent a lot of research went into his content. Way to go, Daniel!

I would also like to thank the SN's West Coast correspondent, Dennis Zimmerman(of the Watchmen Quartet of Chino)for mentioning our radio program on KMJ in his tribute to the late Bob Jones.

Our show began after Don Smith and his new quartet(in 1947), the Gospelaires, got what WAS Jones' time on the station. I think a 60-year lifespan would make us the longest running continuous gospel music radio program still going, you think? If anyone knows of an older program, please tell me! Anyway, thanks to our good friend Dennis for the mention.

Passe?

I admit it, sometimes I take time to chat with my friends on the internet...it's a good way to enter into real-time fellowship with people I care about who might be too far away to otherwise talk to so readily.

Today, I chatted with Amy Marie Unthank, a good friend...and the subject of blogs came up. Amy pointed out to me that the novelty of having blogs has perhaps worn out, and most of those who so enthusiastically jumped at the chance to have their own blogs to read and trade insights with others have grown weary of trying to do that on a regular basis.

There is much truth to that observation...I, for one, don't post as often as I'd like, mostly because of time constraints, and also because I don't want to post just to post...I want to say something someone besides me will care to read...something useful and informative, not merely provocative.

So I come by every so often when something that crosses my mind seems to be important enough to share with others.

As most of you know, this blog began as part of the SG Blog News family...and eventually moved to the front page of Southern Gospel News. I assume this is because the site owners(dear friends of mine)think that what I have to say is interesting enough to link to from their site, and I do my best to make those assumptions valid.

One thing I will NEVER do with this blog is to air dirty laundry...either my own, or that of somebody else's. Others can go for lots of hits and responses posting about the family problems of prominent gospel music personalities...that's too easy to do to get attention.

This blog has always been about MY impressions, and MY observations...and your amplifications and comments about those impressions and observations.

No, what I have to say is often not as provocative or "exciting" as what some other people do sometimes, but I always feel I'm on safer ground(intellectually, morally, and spiritually)talking about what I know rather than what I THINK I know or what it looks like someone else thinks or does.

So, in a real sense, this is more of a "reality blog" than others you might see on the gospel music scene....and it's by design, not by any inability to manipulate responses.

By saying that, I don't mean to impugn the motives of those who blog for other reasons...I've always maintained that people who wish to publish blogs must do them in the ways they feel are true to their personalities and intentions.

It's just that there aren't that many titillating things in the world of gospel music to write about on a regular basis.

So I stick to what I know, and what I experience. Then, I'm always assured of having something to say often enough to be interesting to at least a few people.

This is probably why the "blog boom" in gospel music peaked, declined, and now has happily stabilized.

Off to a flying start

A month ago, I saluted my former boss at the radio station where I work. I also expressed the feeling that his successor would have his work cut out for him, inasmuch as my former boss did a lot for me and our station.

Turns out, it doesn't look like I have anything to be concerned about...our new leader is doing just fine so far, thank you.

Skip Essick came to KMJ after being the General Manager for the Grand Rapids cluster of stations owned by the largest radio ownership group in America...and he obviously had the qualifications to run even a station of our noble heritage.

Understandably, it takes time to get one's arms around a station as large and venerable as ours...and Skip is still in the learning process, by his own admission.

But I know of no one who could have made a smoother transition into our operation.

And Skip has done it right from the get-go. He didn't come in with the arrogance of someone with a notion that he could immediately make us a better operation. He observed, he listened, and he spent time with us and got to know us...and got to know Fresno....and he is still picking up things today(but very quickly).

He is finally starting to make subtle changes to make us better sounding...slowly, one piece at a time.

And Skip has great people skills. He is an exceptional listener, and he is learning(through us, and listening to our work)just what has made KMJ tick...and be successful for over 80 years.

And he is also an exceptional voice talent...unlike John Broeske, he has no intentions of being a regular on-air presence on our station...yet the promos he has cut for our shows and such are as professional as they come. He makes us sound good!

This week, he was on our main talk show in the middle of the day, taking calls and suggestions from our listeners, who got to see Skip as we do, as a regular, dedicated family man, eager to keep KMJ a broadcast success.

I think he'll fit in just fine.

Skip is on his way back to Grand Rapids, to move his furniture and belongings to Fresno, and finally settle down in his new home. I have a feeling he'll be around for quite some time.

Skip Essick, good job. I'm happy you are my new boss, and I'm glad to help you do great radio.

One of my pet peeves(Pt. 1)

First, let me explain what I intend to make a regular semi-feature here in my little corner of the web.

When I was doing talk shows, one topic I used that always generated instant response was to ask the listeners to share their pet peeves with me. Now we all have those little things that are not important in the grand scheme of life...you don't need these things to be different to live a fulfilling life, but all the same, when you encounter them, they simply DRIVE YOU CRAZY! You can't stand to encounter them in any way, shape, or form. I did this to enable my listeners to vent and get their frustrations out...and it not only did that, but it was entertaining, and illuminating for me! I learned so much about people and how they react to things.

So to learn a little more about me, from time to time, I'll share a few of my own with you. And needless to say, you can share some of yours back, if you choose. Hope this is fun for all of you.

My first pet peeve I'll share has to do with radio talk shows...although you can extend this one to social interaction as well on occasion.

You've heard this...we all have. When someone calls a talk show, the first line out of either the host's or the guest's mouth is "How are you doing?"...which to far too many, has become merely a synonym for "hello"...and nothing else.
I know this because when I'm asked this, not knowing the current "code" of behavioral slang, I attempt to actually answer the question! And regardless of whether I say "fine", or "Not so good", the other party will invariably say "Good!" without thinking(or listening, as it were)...such less-than-scintillating dialogue, as a lover of words and expression, annoys and bores me! If you're one of those people I described, please...unless you really want to know how I am, don't ask me that question!

Now on talk shows, that question "How are you?" is a polite way of opening a conversation, perhaps, but as dialogue, it's simply a waste of time. Most of the time, no one in the audience cares how either the host or the caller is anyway, they wanr ro hear the actual discussion...and the awkward "How are you"s just seem to be a time wasting, delaying tactic that annoys a listener like me.

Once, during a show I was doing, and having to answer "How are you" from what seemed like 20 callers in a row, I finally said, "Look. For anyone who really wants to know...I AM FINE...TFN! The moment I cease to be fine, I will tell all of you...right here!"...then I continued the show, and callers enjoyed the way I deflected the obvious time wasting conversational tactic.

Another I don't like on talk shows(it happens on my station a lot), is after the conversation begins...and the caller goes on for a while with what he/she wanted to talk about, then, not hearing our polite host try to jump in, he/she will ask the incredibly dumb question..."Can you hear me?"

Look...if the host can't hear you, he'll tell you! If he starts talking to you, he(and we)can hear you! Stop wasting precious radio time!

There...I feel better! Does this annoy you, too? Does anything else? Talk to me!

I promise I'll assume you're fine...and not ask "How are you?":-)

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