Entry L…

Can you believe it? This is my 50th entry in this humble little corner of the web! Refreshments, anyone?

As most of you who know me well know, one of my very favorite gospel recordings of all-time is the Couriers’ classic 1963 album “Nothing…But The Gospel Truth”. Kind of an ironic title when one considers the amount of embellishment and apocrypha so prevalent in gospel music.

What do I mean? Well, take for example, Michael English (you take him…vocally, he’s not exactly my cup of tea). I have read on message boards off and on(and in the book “This Is My Story”, a book with nice original artwork but an all too obvious promotional tool for the ubiquitous Gaither Homecoming team)that English sang with, among others, the Happy Goodmans, the Couriers, the Singing Americans, landing with the Gaither Vocal Band before finally going solo.

So what’s wrong with that picture?

Before I elaborate, let me assert unequivocally that English is one of the most charismatic(I’m not talking theology here)singers in gospel music…he can really move an audience. I don’t deny that he is a unique talent.

Having said that, to all the English fans reading this, don’t flame me for the following.

I am quite aware of the Happy Goodmans, and especially the Couriers. I never saw English perform with either group. It’s possible I could’ve missed him with the Goodmans, but I doubt it. And I had NEVER heard about him with the Couriers.

But since I’m planning a brand new article on the Couriers(there, the cat’s out of the bag! I’ll let you all know when it’s ready!), I decided to double-check in case there was something I missed. After all, not living in the PA area, it’s theoretically possible that he might have slipped in there for a time or two.

So I asked my dear friend and Courier mainstay Neil Enloe if English had ever been a member of the Couriers. Neil told me English was never a member of the group. In fact, Neil further told me he has yet to meet Michael English!(How about that, Neil Enloe and I having something in common involving gospel music! I know now that miracles do occur!)

But then, the question remains, why do people assert such things, especially when there are people around that can demonstrate that they are false? You got me…but that’s not the only “gospel apocrypha” out there!

I have also read on gospel message boards that JD Sumner was alleged to have had surgery to enlarge his vocal cords, which presumably would explain why he hit notes that no other bass singer had hit before him. JD DID have throat surgery in 1967, but that was to remove some potentially cancerous polyps in his throat, NOT to enlarge his voice box.

JD was able to sing those notes because (1)he had a very low voice…and (2)he constantly worked and practiced to sing lower and lower(this can be done, I’m living proof of it). Eventually, by 1965, JD was able to consistently sing below low C and in the area between the A below that and what is known as “double low C” anytime he wanted. The consistency and quality of those notes he produced amazed people to the point where they were convinced that JD must be doing SOMETHING to produce those seemingly unproducable notes. However, as his successors have shown, they CAN be produced if one practices and has the equipment to make it happen.

It’s just as in Babe Ruth’s day…people were astonished when he started hitting 50-60 home runs a season(this when most players considered it a feat to hit 10-12)because he was showing what could be done with the right amount of determinayiom, effort, and talent. Soon, other major league sluggers were htting 40-50 home runs a year…but in a sense, it took someone like the Babe to show them the way to do things that people at first thought could not be done.

But why the embellishment tendency in gospel music? Maybe it starts innocently enough with an assertion in conversation such as, “Boy, that Michael English can sing, can’t he?” “He sure can.” “Wouldn’t he have done well with say, the Goodmans…or the Couriers?” “Oh, no question…”…and then you’ve got a “story” that Michael English actually SANG with these groups of people he had never even met.

Michael English is a fine singer who has accomplished a lot in gospel music. It doesn’t help his career to look greater by claiming he did things he never did, or sang with people that he never worked with. And JD Sumner sang lower than anyone in his era did…it doesn’t help to explain how he did it to say he did things he never did.

Can we just cool it a bit with the hyperbole…and just give credit to people for what they do(or did)…and appreciate them for who they really are…and not so much what we wish they were or what we wish happened?

Maybe I’ve Had It Coming

While listening to Rush Limbaugh at work this morning, he said something that got my attention.



Rush is good at saying things that get people’s attention…that’s why he’s been on the radio for so many years, in the process becoming the most listened to person in the medium’s history.



Rush was addressing the issue of the amazing amount of simply vituperative criticism he receives from those who disagree with him, or just plain don’t like him. Does all that criticism bother him?



No, says Rush. After all, he has been perhaps the most vocal and effective critic of THOSE people for the past 18 years….why would he not expect to get that kind of reaction in return for his trouble? What would be hard to understand is if he would NOT get that kind of treatment. Therefore, since it comes with the territory, he can deal with it.



Lately, I’ve been distracted by the amount of criticism I’ve recieved, both openly and covertly, from some people I have fellowshipped with on the various southern gospel message boards I frequent. Some of the most vocal critics of mine base their criticism on a very short period of fellowship, not long enough to POSSIBLY know me well enough to say some of the things they’ve said. Yet they blather on, trying to undermine other relationships I’ve established in those communities, and because of their exaggerated self-assessments, think they’re “showing me” a thing or two.



I really have no resentment against these people…I have no reason to. I am no victim, even though they assert that I try to make myself one. I take my lead from my Lord…I forgive them, for they know not what they say or do.



And because I continue to try to live the way I do, and I don’t react publicly to their puerile attempts to denigrate me, but try to live my life as I should…AND I have many friends right in front of them who refuse to listen to their carping…they really resent me these days!



But, as is the case with Rush, perhaps they should…after all, I have no intention of letting these individuals rob me of my joy in Jesus…no wonder I’ve become a disappointment to them. And unless something changes, they likely always will be. And that’s OK…if that’s the problem, then I deserve what I’m getting.



Certain things do come with the territory of trying to hold fast to the principles I’ve learned from my Lord.



So if that’s the price I must pay, so be it. I’ll be just fine, and I love them all just the same.

Justice…

So many of us seek justice in this world…we are often concerned about whether we are treated fairly in life. But here’s a point of view on that I would like for us to consider. Here is Oswald Chambers…

The Sermon on the Mount indicates that when we are on Jesus Christ’s errands, there is no time to stand up for ourselves. Jesus says, in effect, Do not be bothered with whether you are being justly dealt with or not. To look for justice is a sign of deflection from devotion to Him. Never look for justice in this world, but never cease to give it. If we look for justice, we will begin to grouse and to indulge in the discontent of self-pity - Why should I be treated like this? If we are devoted to Jesus Christ we have nothing to do with what we meet, whether it is just or unjust. Jesus says - Go steadily on with what I have told you to do and I will guard your life. If you try to guard it yourself, you remove yourself from My deliverance. The most devout among us become atheistic in this connection; we do not believe God, we enthrone common sense and tack the name of God on to it. We do lean to our own understanding, instead of trusting God with all our hearts.

Oswald is right on, as usual. We obsess over what is right and fair in our lives..by whose standards? Ours…or God’s?

If you answered God’s, you’d be right about 90-95 percent of the time. But why don’t we do what we say we believe and just trust God with all our stuff?

Fundamentally, you know why…because it’s not our nature to do that. But if, when we learn to know God through Jesus Christ, our nature in that respect doesn’t change, why do we keep referring to ourselves as “new creations”?

I don’t know, either…all I do know is that I need to shape up in that area more. Do you?

A historian?

As the writer of the monthly SG History 101 feature for Southern Gospel News, this is something I have been called often. But is it accurate?

I’ve never been much for titles. I don’t need to have a fancy label to do what I do…I’d rather just do what I do, and be appreciated because I do it. I’m not the only one who feels that way. Al Davis, the longtime owner of the Oakland Raiders football team, has never had a real title since he coached the team from 1963-1966. Just to satisfy all the people who clamored for him to tell them what he was, he gave himself a fancy title…”Managing General Partner”…because (1)he co-owns the team, and (2)he makes most of the management decisions. Seems appropriate, but it’s clear that Davis never has really cared what others may call him.

“Historian” is defined as two things…(1)a student of history…and (2)a chronicler of historical events. Under those terms, I suppose “historian” is an appropriate title, because I AM a student of history, and I DO chronicle it. But there are many things a historian is assumed to be that I don’t feel I am.

I am NOT a fact machine on gospel music information. OK, I know more minutiae about it than most people, but I am not so absorbed in such data that I can automatically recite the members of say, the Scenicland Boys off the top of my head. I have to look it up just like the rest of you But isn’t a “historian” supposed to KNOW stuff like that? No…he may…or he may not.

Is a historian an “expert” simply because he is a student of the genre in question? That’s a term I feel VERY uncomfortable with. In the last 24 hours, many basketball fans are questioning the contention made often this season that the Dallas Mavericks’ fine forward Dirk Nowitzki is a “superstar” after his team lost to the Miami Heat in the championship series after winning the first two games of that best-of-7 series. Nowitzki is a fine player, but is probably not a “superstar”…especially when compared to other excellent players such as Larry Bird or Michael Jordan.

And while I know a lot about gospel music, I’m not a musician nor a professional singer…and there are many that know more about those rudiments of the genre than I. So student, yes…chronicler, yes…expert….that might be a bit much.

I just try to learn as much as I can about an art form I’ve loved most of my life…and “chronicle” its’ story and tradition to interested readers. That, however, doesn’t infer any sort of special label or “anointing” on me that anyone else doesn’t have. I’m just doing the best I can with what I’ve got.

Just your friendly neighborhood “historian” trying to “chronicle” the story of gospel music as best I can.

It is better to have loved and lost…

…than to never have lost at all.

Or somehing like that, anyway.

On this very blog a few days ago, I mentioned the development of a possible new relationship in my life, and how confident I was about it occurring.

Well, as has often been the case in my life, my prognostication skills were quite wanting…the relationship won’t be happening. After today, it’s obvious that I need to move on, and cut my losses.

What went wrong? I’m not sure…but I AM certain that this one won’t happen.

It’s rather silly of me to talk about my “losses”…I really had nothing to lose in the first place…better it happen now than after feelings had set in, and REAL hurt could happen.

I’m just thankful to God that when my plans aren’t the same as His, He wastes no time in letting me know that! And, clearly, in this case, that was the situation.

Now I can concentrate more fully on stuff that needs my attention, such as my financial problems, my car’s brakes(which MUST be fixed soon), articles I’ve planned to write, and moving back into my apartment. And not a moment too soon.

So ladies, it’ll be a while(if ever)until I can pay that much attention to you. Hope there are no hard feelings.

This crazy world of mine…

All right…I promise to go back to talking about gospel music real soon here…for now, just one more cathartic blast about things going on in my world!

They’re FINALLY starting the reconstruction on my apartment! Yay! I can’t wait until it’s done, and I can move back in to my less than palatial abode!

In the meantime, the man who has been gracious enough to let me stay at his house while all this is going on is in the hospital right now with pancreatitis. It’s only supposed to be for four days, and I hope that’s all it’s for.

Another of my co-workers went into that same hospital…he had lung surgery, and will be out of action for four months. He was the very first of the KMJ stroke parade, 15 years ago. I want him to recover fully…he is a dear man, and one of the best broadcasters I have ever known.

My car’s brakes have gone the way of all flesh…pray for healing there…of my brakes, AND my bank account!

And wouldn’t you know…love may be in the air! Now before you all start singing “John’s got a girlfriend” yet, we’re just getting acquainted now. But it’s VERY encouraging…I’ll share more if there’s anything to report.

That’s what’s going on in my little corner of the world…hope yours is fine and dandy!

“Self” help?

Paul Little once wrote that the only difference between Christians and non-Christians is that…both are just beggars, but the Christian knows where to find the bread.

Apparently it’s true in more than just the obvious way. What would you think are the biggest selling books in Christian bookstores?

If you say Bibles, guess again. And it’s not devotionals, or apologetics, or even fiction. Can you guess what they are?

If you say it’s those so-called “self help” books, you’d be right …even though those things are among the biggest Christian oxymorons out there.

Why do I say that?

Because it’s implied in the word that one can “help himself” by using those books. It’s the age old lie that goes back to Adam and Eve…that we can “help ourselves” out of whatever difficulty we’re in….as if we don’t need God that much at all.

Au contraire, mon freres…if the Bible teaches us anything, it’s that we are completely dependent on the grace and mercy of God for ANYTHING we get in life…and there IS no help available from anyplace except God. Furthermore, it teaches us to seek the Lord at all times for all things…that nothing else can be fully trusted.

“Self-help”, in other words, is just another example of buying into the lies of the ages in order to get us away from the God that has proven Himself to be the sole means of sufficiency for our needs and hopes through all oftime.

I realize that some of the Christian-oriented self help books try to encourage us to put our entire trust in God, and not all of them are mouthpieces for the secular world trying to infiltrate the lives of otherwise devoted believers. But if one peruses them closely, one is amazed at just how secular these “Christian” books are.

I guess it only figures, because many of us Christians try to rationalize our behaviors when it comes to our lifestyle choices and popular media. In light of that, why is it so surprising that we’re willing to buy into the ways of the heathen world to escape our difficulties and our annoyances?

Yet, when it’s all said and done, we’re always told to not put our trust in men, but in God. And as we grow in the faith, that realization becomes more and more evident to us daily.

The agony…

There are some days of late that I wake up in the morning wondering “Why don’t I feel better than I do?” Even though I still have those days, when I stop and think about things, I don’t think that way as much.



One of my co-workers has been going through agony I would never want, and can’t imagine having. It all started last year, when he discovered a mark on his face. I guess we all get things like that as we get older, so why give it much thought? Especially since it didn’t hurt at the time.



Of course, we all have friends who notice things like that, and suggest that we have them looked into. And Mark did too…but like most of us, he just kept putting it off, and putting it off.



As of two months ago, he finally was coerced by his wife into seeing a doctor. Good thing he did when he did, because the diagnosis was not too encouraging…he was told it could be a sign of cancer, so Mark made an appointment to have it removed.



Mark kept reassuring himself that it would be a simple procedure…that there was nothing to worry about. But when he got there, the concern intensified. To start with, it wasn’t so easy to remove the problem. As Mark was being examined, it was determined that there was cancer, and it had spread beyond just his face.



The doctors had to keep cutting away, and the surgery was becoming complicated. Before they were done, they had to cut up quite a bit of Mark’s face…when they were done, Mark had to get 70 stitches, and the doctors still weren’t sure they had everything…and sure enough, they didn’t.



Mark had to go in for more again this week…and the doctors found still more cancer cells…they were able to remove most of it, 30 more stitches later. I can’t even conceive of the constant pain that Mark has been going through the past few weeks. It’s got to be unbearable.



And yet, like the rest of us, Mark is still at work, because he is dedicated, and he knows he’s wanted and needed here.



If you want to pray for Mark and his family, feel free! He could use the prayers, and we ALL could use the practice!



And for sure, next time I feel a little out of sorts, I’ll think of Mark, and then just shut up!

Timing is everything

Sometimes it just pays to be in the right place at the right time.



On today’s Rush Limbaugh program, which I run at the radio station for which I work, he had a caller yesterday that had a mild quibble with an observation of his. In the process, Rush made a comment about her first name(Jenny), which Rush said was one of his favorite names of all. He then proceeded to refer to her as Jessica later in the half hour by accident.



Jenny called back today, slightly hurt that Rush would make that mistake after going on for so long about how wonderful her name was. They talked for a few minutes, then Rush went on with his show after clearing the air with her.



After taking a commercial break, he then did something extraordinary, even for him. He called her back and, still feeling embarrassed over his faux pas the day before, offered her a gift.



By the end of the call, Rush had GIVEN Jenny a Select Comfort bed(who he advertises for), a gift that has a value of somewhere around $1200.



Now many deride Rush, saying he says and does things for show, as if he COULDN’T seriously believe the way he does about so many things…and he couldn’t be a very nice person…in fact, many accuse him of being a hateful person!



I don’t know about that…I have met Rush in person, and he impresses me as a truly nice man who doesn’t take himself as seriously as many listeners try to. I think he meant his gesture as a sincere one to be kind to a persistent and consistent listener. And what a gift that is!



Do you suppose if I gave Rush a link to this blog, and called him if he got the name wrong, that he might give ME one of those Select Comfort beds? I know I sure wouldn’t mind one!



I’ll keep you posted.

A first…

…for The Inquiring Mind…a follow-up to an earlier post!

This is to the post just prior to this one, wishing Neil Enloe a happy birthday, and commenting on why he is a good friend, even a “hero”(albeit chosen very carefully).

After I had posted it, I knew how Neil would respond to it once he read it…and it didn’t take long for him to react! Predictably, he denied almost any resemblance to the person I described in the entry…and reminded me that all glory and praise should go to God, not him(a point in which he is absolutely right!).

This is another reason why I’m such a fan of Neil Enloe…not Neil Enloe, Courier…but just plain ol’ Neil Enloe…friend…and brother in Christ. Of all the people I know well, he is probably the least self-centered person I’ve seen(a trait that I would be better off to share more of).

When I try to point out to him that he is among the most talented people to ever make gospel music a career, he resolutely denies it! This despite the abundant evidence to back up my point. You know, many of the finest gospel singers, if you look far enough, are proud of the abilities that God gave them, and are not shy about demonstrating those talents when given the opportunity. It’s not that Neil is shy, but he is absolutely unimpressed at his own accomplishments. His sole concern is and remains how faithful he is to God, and everything else is secondary, if not irrelevant. To me this is true humility, not the “aw, shucks” pseudo-humility we see all around us just to impress us.

Neil told me once that the greatest compliment he could receive about his music and career with the Couriers is if someone would say to him, “You know, I didn’t even know you were there.” This is because getting earthly acclaim is unimportant(almost boring) to him…but people benefitting from his work is important to him,and his name doesn’t need to be shoved in our faces for that to happen. Would that I could ever become so humble about my own abilities or accomplishments.

See why he’s a role model for me?

Anyway, when I think of certain things I admire, my friends know that I am given to a certain degree of hyperbole and encomium in expressing my feelings. This is in part what I did in my birthday tribute to Neil, and by no means did I mean to exaggerate or to embarrass him.

I just wrote from the heart.

So, Neil…I’ll just say this to tie it all together…you are an inspiration and a role model to me, and a person who I admire greatly and respect just as much…but more than any of that…you are my friend…and for that, I thank God…who indeed deserves ALL the glory.

So that’s all I have to say on Neil Enloe for a while. But, Neil, I can’t promise that your name won’t pop in here again from time to time…fair enough?

OK…on to other topics for next time!

Page 28 of 33 pages « First  <  26 27 28 29 30 >  Last »