I have a friend who is going through his first Christmas season as music director at his church. After sending him an email I thought I would share it on the Gatekeeper316 site. Whether you are in your first or forty-first Christmas season, it is good advice.

Dear friend, I trust you are well. There are several times I have thought about you and prayed for you as you go through this Christmas season. I have every reason to believe you will do a great job. Here are a few things I have learned about ministry at this wonderful time of the year.

1. Don’t forget to ask your people to help—they want to help and it creates ownership.
2. Be sure to remind them (and yourself) why you are doing what you are doing.
3. Enjoy the journey.
4. Remember that we make friends by the things we do together. You have opportunity to make friends in ministry by doing things with them.
5. Never (and I mean never) be the last man left with a woman who is not your wife.
6. Never give a woman who is not your wife, daughter, mother or grandmother a ride in your vehicle unless there is a third party in the vehicle with you. No exceptions. (It worked for Jerry Falwell and it will work for you as well.)
7. Finally, have something to look forward to after the deal is over. Having that is good for you but it is also good for your wife (and daughter.)

 Feel free to call if there is anything I can do for you.

 Blessings

 PS – Watch this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0REJ-lCGiKU when you have a chance.

Moreover David and the captains of the army separated for the service some of the songs of Aspah, Heman, and Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps, stringed instruments and cymbals.  And the number of the skilled men performing their service was…who prophesied with a harp to give thanks and to praise the Lord…All these were the songs of Heman and the King’s seer in the words of God, to exalt his horn…All these were under the direction of their father for the music in the house of the Lord, with cymbals, stringed instruments, and harps, for the service of the house of God…So the number of them, with their brethren who were instructed in the songs of the Lord, all who were skillful, was two hundred and eighty-eight.  And they cast lots for their duty, the small as well as the great, the teacher with the student.

New King James Version (vs 1-8)

We all have questions about what Heaven will be like, and after twenty-five years of extensive research, Dr. Randy Alcorn has the answers.

In the most comprehensive and definitive book on Heaven to date, Randy invites you to picture Heaven the way Scripture describes it—a bright, vibrant, and physical New Earth, free from sin, suffering, and death, and brimming with Christ’s presence, wondrous natural beauty, and the richness of human culture as God intended it.

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If you’ve always thought of Heaven as a realm of disembodied spirits, clouds, and eternal harp strumming, you’re in for a wonderful surprise.

This is a book about real people with real bodies enjoying close relationships with God and each other, eating, drinking, working, playing, traveling, worshiping, and discovering on a New Earth. Earth as God created it. Earth as he intended it to be.

And the next time you hear someone say, “We can’t begin to imagine what Heaven will be like,” you will be able to tell them, “I can.”

Although there were numerous ‘moments’ during day 1 of our conference in Atlanta, Cliff Barrows’ message on Thursday evening was at the top of the list. (Yes, that is an ax in his hands!)

I am looking for the DVD accompaniment for “America, the Beautiful” by Clydesdale. I can get the CD accomp, but the DVD portion is out-of-print. I willing to purchase it, so please email me at kwells@ourfbc.com.

Thanks

I found this in the archives and thought some of you might enjoy it.  Can you top it?

Mike Speck working on his first choir book.

While reading in Proverbs today I was struck by the following verses all taken from chapter 13.

vs. 1 – A wise son heeds his father’s instruction, but a mocker does not listen to rebuke.

vs. 13- He who scorns instruction will pay for it, but he who respects a command is rewarded.

vs. 18 – He who ignores discipline comes to poverty and shame but whoever heeds correction is honored.

Maybe I am the only one that hates to be criticized but often in church ministry positions I hear so much criticism that I fear we can often miss a good “gut check” that accompanies each letter or comment.  Obviously when these come from co-laborers or shepherds we might pause to examine the situation or circumstances but what about the elderly widow in the choir who has a genuine desire to bring something to our attention?  The Lord spoke to my heart and reminded me although I don’t like to be corrected or disciplined, sometimes God puts those individuals or circumstances in my path and they should not be so quickly discarded.