Rehearsal This Week

I'm in New Orleans this week attending an industry trade show, so I won't be with you at rehearsal this week. I'll miss you. Jerilin will be leading the rehearsal, so I know you'll get a lot accomplished. Please, be there and work to learn everything that she puts in front of you. We have more new music this month than we've had recently. So, we need to learn early and quickly.

I'll see you Saturday.

Sunday Recap

Today was great! Thanks again for your service to God. I know, from the comments that I hear from the Brookwood family, that you are a blessing to them. You are also a blessing to me. You are focused on God and the mission he has given us. That is why we experience such sweet times together. Let's stay close to Him!

You would think, after listening to Perry's message, that we'd carefully scheduled "Promises" to go with his sermon. I actually didn't know much about the angle that he was going to take when I selected the song. I knew that he would still be on the S.W.A.T theme, and felt a sense, as I was reviewing songs, that "Promises" was the one we should sing. It wasn't a perfect fit, I thought, but it felt like what we should do. As I sat listening to the message today, I was stunned at how perfectly the song set up the message. There it is again ... we see God using our service to Him. Wow! We are in His hands.

UPDATE on Dennis' memorial service: We will meet at 10:00 AM for a sound check. Please be on time, because we'll only have a few minutes for the sound check. After that, we'll go to the music suite and run through the song with Keeter. The service will start at 11:00 AM. Let's all wear dark colors. I don't think we need to wear suits, but let's dress conservatively. I believe that Jon is going to have the music team set up in front of the stage on floor level. He and Buddy will be working out the details this week.

Wednesday's rehearsal is important. We have two new and challenging songs next month. Please be there!

Have a great week! Walk with God.

Internet Radio

I discovered a new, to me at least, internet radio that I love ... Pandora (www.pandora.com). Frankly, I've not been a big fan of internet radio; this one is great! You just enter the name of an artist that you like, and Pandora starts playing a playlist of songs that it thinks you will like based on the artist you name. I entered "Hillsong" because I like Hillsong praise music. Since then I've been listening to a stream of praise music selections that have been, so far, perfect. Pandora doesn't require a seperate music player. It just runs in your brower. Cool! Try it out.

Updated Features

Check out a couple of updated features in the panel on the right hand side of this page. The Key PraiseChoir Posts section is where I'll highlight PraiseChoir posts that are more about why we do what we do than most of the things in the blog. The Links section will point you to other websites that are of interest to worship leaders. I hope you find them interesting and useful.

Preview of Next Month

Here is the song list for next month. We'll start working on these songs at our next rehearsal.

Opener
Can't Stop Talking - recorded by Hillsong on All Things are Possible
Worship Set
Let Everything That Has Breath
Promises
God of Wonders
Offering
You Give Me Joy - recorded by Bethany World Center on Bethany Live: Let the Church Arise

The opener and the offering songs are both new and quite challenging. You will want to be at all rehearsals. We'll need every minute of practice that we can get!

See you Sunday!!

Rehearsal Notes

Thank you for a wonderful rehearsal last night. It is amazing to me how much we've grown together musically over the last year. I see that in the way that I feel now after our rehearsals with the band. It used to be that, at the end of the rehearsal, I would feel panicked about everything that needed to happen for Sunday to work. I realized, as I drove home last night, that I now feel very relaxed and fulfilled after rehearsal. That is because you have become a choir that is capable of learning and delivering the music - in a way that lets us get beyond the music and into the worship. Thank you so much! It is a treat to serve with you.

I am reminding myself this morning, however, that the enemy can use that confidence in what we can do to tempt us to become self-sufficient. Let's remember that the best we can do is worthless until God picks it up and uses it. Apart from Him, we will be very average. In Him, we our service is sensational! Let's spend the next couple of days asking God to prepare us for service on Sunday and looking forward to what He is going to do.

REMINDERS:
1 - Rehearsal begins at 7:45 AM on Sunday morning.
2 - Wear black and a shade of green or khaki that will fit the camouflage theme on the stage.

Worship & Praise - What's the Difference?

Yesterday as I was driving down the 146 (Woodruff Road ... "the 146" just sounds cooler ... it is, after all, Hwy 146), I was thinking about this question. What is the difference between Worship and Praise. To some people they mean pretty much one and the same. To others the words simply represent slightly different musical expressions. Biblically, I believe they are theologically different. Think about it. We'll talk about it soon. I'd like to know your thoughts. Since we are "leaders of worship and praise", it's important that we know what we believe about it.

The Latest on the Memorial Service

The service will be on Saturday, March 3 at 11:00 AM in the auditorium. Please, clear your schedule. Thanks.

Chris Sligh - American Idol Watch

Be sure to watch and cheer for Chris Sligh tonight on American Idol. Chris is from Greenville and is a worship leader at Seacoast Church over on Roper Mountian Road Extension. He's a neat kid.

Here is a quote from the profile at his blog. "I am first and foremost a Christ-follower. I am also a rock star. I don't feel the two are diametrically opposed. "

Memorial Service for Dennis

I still don't know much about the memorial service for Dennis, but I can confirm that we've been asked to sing. The word I got was that we were asked to sing the "Holy, Holy" song that was on a choir rehearsal CD. I assume that means "Holy You Are" I'm confirming that and will let you know just as soon as I know. Please try to keep March 3 open. Thanks.

You know it's pretty amazing to think about the fact that a couple of months ago we were singing praises with Dennis on a Sunday morning at Brookwood. Now he's there ...

Rehearsal This Week

Just a reminder ... this week's rehearsal will be on THURSDAY with the band. Please, take some time to refresh your memory on the songs we're doing before you come to rehearsal. I'll see you at 6:30 PM Thursday.

News about Debbie Webster

Fran sent me an email saying that Debbie Webster's neck (spinal cord) surgery went well. Fran has visited her several days this week and says that right now Debbie cannot do much for herself. Please remember to keep her in your prayers. She'd also love to hear from you.

Keys to A Long Marriage

I've been married for almost 30 years now, and I've learned that one of the keys to a long marriage is being willing to attend an occassional chick flick with my wife. We guys have a hard time understanding the value in a movie where no cars are smashed up and no bad guys die. My wife loves it, though, when I sit through a movie with her where people cry and say emotional things to each other. That's what we did on Valentines Day. We saw "Music and Lyrics" with Drew Barrymore and Hugh Grant. We walked out of the theatre feeling very much in love. Guys, if you haven't already, take your wife to see it. It's a fun love story ... not real deep, but fun. As a musician, you'll enjoy the music stuff ... the process of writing a hit song.

Memorial Service for Dennis

Please try to keep your schedule clear on Saturday, March 3. We may be asked to sing for Dennis' memorial service. I got a note from someone at Brookwood today saying that Dennis' sister was asking about it because he enjoyed so much singing in the choir. I don't have any more information than that right now; but I'll let you know what I know just as soon as I get it.

Dennis Simmons - Sadness & Joy

Dennis Simmons died this morning at 12:20 AM. He was showing some improvement and had been moved from CCU to a room. Then yesterday he took a turn for the worse and was moved back to CCU.

My heart is sad because of our loss of such a kind and tender human being. But I am very happy for Dennis who has moved today beyond his pain and struggle into the place that we only dream of. What a wonderful time he must be having ...

I'll let you know about the memorial service and other things as I learn them.

Happy Valentine's Day

I hope your day is filled with love!

Remember, please, that we have cancelled choir rehearsal this evening. I hope you can spend the time making your signicant other feel special.

Album Recommendation

A Grateful People - Watermark

If you are a Watermark fan, this is old news. But I just discovered what is their last album, released last year. Nathan and Christi Nockels released it as their retirement album. It was recorded live in their home church in Brentwood, TN. I'm enjoying it immensely. Chris Tomlin, Point of Grace, and Charlie Hall make guest appearances on the album. They all sang with Nathan and Christi at various points in their careers.

If you are not familiar with Watermark, it is worth a listen. I would describe their style as a mixture of acoustic pop\rock with a bit of bluegrass and Celtic elements mixed in occasionally. It's light, fun, and spiritually uplifting.

Dark Chocolate Wisdom

I came back to the office today after lunch and grabbed a few pieces of Dove dark chocolate to savor as I got back to work. Each of the pieces of chocolate is wrapped in a foil wrapper with words of "wisdom" printed on the inside, kind of like a fortune cookie. You Dove fans will know what I'm talking about! Anyway ... the first one that I opened had this message, "Sing along with the elevator music." It's not very deep thinking, but it's a pretty good message for people like us - singers. Keep singing!

Dennis Simmons - Update 2/12/06

Anne visited Dennis last night in ICU. She said that he seems to be somewhat stronger. Continue to pray, however, because he is still in very critical condition.

Dennis Simmons - Update

I just picked up an email from Dave Moore. He talked with Dennis' sister yesterday. She says that Dennis has been moved to ICU becuase his heart is failing now. In fact, Dave says, everything is failing. Let's continue in our prayers. As Dave said in his email, Dennis is strong in his faith and is prepared for what is next.

http://www.lifechurch.tv/

This morning while reading a couple of blogs by church leaders I respect, I ran across LifeChurch. If you want to know what the modern pioneers of the contemporary church are doing, check this out. They have ten church campuses ... one of them is an internet campus! It's pretty innovative stuff. Here are the links:
http://www.lifechurch.tv/ - the church's homepage
http://swerve.lifechurch.tv/ -- the pastor's blog

Debbie's Surgery

I believe that Debbie Webster's surgery is today. Let's keep her in our prayers. If anyone hears anything, let me know, please.

Urge

You might be interested in a new music service that I've been using for several weeks. I love it. It is called URGE (www.urge.com). As a subsciber, you can listen to or download almost any song or album that you can think of. The selection is awesome. The downside is that when you stop subcribing, you no longer can play what you downloaded. That doesn't bother me because I don't want to use up disk space with a bunch of music that I rarely listen to. I'd rather just listen to it a few times, then listen to something else. I've started thinking of it sort of like I think of cable TV. I'm buying a service, not the actual content. Of course with URGE, you can also purchase the music and have it forever. If you purchase music, you can burn it to a CD up to five times.

What To Wear

Give me you thoughts on this, please. I get tired of wearing the same color combination (black & white) all the time. It probably has something to do with the fact that I'm ADD. I'm willing to go with black and white everytime; but I'd prefer some other combinations. Some of you are very good with clothes and colors. What other combinations can we use?

My goal is to have a look that is casual and fresh, but which also has uniformity without being a uniform.

Please, post your comments. Thanks.

- Joe

Rehearsal Notes

Once again, it was a fun and productive rehearsal last night. Aren't the lyrics that we're singing great? I think I'm going to take some of them this week and just use them as personal prayers thoughout the day.

Since we won't be rehearsing next week, we'll all have to make a bit of extra effort to be sure that we are ready for our Thursday rehearsal with the band. Sing through every song once a day with your CD and you'll be ready. Let me know if you want some extra rehearsal time, and I'll look for an opportunity to schedule an optional rehearsal session.

Nobody handed me prayer requests last night, but I'm sure that there are some. If you will post them as comments here, I'll be sure to get them on the main blog page.

Continue to pray for Dennis Simmons. Anne says he's looking better but is still very much in need of a transplant.

Thanks for all of your sincere service. You are blessing to me, to the Brookwood family, and to our Lord.

- Joe

Sonya - Recovery is going well

I just talked with Sonya. She said that her surgery went well, and recovery is going well. Her doctor wants her to stay in, so we won't see her at rehearsal for a couple of weeks. She asks that we continue to pray for her.

Sonya, we look forward to seeing you soon!

Rehearsal Tonight - Wednesday, February 07, 2007

I'm looking forward to seeing you at rehearsal tonight. There is much to be accomplished. Since we will not be meeting next week (Valentines Day), this will be our last rehearsal this month before being onstage with the band on February 22. We need to know the music by the time we leave rehearsal tonight! See you at 6:30 PM.

Great New Music Release

For you Classical Music lovers ... I am one of us ... there is a great new recording out that you'll probably enjoy - Appassionato by Yo-Yo Ma. It's a collection of great cello works recorded by the greatest cellist of our time. It has quickly become my most played classical album.

Personal story - A number of years ago I was eating dinner with a business associate, Jack, who lives and works in NYC. He had flown in that afternoon and was tired because his son in law had shown up knocking on his door at 6 AM that morning and jolted Jack out of his sleep. I thought the son in law must be some kind a jerk. So I said, "Jack, what in the world was he doing at your place so early in the morning." He said, "Oh, he was on the Carson show last night and took the red eye from LA. My daughter wanted him to drop some stuff off before he went to work. He'd come right over after he got off the plane." I said, "The Carson Show!! What was he doing there?" I was thinking he was a janitor or a camera man or something like that. Jack said, "Oh, he's a musician and was on the show." Still not realizing what was going on, I thought he must have been filling in with the Tonight Show Band. So I asked, "Hmmm... Was he playing in the band?" Jack said, rather nochalantly, "No he was a guest." Still not getting how "big" Jack's son in law was, I said, "A guest! Who is he?" Jack rather flippantly said, "Oh, you probably wouldn't know him. He's YO-YO MA!" I was speechless. It was so cool to be eating dinner with Yo-Yo Ma's father in law. Actually, only a couple of us at the table had any idea who Yo-Yo Ma is. So we talked about Yo-Yo a little before the conversation drifted back to sports and business. But it's always been a great memory to have experienced that "one degree of separation" with one of the world's music Greats.

Bonnie Seawright - Graduate School

I got an email from Bonnie that I want to share with you. I admire Bonnie for the way that she's followed God through some difficult times. It's fun to see what God is doing in her life. Here is her email ...

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Joe,

I wanted to let you know that it looks like it will be a while before I get to come back to choir. I'm starting graduate classes today at Converse. I'm working toward a Master's in Teaching for English. I'm very excited and it's been amazing to watch God work as he's brought all this together in the past month. Imagine a single mom working and taking 9 hours of graduate classes! Who knew!
I have class on Wednesday nights this semester, though. So, I won't be able to join you guys again until that's over some time in May.

Please, let the choir know that I will miss everyone greatly and will of course keep you all in my prayers.

Blessings,
Bonnie

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Dennis Simmons

Does anyone have any additional information on how Dennis Simmons is doing? If so, please post as comments. Thanks.

Debbie Webster's Surgery

Debbie Webster is having surgery on her neck this coming Friday. I don't know the details, but anytime you start messing with any part of the spine, it's a big deal. Let's keep her in our prayers.

Kirk Franklin

Sunday afternoon while surfing the TV an hour or so before the Super Bowl game, I ran across a great gospel music feature on BET with Kirk Franklin and his choir presenting at Lakewood Church in Houston. They did a song that we've done before - My Life, My Love, My All. If you want to hear some very hot choir work, watch for this show to come around again and watch it. I've never heard a choral group do a better job of combining spiritual passion with choral excellence.

American Idol - Chris Sligh, the Greenville Connection

Those of you who are American Idol fans should keep an eye this year on Chris Sligh. Chris is the guy who auditioned in Birmingham and got a standing ovation from Paula Abdul. He's a great talent and a real funny guy.

You'll be interested to know that Chris is a worship leader at Seacoast Church here in Greenville. He is being coached along the way by my friend Don Chapman. Don directs the music at Seacoast and visited our choir rehearsal last year along with Tim Light. Don was with Chris in Birmingham, and also in Hollywood recently for the next round of American Idol auditions that you'll see soon on television. He tells me that Chris continues to do well with his performances for Randy, Paula, and Simon.

If you want to know more about Chris Sligh, you can check out his blog at http://frommymindtoyoureyes.blogspot.com/, and at his band's web page http://halfpastforever.com/band.html.

Rise Up Sunday

I'm sorry that it has taken so long to write about your wonderful service to God and our congregation last Sunday. It's been a demanding week. My travel schedule pushed me to the limit. My task list kept getting longer; and the task of following up on Sunday's service kept getting pushed down the list. This is not an excuse. I should have written earlier.

I thought Sunday was great! The new monitoring system made the environment on stage very much better. Although it felt odd in someways to not hear some of the things we have been used to hearing from the stage monitors, it was a great benefit to be able to hear each other and ourselves. For me, it was much easier to enjoy and get lost in the worship. How did you feel?

I received great feedback from several sources. Jon Day had some great things to say. One meaningful comment that he made had to do with the visual aspect that we discussed last month. He noticed a real and positive improvement!

Let's look forward to another great service this month!

Remember ... we will NOT rehearse on February 14. Spend the time with someone you love that evening. I have intentionally selected songs that we can prepare in just two rehearsals so we can enjoy Valentines Day.

Praise Choir Blog - New Function

The purpose of this blog in the past has been to provide a place for me to post my musings on the concept and function of Praise Choirs. Because of how busy I've been with work, family, ministry, and a couple of things I'm studying, I have not had the time to post any thoughts in some time. So ... I'm going to change the function of www.praisechoir.blogspot.com. I'm going to use it to COMMUNICATE with the choir that I lead at Brookwood Church. It will eliminate the task of maintaining an accurate email address list. It will make it possible for members without email addresses to get the messages I'm sending to the choir, by jumping on the internet when they are near a computer. It will automatically create an archive of all the messages that I've sent to the choir, allowing new members to catch up on the things we've been talking about in our rehearsals. And it will slightly simplify my task of publishing rehearsal notes and other musical musings.

So ... to all of you Brookwood Praise Choir members ... WELCOME. Feel free to leave comments!