Monday Morning Music Ministry

8-25-25

I have told this story before, a few years ago. So forgive me, please, if “you’ve heard this one before.” But some readers have asked about it; and it is about a holiday weekend. Labor Day approaches, and my “mind” goes back. I remember a simple BBQ, but one of the most profound days of my life. A holiday far away from my home… but very close to my heart. It happened on a Summer holiday more than 25 years ago.

I was working on a book back then, a three-part biography of rock ‘n’ roll pioneer Jerry Lee Lewis; evangelist Jimmy Swaggart; and country-music superstar Mickey Gilley, all first cousins to each other. My good friend Maury Forman offered me his unused condo in Montgomery, Texas to get away for a bit of personal research and writing as a hermit. (I have spent the past two weeks completing my latest book on a tight deadline.) Since Lewis lived in Mississippi, Swaggart in Louisiana, and Gilley in nearby Pasadena Texas, it made geographical sense.

Once settled, I took out the Yellow Pages (remember them?) to chart the location of nearby Assembly of God churches, intent on visiting as many as I could through the summer. East Texas was in every way new to me, and I wanted to experience everything I could.

Well, the first one I visited was in Cut and Shoot, Texas. That’s a town’s name; you can look it up. A small, white frame AG church was my first stop that summer… and I never visited another. For one thing – coincidence? – I learned that a member of the tiny congregation was the widow of a man who had pastored the AG church in Ferriday, Louisiana, the small town four hours away where, and when, those three cousins grew up in its pews. She knew them all, and their families, and had great stories. Beyond that, the pastor of the church in Cut and Shoot, Charles Wigley, had gone to Bible College with Jerry Lee Lewis and played in a band with him, until Jerry Lee got kicked out. Some more great stories.

But there was more than that kept me there for that summer. In that white-frame church and that tiny congregation, it was, um, obvious in three minutes that I was not from East Texas. I was born in New York City. Yet I was treated like family as if the folks had known me for decades. A fellow named Dave Gilbert asked me if I’d like to go to his farm for a barbecue where a bunch of people were just going to get together and “do some visitin’.”

I bought the biggest watermelon I could find as my contribution to the pot-luck. Well, there were dozens and dozens of folks. I couldn’t tell which was family and who were friends, because everybody acted like family. When folks from East Texas ask, “How are you?” they really mean it. There were several monstrous barrel BBQ smokers with chimneys, all slow-cooking beef brisket. (Every region brags about its barbecue traditions, but I’ll fight anyone who doesn’t claim low-heat, slow-smoked, no sauce, East-Texas BBQ the best!) There was visitin,’ surely; there were delicious side dishes; there was softball and volleyball and kids dirt-biking; and breaks for sweet tea and spontaneous singing of patriotic songs.

I sat back in a folding chair, and I thought, “This is America.”

As the sun set, the same food came out again — smoked brisket galore; all the side dishes; and desserts of all sorts. Better than the first time. Then the Gilberts cleared their house’s porch. People brought instruments out of their cars and trucks. Folks tuned their guitars; some microphones and amps were set up; chairs and blankets dotted the lawn. Dave Gilbert and his brothers, I learned, sang gospel music semi-professionally in the area. Pastor Wigley, during the summer, had opened for Gold City Quartet at a local concert, playing gospel music on the saxophone. But everyone else sang, too.

In some churches, in some parts of America, you are just expected to sing solo every once in a while. A “special.” You’re not expected to – you want to. So into the evening, as the sun went down and the moon came up over those farms and fields, everyone at that picnic sang, together or solo or in duets or quartets. Spontaneously, mostly. Far into the night, exuberantly with smiles, or heartfelt with tears, singing unto the Lord.

I sat back in the folding chair, and I thought, “This is Heaven.”

I have grown sad for people who have not experienced the type of worship where singers and people who pray do so spontaneously. From the congregation. Moving to the front. Sharing their hearts. Crying tears of joy or conviction. Loving the Lord, freely. If you have not… then visit a church where this is commonplace. Even witnessing it is an uplifting balm to the soul, where there is freedom and joy in singing impromptu, from the heart.

I attach a video that very closely captures the music, and the feeling – the fellowship – of that day. A wooden ranch house, a barbecue picnic just ended, a campfire, and singers spontaneously worshiping, joining in, clapping, and “taking choruses.” Smiling, hugging. There were cameras at this particular get-together, but it took this city boy back to that holiday weekend, finding himself among a brand-new family, the greatest barbecue I ever tasted before or since… and the sweetest songs I know.

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Click The Sweetest Song I Know [Live]

8-18-25

A remarkable event related to religion and politics has taken place in Washington DC. Specifically, it relates to the White House, not Congress or the Court restricting exercise of worship; nor fallout from recent presidents who removed a Christian symbol from a university speaking platform (Obama at Georgetown) nor publicly endorsed baby-killing (Biden, whose Catholic Church did not deny him the eucharist or excommunicate him).

But it was a landmark moment in American Christianity.

Franklin Graham announced it:

For all the never-Trumper, so-called evangelicals, President Donald J. Trump has just scored another victory for religious freedom for all people of faith…. A memo notified federal employees that they could display their Bibles on their desks, speak about their beliefs, invite colleagues to church, or pray in groups while off duty without fear of reprisal. Thank you, President Trump!

Federal agencies are hereby not only allowed but required to protect religious expression in government workplaces, marking one of the most sweeping moves in decades to defend faith and freedoms in the civil service, according to Fox News.

The new rules ensure federal workers can display Bibles and religious symbols on their desks; pray in groups while off-duty; invite colleagues to church; and speak about their faith and religious beliefs, even to the public, without fear of reprisal.

Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Director Scott Kupor stated, “The First Amendment to the US Constitution robustly protects expressions of religious faith by all Americans – including Federal employees.” It is ironic that various recent administrations have made much of their intention to prevent discrimination in employment based on religion or religious expression… yet practiced such discrimination itself – against people of faith. Not favoring certain religions against each other (unless one regards Creationism and secularism as religions, which they effectively are).

President Trump has made Christianity respectable again, at least in the eyes of the gargantuan Federal Government. In fact it is a fantastic milestone, a consequential event in American culture. The significance of this policy reversal is revealed in the language of the Executive Order. It does not merely say Anti-Christian bias is a no-no: it is specific about what is permitted:

• Employees may keep Bibles on their desk and read it during breaks;
• Religious symbols and books and prayer are permissible during breaks;
• An employee may wear a cross, as well as clothing displaying a religious message.
• During a break, an employee may engage another in polite discussion of why his faith is correct and why the non-adherent should re-think his religious beliefs.
• An employee may invite another to worship at his or her church despite belonging to a different faith.
• On a bulletin board meant for personal announcements, a supervisor may post a hand-written note inviting each of his employees to attend an Easter service at his church.
• Regarding a federal employee approaching members of the public, an example: a park ranger leading a tour through a national park may join a tour group in prayer; a doctor at a Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital may pray over a patient for his or her recovery.

The OPM memo follows an earlier Trump Executive Order prohibiting anti-Christian bias and establishing a Religious Liberty Commission. And the President previously signed an Executive Order establishing a White House Faith Office, that empowers faith-based entities, community organizations, and houses of worship “to better serve families and communities.”

What is remarkable – the word I used to describe these actions above – is not what they ordered as much as what they superseded. What they affirmed, more than what they changed. What the orders replaced.

In fact, the significance of President Trump’s Executive Orders is that the Freedom of Religion, of Free Expression, of Peaceful Assembly had to be rescued and reaffirmed in the first place.

It is shameful that the United States had slipped so far toward secular totalitarianism. And away from the rights and freedoms guaranteed in the founding documents of our Republic. More: that the stripping away of these freedoms was specifically in the realm of opposing God and Godly things. Confronting God and denying His role in our affairs. Ripping His blessings and His assistance from national life.

… or trying to. May God bless President Trump for his decision to rescue the role of faith in American civic life; and to his aides and supporters who have assisted this effort to reaffirm Christian values and standards in the government, and throughout the land.

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Click: God of Our Fathers

8-11-25

May I share random observations, revelations, and (I pray) inspired thoughts I recently have had, and jotted down? What percentage of each is of the Holy Spirit or “me, myself, and I,” is for others to debate or decide. But these thoughts have got me to thinking – perhaps a major accomplishment right there – and maybe they’ll start spiritual balls rolling in your daily walk too…

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Satan tempts.
God tests.

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Pride might be the chief sin, the worst offense of all.
Every other sin is committed because we think we know better than God, or He will give us a “pass.”

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Life without Jesus can yield partial success…
But it ultimately guarantees total failure.

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Not original with me, but it is in the Bible –
And a deadly warning if you ignore it:
Be not deceived; God is not mocked.

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The Bible has been 100 per cent correct about prophecies fulfilled. The world scurries about, managing at best to predict the past.

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No offense meant to charitable impulses,
But in God’s view there is a big difference between giving and forgiving.

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The James Webb Space Telescope reveals the incredible immensity of God’s universe. We see that Earth is, relatively, one tiny dot.
Secular people say that means we are insignificant.
God says that means we are special!

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Stop trying to be Politically Correct.
What matters is that we be Spiritually Correct!

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We are told that no one knows the time of Jesus’s return to earth.
I do!
… It will be the time we least expect it.

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You can’t lose a friend you never had.
What a Friend we have in Jesus!

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Jesus is never rude, but He can be annoying.
That knocking you hear at the door – when will you open it?

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An appropriate testimony and prayer by the autistic blind boy Christopher Duffley.
Written by my friend Paul Baloche.

Click: Open the Eyes of My Heart

8-4-25

I have a friend, a very good friend, whose story I briefly will share here. Rather, a snippet of a story, but one with lessons for us all, at least a Godly message and admonition.

A “good background” and a “happy home” during childhood, plus a solid, loving marriage did not prevent financial trials and personal challenges early in that marriage. None of this is out of the ordinary – we recently, here, reminded ourselves that the rain falls on the just and the unjust. That is not a fortune-cookie saying; it is from the Bible. Not a threat, just the truth. My friend’s financial challenges were compounded by health crises in the family.

I am not being mysterious about her identity, because that is irrelevant. What becomes important in the story is her background of strong Christian upbringing, education, and faith. She entered ministry, for a time, and was surrounded by family and friends who prayed not only for her and her crises, but with her. This still is not a remarkable biography, in the sense that this is what Christians do.

We care for one another, we hold each other up, we grieve when grief attends; we rejoice with one another as blessings are experienced. My friend, her whole life, was a pray-er, a shoulder to cry on, an encourager. And her life has come together, starting one, then more, businesses with growing success. Hard times can haunt us, but hard work also benefits us. And hard prayers of those around us – that is to say, effective prayers of righteous believers – are pleas that God hears, and answers.

My friend has reached the level of success that still may be “stations” on the way to even greater fulfillment and worldly attainments. She frequently has been interviewed about her life and her commercial achievements. I sadly have noticed that she consistently refers to how “lucky” she is, how luck explains the good fortunes in her life right now. Otherwise, when recounting the health and financial and life challenges her family have overcome, she legitimately shares the role of determination and hard work: there indeed has been a lot of that.

But – to switch from the individual to the universal –

~~ When someone who knows the Lord forgets to give credit to God, there is a “disconnect.”

~~ When someone who has “prayed without ceasing” for others, and herself, does not encourage others with a testimony, there is a “missing piece.”

~~ When someone knows that people who love her fervently pray for her life and family, and yes, her business too, and attribute her success to “luck,” is showing meager regard for their love.

~~ When someone has been blessed by God and chooses to not acknowledge Him, even in some long list of Thank-Yous, that person offends those who have faithfully prayed… and offends God too.

There might be some sort of concern that “people and customers” might be turned off by a possible “religious nut,” yet as all Christians know, Whoever disowns Me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven (Matt 10:43). Unquote, Jesus. I think that is a greater risk to take than are most business loans.

Successful business people usually have strict plans, budgets, and forecasts. A Christian businessman ought to calculate the “debit” of possibly offending a customer in a certain culture against the “credit” that God will extend – replacing that lost sale (if such would even happen); drawing other secular folks, or believers; and gaining God’s approval.

Ye may serve customers, but ye also serve the Lord. That’s not in the Bible; not in so many words. But it is more reliable than any good-luck charm.

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Give unto the Lord the glory due unto His name (Psalm 96:8).

Click: How Can I Keep From Singing?