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IBC Music Fest: The Excellence Continues
By Sara Darst
April 5, 2004

Wednesday, March 17 – Friday, March 19, Apostolic people gathered from across the nation to enjoy a fast-paced, intense celebration of Apostolic music during Music Fest 2004. The event, held annually in Indianapolis, Indiana, is sponsored by Calvary Tabernacle and Indiana Bible College and has become one of the best music conferences in the United Pentecostal Church. Lindel Anderson, music director at IBC, is the mastermind behind the Music Conference, with great assistance from staff at both the Bible College and the church, including LeAnna Grissom, Jennifer Roemer, Josh Anderson, Matt Calhoun, Jonathan Noble, and Marshall Jones.

Around 760 registrants spent their days at Music Fest attending classes and sessions dealing with music ministry issues, such as playing the keyboard, learning the guitar, organizing church music ministries, utilizing technology in music, and more. Registrants were from all over the nation, hailing from states such as Arizona, Mississippi, Georgia, New York, Alabama, Connecticut, Ohio, Indiana, and others. Attendees were challenged to go above the call of duty to devote time and practice to one of the greatest ministries in the church, directing and participating in worship. Clinicians were talented and well prepared, giving handouts and new tips to registrants.

It only took one glance at the registration table and church foyer to realize that Music Fest was extremely well organized. It was obvious that it had been put together with careful planning and attention to detail. Participants received a carefully arranged binder, complete with a breakdown of the schedule for the day, descriptions of the courses offered, biographies of the clinicians, and other important information about the city of Indianapolis, maps, and local restaurants. Every detail was attended to and done with class and good taste including the beautifully designed programs for the nighttime concerts, the carefully designed banners, the covers on the binders, the stationary and logo featuring the theme of the year: “Everything that hath breath”, the excellent lighting and effects during the concerts - which simply added to the atmosphere without being distracting, and the slides running constantly in the lobby advertising the music material for sale and various important information about the concert. Kudos belong to Marshall Jones and Matt Calhoun for helping with these elements of Music Fest.

Tables lined the church lobby with various vendors offering an overwhelming array of items to benefit music ministry. The items ranged from CDs, videos, and DVDs on learning various instruments to packs of praise and worship music. Many artists and clinicians had tables selling their own works, connecting to the concerts and sessions.

Nighttime concerts were held each night, and crowds were both awed and intimidated by the talents of excellent musicians. The concerts represented a great variety of styles and types of music, featuring violin music by Tak Kwan, orchestral music by the Calvary Tabernacle Orchestra, choir and chorale music by several groups, a skit by Tom Trimble, signing by a team led by Lisa Davis and Bethany Wilson, and songs from smaller groups such as IBC’s talented PRAISE and Vertical from Nashville, Tennessee.

In addition, each day Worship and the Word, a combination of preaching and music, featured groups that were smaller. Particularly outstanding were the two percussion groups, one of younger children, and another of older children, from Pontiac, Michigan, who amazed the audience with their incredible ability to keep the beat on a variety of drums, do parts, and move around, all while keeping a steady rhythm. The crowd also enjoyed Promise, a small female group of singers from Calvary led by Ben Vandiver, an IBC alumnus, and a duet by two of the French brothers, sons of Talmadge French, dean of theological studies at IBC.

No Apostolic conference is complete without a little Holy Ghost preaching, and Music Fest was not an exception. Following the special music during Worship and the Word, there was preaching. On Thursday afternoon, the congregation was challenged by Bro. Mooney in a typical Paul-Mooney-style message to remember that Jesus is our song. The message was excellent, and Bro. Mooney utilized brightly colored handkerchiefs to engage the audience and to prove his point that a song is made up of the emotions of the human heart, such as love, sadness, and anger. Each handkerchief represented a different emotion, and Bro. Mooney reminded us that each song has one extremely important component, truth. During Friday’s Worship and the Word, Bro. Roland Baker preached that while it is okay to be weary in the greatness of calling of God, it is not okay to be weary of the greatness of the call. The task of sharing the Gospel with others is greater than our feelings. Therefore, we must overcome our weariness and our emotions, realize the greatness of the call, and perform the tasks required. Both messages were uplifting and encouraging and challenged those involved in music ministry not to get weary and not to become too engrossed in their own talents forgetting that it is the calling that is great, not the ability.

Music Fest was a nice reminder that, while the world offers us thousands of singers, dancers, and entertainers, nothing is greater than Apostolic music complete with the anointing and blessing of God. While there are many talented musicians, some of the greatest talent lies within the ranks of the Apostolic world. Music Fest made me proud to be a part of something so real and so great.

ninetyandnine.com

© 2004, Sara Darst

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Sara Darst is a proud graduate of Ohio State University and Indiana Bible College. Most of her time is spent with her 23 students, and she is still puzzled over an incident that occurred in her classroom several months ago when she caught one of her students headed to the cafeteria with a small plastic case containing a hamster. Despite this and many other interesting moments, she loves her job as a 3rd grade teacher in a public elementary school, and she also enjoys the many opportunities to be involved in her church.