Happy Memorial Day

I hope this holiday weekend finds you and yours enjoying a pleasant long weekend.

A History Moment
The History Channel's Memorial Day Exhibit has excellent data on the origin of the holiday and more. Did you know its roots stem from the American Civil War? While you remember all those who have died in service, also remember to honor the living vets among us.

I'll Be Around
Not that you care, but I have a pretty bland Memorial Day weekend schedule. As you can tell, I'll be around this weekend (and posting sometime Monday).

Last year my family and I took a very memorable and out-of-the-ordinary fishing trip to Grand Isle, LA. (It was memorable in that we got semi-stranded because the tide went out and we only barely got back to shore at 11 p.m. I'm not sure, but I think my Mother kissed the ground. It was out-of-the-ordinary because we actually caught fish.)

This year is tame in comparison. My family and I are actually moments away from leaving for a family reunion. That's really all I have on the agenda (other than church, which goes without saying). So I'll probably spend the rest of the weekend trying to think of something dramatic to do for next year.

Happy Memorial Day,
LAA

Apostolic Music... Why Such a Big Deal?

Speaking of all the Idol music news, have you checked out the dialogue on Ninetyandnine this week and last: The State of Apostolic Music—How Bad Is It? I’m willing to go against the grain a little because music is not my thing.

(Chasing a Rabbit)
In fact, I’ve always been puzzled why we A/Ps take music so seriously. When somebody wants to become active in church, the first thing we do is shove them toward the music department. Which A/P guy out there has not at some time or another tried to play the drums so you could be used at church? Ladies, keyboard? And maybe that’s okay. I’ve just come to realize that there are more areas of service to the kingdom than just music. So music is not that important to me.

But…
It’s the way we (typically) enter into worship in our church services, so I know it matters. Maybe it's just because it’s not my area that I don’t care as much as everybody else. Then again, maybe because there is so much talent at my church, I take good quality for granted. From the sound of the survey, though, only 10% of the music collection for most of us is by A/P artists. The thread I picked up on was that we didn’t know where to get our music and we didn’t think the quality was up to par.

My thing is that I’m content to have A/P music in the sanctuary and enjoy non-A/P Christian music elsewhere. Should I care more that A/P musicians aren’t better respected? Shame on me I suppose for thinking as long as we have quality, anointed music on our platforms, it doesn’t matter if they are mass produced and a vital presence in the industry. Is that bad?

Breakdown
Chantell and I are on the same page about our delineation between types of music, and I think Kent Curry said what we were feeling:

“That, to me, is the current unclimbable mountain of our Apostolic recording artists—to sell, they must be seen at conferences and camps singing songs appropriate for church services, but, except for prayer rooms and personal devotion times, twentysomethings and teens especially expect something livelier, more contemporary and electric from their CD purchases.”

Exactly. I love A/P music at church. In fact, I demand it and would honestly be offended if a non-A/P artist performed during worship service. Actually, it’s more than that since that I realize that many non-A/P artists have very anointed vertical worship projects. To clarify, I am offended when anyone, even A/Ps, perform non-worship songs during service. If I wanted to be entertained, I would stay home and listen to my non-A/P CDs that are more entertainment-based. I expect A/P music at church to be completely vertical/spiritual/anointed. But unless I’m having devotion time, when I’m outside of church, I’m fine with something less vertical and less intense. And since I think of A/P music as “spiritual/anointed church music”, I don’t think of A/P artists when it comes to buying CDs since I’m usually looking more for entertainment in a CD.

A Numbers Game
Here’s a thought, though. What if the 10% stat is not such a big deal? Hear me out. It sounds so disheartening that A/P music is only 10% of our collection, but what percentage do A/Ps make up of Christians? Statistically there are probably more non-A/P Christians than A/Ps. So where quality is concerned, the percentage of quality is already tipped in the favor of non-A/Ps. And since we're buying CDs (me, at least) primarily for entertainment, what are the odds that there will be as many quality more-entertainment-oriented projects from A/Ps as non-A/Ps?

Fix It
As you can see, my whimsical stance is to be the bad guy and say that as long as we continue to have quality and, more importantly, anointing on our platforms, frankly I’m not too concerned that we’re not buying truckloads of A/P CDs. But the more I read the article, the letters, the other blog posts, I realize that it would be really cool if we could carve out a more distinguished niche in the music world. So what’s the answer? Tell us.

American Idol Finale

The final episode of American Idol airs tonight. While I'm sure we'll all be at church (right?), millions of viewers will be tuning in to see the Taylor vs. Katherine face-off.

Flashback
This Idol season has captured the attention of much of the Apostolic/Pentecostal (A/P) community because of Kaitlin Johnson. You'll remember that Kaitlin made it to Hollywood and got as far as the third round of competition. And of course, A/Ps had lots to say about it, as evidenced by the 34 comments on the original blog.

Predictions
As the vote is revealed tonight, remember Kaitlin's prediction all along:

90&9: So who do you think will be the next American Idol?
KJ: The next American Idol will definitely be a guy (I think), and I’m rooting for (drum roll, please) . . . Taylor Hicks (the gray haired guy). I love him. I think he’s great, and he is so unique! A total winner in my book!

Remember you heard it here first. Hats off to Kaitlin for making that pick back in the first of March.

Duct Tape Use #81552

Diary of a Sleep-Deprived Bridesmaid
Among the war stories from the wedding, I found yet another duct tape use. A fellow bridesmaid-in-arms broke the strap on her flip flop. Never to fear, we experimented with some duct tape and successfully reattached!















Pray for Barbaro(?)
I appreciated the anonymous comment from the reader who is praying for Barbaro. That should be added to that "You Might Be Apostolic/Pentecostal If..." forward that comes around every six months ago.

While checking the latest on Barbaro, I noticed his hosting vet clinic is really riding the wave of publicity. At Penn's Condition Update on Barbaro site, visitors can donate monetary gifts and (my favorite) send Barbaro an e-mail. Meanwhile if you want to send a monetary gift to your favorite blogger (or an e-mail), that can be arranged.

Champion Bridesmaid... Preakness Disaster

Tales of a Weary Bridesmaid
A lot has happened since we last visited, gentle reader. I have triumphed in the oldest of wedding olympics, i.e. the catching of the bouquet. It required using some elbows and snatching from other equally determined would-be-bouquet-catchers. Nevertheless, I prevailed in a stunning show of my bygone softball days.

News from My Neck of the Woods
Ray Nagin has been re-elected as mayor of New Orleans. I honestly don't know how I feel about this and what it means for Louisiana politics. Oh for the days of Southampton.

Sorry to Be Right
But by far, the news that hit me hardest was the disaster at Saturday's Preakness. As you know, Triple Crown favorite Barbaro suffered a career-ending and potentially life-threatening leg injury. (Traditionally a broken canon bone equates to putting the horse down, and sadly I can relate after having lost a horse with a similar injury several years ago.) Sports Illustrated photos show the horse in strong form after surgery. Drastic measures are being taken to save Barbaro for a breeding career, and his odds are 50-50.

Last week after the Derby, I predicted Barbaro couldn't win the crown. I went on to bemoan the problems of the racing industry. While I certainly hadn't imagined such a fate for Barbaro, I couldn't help remembering my comments as soon as I heard the news.

"So much pressure is put on these young horses. You wouldn’t believe how many million dollar yearlings are discarded each year because of tendon trouble, hock lesions, bone chips, and so on. I don’t think Barbaro can make the trip. I don’t think any horse can. I hope I’m wrong, but I don’t think we’ll see another Triple Crown winner. The physical pressure is too much and these young horses just can’t take it."

Though I have a long history of disagreements with animal activists, I for once agree in the broadest of terms with the basic position that regulations need to be enforced in the racing industry to lessen incidents such as Barbaro's injury. This is probably the only time I'll ever link to PETA, but if you can weed through the propaganda, this article comments on the drug use, insurance scandals, and other dark issues of the race industry. The article should be balanced with the fact that not all owners, breeders, and trainers are the heartless villians PETA would portray. There is a certain love for the horse and respect for the industry that motivates the average horseman. I do hope in Barbaro's case that he is treated royally, as I'm sure he will be.