Theological Musings

t’s been too long since I posted here. And I hate that my post is mostly self-serving. But here goes…

Indieheaven is an organization that aids independent artists (like me) in their careers through networking, resources, etc. And each year, they have what they call “Momentum Awards” — sort of their version of the grammy.

I was nominated this year for an award, and there was an early round of voting. Starting February 1 and running through March 1 is the second round of voting. The top vote-getters from the first round are in the running as finalists.

I was pleased to find out that I am one of four finalists in the “Instrumental Artist of the Year” category!!

So, if you don’t mind, please head over to http://www.indieheaven.com/momentum_awards.php and cast your vote before March 1.

I’m honored to be nominated for this award, and appreciate those of you who are supporting me in this.

es, I am still alive. Yes, I have lots I would like to write about! Yes, I still occasionally manage to read other blogs. Yes, I am extremely swamped with work, etc., and don’t know when I’ll get back to substantive posting. (And yes, Scott, I still owe you a return volley!)

Thank you to those who have checked in with me to see if I was ok. I apologize for the silence.

Having said that, I do want to take a few minutes to report on a wonderful ministry today. In nearby Vilas, NC (a “blink and you’ll miss it” portion of road between here and Tennessee!) sits Brushy Fork Baptist Church.

Christy and I know several people who fellowship there, and finally, after several years of talking about it, arrangements were made for me to minister in music.

I strive, whenever I do minister in music at a gathering anywhere, to be a blessing to the people who gather. And that was certainly my desire today.

We attended the morning service, where I shared two songs during the service. Then, this evening, they were kind enough to allow me to have the entire evening service at my disposal to minister in whatever way I felt led.

I’m not sure who got the bigger blessing, however — the people that gathered or me. I simply must say that the portion of the body of Christ that is Brushy Fork Baptist Church is a sweet and warm and welcoming group. And they can sing!

Anyway, it was a delightful evening where I definitely felt the Holy Spirit leading and shaping the service. And the responsiveness of the people there was very encouraging.

Thank you, Brushy Fork Baptist, for hosting our ministry tonight, and thank you to each person there (although I doubt any of them even know about this blog, much less read it!) for being a blessing to us.

Oh, and before I sign this off, let me share a really cool “God thing” that happened tonight…

We left the building, after saying goodbye to the few that were still there, and headed to Applebees for a much-needed meal (we had not eaten dinner before going to the service). Just as we pulled into the parking place at Applebees (about 10-15 minutes from the church building), Christy realized that she had left her purse at the church.

Even though we figured no one would be there at the church, we drove back out there. Sure enough, the building was all dark and closed up. But I said, “I’ll go up to the door anyway and see if maybe someone is still inside.”

I got to the double doors at the front of the church and saw that it was, indeed, dark everywhere within. I pulled on the right door — locked. Big surprise there!

For whatever reason (thank you, Holy Spirit!), I pulled on the left door…and it opened!

I walked into the lobby in the dark, hoping there wasn’t an alarm that would go off! Sure enough, in the shadows over where our CD table had been, I saw Christy’s purse on the floor.

I picked it up, carried it outside, and let the door shut behind me. Then, out of curiosity, I turned around and tried the door again. It was locked securely!

By the time I got back to the car, the pastor had come out of his house. He had recognized us from across the parking lot and came out to see if everything was ok. I explained the situation to him, and told him about how the door had been unlocked for me to walk in and retrieve the purse. What a cool way for God to help us out!

He thanked me “for locking up” for them and we headed back to Applebees again for real this time.

Anyway, isn’t that so neat how God kept that door from shutting tight when the church was “locked up” the first time, so that I could easily go back in and retrieve Christy’s purse? That’s the kind of God we worship!

Until next time,

steve

s I mentioned in a recent “Personal Update” post, I have purchased the rights to my first two CDs from the label that originally released them. And in conjunction with that, we are re-releasing those first two CDs with all new artwork.

In celebration of this exciting development, I would like to extend a special offer solely for my Theological Musings readers. I am offering an opportunity for you to purchase all three of my CDs (normally $15 each for a total of $45) for just $30 plus shipping and handling (a 33% discount).

Here are descriptions of the three CDs that you will receive:

Ivory Worship – Originally released under the title “To Worship You”, this CD features intimate arrangements of contemporary worship songs such as “Breathe”, “Draw Me Close”, “Shout to the Lord” and “Agnus Dei”.

‘Tis So Sweet – Whereas “Ivory Worship” featured more contemporary songs, on this CD I returned to my childhood roots with classic hymns. Intimately played in a continuous flow, the music on this CD comprises one hour-long medley of well-known hymns such as “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross”, “Just As I Am”, “Great Is Thy Faithfulness”, “It Is Well with My Soul” and others (19 in all).

Christmas Solitude – Focusing on Christmas songs that are centered around the story of Jesus, the same intimate style employed on the other two projects is applied to worshipful Christmas songs such as “O Holy Night!”, “Silent Night”, “O Come, O Come Emmanuel”, and many others. The lone vocal song on this CD features my lovely wife Christy singing a beautiful song she wrote from the perspective of Mary called “I Will Never Be the Same”.

All three of these CDs are available individually on my website (Worship Keys), but to take advantage of this special pricing for Theological Musings readers on that website, you must click this link. When that page loads, you should see a message near the top that says, “Welcome, Theological Musings reader!” That will give you a special link for the pricing offered here.

his blog is not geared toward personal updates, but every once in a while I like to bring my readers up to speed on what’s happening.  I value the relationships that I’ve built with some of my readers here, and so I want to do more than just talk about theology, ecclesiology, church signs, etc.

First, an update on the music front.  As many of you know, I’ve been a recording artist for several years now.  To date, I have released three CDs of intimate piano interpretations of hymns and worship songs (one of those CDs was specifically centered around Christmas music).

The first two CDs that I did were actually released by a small record label in Texas.  For the last several years, I have only had access to those CDs through that label.

This summer, however, God has opened up the door for me to purchase the rights to those first two CDs so that I can duplicate and distribute them independently.

I can’t tell you how excited I am about this!  It has been so fun to watch God provide the funds to do this.  And if all goes the way it seems to be going at this point, within about a month, I will be able to re-release those first two projects and make them available.  Additionally, there is a fourth CD in the works which hopefully will also be available this fall.

One of the other exciting developments in this regard is that all of these CDs will be able to be purchased as digital downloads for those who prefer that method of receiving the music.

Stay tuned to this blog in the next month or so for a special offer to Theological Musings readers!

Another update is sort of related to music, but involves my “day job”.  For the last couple of years, I’ve been working as an accompanist at Appalachian State University’s Hayes School of Music and as the music director at Blowing Rock Stage Company.

Balancing these two jobs is sometimes a bit tricky.  For the most part, the University takes up Sept-April and the Stage Company has been a summer gig.  However, recently, the Stage Company has been expanding their season into the fall, making it more challenging to balance the two responsibilities.

I’ve recently found out about an opportunity at a theater in Abingdon, VA for a full-time resident music director.  In many ways, this job would be a great improvement for me.  And so far, it appears that God may be opening those doors.

We won’t know for several more weeks at least, but we are praying that God will make the direction very clear for us.  Should I get that job, it will begin in January, and would necessitate an eventual move for us to that area (it’s about 90 minutes from here).

Please pray with us that we will know beyond a shadow of a doubt the right direction in this area.  I will keep you all posted about that as well.

Finally, as I’ve mentioned in previous posts, Christy and I have been going through the process of getting licensed for foster/adoptive care.  We have completed all of our responsibilities in that area and are now just waiting on the final approval on our license.

Ironically, the potential move has thrown a bit of a wrinkle into that, and we don’t know how much we will have to duplicate in that process in a different county and state (should we end up moving).  But we are willing to do whatever is needed.

If you are interested in following this journey with us, we have started a new blog devoted to this journey.  With apologies to David Rogers at Love Each Stone, we have named the blog Love Each Child.

So, that’s a brief update on the goings on behind the scenes here at Theological Musings.

Until next time,

steve

have just been asked to write an article for a magazine.  (I don’t know if I’m at liberty to disclose the publication, so I’ll err on the side of caution here.  I will say that it’s one that I’m honored to be asked to write for, however.)  And I could use some help.

The article that I’ve been asked to write is a brief history of several holiday hymns.  Specifically, I have been asked to write about one Thanksgiving hymn and several Christmas hymns.

I have a month to write the article (and it won’t be a long one — about 1200 words total), but I want to get started on it.  Here’s where I could use some input from you, my faithful and wonderful readers.

What are some Thanksgiving or Christmas hymns that are special to you?  In other words, what would be hymns of which you would be interested in reading the history?  The history of some hymns is well-known.  Others have lesser-known heritages.  I’m thinking it would be nice to focus on ones that aren’t especially familiar stories, even if they are familiar songs.  But I don’t have a huge amount of time to research, either, so I may have to bend on that!

Anyway, I’m open to suggestions.  Fire away!  And when the article actually gets published, I’ll be sure to let you all know.

Until next time,

steve