I could not have been more pleased with the 5 Sundays we dedicated to the Worship Arts. The church's response has been fantastic, and Pastor Mike's willingness to give up "pulpit time" for these features shows his heart for worship arts! Thank you all for your participation and for your encouragement!
The Sounds of the Church, Part II
After beginning the 4th Sunday with images of music in the church from the Old Testament to the 19th century, and a "bullet point" timeline of the history of church music, we moved into the 20th and 21st centuries this past Sunday. Here is a timeline of sorts, represented by images.
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| George Bevery Shea, in the 1950s, was to Billy Graham what Ira Sankey was to D.L. Moody |
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| Southern Gospel music, combining the music forms of jazz and bluegrass, was an off-shoot of the original Gospel Music, and was usually performed by trios and quartets. By the early 1900s, "Southern Gospel" had taken on a life of its own, and by the late 20th century, groups like the "Gold City Quartet" here were very popular in church music. |
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| "The Cathedral Quartet" was another of the more popular Southern Gospel quartets of the mid to late 20th century. These quartets are most noted for their extremely high male tenor voices on one end and equally extreme low bass singers on the other. |
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| This Time Magazine cover story tells of the "Jesus Movement" in the late 1960s and early 70s, and the music of that generation. It was a pivotal point in the history of church music, as an entire generation suddenly chose to use their own music and language to express their faith, salvation experiences, and worship. So real was this "revolution" that a concert and worship gathering in the Cotton Bowl in Texas, called "Explo '72", sponsored by Campus Crusade for Christ, drew some 80,000 young people (a crowd unheard of for that generation at a "religious" event). The Jesus Movement gave birth to pioneer artists in Christian music, such as Love Song, Keith Green, 2nd Chapter of Acts, Barry McGuire, Phil Keaggy, Larry Norman, Randy Stonehill, Honeytree, and others. |
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| Among the most notable artists of that "Jesus Movement" was singer/songwriter Keith Green. His music is still sung by the church today, and is featured in current hymnals. His music bridged generations and reflected the "One Way" (to Jesus) uncompromising faith of his own generation. |
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| Southern Gospel greats, "The Imperials" began bridging musical styles in the early 70s, taking their traditional harmonies into a more contemporary style, adding a full rhythm section--yes, including drums and electric guitars!--and reaching a whole new audience as their popularity soared into the 1980s. Dynamic vocalist Russ Taff was a product of this group. Taff himself would go on to inspire an entirely new generation of young Christian singers. |
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| Bill and Gloria Gaither. Not much else need be said. Their contribution to Christian music is almost immeasurable. The catalog of music they have created crosses genres, generations, and people groups worldwide. Their roots in traditional Southern Gospel would not keep them boxed into just one style. Bill Gaither is currently considered to be the most successful "entertainer" in the history of Christian music. |
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| Fresh-faced Amy Grant began her career in Christian music as a 16-year old girl with a guitar in 1977. She has motivated and inspired countless other young girls in her three decades as an artist, and her own music now fills churches everywhere. She has written or co-written such current standards as "Thy Word Is a Lamp Unto My Feet", "Tennessee Christmas", "Breath of Heaven (Mary's Song)", and more. |
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| Pianist for Amy Grant and co-writer of many of her songs, Michael W. Smith came into his own as a solo artist in 1983. Some of his songs include "How Majestic Is Your Name", "Great Is the Lord", "Friends", "Place In This World", "Angus Dei", and "This Is Our Time". His keyboard skills and talent as a songwriter have earned him numerous awards throughout his career, and has even ventured into acting! His latest role onscreen can be seen in the new movie, "90 Minutes in Heaven", due for release this fall. |
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| One of the most successful and influential singer/songwriters of the 20th and 21st centuries--so far--is Steven Curtis Chapman. From his small-town beginnings in Paducah, Kentucky, he has become an international artist with more accolades and awards than any other living Christian artist. Known for the devastating loss of his daughter in a tragic accident, he and his wife continue a ministry as adoption advocates called "ShowHope." His songs include standards such as "His Strength Is Perfect", "For the Sake of the Call", "The Great Adventure," "More To This Life", "The Glorious Unfolding", "Speechless", "Dive", as well as the now-standard wedding anthem, "I Will Be Here". |
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| Chris Tomlin is one of the premiere singer/songwriters of the "Worship Music" genre that has grown exponentially in the last decade--due in no small part to his music. He has written or co-written such worship anthems as "How Great Is Our God", "Holy Is the Lord", "Jesus Messiah", "Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone"), "White Flag", "Whom Shall I Fear", "I Will Rise", "At the Cross (Love Ran Red)", "Glory In the Highest" and many, many more. |
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| One of the voices of the latest generation of praise and worship music, Bart Millard and "MercyMe" bring a pop style to an ages-old message. As uncompromising as the music of Keith Green from the Jesus Movement, and as fresh as the music of Michael W. Smith, MercyMe carries the torch to a new generation, passing it on to the next, with the exhortation to give God the glory and honor and praise he alone is due. MercyMe crossed genres recently with their song that sparked imagination of what heaven might be like, "I Can Only Imagine". Other songs by MercyMe include "Shake", "Greater Is He", "The Hurt and the Healer", "In the Blink of an Eye", and a song featured in our newest Baptist Hymnal, "Word of God Speak". |
SSBC Musicians & Guests Worship Feature
As a finale to Worship Arts Month, we featured a worship concert by the musicians of SSBC and some guests. Enjoy the video!
SSBC Musicians & Guests are:
Doug Phillips, Piano, Keyboards, and Instrumental Director
Monique Keppler, Keyboards
Marilyn Edwards, Keyboards
Jarett Smiley, Drums
Adam Holler, Percussion
Howard Thomas, Trumpet and Audio
Bruce Davidson, Acoustic Guitar
Becka Crask, Vocals
Michelle Hartman, Vocals
Michele Wilson, Vocals
Keith Wilson, Vocals, Trumpet, Flugelhorn, Guitars, Ban-tar
Adam Sprouse, Bass and Vocals
Austin Sprouse, Lead Guitar and Vocals
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