RRN Online Volume 305

April 06 '02

Volume 305

Easter Presentation The Day He Wore My Crown

To get an idea of how much Easter Music has changed with respect to music in the church, one need only to have been at FBC, Pontotoc on the night of Easter Sunday. The Adult Choir presented the early eighties musical titled, The Day He Wore My Crown.

The music brought back a lot of pleasant memories for me, as I was a member of the choir that first performed the music on or around 1982. The presentation was an exercise in how "good" church music should sound. I am perhaps biased in my judgement, so ask a choir member or anyone who attended the presentation last week for their opinion. I'll wager most folks would agree with me.

Linda Jones came out of "retirement" to narrate the program and sing a duet with former FBC Pastor, Gordon Sansing. Linda, a talented soprano, had to cease singing in the choir a number of years ago upon the advice of doctors who felt that if she continued to sing she might irreversibly damage her vocal chords. Gordon Sansing is a guy equally comfortable in a choir robe or in the pulpit, and his singing ability is the envy of a number of other preachers. Their duet, Calvary, remains as one of my most admired musical selections, though in the midst of several solo pieces and choral numbers, it's hard to select a favorite.

Elloise Dallas may possibly be the most musically talented member of the choir. I don't pretend to be qualified to assess musical talent, but one doesn't have to know much about music to know that Elloise is talented. If singing alto and playing the piano aren't enough, toss in her talent as a handbell soloist. She not only plays the piano using written music, but she plays the piano equally well by ear, and I'm told she can fiddle. She says she's not good at memorization, but she sang her solo with all the polish of a seasoned professional.

For a guy well into his sixties, Larry Young still does a great job with his mellow tenor voice. He never looks nervous or sounds nervous when singing, but I would have sworn I saw his hand shake as he tried to holster the cordless microphone in the mike stand after he finished his solo. Had I been in the spotlight, I might still be trying to seat the mike.

Ina Dillard was superb in singing the title song. We don't often hear Ina's beautiful soprano voice, but it's always a treat when we do.

All solos and duets were great to hear, but then so was the full choir. Some of us are not blessed with voices that sound great (except in the shower), so we serve best as a member of the choir or the congregation where our intonations are blended with those of others. The full choir stood out in several songs, but most notably in Cornerstone and Behold The Lamb.

I wish I knew more about music in general and how to better describe what makes The Day He Wore My Crown more special to me than most other musicals of recent years, however I don't. Trust me on this one, it was great. I rated it "two thumbs up," though I’m well aware it was not presented to showcase any soloist or even the choir, rather the whole point of the music was to give glory to our Creator. From my perspective, the point was well made.

Reformation Big Bang & Dead Ducks

The Reformation (sometimes called the Protestant Reformation) is a matter of history that resulted in the establishment of a number of churches that wished to distance themselves from the Roman Catholic Church. As long as priests were the only ones able to read the Holy Scriptures, most parishioners didn't question their authority or church doctrine. Yet, once the Bible was translated from Latin into German and English and other languages of the commoners, a number of folks found disparities in what they had been taught by the church and what they found written in the Bible.

Methodist, Presbyterian, and Lutheran churches sprang from the Reformation era. A number of notable reformers of the day include John Knox, Martin Luther, and John Wesley. One group of reformers was the Anabaptists who gave birth to the Baptist denomination of Protestants. They believed that infant baptism played no part in a person's salvation experience, which was quite contrary to the belief espoused by the Catholic Church.

For the Anabaptists, baptism was symbolic of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ in that death represented the abandonment of self or ones old way of life, immersion beneath water represented burial, and being raised from the water represented new life or the resurrection of one from the dead. Compared to what had been taught for perhaps a thousand years or more, this was radical theology. It was a belief that caused many to be persecuted, and for others, it cost them their very lives.

As Americans, we are privileged to live in a country that tolerates and protects a number of different religions, and we enjoy the constitutional right to worship however we choose and in whatever church we choose. I am grateful for those who fought that I might enjoy such a freedom. Having some knowledge of the price many Baptists paid for my religious freedom causes me some alarm whenever I see any erosion of Baptist beliefs.

I am somewhat at a loss to explain why Baptist are slowly drifting away from their roots that were grounded in the Reformation, but it may be akin to the "Big Bang Theory" that seeks to explain the nature of our universe. I tend to think of the Reformation as the "Big Bang" or explosion of the Christian faith that resulted in all the different denominations of Christian churches of today. According to the "Big Bang Theory," the universe exploded from a single massive source. In its resultant expansion the universe formed planets, suns, and galaxies, all while everything was being propelled away from the central explosion. Protestant churches seem to have followed that pattern for a number of years with many denominations seeking to distance themselves from the Roman Catholic Church almost as quickly as they were formed.

Some scientists believe the universe will one day cease expansion and slowly collapse upon itself, becoming much as it was in the beginning. In a similar vein, some of us believe Baptists and others are slowly being drawn back toward that from which we exploded, the Roman Catholic Church.

If all this seems hardly imaginable, consider a few trends. Thirty years ago, a Baptist minister wearing a robe while preaching from the pulpit was relatively unheard of. Today, it's not commonplace at FBC Pontotoc either, but pastors are seen wearing doctrinal regalia for certain occasions, especially those services that lend themselves to formality. Theirs emulates a practice that has been observed by priests in the Catholic Church since antiquity.

In the past few years, FBC Pontotoc has incorporated the use of the Advent Wreath and the lighting of the candles of Advent into times of worship during the Christmas season. I've not researched the inclusion of the Advent Wreath in Baptist circles, but I've a hunch we borrowed the idea from another Christian denomination more closely aligned with Roman Catholicism than we ourselves.

I've never seen an altar or prayer rail in a Baptist church, but Baptists often encourage believers to come to the front of the church to pray, and if steps are available, they are often used as impromptu prayer rails. Over the years, I've witnessed so many such experiences in my own church that I often fail to consider the wider implication of "Catholicization" by association.

We've yet to embrace religious statues of either Jesus or the Virgin Mary, but having displayed a large wooden cross on the pulpit area for several Sundays prior to Easter and including Easter Sunday, perhaps the statues will soon follow. I don't have a problem with displaying a cross, but I use it as an example in this article. And, while I'm on the subject of the cross, I would comment that I see no need for a purple cloth draped across it. I understand the symbolism of the color purple, but when Jesus was removed from the cross we have no reason to believe His crown of thorns was left atop the cross nor any of His garments were left at the scene. If Baptists continue to decorate the cross for special occasions such as Easter, sooner or later someone will decide it needs a figure to portray the crucified Christ.

I'm not sure how Holy Week came to be a part of the Baptist routine, but I would imagine it bled over from the Catholic faith.

This year, FBC Pontotoc had a special service on Wednesday evening, something called Tenebrae. The purpose of Tenebrae is to cause believers to reflect upon Jesus' death and burial and the somber contemplation of those early followers of Christ prior to His being resurrected from the dead. I was unable to attend this year's service, but in reading about Tenebrae there seems to be a great deal of emphasis upon liturgy and pageantry, neither of which is historically associated with Baptists.

I trust the reader will not be so presumptuous as to believe I'm opposed to every part and parcel mentioned above. Every religious observance or practice by the Roman Catholic Church is not something Baptists should abhor. I further trust the reader, especially those who are of the Baptist persuasion, to consider where we came from, where we are, and where we are going. Otherwise, Baptists may eventually implode into the form that birthed them.

During a severe cold spell in the mid eighties, I saw dozens of waterfowl, mostly mallards, frozen to the iced surface of the lake formed by a lock and dam on the Tombigbee waterway. While the bodies of ducks are equipped by Nature to sustain wet and cold conditions the ducks had strayed from the flock, and apparently dozed off as the water around them began to freeze. Without the normal stirring action of their legs and feet, the water quickly solidified, entrapping the slothful and dooming them to death by freezing.

The lesson I see for Baptists is that we are to be mindful of our changing environment, taking those measures necessary to retain our vitality and distinctness, lest we become as dead ducks.

Bodock Beau Changing Times

Have you ever noticed how a woman often changes her mind? There are times when it seems she’s responding to a whim, and there are other times when it seems the change results from declining expectations. Lisa Bennett contributed the following:

Wanted In A Man

What I Want in a Man, Original List

1. Handsome
2. Charming
3. Financially successful
4. A caring listener
5. Witty
6. In good shape
7. Dresses with style
8. Appreciates finer things
9. Full of thoughtful surprises
10. An imaginative, romantic lover

What I Want in a Man, Revised List (age 32)

1. Nice looking (prefer hair on his head)
2. Opens car doors, holds chairs
3. Has enough money for a nice dinner
4. Listens more than talks
5. Laughs at my jokes
6. Carries bags of groceries with ease
7. Owns at least one tie
8. Appreciates a good home-cooked meal
9. Remembers birthdays and anniversaries
10. Seeks romance at least once a week

What I Want in a Man, Revised List (age 42)

1. Not too ugly (bald head OK)
2. Doesn't drive off until I'm in the car
3. Works steady - splurges on dinner out occasionally
4. Nods head when I'm talking
5. Usually remembers punch lines of jokes
6. Is in good enough shape to rearrange the furniture
7. Wears a shirt that covers his stomach
8. Knows not to buy champagne with screw-top lids
9. Remembers to put the toilet seat down
10. Shaves most weekends

What I Want in a Man, Revised List (age 52)

1. Keeps hair in nose and ears trimmed
2. Doesn't belch or scratch in public
3. Doesn't borrow money too often
4. Doesn't nod off to sleep when I'm venting
5. Doesn't retell the same joke too many times
6. Is in good enough shape to get off couch on weekends
7. Usually wears matching socks and fresh underwear
8. Appreciates a good TV dinner
9. Remembers your name on occasion
10. Shaves some weekends

What I Want in a Man, Revised List (age 62)

1. Doesn't scare small children
2. Remembers where bathroom is
3. Doesn't require much money for upkeep
4. Only snores lightly when asleep
5. Remembers why he's laughing
6. Is in good enough shape to stand up by himself
7. Usually wears some clothes
8. Likes soft foods
9. Remembers where he left his teeth
10. Remembers that it's the weekend

What I Want in a Man, Revised List (age 72)

1. Breathing
2. Doesn't miss the toilet

Math Homework

A little boy was doing his math homework. He said to himself, "Two plus five, that son of a bitch is seven. Three plus six, that son of a bitch is nine."

His mother heard what he was saying and gasped, "What are you doing?"

The little boy answered, "I'm doing my math homework, Mom."

"And this is how your teacher taught you to do it?" the mother asked. "Yes," he answered.

Infuriated, the mother asked the teacher the next day, "What are you teaching my son in math?"

The teacher replied, "Right now, we are learning addition."

The mother asked, "And are you teaching them to say 'two plus two, that son of a bitch is four?'"

After the teacher stopped laughing, she answered, "What I taught them was, two plus two, THE SUM OF WHICH, is four."

Contributed by Dena Kimbrell

AARP members share Favorite Things

It is rumored that Julie Andrews recently performed in concert for AARP. Words to Favorite Things were changed to fit a theme appropriate for AARP.

Maalox and nose drops and needles for knitting,

Walkers and handrails and new dental fillings,

Bundles of magazines tied up with strings,

These are a few of my favorite things.

Cadillacs and cataracts and hearing aids and glasses,

Polident and Fixodent and false teeth in glasses,

Pacemakers, golf carts and porches with swings,

These are a few of my favorite things.

When the pipes leak,

When the bones creak,

When the knees go bad,

I simply remember my favorite things,

And then I don't feel so bad.

Hot tea and crumpets and corn pads for bunions,

No spicy hot food or food cooked with onions,

Bathrobes and heat pads and hot meals they bring,

These are a few of my favorite things.

Back pains, confused brains, and no fear of sinnin',

Thin bones and fractures and hair that is thinin',

And we won't mention our short shrunken frames,

When we remember our favorite things.

When the joints ache, when the hips break,

When the eyes grow dim,

Then I remember the great life I've had,

And then I don't feel so bad.

Contributed by Barbara Carter

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