KEEP ME AS THE APPLE OF YOUR EYE - Friday Sept. 8, 2017

REVERBERATIONS  FROM DAVID’S PSALMS

“KEEP ME AS THE APPLE OF YOUR EYE” 

 Friday, September 8

Psalm 17:  “I call on You, O God, for You will answer me…Show the wonder of Your great love.” (v.6-7)

 

 A PRAYER OF DAVID

This is one of the most beautiful prayers ever written and for sure it was one from David’s youth.  It was certainly before he was king and before some proudful personal decisions resulted in some terrible personal disasters.

No, this is a youthful David who prayed one night, “Though You probe my heart and examine me at night, though You test me, You will find nothing”. (v.3) Here for sure is a young man sitting at God’s round table!  Full of integrity!  Falsely accused. Trusting God to save him because he believes he is doing everything right.

There was a time when David and his band of renegades were basically surrounded (he says that in v.11).  They were going around a mountain. Saul and his 3,000 were coming from the other side.  Had God not intervened, and had Saul not called off the hunt to rush back to fight a sudden Philistine uprising, he would have caught up with David for sure.

But here, David reminded the Lord, “My steps have held to Your paths; my feet have not slipped”. (v.5) Then, he goes on adding how bad his enemies really were with phrases like, “The wicked who assail me…”, “They close up their callous hearts…”, “My mortal enemies…”, “Like a lion hungry for prey, crouching in cover”, “Whose mouths speak with arrogance…”, “They have tracked me down and now surround me”.  Whew, he was not pleased with his circumstances at all, but he still has a good, positive ending to his prayer.  “When I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing Your likeness.”

David always believed God heard him, would eventually answer, and he would get to see God’s greatness in His creation another day.  And for us, whether the answer is the one we want or not, with some patience like David had, in His time God will also answer our prayers.

RECOLLECTIONS

Wednesday, September 6, 2017

“ON HITLER’S STAGE…”

By Ken Waggoner, Continentals Singers Director

When we grew from one group to three in l968, Ken Waggoner was one of the three Directors.  He and his wife, Nancy, had a great Continental career and spent much of their adult life in leadership on the road and as part of the office team in Southern California.

JUST PRODUCING MY ASSETS

In 1970, the city of Berlin was still deep inside Communist East Germany.  It was a bit surreal for our Continental Singers group to consider our surroundings as we flew into historic Tempelhof airport to perform a Christian concert.  The slightly out of place feeling only deepened when we saw our concert venue: a large outdoor amphitheater that had been built in the 1930’s and was the site of some of Adolf Hitler’s dramatic, hysteria-inducing speeches which must still be echoing somewhere all around us.

The stage was massive—our large 40-member group actually shrank in size and looked very small up there!  At the back of the stage stood a tall granite slab, probably 40 feet tall and partway up that slab, a few feet above the main stage, a small platform jutted out. 

I COULD SEE HIM STANDING THERE IN MY MIND….THE LITTLE MUSTACHE UNDER HIS NOSE FLINCHING WITH EACH MESMERIZING GESTURE, THE AUDIENCE BEYOND AT ATTENTION WAITING TO BURST OUT IN CRAZIED APPLAUSE.   

There was also an entrance just behind for him to make his appearance at just the right time!  It occurred to me that the platform was also just about the right size to fit our drummer’s set!

Our drummer that year was a gregarious teenager named Lynn Coulter.  By nature, he was a “flash and dash” kind of guy.  He was incredibly creative and-given the chance- could dazzle an audience.  Of course, he didn’t get that chance very often because he was the drummer. He had to keep himself in check most of the time so our audiences would have a chance to hear the vocal group in those overly acoustic church buildings!

But, I thought this might be the perfect time to let him loose.  There was a place in the middle of one of our up-tempo songs I decided would be a great spot for a drum solo.  So, I told him when he got to that spot to just “go for it and see what happens”.

He did!  It was probably 3 minutes long (the song was probably only 4) and after 50 years, maybe my memory is a bit fuzzy, but I sure remember the audience reaction.  As soon as both sticks came crashing down on that last drum for his dramatic ending, they went crazy! They were on their feet whistling and yelling, and the applause went on and on and on for at least as long as his drum solo had lasted.  Lynn stood tall and was all smiles… me, too… a moment of exhilaration and real pleasure.

Cam always told the Directors to “produce your assets”.  In other words, if you’ve got someone on your tour who has a special talent, USE IT!   Find a way to let your audience enjoy them by adding some extra excitement to the concert program experience.  That was one night we did exactly that!


Ken Waggoner, Continentals Singers Director

• Tour participant:  1963 – ‘65
• Directed CS tours:   1968 – 1977
• Worked in the CS office:  1974 – 1987
• Have lived in Colorado Springs since 1991
• Currently semi-retired, working part time (IT-related)
• Enjoying singing in a great church choir

 

 

"JOSEPH/DREAMER" - Monday, September 4, 2017

REWIND… 


THE CONTINENTAL SINGERS OPENING NIGHT 
JUNE, 1984, THE FIRST SEASON
SPRING, 1994, THE 10 ANNIVERSARY TOUR

                        "JOSEPH/DREAMER"

Joseph was sold as a slave by his brothers.  He lost control of his life.  Joseph later told his brothers, “What you intended for harm, God intended for good”.

GOD WAS IN CONTROL OF HIS LIFE

You have read the story of Joseph and his coat of many colors recorded for us in Genesis, Chapters 37 to 48, (the “Technicolor Dream Coat”, said Andrew Lloyd Weber).  Joseph was sold by his jealous brothers to a caravan of Ishmaelites traveling down to Egypt.  Once there, this young teenager, with his life and goals still ahead of him, was sold to one of Pharaoh’s officials, an Egyptian, Potiphar, the Captain of the Guard.

There are four important attributes Joseph had that took him from being a slave to becoming Pharaoh’s right hand, 2nd in command, in charge of all Egypt.  These same  four characteristics will take you from this rehearsal camp to becoming the Continental that will take God’s message of forgiveness to the whole world.

JOSEPH HAD THE RIGHT ATTITUDE.  

Instead of complaining and pointing out how he had been mistreated by his family, he charged ahead. His new owner saw that the Lord was with him and was giving him success, so he put him in charge of his entire household.  

Tour life is glamorous for sure, but after a while many little things, and possibly what you will consider even some big things, may take your eyes off the ministry goal in front of you.  Attitude is everything.  It will help you to be a successful person in everything you do.

JOSEPH TRUSTED THE LORD WAS IN CHARGE OF HIS LIFE.  

With his success came some challenges.  Potiphar’s wife took notice and did her best to entice him for her sexual gratification.  He refused, she accused him anyway. Potiphar believed his wife and Joseph was thrown into a prison where the King’s prisoners were confined. While there, the Warden saw the Lord was with Joseph, so he put him in charge of all the other prisoners.  It was here that he interpreted dreams by Pharaoh’s cup bearer, and his baker, that eventually got him out of the prison.  

Not everything on this itinerary will happen without the possibility of some abrupt disruptions, maybe a cancellation and an empty night, maybe a long, long bus ride, maybe a breakdown, maybe you will even miss a concert, although I doubt your Director will allow that to happen!

Trust your Director to make the right decisions.  He or she is in charge of your tour.  Your leader is trusting the Lord to give them success.  The Lord is with them.  The Lord is with you, too.  Trust in that, and no matter what happens, you will see that God had good in mind all along.

JOSEPH STAYED FAITHFUL.  

Slavery and prison took away his youth.  Not one time did Joseph lose hope.  When God closed various doors in his life, He also opened windows of opportunity, and Joseph remained faithful throughout as the Lord remained faithful to him.  There will be times people on your tour may talk against your Director, or another tour member, or worse, begin to believe the Lord is not really in charge.  Stay faithful!  The Lord is in charge! Be supportive in every way, so that this becomes an experience of a lifetime for you.

JOSEPH WAS FORGIVING. 

He could easily have taken revenge on his brothers and made them languish in prison for awhile like he had to.  But, instead, he understood that God had always been in control so that he could be in a position to actually save his family during the long, seven year famine.  What a great life lesson for us, and for you, this summer.  It is your responsibility to love, enjoy, and forgive, as necessary, whatever wrongs you feel someone has done to you.  This is the Christian’s right attitude and The Continental’s right way, especially while on this long tour.

If you can grasp that God is really in control of everything that happens to you, like Joseph did, it is a lesson that will bring you success in everything you do for the rest of your life, just like it did for him.