|
September 2000 Table of Contents
Special Feature
"God... High and Lifted Up" at the Meyerson
By Tom Fineout
Minister of Music
First Baptist Church, Coppell, TX
How long has it been since you had an experience that was 100% positive? If you could be guaranteed such an experience would you be interested?
What began as a seed in 1996 in my heart and the heart of Richard Henderson, Minister of Music, Glenview Baptist Church, Fort Worth, Texas, broke the surface two years later and has blossomed now to growth we never expected.
But we should have expected it... that seed had a root system that never fails: vision, planning, resources, commitment, faith and prayer... a lot of prayer. Our vision would involve providing an opportunity for the faithful members of church choirs to participate in an evening of praise and worship in a place where most would not normally have a chance.
Certainly the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center would be the perfect "grand and beautiful" place to host such an evening. The Meyerson, in Dallas,Texas is rated as the third finest performance facility in the entire world. The idea to perform there seemed at first to be implausible. How could a group of church people ever lift up God in such a place? But God saw the purpose and He provided the way. But that was just the first step.
One stipulation for the evening would be that the performance would be totally live. There would be no pre-recorded orchestral tracks, background vocals, or click-tracks (quite a risk for most professional artists…probably as it should be.)
Richard and I had exhausted all the possibilities of artist who might fit this program…Dino, Steve Green, Larnelle Harris, etc. but nothing was working out. Richard said, "call Dan Dean" (of Phillips, Craig, and Dean). I told him, "They’ll never do this. It’s way to late in the game." I called Dan’s church knowing that after 6:00pm on a Monday night, I would most likely get his voice mail. To my surprise, Dan answered the phone himself. "Wow!" I thought, "that’s not normal." Dan told me that he, Shawn, and Randy had just had a meeting that day with their manager and they had decided to do more things with the local church. Things had become too "performance-oriented", so they had just cleared their entire calendar for 1998! Was that anointed? We think so. This made it possible for them to be our first guest in 1998.
Many obstacles toward making this vision a reality had to be overcome—booking the Meyerson, contracting the orchestra, choosing music, organizing tickets sales, finalizing details and another important consideration—the financial obligation. God provided a way in Steve Slaughter. Steve founded "GOD, High and Lifted Up" Productions for the express purpose of producing these evenings of praise and worship. (God bless you, Steve for hearing and heeding the Father’s voice). After seeing that this would be blessed financially by sellouts and sponsorships (sponsorships were $2,500, which provided a full page ad in the program and 16 box seats on the evening of their choice) we realized that we would be in a position to give all the remaining moneys to designated church starts all across America.
When dealing with some major "artsy" egos we knew that Satan would try to wedge his way in when five directors started wanting the most glamorous spots. We prayed and prayed that God would take away any flesh that might try to overtake the spirit of the Lord. THIS WAS CRUCIAL! God was faithful and there was no problem at all! The spirit of cooperation was overwhelming and permeated through to the choirs.
Danny Davis (Minister of Music at Northway Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas) joined myself and Richard and Paul Smith (formally of the Imperials and now Minister of Music at First Baptist Church, Colleyville, Texas)-- friends from twenty years when they attended Baylor Univ. and Southwestern Seminary together. Jon Stricklan (Minister of Music at Valley Ranch Baptist Church in Coppell, Texas) rounded out this group of dedicated "vision seekers." These ministers, their secretaries, many volunteers, and dozens of dedicated singers and instrumentalists joined forces to make this vision become a reality.
Tasks were divided up into areas of: desired service; gifted abilities; and just basic "this needs to be done" type stuff (that last one was the most important one). All directors were in on music selection then I directed and secured the orchestra players, beginning with the rhythm section. Securing professional musicians in as many areas of the orchestra as possible is crucial. This is what allows you to guarantee the artist that the reproduction will sound just like the record. For example, our drummer plays with Whitney Houston and Kirk Waylam. You can find these guys buy calling the largest studios in the area and asking for the "first call" players. Richard Henderson led praise and worship and dealt with all the business ends of the event, such as securing the sound company and being the liaison to the sponsors, etc. You want to make sure that the sound company has had a lot of experience in the room in which you will be performing, and with the style of production, i.e. 200 voices and a full orchestra etc. (Use electric drums! It helps with the mixing for that professional quality). Danny Davis was in charge of tickets, radio commercials, and the stage set-up at the Meyerson. Jon Stricklan was in charge of BGV’S (background vocals), and Paul Smith was in charge of the rehearsal set-up and facilities. Danny, Paul, and Jon were all in the BGV’S, and were a part of the men’s quartet. Danny, Richard, and Paul sang solos as well.
After Phillips, Craig, and Dean in 1998, Larnelle Harris, the highly respected Dove and Grammy award-winning singer, received an invitation to be the guest artist in 1999. Although the "totally live" requirement was a concern, after much prayer and thought, he agreed to take the risk and "walk into the unknown." It was incredible.
This year David Phelps, lead tenor of the Gaither Vocal Band, honored us by bringing his God-gifted talent to worship with us. One factor, however, remained constant: No matter whom you saw standing in front of you, the Savior was center stage. Our goal is to provide this community with an evening of music that lifts the spirits because it lifts the name of God.
The vision started as a seed that has provided such fruit that since that first "GOD, High and Lifted Up"…at the Meyerson in 1998, people have said, "Yes! Thank you for providing this kind of music and worship." Making this kind of music energizes us, our hearts are lightened, and our spirits are refreshed, equipped to good works that might glorify the Father. Our prayer is that it will have same effect on all who attend and that we will continue to water the seed that God planted.
The future? Well who knows what God wants? But we are in negotiations with Steve Green, Wayne Watson, Twila Paris, Russ Taff, Jessica Simpson and others as God opens and closes doors. We just walk with Him.
Scriptures declare that God has put a new song inside us; and the old hymn proclaims, "There’s within my heart a melody!" Open your heart to His melody and drink in the goodness of God.
The Meyerson is a fabulous symphony hall built by human hands to exalt and glorify men. On these nights, it exalts the Father and we will continue to see His hand as He sweeps over our worship. For when we lift Him up. He will draw all men to Him!
This is something that anyone can do. We are livin’ proof! But…God has to be in the center of it. GOD…high and lifted up!
For more information on the "how to’s" and "who to’s" email Tom at: tfineout@fbccoppell.org
Back to Top
|
