Worship Ministry update: 3/31/09

Easter Sunday is 12 days away!

 

    I'm looking forward to a special time with all of you!  It will be awesome to lead worship with all of you, celebrating the the most important event in human history!

 

    Since so many people will be on our campus that day, I'd like everyone (media team, choir & orchestra, drama) to park off campus, unless you have very small children, you're retired, or have some physical disability.  We'll be parking at Castle High School, just like old times! :)

 

    Brad Ferris has agreed to be the bus driver again!  The bus will be running from 6:30-7:00 A.M. Easter Sunday morning.  We'll also take you back after the 2nd service is over.  Thanks so much for doing this!

 

Choir and Orchestra

 

    We'll be practicing this Sunday night: all the music for Easter and the Right to Life Banquet!  Orchestra, as you requested, we'll have another version of "Christ the Lord is Risen Today" for you on Sunday night.  Here's the choir and orchestra schedule for the rest of the spring:

 

    Sunday night, April 5 (6:00-7:30)

 

    Tuesday night, April 7 (6:00-8:00 P.M.)

 

    Sunday morning, April 12 (Easter Sunday!)

 

    Wednesday night, April 15 @ 6:00 P.M. at the Centre (sound check for right to life banquet)

 

    Thursday night, April 16: 6:00-7:00 P.M. (Right to Life Banquet performance!)

 

        - Childcare will be provided for everything except for the Right to Life Banquet performance.

 

FCCN Worship Ministry Shirts

 

    We should have the shirts delivered by this Sunday!  I guess we picked the winning color: North Carolina blue! :)   We will be wearing the FCCN worship ministry polo shirts for the banquet.  The shirt committee asked me to pick what to wear with the shirts, so guess what color I am going to pick? BLACK.  Big surprise, I'm sure!  We will wear black dress pants with black socks and black shoes.  No exceptions please.   

 

All Worship Ministry Appreciation picnic! Sunday night, April 19 @ 6:00 P.M.!

   

    I want to say thank you to ALL worship ministry participants: drama, sign choir, media team, set builders, creative material people, praise team, praise band, choir and orchestra, etc.!  So let's get together and have some fun!  We'll be getting together at the home of Mike & Cynthia Mushrush: 4066 Hwy 62 W in Boonville.  We'll be providing the meat and the drinks, so everyone please bring a side dish (preferably) or a dessert.

 

    Along with lots of food, we'll have horseshoes and volleyball: I challenge SCOTT LEHMAN and his crew to another volleyball match!  I think we won the last game 2 years ago, but the details seem sketchy:  maybe something like 15-2 or 15-0?

 

    I look forward to being with you all and saying thank you for all your hard work!

 

    God bless you all,

 

        Phill

 

Phill Foust

Minister of Worship

First Christian Church of Newburgh

4544 State Road 261

Newburgh, IN 47630

(812) 858-5000 ext. 208

Mobile: (812) 449-3474

www.fccn.org

 

 

 

 

Worship Ministry Update: Suprise! 2 in one week!

Yep, there is a lot going on, so here's another blog from your friendly neighborhood worship minister. :)

 

2nd Quarter Schedule

 

    The schedule is attached to this email, and will be in all the praise team boxes this Sunday.  It's great to have some new volunteers on the schedule again!  Praise the Lord for people getting out of the pews and onto the stage!

 

Jake Miller: Worship Ministry Intern starting May 24!

 

    Jake will be with us for the first time on Memorial day weekend!  He'll be singing the special music that Sunday, and then assisting Guy and myself with worship ministry leadership for the rest of the year.  He is a very talented singer, piano and alto sax player, and all around great guy. :)  You can send him an email at jmiller@kcu.edu

 

Christmas Musical DVD's

 

    Guy Hall asked me to tell you all: if you have not picked up your Christmas Musical DVD's they will be available before and after choir and orchestra practice.

 

2009 Vision: Serving the Community through the arts and acts of kindness

 

    The Right to Life Banquet is only 3 weeks away!  God has blessed us with a HUGE group of people for which to perform.  It's sold out, and it will be simulcast in the Centre theater to accommodate others who wish to attend.  Praise be to Him!

 

    BTW, the set list for the Right to Life banquet is:

 

           “All Because of Jesus” (Bill Miller and Mary Lehman solo)

            “God is in the House” (Sandy Schooler solo)

            “God of this City” (J.R. Holesinger solo)

            “Your Grace is Enough” (Bob Walters solo)

o       Phill: 30 second invite to FCCN

“If You are an American” (Kendra Bradford and Louis Rose solo)

 

    God bless you all!

 

        Phill

Worship Ministry Update: 3/24/09

2009 Vision: impacting the community through the arts and acts of kindness

 

   I am very excited about some special events coming up!  As you know, the choir and orchestra will be performing at the Right to Life Banquet.  This will be an enormous event attended by over 2000 people.  There will be lots of media coverage since Sara Palin will be speaking.  Looks like God has really moved to get the people there!

 

    Remember why we are doing this: we'll perform some good music and then invite them to a worship service here at FCCN.  Who knows the amount of people who will eventually become fully devoted followers of Jesus because we first went to them, just like Jesus!

 Choir & Orchestra  

    Sunday, March 29 is the last chance to join the choir and orchestra for Easter and the Right to Life Banquet.  Come on out on March 29 and we'll get you involved!  No tryout is needed and childcare is provided for every practice.

     This Sunday night, we will be working on "God is in the House," "If You are an American" and "Christ the Lord is Risen Today."  Unless the vocal equippers object, I'd like to handle the full practice with the choir instead of breaking up into sectionals.  We've already sung these songs before, so I think we'll be able to knock it out as a full choir.  Here's what the evening will look like:

    6:00-6:10: opening prayer and value of the month!

    6:10-6:50 Choir practices in the chapel, orchestra practices in the worship center

    6:50-7:10 Prayer groups

    7:05-7:30 Everyone practices in the worship center

Painting a Closet

    We're using a closet for this Sunday's message.  Is anyone out there bored during spring break, and interested in painting the outside white and the inside black?  Let me know.  It shouldn't take too long.

Value of the Month: Excellence

   We define excellence as "doing the very best you can with what you have."    

    Excellence never happens by accident.  Jim Collins, in his leadership classic "Good to Great," proves this point very well.  His team executes a rigorous study of countless organizations to find out what moves a good organization a great organization.  The results are pretty simple: it does not happen by luck.  In Collin's own words, "greatness is not a function of circumstance.  Greatness, it turns out, is largely a matter of conscious choice, and discipline."

    FCCN worship ministry, let's have the discipline and make the conscious choice to work toward excellence!

    God bless,

        Phill

Worship Ministry Update: 3/16/09

 Worship Ministry Shirts

     Everyone who wants one should have ordered a worship ministry shirt by now: we've got to send off the work order so they are here by the right to life banquet!  But if you have not yet, please email Cheryl Smith at the Cc above.   

2nd quarter praise team schedules

    Your praise team schedule is due today!  Please let me know when you can serve on the praise team.  This will cover April 5 through June 28.  Thanks a bunch!

 Choir & Orchestra  

    Sunday, March 29 is the last chance to join the choir and orchestra for Easter and the Right to Life Banquet.  Come on out on March 29 and we'll get you involved!  No tryout is needed and childcare is provided for every practice.

     Remember that we will not be practicing this Sunday, March 22, because of the Warrick county spring break. 

Value of the Month: Excellence

   We define excellence as "doing the very best you can with what you have."   Since you may be printing out your NCAA bracket today, here's a March Madness example of basketball excellence:

    Indiana University.  Big Red.  It was the gold standard of college basketball excellence for decades: NCAA championships in 1941, 1953, 1976, 1981 and 1987.  I believe they should have won the championship in 1975 and 1993, were it not for injuries to Scott May and Alan Henderson, respectively.  Ask me about THAT on Sunday.  I could go on and on.

    But the men's basketball program has fallen on dark times in recent years, which is well documented and not something I wish to blog about.  This is, after all, a blog about excellence, not mediocrity.

    However, I am proud of the team this year.  Although I don't see them on my 2009 bracket (and I have looked EXTREMELY hard for them on my bracket...wishing..hoping...is it wrong to even pray a little?), they have, in my opinion, "done the very best with what they have" this year.  They certainly did not have the usual talented roster to make a run in the tournament, but they did something much more important: they have restored the integrity and hustle that is Indiana basketball.  Watch out Fighting Illini, Boilermakers and Wildcats: the Cream & Crimson will be back someday: it will be very, very excellent.

    Think about how this applies to our situation.  Integrity comes first: we Hoosier fans have learned that lesson the hard way.  But integrity is not the only element that creates excellence.   After integrity, talent and hard work must all come together to create lasting excellence.

       Phill 

Praise team schedule

    I forgot to mention yesterday: vocal team and praise band members, would you send me your dates for when you can serve on the praise team?  This will be for April 5-June 28.  I'll need the dates by this Monday, March 16.   Thanks!

 

    Phill

 

Phill Foust

Minister of Worship

First Christian Church of Newburgh

4544 State Road 261

Newburgh, IN 47630

(812) 858-5000 ext. 208

Mobile: (812) 449-3474

www.fccn.org

 

 

Worship Ministry Update: 3/9/09

Worship Ministry Shirts

     Hey everybody, make sure you order one, they're free! :)  A table will be set up again this Sunday in the foyer, so stop by and pick a size.  Everyone in the choir and orchestra will need one for the right to life banquet, but all worship ministry participants, including media team, drama, sign choir, praise band, creative materials, etc., are welcome to order a shirt. 

Choir & Orchestra  

     We'll need lots of voices and instrumentalists to fill the Centre when we sing for the Right to life Banquet in April!  Come on out and join us Sunday evening.  We practice every Sunday night from 6:00-7:30 P.M., and childcare is provided for every practice.   

    I am looking forward to leading worship with you all this Sunday!  Remember to observe the dress code, park in the back of the parking lot, drop off any kiddos in the nursery and be in the worship center by 7:00 A.M.!

   This Sunday night we will be working on the special song for the Right to Life Banquet: "If You are an American."  We'll break up into prayer groups first, move to sectionals around 7:20, choir in the chapel around 7:45, and full group in the worship center at the end of practice.       

Christmas Musical DVD's: Available in the Library!

    Guy has finished the Christmas Musical DVD's, and they will be in the Library this Sunday!  You can pick up a copy for $10.00.  Thanks again to EVERYONE (and we're talking, like over 200 people) who helped make the Christmas Musical a great success!

Value of the Month: Excellence

   We define excellence as "doing the very best you can with what you have."  

    Some people in the North American Christian Church probably would not agree with excellence in worship.  "Good enough for church" seems to be their motto.  For example, I have heard these same people quote the scripture "make a joyful noise to the Lord."  They often quote this to say that it doesn't matter how we sound, we just need to "make a loud racket" and God will be happy with that.

    Huh.  Alright, I'll clean out my desk and be gone by the end of the day.  What do you need a worship minister for?  We can all just scream in monotone and have folks beat some cowbells, and we'll call it worship. :)

    Seriously, look at the Biblical text for the phrase "make a joyful noise." Psalm 81:1, Psalm 95:1, Psalm 98:6, Psalm 100:1, just to name a few.  They use the Hebrew word "ruwa," which means "blow an alarm, cry, destroy, shout, or sound an alarm."  That sounds like more of a battle cry than a worship service.  I doubt David would have used that for the musicians in the Old Testament temple.  Instead, we are commanded many times in scripture to play skillfully and sing beautifully.  Psalm 33:3 even instructs us to "play skillfully with a loud noise."  

    This excellence factor is one of the things that I appreciate about all of you: none of us are happy with mediocrity.  We desire excellence in worship: we want to give our best to God.  You all exemplify that with your preparation and commitment to rehearsal.  I praise God for all of you!

    Phill 

Worship Ministry Update: 3/3/09

Worship Ministry Shirts

    Great news!  Someone (and I honestly do not know who) has volunteered to donate the money for 85 choir and orchestra shirts!  Praise the Lord! This all reminds me of the passage in Matthew 6 "But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."

    The shirt committee will have a table set up in the hallway on Sunday so you can order a shirt.  We'll also be taking orders Sunday evening during choir and orchestra practice.  Remember, everyone in the choir and orchestra will need one for the right to life banquet, but all worship ministry participants, including media team, drama, sign choir, praise band, creative materials, etc., are welcome to order a shirt.  See the shirt committee's note below:

    We are ready to start ordering our new Worship Ministry shirts.  The shirts will be Carolina Blue (Sorry, Doug, not “Kentucky” blue!) Hanes Polo shirts with a darker blue FCCN logo and the copy, “First Christian, Newburgh Worship Ministry” on the left-hand side.  We will have sample sizes for you to try on before ordering, so you’ll get the correct size.  (Remember the dress code!) 

Shirt Committee:  Brenda Krogman, Charlotte Nixon, and Cheryl Smith

Choir, Orchestra & Media Team!

     We again had 2 more volunteers for the last practice, praise the Lord!  But we're still looking for more!  We'll need lots of voices and instrumentalists to fill the Centre when we sing for the Right to life Banquet in April!  Come on out and join us Sunday evening.  We practice every Sunday night from 6:00-7:30 P.M., and childcare is provided for every practice.   

 

    This Sunday night we will be preparing to lead worship on March 15.  The media team will be joining us that night.  It's always good to have them with us! 

 

       6:00-6:10 Opening prayer, Bongo Bob solo and another cool video courtesy of Jeff Coombes!

 

        6:10-6:45 Full group practice on stage for Sunday, March 15.

 

        6:45-7:05 Prayer Groups

 

        7:05-7:30 Full group practice on stage for Sunday, March 15.

 

Major moves this Week!

 

    We'll be taking the instruments off the stage on Tuesday night around 7:45 (there is a wedding on Saturday).

 

    Then we'll put everything back on the stage Saturday evening at 5:00 P.M. 

 

    At 5:00 P.M. on Sunday, we'll be setting up the choir risers and pulling out the orchestra pit.  Come on out and help us!

Christmas Musical DVD's: Available in the Library this Sunday!

    Guy has finished the Christmas Musical DVD's, and they will be in the Library this Sunday!  You can pick up a copy for $10.00.  Thanks again to EVERYONE (and we're talking, like over 200 people) who helped make the Christmas Musical a great success!

Value of the Month: Excellence

    (note to the tenors in the choir: thanks for a lively and fun discussion Sunday night, it gave me lots of things to discuss in the blog!  By the way: Be a real man and go rent the classic: "Sleeping Beauty."  Your wife will like it, and you'll even enjoy a few of the action sequences!  In fact, the princess is only on screen for like, 18 minutes.  So you won't have to deal with a lot of boring "dancing in the woods" and "singing to forest creatures." There is more to the movie than that: especially the final battle with the dragon.  It's awesome!)

    We define excellence as "doing the very best you can with what you have."  A good example of excellence is the animated movie, "Sleeping Beauty."  According to Wikipedia: 

"During its original release, "Sleeping Beauty" returned only half the invested sum of $6,000,000, nearly bankrupting the Disney studio. It was mainly criticized as being slowly paced and having little character development. Since then, the film has gained a following and is today hailed as one of the best animated features ever made, thanks to its stylized designs by painter Eyvind Earle who also was the art director for the movie, its lush music score and its large-format widescreen and stereophonic sound presentation.  The film was re-released theatrically in 1970, 1979 (in 70mm 6 channel stereo, as well as in 35 mm stereo and mono), 1986, 1993.  When adjusted for ticket price inflation, the domestic total gross comes out to $478.22 million, placing it in the top 30 of adjusted films."

   "Sleeping Beauty" was made with a high level of excellence in 1959.  Walt Disney and his team obviously "did the very best they could with what they had."  But what if the same movie was made today?  That probably would not be considered excellence.  The technology has improved dramatically over the last 50 years.

    The same can be applied to our situation.  If we did the same worship service Sunday that we did 4 years ago, that probably would not be excellence.  We've grown numerically and artistically since then.  So today, we are striving to do the best with what we have.  That is what God is calling us to do!  To do our very best for his glory.  It's my prayer that we will grow musically and numerically during the next 4 years, we'll do much greater things for His glory.  And how do we do that? By doing the very best with what we have.  In short, serving God with excellence.

    I'll leave you today with my favorite line from "Sleeping Beauty," which has obvious Biblical overtones:

"Now sword of truth fly swift and sure, that evil die and good endure!"

P.

P.S. Last evening, my youngest son Luke picked "Sleeping Beauty" as one of our 5 books we read before bedtime.  Weird huh?  Out of the over 100 books we have in Nathan and Luke's room, he picked THAT one.  There must be something to it. :)