The phrase "born-again Christian" is redundant.

One cannot be Christian unless born again , as Jesus explained and was quoted in the scripture of John.   

​The "born again" in His reference is rebirth of a man's natural spirit to rebel against God.  That is, to disobey God, to rely on self, to  think of self first.   These are the basic elements of life collectively tagged "sin" -- Jesus says this human spirit -- the spirit of sin --  must be reborn to submit to God's will and guidance, first by recognizing and acknowledging  the life of Christ as revealed in Scriptures, then by living according to His teachings.  In its simplest expression, this is what it means to be born again.  To renew a spirit to follow God's lead.

But what of those people who were born with such a spirit.  The spirit to follow God and not sin that seems intrinsic from birth.  Are there such people?  Especially in our age?

We believe we have encountered such an individual, and she has been serving in our ministry seemingly half her life -- which is fascinating because only this year did she turn one  score and four.  

The lady's name is Marissa Candace Marie Brown, and since her mid-teens she has been teaching and guiding us at Kingdom Impact Theater Ministries while she has been learning to lead and serve others to study and worship The LORD.

When Paul said, "Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity," (1 Timothy 4:12) he told it to Timothy, but he had Marissa in mind as the embodiment -- first, as the eldest of seven children; second, as a congregational worship leader at age 16.

Although the KIT Ministries family knew of Marissa long before she could sing -- before she could talk and text, even -- it was evident that her presence, often silent,  could demonstrate how God works in individual lives as a beacon in the madness of the world around.  

Once she began speaking, and singing, Marissa was placed with KIT  as  a translator to speak to an age demographic in need of the gospel, but deemed unresponsive to traditional methods. 

Marissa graduates from Moody Bible Institute in December, completing a long journey that included "gap years"  between high school and college.  Those were not idle times.  They involved raising funds for college in day jobs, and serving selflessly in church ministry.  It could be said the latter is the natural extension of growing up in a church family -- she's not a PK (pastor's kid) -- but pretty close. 

A church-family kid is one of those people who is always in church at countless activities at an early age, often winds up being asked to lead things on Sunday, dragged in to do things with parents (and/or grandparents)  in the middle of the week, and is a last minute fill-in when another person (can you say, "adult?") fails to show up or volunteer for a church assignment.  Such children, although numerous in formative years, often are the first to permanently exit a church once receiving a high school graduation gift from the  congregation.  Yes, Virginia, helping out in church ministry as a teen can push young people away from the building and away from God.

Or, draw them closer.

Yes, Virginia, there are Marissas -- who serve without complaining, and suggest without judgment.  

That's how she began her journey to be a KIT intern.

The oldest children are often doused with parental responsibilities early.  In addition to becoming the parents' assistant with younger siblings in public, they also become the kids' discipler after-hours, giving the low-down to each new child the parents' rules of the house -- and the nuances on how to work the parental system.  With each new sib' -- conveniently spaced roughly two years apart over the next 12 years, Marissa had ample opportunity to repeat and teach the rules of house decorum and public behavior.   Even in managing conflict and the nuts-and-bolts of parental manipulation, Marissa was a natural educator:  her mom and grandmother  are/were teachers. 

 It was little surprise, then, that when the churches where she grew up needed nursery help, or, after youth ministry turnover, a teen counselor, Marissa was enlisted without a second thought.  It was also not a surprise how she resonated with the teens she was thrust into leading once she settled in as a student at Moody Bible Institute and was in search of hours for her undergraduate practicum.

When hiring a ministry intern or student teacher, there are three dangers of misuse:

1. Let the student sit in the corner, observe and be a modified babysitter, or;
2. Turn the teens over to the intern, leave them unsupervised, and be a modified babysitter, or;
3. Give the intern responsibility to lead the group, but micromanage and intervene, thus babysitting the babysitter.

We can look down on them because they are young.

Yet, Marissa's natural gift of temperament and understanding new media enabled her to be both a good student of ministry and a good teacher of ministers.  She spent two years serving as a student ministry aide, eventually given the responsibility of organizing the curriculum, introducing new music, reinterpreting older music, and filling in as a musical song leader with the, generally, older Sunday morning ensemble.  She became solid in church ministry.  Then the inevitable occurred:  God moved her from the church where she was serving.  

A burgeoning millennial bit the dust -- and was planted elsewhere.

Studying musical worship leading at college,  including uses of theater in worship, Marissa sought a similar outlet after two years of midweek teaching.  Part of the search enabled her to serve occasionally with Kingdom Impact Theater's musical and theater ensembles, but the regular opportunity was needed -- for college credit and self.  It came when a multi-site church plant, New Life Community, took root in Brookfield, IL,  a suburb of Chicago, and  needed a part-time musical worship leader.  After a few months, the part-time school credit role became a permanent position, a weekly expression merging the talents and gifts honed over a life that hasn't yet reached a quarter of a century. 

Moreover, she's received opportunities to engage with other musicians in the New Life network of churches, and take those experiences into other church communities.   Example: During her New Life time, Marissa has not only brought to Kingdom Impact Theater stronger methods of teaching and communicating across generations ("What he means is...," "The app works like this...," "Oh, you can just download this link..."),  she's also introduced us to music for old school stories ("Can we try this song?  It's on my playlist...").  More importantly, by her demeanor, Marissa has demonstrated trust, patience, peace, kindness and, especially self-control navigating the roads bellowing with Chicago traffic.

For some of us, driving in rush hour or city traffic is a true temptation to capitulate to sin.  To Marissa, such travel is a confined opportunity to commune with God as the sins of road rage percolate around her.  Even to other Believers, it may seem perplexing that such moments don't drive this lady gaga, until you  realize that Marissa embraces that  "the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" -- because she was born this way.

When speaking of worship leaders we often restrict the phrase to an individual who plays an instrument or two, organizes the music, runs the rehearsal, plans the Order of Service, perhaps conducts the congregational sing-a-along, and perhaps solos on numerous songs.

We learned along ago that a leader of worship is more than this, may or may not have musical gifts, and recognizes that worshipping God is not confined to a timed-music presentation during a Service of Worship. Worship is a way of life.

Michelle Perez-Campbell is a leader of worship.

It's our pleasure to have Michelle as part of our Kingdom Impact Theater Ministries ensemble, and to celebrate her birthday today (June 13th) by thanking God for the gift of her presence.

"Meech" was instrumental in KIT expanding into worship music from our purely theatrical beginning. 

We met Meech when she was a high school student at our church.  Although long-time residents of our community, her family (parents, a big sister and younger brother) seemed to appear at church on Sunday.  A new high school student with a gift of evangelism led the family , en masse, to the Lord and through the doors of the church.  They all sang, and Meech occasionally was involved in the drama ministry.  That's how Kingdom Impact Theater, a branch of the church's Christian Education ministry, got involved and forever changed her life. 

We cast Meech as Mary in a Christmas production.  We cast a reticent sound technician and occasional musician, Justin Campbell, as Joseph.  They had few lines; maybe none; but rehearsals helped them build on a friendship that had begun in student ministries.  "Mary" and "Joseph" have been married 15 years.  And we helped.

"Center of My Joy" by Chos3n 

Whatever the reason, were  Cameron or anyone to produce such a project, it would need to include a Spanish-language duet or two for Meech and Carla.

Meech is Mexican; Carla is African-Hoosier, who teaches bilingual public school education outside of Dallas. They have done Spanish-English duets live for KIT, and  learned from Vikki how to engage an audience through musical worship.

Yet, while their musical gifts are publicly acclaimed, more notable -- though less visible -- is each woman's ability to infuse worship in their daily activities at work and home. Between them, Chos3n are the mothers of 10 children. They have infused scripture in their child-rearing, and bring scriptural principles to their workplaces through interaction, not indoctrination.

Besides work, the ladies extend the concept of worship to discipling other women. Meech has particularly taken this concept to heart through church small groups, and especially by providing part-time employment for a KIT college intern, with whom she's also developed a mentoring-confidant relationship.

It is through conversations about colleagues and parenting that Michelle's worship leading ideas live, and it's a family affair.  Her parents oversee a church plant in Tennessee; her brother leads musical worship at a church  in Downstate Illinois; her sister carries her witness across the globe as a renowned opera singer.  So when Meech brings ideas about music sets as the KIT singers are brainstorming and improvising in the living room, or even in connecting with congregations from the platform during a Service of Worship presentation, the music is only a further outlet for the praise that's been going on 24-7.

And that's what a worship leader actually does, whether there's music or not.

So, for demonstrating this, and for all He has done for our ministry through Michelle Perez-Campbell,  we say to The LORD,  "Feliz cumpleanos! Meech,  us gracias." ​

by Michael Edgar Myers, Founding Director

Cami, an intern with Kingdom Impact Theater Ministries, has been compiling resources and recommendations for individuals managing mental health challenges and posting them in a series of online essays we call “A Collegian’s Guide to Mental Health.”

We outlined Cami's background and how these essays came to be in an earlier post, "College, Ministry & Stress."  Today, we provide access to the essays themselves and Biblical connections the KIT Ministries staff made while editing them.

Although the essays are not “Christian” in nature, reading them revealed parallels between the practical concepts and Bible basics. There are seven scriptures related to the contents of the four essays themselves, and three other principles that provide perspective on Cami’s spiritual health journey summarized in the four essays.

“Remind them they are loved,” she says in “10 Ways to Support Someone in a Rough Mental Spot.” “It seems simple enough, but seriously, it helps.”

While Scripture says, “God so loved the world,” “God is love,” and we are “to love our neighbors as ourselves,” and children are taught to sing, “Yes, Jesus loves me,” among those who are uncertain about their relationship with Him, any of those statements can be met with skepticism.  Nevertheless, Cami does recommend a Scripture-infused concept.

“One thing I always recommend to everyone is “The Five Love Languages,” she says of Dr. Gary Chapman’s best-selling book.  “Whether it has to do with mental health or not, it’s super helpful in knowing what ways the important people in your life feel loved.”

Indeed, the book and its accompanying on-line quiz were an important getting-to-know you tool for Kingdom Impact Theater Ministries when ensemble members began a mid-year intercession ministering to middle and high school students. The results not only helped the students know themselves, they opened communication channels between generations.)
​
FURTHER READING: John 3:16-18; 1 John 4:7-12, 16

The words of James are a quiet thread through the essays.  For example, among the “10 Ways to Support Someone in a Rough Mental Spot,” Cami’s recommendations bring to mind, “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak…”

Cami writes: “No. 7: Listen to Them: “It’s really tempting to give advice and ask a lot of questions, but it’s way more helpful if they come and open up to you to just listen to what they have to say...unless they ask for it.” She then admits, “I struggle with this a lot if I’m being honest, but we all have things to work on in being supportive.”

James, an early church leader, was written by Jesus'  brother, who was skeptical of Jesus' deity until after the Resurrection.  The letter is considered the first New Testament book written and has been called "The Proverbs of the New Testament."  Therefore, companion proverbs are also recommended.

FURTHER READING: James 1:19; Proverbs 18:13; Proverbs 21:28

“Watching Funny Videos or TV Shows:” is one of Cami’s “12 Ways of Coping on Bad Mental Health Days” that falls in line with a KIT Ministries leadership training series, “The Merry Heart: Humor as Ministry Tool.” Both have basis in Proverbs 15:13 and 17:22.

“This sounds super simple and it really is, but as tempting as shows like “SVU” and “Grey’s Anatomy” are, they aren’t the most uplifting when you’re not feeling well.” Her recommended list of comedies also aligns with scientific studies from the Association of Applied and Therapeutic Humor about the positive effects of laughter.

Another coping idea, “Therapy,” is controversial in some church circles, and may deter students from seeking help who would benefit from it. However, Cami’s take is supported in numerous Proverbs and Psalms about counseling.

“I know that counseling isn’t available to everyone, but if you have the opportunity to try it out, I would highly recommend it,” she says. 

“Therapy” and “counseling” have roots in listening, discipleship and mentoring scriptures already utilized in ministry.  Students particularly will tell school counselors, teachers or youth pastors more personal details than parents.

 “I think it’s really important to have open conversations about mental health and to have people you feel comfortable with asking questions and reaching out to you,” she adds.   

Feeling "comfortable" also bring to minds the words of Jesus as he explained the role of the Holy Spirit, whom, in the King James Bible,  he calls "The Comforter."  Lest we forget, this statement is from the lips whose names include "Wonderful Counselor."
​
FURTHER READING:  Proverbs 27:9; 1 Timothy 4:11-13; 1 Peter 5:5

“Therapy” is the climax of 12 coping ideas that begins with a basic, faith-centered approach to all else: Meditation & Prayer. “Sometimes together, but often times not,” she explains. 

While pointing out meditative apps she uses, Cami emphasizes, “I also read devotionals on the Our Daily Bread app, too!”

The idea of meditation causes some Christians to recoil, fearing capitulation to mystical forms of worship.  This perception is ill-informed.  Meditation is concentrating on a particular idea (often a phrase) for a short period, and Scriptures point out its assets.  Scriptures exhort believers to mediate on The Word of God.

God tells  Joshua to meditate on the book of the law day and night, Nine times psalmists reflect on meditating on God’s word.  Significantly, Paul tells Timothy to meditate upon his gifts and studies -- an important message to impress upon today’s youth – Cami and her peers.
​
FURTHER READING: Psalm 1:1-3; Psalm 77; Psalm 119: 14-16; Psalm 143:4-6.

As we investigated Cami’s apps to see how they align with our Statement of Faith, we also sought for similar meditative Christian apps.  We found none right away.

Days later, searching for a new YouVersion Bible study plan, we came across “Prayers from Jude,” timely since Vikki was raising funds for St. Jude Children’s Hospital while she ran the Chicago Marathon.  As it turned out, “Prayer from Jude” was not just a reading devotional, but 15 minutes of guided reflection on Jude’s letter, four verses at a time.  The devotional app is Abide.  It’s Christian meditation.

In testing the spirits and searching for compatible resources, we were amazed by how often we had already studied biblical mental health content:  sermons we had heard, devotionals we had taken, Scriptures we knew but had not placed in this context; even community agencies with which we partner, such as the Kenneth Young Center, have a spiritual base.

In subsequent essays, we’ll share some of those discoveries and resources and suggestions about how to incorporate in your ministries.  For now, however, was are thankful for the awareness that has come to our family and encourage you to track with Cami’s findings.  Those include the power of friendships, spiritual gifts, and Holy Spirit intercession.  These will be explored in the next blog.

FURTHER READING:  1 John 4:1-13

by Michael Edgar Myers,  Founding Director

​Cami is part of Kingdom Impact Theater Ministries, the Next Generation, though she’s been with us awhile.

Maybe you've  seen her greeting people at shows at our hospitality table, or sitting in singing with the ladies’ worship  ensemble, Chos3n.  She’s also behind the scenes (or out front) photographing our performances,  such as those she did for  “Freedom Song” promotions.

All of those activities she began as a high school intern. She’s now preparing for her senior year of college, studying psychology and creative writing, wondering how to use them  in the "adulting" world to come.

While those disciplines are her major and minor studies, Cami's passion is music.. That passion has brought amazing  tranquility -- grace -- to her transitions.  Music h​as been her salve amid 8 A.M. classes, mid-terms, scrambling for transportation to jobs that help her tuition and social responsibilities. Then there’s those sorority things she does – like rush, and parties, and musical competitions – just because, well, hey, she’s in college.

Cami was accepted into the university’s concert choir as a freshman, a rarity; and has since expanded her passion into regional and international tours, on-campus ensembles, opera dalliances,  cabaret musicale, and a vocal quartet formed with three girlfriends.  Although her school is not a Christian college, it does have Protestant foundations and community church links.   The university choir repertoire often includes songs of faith -- such as Negro spirituals and classical compositions based in Biblical scriptures. On occasion, Cami's colleagues have turned to her for further insight into the lyrics.

As with many college students away from home for the first time, things of church life took a back seat once freed from the weekly family obligation of Sunday morning attendance. 

College is, among other things, a time for church kids to explore and, as John writes, "test every spirit," as the students interact with peers from other regions, beliefs, faiths. College is a test, as Paul says, to "work out your faith," which in church kids' lexicon is,  "make it my own." College is a parental test.  It's the first gauge of Old Testament Proverb to "train up a child in the way he should go," while reverting to early parenthood lessons of letting go: "How is my kid going to ride when I take off the training wheels?" 

VIDEO INTERLUDE:  "God Is a Rock in a Weary Land"

​With two years of college life secured, this year she resumed singing in worship ensembles, both on campus and as an element of an off-campus student ministry leader job she secured.  

Through  these experiences, Cami has been making personal discoveries known in earlier generations as, “Finding herself.," a journey one of her grandfathers contended could be done less expensively.  When a collegiate son was explaining his less-than-zealous academic performance while away at school, Cami's Grampy told him, “Find yourself on your own dime.”  

However, the cost of this self-exploration cannot be measured in coinage, but in dollars and sense.  It's a reason two of Cami's guides for post-graduation decision ("To College, or not To College?") were her youth pastor and an older cousin who each took off a year and worked before continuing education.  The Gap Year, as it's known, is often suggested for talented students who sometimes have so many choices they are overwhelmed and lose focus on why they're going to college. 

Cami, however, knew why she was going, and that going right away was to obtain discipline to balance her self-reliance.  She also knew she wanted to study psychology.  Part was to understand her own independent streaks, but mostly to grasp why she, and so many of her contemporaries going back to middle school, respond as they do, battling a bevy of emotion issues to seemingly mundane matters.  Not just to understand why, but do something about it.

That quest has led her to compose a series of essays for her peers and their families with suggestions about how to manage the emotional challenges that affect this phase of their lives.   Cami has been posting the essays in social media in conjunction with Mental Health Awareness Month, and we have edited four of them into a compilation called,  “A Collegian’s Guide to Mental Health.”  We were intrigued by how many "collegiate" scenarios we'd personally experienced in ministry. ​

​We have been awed by God’s timing of when these writings came to our attention at Kingdom Impact Theater Ministries in relation recent  work we're doing on the topic, and previous information we had.   

• In the last year, KIT Ministries has been engaged with civic agencies, medical professions, schools and interfaith ministries in our community to see how our work as Christ-following artists may help address growing emotional stress around us.

• Hardly a week passes without similar issues coming up in our face-to-face or social media interactions with pastors and leaders of worship   

• Then, in the process of spring cleaning our offices after Easter, we were stunned by the amount of faith-related  teachings on mental health we already had saved over the years: long-lost sermon recordings, notes from Bible studies, business cards from Christian counselors.

Because we do not believe in “coincidence,”  we call such collective timing #holyspiritmoments.

While the tips  in Cami's four missives are not directly “Christian,” meaning they don’t offer Biblical solutions verbatim, we see scriptural influence behind many. Therefore, we’re making the essays accessible not only to provide a checklist of things to do in the face of mental health matters.  We make them accessible to  re-emphasize how scripture and its artistic expression should not be overlooked in the spiritual warfare for mind and soul, as well as body, especially among younger generations.  For the weapons of our warfare are not of this world.

​Cami grew up attending and serving in the church.  At age 15, she chose to be baptized.  At the same time, she and her BFFs dealt with traditional teen-aged angsts of puberty. “Most of my experience is with anxiety and depression,” she writes. 

In some ways, these feelings and responses are not terribly different from previous generations of teen-agers since James Dean was the first “Rebel Without a Cause." But James Dean’s duress was not intensified by endless electronic communication,  decreased human conversation, relentless scholarship applications, or  personal pronoun declarations. James Dean was bullied; he wasn’t cyberbullied.

The angst of teens in our era is chronicled in headlines about suicides, social media bickering, and vengeful violence. It’s reflected in escapist behaviors as drinking, cutting and, most recently, vaping (e-cigarette smoking).

That these were not Cami’s challenges made her moods more confusing.  Were her swings natural emotions perhaps inherited or environmental (nature v. nurture)?  Were they misunderstood  or dismissed (“It’s puberty.  You’ll grow out of it.”)  But such questions piqued her interest in psychology, desiring to returning to high school as counselor.  She hopes to be  better equipped to help teens manage the kind of issues she encountered but felt neither herself, her parents, nor her church was skilled enough to articulate at the time. 

​That her church family had difficulty responding to students’ stress is telling, and not unique. While teens often bend the ears of youth pastors or college-aged interns, the range of issues and number of people can overwhelm young theologians, who are equipped to teach the gospel, yet feel under-equipped to ride such emotional rollercoasters.  Student stress plays a role in youth pastor burnout.

At the same time, well-intended ministry leaders and older congregants can add to teen tension. While the power of Scripture and prayer are undeniable in thwarting enemies, in today’s environment of extracurricular scholastic activities, emphasis on serving, memorizing verses and “praying more” may not be received as an antidote, but added obligation. 

Indirect behaviors of church personnel such as conflict between leaders (especially worship ministries), overheard comments about members (clue: bathroom stalls are not cones of silence), and judgmental social media “sass” on Christian group pages or individual pages (how much complaining is on your threads?)  create confusion among individuals looking to churches for grace, mercy and guidance.

Nevertheless, healthy participation in ministry is a strong foundation for combating societal stress.

On a rare Sunday morning when we didn't have to go to a morning Service of Worship, God sent us a message, anyway.  Not through a streamed church sermon but through a "prophet" with whom we seldom communicated:  a Sunday morning TV news magazine.  We watched because we were flipping through the remote in a hotel room in Cami's college town where the KIT Ensemble spent the night after attending her choir concert the night before.

The show was background noise until we heard the reporter's  "stay-tuned" tease:

  “Religious upbringing linked to better health and well-being during early adulthood.”

​The story gave details about a recent study by the Harvard School of Public Health that pointed out the positive influence of worship, prayer and spirituality – whatever the faith – on children’s development.  Seeing as how the choir concert included a powerful post-Civil War acapella selection, we considered calling this a  #holyspiritualmoment.

​Although Cami did not specifically state them, we discovered several biblical themes running through the four essays.

• 10 Ways to Support Someone in a Rough Mental Spot
• 12 Ways of Coping on Bad Mental Health Days
• 17 Mental Health Problem Signs
• 15 Things to Remember about Mental Health and Mental Illness

Therefore, we framed these practical steps with Biblical examples for non-church readers.  It's similar to what Dr. Gary Chapman has done with making “The Five Love Languages” applicable to schools and corporate individuals as well as church folk. 
 
Our hope is that this combination may strengthen a church’s efforts strengthen adolescent mental health and faith scriptural foundation that may be used in Sunday schools, small groups or student ministries.  You'll read those connections in the next edition. 

Until then,  keep too blessed to be stressed.

All music that tells the story of redemption through Jesus Christ is gospel music.  Yet in some circles "gospel music" is confined to a niche -- a certain style of music; a style of music associated with African-Americans. 

In that sense, components of "gospel music" are symbolized by two easily identifiable symbols: a choir and robes.  These symbols come from a powerful aesthetic in African-American heritage; yet there are dangers in defining gospel music and African-Americans by these two symbols alone.

One danger is that of co-opting the sound of gospel music for other messages.  Think, for instance, how often you have heard "gospel music" in a film, television program or commercial, none of which is associated with the gospel of Christ? Enjoyable as the sound may be, the listener must discern the context.

The other danger is underestimating the impact of other styles of music upon liberating Africans in America.  That liberation developed as the robed-choirs connected the music of the times with the lyrics from which they were rooted:  the Hebrew and New Testament scriptures those that professed good news gospel music of Jesus Christ as He intended -- to link man and God.

Exploring that link, and telling the story of how gospel music has developed in the United States is the purpose of "Freedom Song," one of the ensemble plays from the Kingdom Impact Theater Ministries history cycle.  The script was created in 2011 as reader's theater presentation in response to a  request for a church's African-American History month program.  Since then, "Freedom Song" has been presented annually as part of church and corporate commemorations in February.  Because of those performances, "Freedom Song" has received subsequent off-season productions - not just during African-American history month.  The  themes extend beyond just February and beyond the topic of physical slavery in the U.S.  The weaving of Scripture, song history and musical genres create a tale of liberation through Christ from an assortment of enslaving circumstances and behaviors.

Over 30 songs from America's colonial slavery to millennial technology bondage are sampled, dramatized and  in the program that is staged as an abbreviated one-act or movie-length  outreach complete with a post-performance talk-back.  In the course of the evening, the audience receives new insight into traditional, beloved gospel music, and is introduced to newer selections that don't have the gospel music sound, but deliver the gospel of Christ message.   

Researching the songs that inspired the script provided more insight than performance times allow.  Nevertheless, the insights and sounds are too important to NOT share.  And so, we compiled most of the songs that inspired the script's creation into a playlist, assembled on our KIT Ministries YouTube Channel, and have written short essays about each song or song sequence.  We will post those essays and the songs on these pages and our social media pages in coming days as our commemoration of  how Scriptures have shaped African-America.

For starters, we present the entire playlist here along with a brief introduction to the show.   By listening to the playlist, you'll find unlikely musical connections between  Czechoslovakian classical composer Anton Dvorak and American folk icon Paul Robeson; poet James Weldon Johnson and rappers Doughboy the Midwest Maestro and DJ Kool Rod;  Peter, Paul  & Mary, and Mavis Staples.  You'll also see rare performances by Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Mahalia Jackson and Richie Havens, and provocative movie clips the voice of African-Americans and  gospel music in film.

​ Visit our Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest pages for daily posts on individual songs.  Most of the songs will be posted during African-American History Month.  However, don't be surprised if posting continues into the days after Feb. 28.  Just as African-American history occurs beyond the end of February, the gospel of Christ cannot be contained to just 28 days.

Please consider adding the entire "Freedom Song" playlist to your YouTube channel.

As with Handel’s “Messiah,” the development of “Hark! The Herald Angel Sings” exemplifies  the ever-evolving collaboration (some say interference) of artist, patron and theologian.

The original poem which begat the song, written in 1739 by Methodist pastor and song writer Charles Wesley, was entitled “Hymn for Christmas Day.”  Wesley’s hymn was an epic with over 10 stanzas. It included words that showed Wesley’s intellect but left listeners scratching their heads.  Wesley’s pastor friend, George Whitfield, pointed this out and suggested revisions, simplifying the text.

Half of the Wesley-Whitfield stanzas survived into the next century and made an impression on English composter  William  Cummings. Cummings liked the lyrics, but not the slower, Easter-season tune Wesley had composed ("Christ  The Lord is Risen Today.") However, Cummings felt the words were compatible with the tune of the popular "Gutenberg Cantata" recently written by German composer Felix Mendelssohn.  Cummings believed Mendelssohn’s symphonic arrangement captured the implied awe and power of a sky full of “a multitude of the heavenly host praising God,” the passage in the Gospel of Luke that  inspired Wesley’s hymn.

In 1855 the Wesley-Whitfield-Cummings-Mendelssohn  composition debuted with  the structure changes familiar today, but maintaining the essence of the words first recorded centuries before in the gospel of Luke: 

“Glory to god in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”

LEARN MORE:  Comparative lyrics.

Centuries later, these words and music created controversy when used in what is not one of the most iconic annual Christmas television programs, “Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown,” the 1965 TV special that almost didn’t occur.

The overt gospel presentation that author Charles Schulz included in the script had CBS network offices and sponsors concerned.  They were okay with the “Peanuts” gang rendering one of the most poignant versions ever of “Hark! The Herald…” as they caroled at Snoopy’s house with Charlie Brown’s revived tree to end the show. 

What scared the executives was an earlier scene when Linus explains the true meaning of Christmas by reciting the gospel of Luke in the pageant rehearsal. This makes Charlie Brown one of the  few programs that directly speaks the gospel of Christ for a non-church audience.  There was the rub.  Fearing a public backlash about show including the story of Christ in Christmas, CBS wanted the scene cut. Schulz stood firm.  No gospel; no “Peanuts.”  And unto us, a franchise was born.

LEARN MORE:  Linus recites what Christmas is all about.

LEARN MORE:  Glenn McDonald, CBS & Linus' security blanket.

Many wonder if – or how – the should could be created and aired today.  Nevertheless, the evolution of “Hark! The Herald…” from lengthy, erudite poem, to symphonic anthem, to simple children’s song, to uncomfortable gospel message, point out the enduring strength of the essay researched by Luke the historian.

Poetically, the visuals of the lyrics as presented in #CarolStory starts a sequence of dialogue between the shepherds and the angels.  "Do You Hear What I Hear?," another carol more recently associated with a children's cinema favorite ("Gremlins"), is added to the conversation to  begin the evening's journey.  First , hearing, then seeing the angels,  the shepherds are moved from fear to comfort as they interpret the angels' mission and  instructions to begin  a Pied-Piperesque journey to Bethlehem, picking up a drummer boy and others as they go away to the manger.

The videos here -- the  majesty of Mendelssohn’s  anthem in  Alan Silvestri's arrangement of "Hark! The Herald...," contrasted with its  quiet message to Charlie Brown and connected by the intimacy of Johnny Mathis asking, "Do You Hear What I Hear?" -- allow us to experience various ways the Lord speaks:  with herald trumpets and a sweet, still voice.

LEARN MORE:  How Handel's Messiah Came About

LEARN MORE:  Micah's Bethlehem Prophecy

"Silent Night" is the quintessential Christmas song. It's virtually impossible for any artist to record a Christmas album and not have a rendition.  In this 200th anniversary of the song's creation, we thought  it fun to expand the variety of recordings of the song to show its durability and to underscore the need to not let musicality overshadow the message of the lyrics.

Sis. Vanetta Pinn, who curated our Carol Story YouTube Playlist, included versions by Mariah Carey, Justin Bieber and Boyz II Men for our re-posting consideration.  We've linked these videos to give a glimpse of vocal variations, musical arranging and technical production growth through the years. 

LEARN MORE:  "Silent Night" 200th anniversary observations

We've also included a medley by KIT Ministries co-founder Vikki J. Myers as a sample of how Christmas music can be merged with non-seasonal worship selections to give a sense of how the Christmas message lasts beyond the holidays.

However, for the purposes of our #CarolStory live presentation, the renditions that best  reflect the backstory nuances are by Andrea Bocelli and Mahalia Jackson . 

In the context of #CarolStory,  the 10-minute worship play, “Silent Night" is woven with five other standard carols — “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear," "O Holy Night,” “Hark! The Herald,” “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” and “The Hallelujah Chorus” to establish the atmosphere of fear, awe and respect that the shepherds experienced when the Heavenly Host appeared on “The Night” when Christ was born. (The Gospel of Luke, Chapter 2, verses 8-15)

LEARN MORE:  "Carol Story" The Script

Bocelli, singing in Italian, brings to mind the European feel of the original German carol written by Franz Gruber.  We wonder how Gruber may respond to the variety of arrangements of the song, especially considering the urgent and somewhat controversial circumstances  under which he wrote the piece for Christmas Eve 1818.

LEARN MORE:  History of "Silent Night"

There's a nostalgic prejudice for Mahalia Jackson's version.  It was among the first "church" Christmas songs Michael heard and was a family favorite.  His mother,  not a singer, would sing along whenever the record  (as in vinyl) played , or when the Spirit moved her to burst into song  while baking cookies  thinking she was alone in the kitchen in the middle of the night.

As with other selections in this piece, the lyrics of "Silent Night" are woven throughout the play to move the story along and work effectively as scene exposition transitioning between scenes.

​LEARN MORE:  "Carol Story" Live

Andrea Bocelli is an Italian singer, songwriter, and record producer. Celin Dion, with whom he recorded "The Prayer,"  has said that "if God would have a singing voice, he must sound a lot like Andrea Bocelli."

Bocelli has recorded 15 solo studio albums of both pop and classical music, three greatest hits albums, and nine complete operas, selling over 90 million records worldwide. He has had success as a crossover performer, bringing classical music to the top of international pop charts.

He was born with poor eyesight and became completely blind at age 12, following a football accident.
 "The Prayer," his duet with Celine Dion for the animated film Quest for Camelot ,  won the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1999. -- Source:  Wikipedia
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LEARN MORE:  Andre Bocelli Today

Mahalia Jackson was an American gospel singer. Possessing a powerful contralto voice, she was referred to as "The Queen of Gospel."  She became one of the most influential gospel singers in the world and was heralded internationally as a singer and civil rights activist. She was described by entertainer Harry Belafonte as "the single most powerful black woman in the United States". She recorded about 30 albums (mostly for Columbia Records) during her career, and her 45 rpm records included a dozen "golds"—million-sellers.

"I sing God's music because it makes me feel free,"  Jackson once said about her choice of gospel, adding, "It gives me hope. With the blues, when you finish, you still have the blues." -- Source:  Wikipedia.

Mahalia Jackson is also one of the individuals whose story is included in  the Kingdom Impact Theater production, "Faith, Hope & Love:  History-Making Women of Faith," a one-woman performance by Vikki J.  Myers

LEARN MORE:  Mahalia Jackson Biography