CCM Countdown: 45-41

Today (and every Thursday) I continue my ongoing countdown of Contemporary Christian Music albums that had the most impact on my life and ministry.  I will also include a link to a song you can enjoy for free for an album that won't make the countdown.   To see numbers 50-45, click here.  Enjoy!

45)  THE WHOLE TRUTH-  Point of Grace-  1995
The second project from these four women from Oklahoma contains several classics, including one of the best musical descriptions of God's plan of salvation you will ever hear- The Great Divide.  That song and the fact that they dominated Christian radio in the mid to late 90's lands them on this countdown- plus Marilyn loves P.O.G.
Download this:  The Great Divide
44)  BIG TENT REVIVAL-  Big Tent Revival-  1995
This debut project blended rock, folk, blues and soul in a CD that I listened to over and over again.  The hits were Two Sets of Jones' and Something 'Bout Jesus, but I loved Faith Of A Little Seed so much that I had our "guitar choir" in Kissimmee perform it in worship one Sunday morning.  Thief In the Night is great too!  I still love this one.
Download this:  Two Sets of Jones'
43)  SEE THE MORNING-  Chris Tomlin-  2006
If you attend a church that uses any contemporary music in worship, you have almost certainly sung a Chris Tomlin song.  One of the most recent CD's to make my countdown, this project features How Can I Keep From Singing; Made To Worship; Let God Arise; and his incredible arrangement of Amazing Grace featuring the "my chains are gone, I've been set free..." chorus.  Listen to this and just try to keep yourself from praising God!  There is more Tomlin to come on the countdown!
Download this:  Made To Worship
42)  MICHAEL W. SMITH PROJECT-  Michael W. Smith-  1983
The first of three Smitty albums to make the list, Project introduced the world to the song Friends, co-written with his wife Debbie.  It's simple message- "Friends are  friends forever if the Lord's the lord of them"- made it an anthem at graduations and other events throughout the rest of the '80's.  Twenty-seven years later it is still mandatory at all M.W.S. concerts.  No hand holding or swaying, please!
Download this:  Great Is the Lord
41)  SMALLTOWN POETS-  Smalltown Poets-  1997
Another CD we absolutely wore out in The Attic at FUMC- Kissimmee.  Such classics Prophet, Priest and King, If You Let Me Love You, I'll Give, and Who You Are were all favorites.  Monkey's Paw was a cult classic.  And Everything I Hate would make any list of my favorite songs.  Just a great album.
Download this:  Everything I Hate

This week's song to enjoy:  Goldie's Last Day- PFR-  1993

Old School "Tweeting"

I do not have a Twitter account, nor do I plan to start "tweeting" anytime soon.  But there was a time long before Twitter when a different kind of tweeting was all the rage in my youth groups.  I should warn you that the following tale is somewhat sexist (in the way that hormone driven teenage boys are almost always sexist!) although that was never the intent of our silliness.  If you must have outrage, then please, enjoy it- along with a good laugh!

For as long as there have been guys gathering in groups, those guys have talked about females (Females talk about guys, too, but it is somehow more civilized- most of the time.).  Guys are forever comparing one female to another using some sort of rating system.  I feel certain the cavemen gave one woman four grunts, and another seven grunts.  For better or for worse, youth groups are no different.  The 1970's and the movie Ten brought into vogue rating females on a scale from 1 to 10.  Ten was spectacular.  One was not.  Among the other issues involved, this scale was well known to everyone, including females, and therefore was often quite insulting.  Other systems rated particular parts of the female anatomy, and those were completely unacceptable.   At some point during my years at Springfield, the guys decided to try a new and better way of communicating to one another when we saw an attractive female. I don't really recall how it all started, but this became known as The Tweet System.

The Tweet System was simple in design and execution.  When a guy saw a female he thought was a cutie, he would simply utter the word "tweet." If friends were nearby, they could look.  If not, he could report back to them later, as in "I just saw a tweet down by the snack bar." If the girl was really attractive, you would hear a "tweet-tweet."  Should she be drop dead gorgeous, you would hear a "tweet-tweet-tweet."  Triple tweets were very rare, and had to be verified by a buddy who saw the same young lady.  The final level was Bald Eagle- the rarest of all birds!  The idea was that no one would ever actually see anyone in this category, but on occasion an over zealous young man would scream "Bald Eagle."  This was almost never confirmed.  In later years, the screaming was replaced by the flapping of arms and screeching an eagle-like noise.  This system was passed from youth group to youth group over a 12 year period.

Tweeting had several advantages over other methods used by males to point out attractive members of the opposite sex.  First, it was subtle by comparison (except for the flapping arms and screeching parts).  A simple "tweet" could be shared to alert the brethren. Gawking was held to a minimum.  You only rated females you found attractive, with no disparaging "low end" of the scale (I realize this is a total rationalization, because giving no tweet was doing the same thing- but we bought it at the time!).  And perhaps most importantly, for a number of years, the girls in our group had no knowledge of it all, so they were not offended.

As with any group of guys making such judgements, the standards varied widely.  Some reserved one tweet for supermodels, while others (I mean you, Todd Farlow and Jerry Hanbery!) walked around chirping like the Bluebird of Happiness!  It was all about personal taste, and that was part of what made it cool.  You couldn't be wrong about a tweet or a tweet-tweet.  Should we, as a group of males trying to follow Jesus, have been judging females based solely on appearance?  Absolutely not!  But "all sin and fall short of the glory of God,"  and we did too- and fortunately, the females being tweeted at had no idea what these crazy boys were up to!

In the last years of old school tweeting, the girls in my group all understood the system, and began to lobby the guys to be labeled a bald eagle.  That was pretty much the end.  But sometimes I wonder if any of the guys, now married with kids of their own in many cases, still see an attractive woman and instinctively think "tweet!"  I don't know if that is such a bad way to channel such thoughts.  Just don't start flapping your arms and screeching...

Even More Charles & Mike...

I have a few more random stories to finish off my three days of Mike and Charles, pictured above doing bad karaoke at TNT.  Or maybe their Hans and Franz impressions.  Or maybe just doing their thing!  Here we go:

*  The epic 1989 Myrtle Beach trip to The Betsy B was a showcase for a young Mike Mercadante.  Three events stand out, all of which are captured on video.  Mike had a little stuffed animal he carried around all that week that he named "T.P."  This was short for Tom Petty.  Mike walked around all week singing "Yer So Bad."  It was too funny.  He was holding T.P. when he was interviewed for the video and asked for his definition of a "total babe."  This was the catchphrase of the week for hotties, both male and female.  Others, such as Patrick Tillman, had answered the question with lines like "a total babe has all the right curves in all the right places."  Mike, grinning with mischief as he spoke, gave the classic definition "Carl; a total babe is someone who... cares about their community."  We all cracked up as he tried to keep a straight face.  Classic!  And finally, Mike and Jon Moran (along with Patrick and with Danny McCorquodale as their bouncer!) put on full KISS make-up and did a half-hour long lip sync concert for us on our last night.  I have often thought that NOTHING was more entertaining than a youth group trip...

*  The summer after I left Springfield Friends Meeting for Kissimmee in 1994, Charles Freedle and some friends took a cross-country trip, partially inspired by the trip Alan Brown, Carl Semmler and I had taken in 1979.  One night, around 1 AM, my phone rang, and I picked-up and heard a loud "HEYYYYY!  CARL!!!! I'M IN NEW ORLEANS!!!!"  It seems that Charles was having a great trip!  I also got a call from Cali as they were waiting to see a taping of a TV show, I believe Married With Children.  Don't quote me on that, it's all kind of a blur...

*  Before I left Springfield we had planned an "Alumni" trip to Walt Disney World in December of 1994.  Since I was moving to Disney anyway, we went ahead with the trip.  Marilyn and I stayed with the gang a couple of nights, sharing a room with Mike and Charles.  The first of those nights they were out at Pleasure Island very late and we had gone to bed.  When they came in, they remembered I was there but had forgotten about Marilyn.  In a very loud whisper Charles asked "Hey Mike...why is there women's jewelry on our counter?"  Marilyn and I cracked up. 

Such was life with Mike and Charles.  I am certain there will be more stories later (I didn't even mention The Commodores yet!), but that will suffice for today.  Charles left comments yesterday, so I know he is reading; I hope Michael is too.  We love you guys- you are truly youth group Hall of Famers!

Because of Jesus,

Mike & Charles in NYC

The stories you are about to read are true.  I am not capable of making this stuff up!!!

1)  Mike Mercadante and Charles Freedle joined us on one of our New York trips in the early 199o's.  Among the many other memorable people on this trip was a young man from Yadkinville, NC named Josh.  Yadkinville is a small, rural town in the foothills of NC, and Josh was a stereotypical citizen.  He spoke "Yadkinese" (a dialect that even the rest of us with southern accents have trouble interpreting!), was a little shy, and was a family oriented young man (Mama's Boy!).  We discovered on the long bus ride to NYC that he was a huge fan of TV, and that is his humble opinion Full House was the best show ever and one of its characters, Kimmy Gibler, was the most beautiful woman on TV.  Josh was ready to go home before we ever got out of the Lincoln Tunnel; New York scared him to death.  He was about to get the most terrifying news of all- he was rooming with Mike and Charles at the Milford Plaza Hotel!

Our days started early on those trips, and the first morning our shy, frightened young Josh was first in the shower.  He took quite a long shower, and it began to be close to time for everyone to meet in the lobby to head out for the day.   Finally, Charles could take no more.  He grabbed a towel, stripped naked, entered the bathroom, pulled back the shower curtain and announced to Josh "You can stay or you can go, but I'm coming in!"  Josh left, of course, and within minutes I had a call from a woman from his church saying Josh wanted to go home, or at least get a new room.  I calmed her down, and (laughing hysterically as she told me the story) kept them together all week.  I heard years later that Josh was the Mayor of Yadkinville (or some small town in that same county).  I guess he survived his close call of a shower with the mighty Freedle!

2)  The students on that trip got to attend a taping of The Faith Daniels Show which featured the cast of Saved By the Bell.  During a Q & A session with the studio audience, Faith gave Charles a chance to ask the stars a question. His query?  "How old are all ya'll anyway?"  His accent was so thick you could almost see the grits flying our of his mouth!  Hilarious stuff.

3)  The Milford Plaza Hotel is at 45th and 8th, in the heart of Manhattan only a block from Times Square.  Every group that travelled with me in those days would receive the same warning about leaving the hotel through the main entrance on 8th Avenue.  Turn right and you will be fine.  Turn left, and danger awaits.  Drug dealers.  Hookers.  Lots of people selling lots of stolen merchandise.  So immediately after our arrival, Mike and Charles went out- and turned left.  They encountered a man selling fake I.D. cards, and they began to ask him how much and how it worked.  He gave them a price and showed them his "goods" and then asked for the sale.  When they told him they were really not interested, he was not pleased that they had wasted his time.  He reached out, grabbed the chain around Mike's neck, and ripped it off!  They came running back to the Milford, and in the lobby the first person they saw was my wife Marilyn.  They hid behind her as they told her what had happened.  Mike's neck was bleeding just a little.  As word got out and people called home, we discovered that the story was growing.  Mike and Charles had been mugged, and Mike had been cut with a knife!  It wasn't that bad, but it did shake them up a bit.  Marilyn was their hero!  I used that story for the rest of the years I took groups to NYC to let kids know I was serious about not turning left...

Come back for more Mike and Charles tomorrow!

Because of Jesus,

Hall of Fame: Mike Mercadante and Charles Freedle

The youth ministry of Springfield Friends Meeting had a number of memorable characters between 1986 and 1994, but Charles (Chuuuuck!) Freedle and Mike Mercadante are legendary!  I have tons of stories involving them both, together and separatly, and I will attempt to share some of them during the coming week.  The picture above was taken at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC where the guys demonstrated an appreciation for life's finer things.  It also shows part of the reason they are worthy of my Hall of Fame.  Stories from that trip to the Big Apple (a mugging, a TV appearance and a horrified roommate!) will fill tomorrow's blog, so be sure to come back and share in the fun! 

Because of Jesus,

Tim Tebow

Let me begin by saying that when it comes to college football in Florida I am an agnostic.  I pull for the Gators sometimes; other times I root for the 'Noles.  I always hate Miami (and all Big Ten...I mean Eleven... teams and any team coached by Nick Saban...but that is for another time!)!  This post is not about a team or a university.  This is all about Timmy...

Last night Tim Tebow finished his career at UF by leading his team to victory.  He broke the BCS bowl game record for most total offense by one person in one game.  He was honored as one of the best student athletes in the country. And I am almost certain he directed the marching band at halftime!  For the past four years, Tim Tebow has been the face of college football.  He was part of two national championship teams and won a Heisman Trophy (He should have won two- in 2008 he took the Gators to the national title on sheer will.  That ought to be good for the trophy all by itself!).  Tim Tebow has been a superhero on the field (you know the joke- Superman wears Tim Tebow pajamas!) and in the class room.  There are few players I have ever enjoyed watching more than number 15.

But that's not all- or even most of it.  His faith has indeed moved mountains, raising money for orphans and leading mission trips (even taking his own coach) to foreign soil.  The scripture verses in his "eye black" are legendary.  He never fails to give praise to God, no matter the situation.  He has proclaimed his chastity as a tribute to God.  He has suffered ridicule because of his faith.  His life seems to be a living testimony to his faith in Jesus.

No one understands better than Tim that while he may know God, he is NOT God.  I am sure he cringes at jokes like this one: 
Q:  Why did God rest on the 7th day?
A:  So that Tim Tebow could check His work!
Much of the world seems to be pulling for Tim Tebow to fail.  They hope he doesn't make it in the NFL.  They seek (and Lord knows they have tried!) to find some major flaw in his character this will expose him as a hypocrite.  Few seem to believe that anyone can be this GOOD.  What Tim understands that so many do not (including Christians!) is this- he is not any different from you and I.  He is human, and weak, and he will fail.  But he trusts God with all his heart, and that is what makes him so strong.  The press may discover that he doesn't read his Bible everyday; they may hear him cussing on TV;  they may find out he had (GASP!) sex in college.  If that happens, people will freak out and scream about how Tim has let us all down.  Let them scream.  It would not change who he is; more importantly it will not change WHOSE he is.  Tim Tebow is, like King David, a man after God's own heart.  And I for one will miss him.  Thanks, Tim, for letting your life roar!

Because of Jesus,

A New Kind of Resolution

Here's a resolution for everyone-  resolve to leave comments on this blog every time you visit!!!

Happy New Year, everyone!  I pray that 2010 will be a blessing for each and every one of you.  New Year's Day is such an interesting time.  So many hopes, so many dreams, so many things we hope to accomplish.  Most of us know the frustration of making a resolution, only to fall short of our goal.  We plan to lose weight, to exercise more, to quit smoking or to forgive a friend.  Some of our resolutions don't even last a day.  You know why?  Because we are humans, and without heavenly help we are weak.  The problem is not that we fail- the problem is that we fail ONCE and then give up!  You know the drill-I ate a doughnut and blew my diet, so there is no need to diet anymore.  We only give ourselves one chance at success.

Aren't we glad God doesn't hold us to the same standard?  Scripture tells us that our sins are washed away if we bow a knee to Jesus Christ.  We are forgiven 70 x 7 times (and no, God doesn't stop at 490!).  Romans tell us that nothing can separate us from the love of God that is Jesus.  No matter how often we slip and fall, Jesus will still be there to pick us up and love us.

So today I would like to suggest to you a new kind of resolution.  One that doesn't end as soon as your resolve gives way, but rather that offers you grace.  A second chance.  Under this system (to quote the great songwriter Carolyn Arends) "everyday is New Year's Day!"  Check out the lyric:

I buy a lot of diaries, fill them full of good intentions

Each and every new years eve, I make myself a list

All the things I'm gonna change, until January Second

So this time I'm making one promise

Yeah, This will be my resolution, Every day is New Year's Day

Oh, this will be my resolution, Every day is New Year's Day.

Well I believe it's possible, I believe in new beginnings

I believe in Christmas Day, and Easter Morning too

On the list it's doable, cuz I believe in second chances

Just the way that I, believe in You

Yeah, this will be my resolution, every day is New Year's Day

Oh, this could start a revolution,

every day is...

One more chance to start all over

One more chance to change and grow,

one more chance to grab a hold of grace and never let it go

This will be my resolution, every day is New Year's Day,

Oh this could start a revolution, every day is--New Year's Day.

Carolyn Arends, 1997 

Wouldn't it be amazing if we could offer that kind of grace to ourselves?  And to each other?  That could start a revolution! That could change the world!  And isn't that what Jesus called us to do? So make every day a new beginning and remember- if Jesus is your Lord and Savior, then there is nothing you can do to make God love you more, and there is nothing you can do to make God love you less!  So have another doughnut for now...then start your diet again tomorrow!  God bless and Happy New Year!

Because of Jesus,