This morning we witnessed examples of the effectiveness of Mark's and the other artists' ministries both when they are in true worship form and having a good old time in the Lord. Mark and LordSong kicked it off with some songs from "Be the Miracle" like "Whatcha Need", where Mark shared personally how he dealt with his faith while awaiting word on his nephew when he was missing for 26 hours some years back. Woody Wright and Joy Gardner set a powerful musical stage with songs of God's grace. By the time Joy sang "He's Been Faithful", there was no doubt that God was in the house...we were all deep in the worship spirit.
All of the above set it up for the message by Christ Church's pastor Dan Scott. His message centered on the three wise men. Pastor Dan's focus was the wise men were who they were because they were able to see the full picture--the cross as well as the star. His touching story of his wife's illness and recovery, with a word of faith spoken by a hospital cleaning lady, was an inspiring message of hope. The word has long been out that Dan Scott's a great preacher. What I didn't know was that he's also a great singer. I bought his CD, Serve Somebody, during the break.
Then the fun began. Woody Wright hosted this trip's version of the Truly Wed Game. Now, if you can imagine Woody as host and Mark as the "color commentary" person, then you would not be shocked to hear that it was an absolute hoot. Michael and Kim Lord, Barbara Fairchild and husband Roy played with two audience couples who were married at least 50 years. Both of those couples got free tickets to the Branson shows.
Like I said earlier, some of the best stuff happens before the shows start. If you could see all the people hugging, taking pictures, exchanging addresses and contact info, you would soon see that this is much of the true magic of this event.
Evening:
I'm not sure I can come close to adequately describing this. But here goes.
The evening began with a few songs from Mark and LordSong, including, of course "Mary Did You Know." Which, of course, Mark sang incredibly. Next up were extended sets from the other two featured acts. The Lee Singers, of Lee University in Cleveland, TN, did a solid program of Christmas songs in varying styles, including a salute to the troops. They are personable young people, some stopped to chat with us. Not all are music majors--some, for example, are business majors who enjoy the choral experience. And by the way, they are their own roadies.
The Annie Moses Band, a family group, covered just about every genre at some point in their set, ranging from bluegrass to opera with many songs from their Christmas projects.
The last part was billed as a "singalong" with Mark, LordSong, Woody Wright, Joy Gardner, Austin's Bridge and Barbara Fairchild. It started out that way until, as Mark might put it, God came along and hijacked it. It then went from a bunch of friends sitting around taking turns singing songs to a worship that was even more powerful than the one this morning, if you can imagine that. Mark just opened up to God and drew us all into the experience.
That's the best I can do.You just had to be there.
It's this simple. If you have not experienced a Senior Trip, you absolutely must do so. This is not just a group of concerts. This is a soul experience. I mean, so many of us were in tears because it was just too difficult for us to leave after all the love and fellowship that came out of this.
Thank you, Mark, for answering the call God put on you to go into music ministry so we all could be blessed by you and the magnificent, beautiful gift of a voice God gave you (God's so smart, isn't He?).
See you in Branson...if not before.
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