For any of you new to this site, I helped the Crist Family update this site during the National Quartet Convention last month. I so enjoyed that that I didn’t have to think twice when I heard they were coming north to Ohio last Sunday to help the Calvary Baptist Church celebrate its 50th.
Incidentally, even aside from the music, the service was memorable on its own account. The pastor delivered what is easily the most memorable sermon I’ve sat through when attending a Sunday concert. Instead of using the occasion of the church’s 50th anniversary to pat the church on the back and congratulate them on the occasion, the pastor (who has been there for 30 of those 50 years) challenged the church that it had become complacent and that it needed to return to the pioneer spirit of its early days. The anointing was so strong that he even broke down crying near the end. It was powerful and well delivered.
The Crist Family sang several songs during the morning service, and a full afternoon concert later. To start the second half of the program, they sang “I Must Tell Jesus” without any amplification:
Also, since Breana and I had so much fun with this type-off, we taped another. She’s adding sound effects right now, and we hope to have it up in a few days.
The Crist Family sang on the main stage of the National Quartet Convention last night. Since the NQC leadership frowns upon videos from the main stage, I took a video clip as they were about to head to the main stage:
They sang “The Rock” and “Oh Happy Day,” receiving an enthusiastic response from the audience and good reviews from Southern Gospel journalists covering the event. David Bruce Murray said the Crist Family “worked the stage like they were old pros.”
I look forward to meeting all of you here at the Crist Connect get-together tomorrow!
Here’s a video of Rich and Lisa Crist discussing what goes into producing an Artist Spotlight Showcase – an event that they are helping produce and host at this year’s National Quartet Convention, NQC 2009.
I will be making guest posts here throughout next week’s National Quartet Convention (NQC), to update you about what the Crist Family is doing. Two highlights of the week should be their main stage appearance on Tuesday (at 6:57 PM) and the Crist Connect get together, which will be at their booth on Thursday from 4-5 PM.
Insanity: “Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” ~ Albert Einstein
I was talking to a good friend on the phone last night and this saying came up in our conversation.
I’m curious, what in your life do you see that fits this description? I’ll give you one of mine to get things started.
For the last several years I have said to myself, “self, if I start a plan to lose 45 pounds this month, I could be the hottest guy in the world for my wife in just a few months.” I have said this for 10 years now and have not lost 1 pound! I’ve got to do something different to lose this spare tire. Just saying it…. ain’t doing it…..INSANITY!!
OK… what are some of yours? I was honest now it’s your turn.
A few months ago my family and I were sitting down at Tony Gore’s Smoky Mountain Barbecue and Grill to partake of the mouth-watering pulled pork and baked beans when Tony walked over to talk with us. We were visiting for a while and he started to tell us about his time traveling with his group, Tony Gore and Majesty. He told us that they would leave home as late as possible in order to make it to their first concert of the weekend, usually on a Thursday night. For the entire weekend they would travel from date to date with no special stops along the way, and “as soon as the last note was sung [they'd] hit the road and head home.” Tony told us that he felt he missed out on a lot during that time but now that he is traveling solo he is taking advantage of the things he used to “just drive by on the interstate.” He said, “Don’t get so caught up in what you are doing that you miss out on the little things,” and that has really stuck with us. So this weekend when we were only an hour away from the Gettysburg National Museum with five hours of extra time on our hands, we jumped at an opportunity to see some of the history of our country. Seeing all the different displays in the museum from the guns used to fight to the clothing the soldiers wore was remarkable. However, the thing that left the greatest impression on me was the Gettysburg Cyclorama. The Cyclorama is a circular painting 26 feet high and 360 feet in circumference. It shows the battlefield where the “final effort of Confederate General Robert E. Lee to destroy the Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by General George G. Meade” occurred.
When I entered the room it was as if I had just stepped onto the battlefield in the early morning, just before the great battle took place. As the sun rose, the fighting began and I was awestruck at the intense combat that unfolded before me. The scene was so stirring it brought tears to my eyes. Here were the men who fought and gave their lives for what they believed in, who risked all that they had for the cause. I asked myself, “Isn’t that exactly what I should be doing as a Christian?”
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” Amen! Standing up for the Gospel is exactly what we are called to do, equipped with the armor of God. I want to encourage you to walk by faith, stand up for Christ, and “fight the good fight!”
“I see the storm coming, and I know that His hand is in it. If He has a place and work for me, and I think He has, I believe I’m ready. I am nothing, but Truth is everything.”
-Abraham Lincoln, 1860
Cristconnect.com is a website designed to promote communication between ourselves and our fans, as well as to link our fans together. Rather than posting “news” stories about The Crist Family and our happenings, we want to share with you what YOU think is interesting. If there is something you would like to know about us, or a story you would like us to tell we would like to know about it. Please help us repair this short-circuit and get connected with you. Thanks so much! We look forward to hearing from you!
Seeing all the different displays in the museum from the guns used to fight to the clothing the soldiers wore was remarkable. However, the thing that left the greatest impression on me was the Gettysburg Cyclorama. The Cyclorama is a circular painting 26 feet high and 360 feet in circumference. It shows the battlefield where the “final effort of Confederate General Robert E. Lee to destroy the Union Army of the Potomac, commanded by General George G. Meade” occurred.
