"Annual" Tree Lighting Event Cancelled After Just One?

You're kidding me, right? After just one event, the "annual" Christmas Tree Lighting at the Andy William Moon River Theater in Branson has been tossed aside.

Well, not without a polite protest and an effort, however mild, to get the theater folks to reconsider.

Below is the note I sent to the Branson newspaper, a few radio stations, the Chamber of Commerce, and the tourism bureau. We'll see what happens.

Last year we had a wonderful time at the First Annual Christmas Tree Lighting outside the Andy Williams Moon River Theater. Though the event received almost no promotion at all, there were around 300 people on hand (even before the matinee audience exited the theater) to enjoy the festivities, including remarks and music from the Lennon Sisters, the Osmonds, and other Branson stars. We also enjoyed delicious cookies handed out by the cutest of Santa’s elves.

We are planning a return to Branson this fall and were looking forward to attending the Second Annual Christmas Tree Lighting. However, a call to the theater office resulted in the news that there wouldn’t be one. Wow. That was a bummer. We were told there had been “a change of hands” and so the event was off. That’s really unfortunate for with a minimum of effort, the tree lighting could provide a lot of community unity as well as positive publicity for the theater and the Branson area. Plus, it could make for a great kickoff to the Christmas season, completely true to the tradition that Branson’s Christmas begins when Andy Williams says it begins!

So, what do you say? Is there any way that the powers that be might reverse their decision? It seems a pity that such a neat idea should fade away after such a promising start. Perhaps we’ll have to bring cookies from our home here in Omaha and pass them out in front of the tree there, in sad recognition of a lost opportunity.

Is the Fleetwood Mac Tour a Good Idea?

I see that Fleetwood Mac is back on tour.

In fact, I just watched clips of three songs they performed live for the Today show and though interesting, it confirmed my longstanding conviction; namely, that after a certain period of time rock and roll singers should retire and let their body of work stand at its apex, not in an unending anticlimax consisting of reunion tours, albums of re-interpreted standards, and concerts with younger, full-throated, "backup" singers whose voices are miked-up to help cover the aging voices of the stars.

Rock singers, do yourselves a favor. Do interviews. Act. Write your memoirs.

But please, stop singing.

By the way, note the debonair yet stately look of Mick Fleetwood in the photo above. (He's the tall fellow on the left.) Do you note the resemblance to our old friend, the late Calvin Miller? One of his later photos is here on the right.

Calvin, as many of you know, was a dear pastor, preacher, writer, teacher, artist, and family man whose career included a long stretch here in Omaha as the pastor of Westside Church, a large Southern Baptist congregation. We still miss him.

And as hep a cat as Mick Fleetwood most likely is, I can assure you the multi-talented, extremely personable, and devoutly spiritual Cal Miller beats out even Mick Fleetwood on cool.

"When Swing Was King" Moves Into Fall

We opened this month's "When Swing Was King" schedule yesterday afternoon at Brookestone Village to a large and engaged crowd. It was a great time and we so appreciate the residents and their love for our programs. We also love the staff the Village. Rarely do we see such involvement from even nurses and aides in getting residents to and from the show. And the activities staff -- Sarah, Lynn and Miriam? They are superb.

Here, by the way, is the revised song list for October.

1) Glenn Miller Orchestra (Vocals by the Modernaires) -- “Perfidia”
2) Harry James Orchestra (Vocals by Kitty Kallen) -- “I’ll Buy That Dream”
3) Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra -- "Sophisticated Lady"
4) Benny Goodman Orchestra -- "Somebody Loves Me"
5) Paul Weston Orchestra (Vocals by Dean Martin) -- "I'll Always Love You"
6) Artie Shaw Orchestra -- "Begin the Beguine"
7) Chick Webb Orchestra (Vocals by Ella Fitzgerald) -- "Love and Kisses"

8) Glen Gray & the Casa Loma Orchestra -- "Ballin' the Jack"
9) Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra (Vocals by Helen O'Connell) "All of Me"
10) Ted Weems Orchestra (Vocals by Perry Como) -- "Fools Rush In"
11) Lawrence Welk Orchestra -- "Champagne Time"
12) Roy Rogers -- "San Fernando Valley"

Dispatches from the Culture Wars

Here are a few key stories (and one astounding video clip) from the latest VS collection. You'll notice that many of them deal with the corrupt media but, trust me, they are important reads all.

* “Wait, There’s a Problem with Christian Medical Missionaries?” (David French, NRO)

* “Assisted Suicide ‘Out of Control’ in Netherlands” (Nick Hallett, Breitbart)

* “Rand Paul on Plan B” (Ramesh Ponnuru, NRO) You're wrong, Senator. And, because your medical training makes you know you're wrong, it brings up a troubling lack of character.



* “Mia Farrow’s dirty profits—a hidden payoff in corrupt Ecuador trial” (Phelim McAleer, New York Post)

* “‘Face the Nation’ Leaves Out Netanyahu's Criticism of Obama” (Trey Sanchez, Truth Revolt)

* “Princeton Professor: Cultural Elite Can No Longer Tolerate Christians” (Ginni Thomas, Daily Caller)

The Great Divide

...I also believe it is entirely rational to fear the possibility of a major Ebola outbreak, of a threat to the president and his family, of jihadists crossing the border, of a large-scale European or Asian war, of nuclear proliferation, of terrorists detonating a weapon of mass destruction. These dangers are real, and pressing, and though the probability of their occurrence is not high, it is amplified by the staggering incompetence and failure and misplaced priorities of the U.S. government. It is not Ebola I am afraid of. It is our government’s ability to deal with Ebola.

Over the last few years the divergence between what the government promises and what it delivers, between what is says is happening or will happen and what actually is happening and does happen, between what it determines to be important and what the public wishes to be important—this gap has become abysmal, unavoidable, inescapable. We hear of “lone-wolf” terrorism, of “workplace violence,” that if you like your plan you can keep your plan. We are told that Benghazi was a spontaneous demonstration, that al Qaeda is on the run, that the border is secure as it has ever been, that I didn’t draw a red line, the world drew a red line, that the IRS targeting of Tea Party groups involved not a smidgen of corruption. We see the government spend billions on websites that do not function, and the VA consign patients to death by waiting list and then cover it up. We are assured that Putin won’t invade; that the Islamic State is the jayvee team of terrorism; that Bowe Bergdahl served with honor and distinction; that there is a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia.

While the public remains pro-Israel, our government negotiates with Israel’s enemies. While the public wants to reduce immigration, the preeminent legislative objective of both parties is a bill that would increase it. While the public is uninterested in global warming, while costly regulations could not pass a filibuster-proof Democratic Senate, while the scientific consensus behind the green agenda is, at the very least, fraying, the president says that climate change is the greatest threat to the United States. While Americans tell pollsters their economic situation has not improved, and that things are headed in the wrong direction—while even Democratic economists acknowledge the despondent state of the middle class—the president travels to Chicago to celebrate his economic recovery.

These disjunctions and confusions, these missteps, scandals, and miscalculations, have hurt Obama’s approval numbers. They endanger the Democratic Senate majority, contribute to the widespread sense of disorder and decay, shatter trust in government and in public institutions. They have put into stark relief a political class dominated by liberal partisans, captured by ideas and interests removed from those of ordinary Americans. The stories of ineptitude or malfeasance that appear in the daily newspaper are more than examples of high ideals executed poorly. They are examples of the pursuit of ideas—of equality and diversity and progress and centralization and environmentalism and globalization—to absurd and self-destructive limits…

Read the full text of "The Case for Panic," Matthew Continetti's superb article in the Washington Free Beacon here. 

Let the "Light Rain" Fall On You Too

“Light Rain” is a beautiful little film (4 very worthwhile minutes) that was directed by Neil Horner and produced by Stephanie Wrate. It is based on a true story told by Bob Perks and was donated to The Macmillan Cancer Support to recognize the work they do for families dealing with cancer.

Do check it out. The resultant blessing and inspiration will make you glad you did.

Where Did It All Come From?

There are really only two options in the end. Either there is a personal God Who made everything (carefully, purposefully and in keeping with His moral character) or everything is mere meaninglessness, an absurd collision of matter and chance to which the only authentic response is despair.

How incomparably sweet then that the revelation of Holy Scripture corresponds to the overwhelming evidence of the world, the moral conscience, and the universal longing of the human heart in acknowledging that God is there…and He is not silent.

Darkness All Around? Let the Wind Blow.

Here’s just a few of the headlines from this evening’s Drudge Report:

* Army officer is told not to enter his daughter's high school because he's wearing his uniform
* Satanists to Hold Controversial Black Mass in Oklahoma
* JUSTIN BIEBER GETS NAKED AT 'FASHION ROCKS,' CROWD BOOS
* Homeland Insecurity: Americans feel less safe than any time since 9/11, poll finds
* Welfare recipients can use debit cards for marijuana
* PUTIN PROMISES NEW WEAPONS TO FEND WESTERN THREATS
* Professional Investors are Preparing for a Stock Market Crash
* Firefighters Say They Were Sent Home for Refusing to Remove Patriotic Stickers
* Ted Cruz: ‘Saturday Night Live’ Skits Illegal Under New Campaign Finance Proposal
* CNN: PILOTS FLYING EBOLA PATIENTS TO US SAY MORE EXPOSED BROUGHT TO US THAN REPORTED
* Long-term unemployed still at record levels

So, what to make of it all? Here’s a couple of very important things to remember.

Psalm 2:1-4 (NASB) — “Why are the nations in an uproar and the peoples devising a vain thing? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying, ‘Let us tear their fetters apart and cast away their cords from us!’ He who sits in the heavens laughs. The Lord scoffs at them. Then He will speak to them in His anger and terrify them in His fury, saying, ‘But as for Me, I have installed My King upon Zion, My holy mountain.’”

Isaiah 41:10 (NASB) — “Do not fear, for I am with you. Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you. Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”

John 14:27 (NASB) — [Jesus says] “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”

What security, hope and joy one can possess even in the midst of such a wacky, wicked and suicidal culture when they know their sins are forgiven because they've trusted in the finished work of Jesus' cross, the Savior Who paid the penalty of our sins. And given that peace (as well as the exciting, eternal inheritance that awaits us), the Christian finds strength to hold on, to fight back, and to light up the darkness with truth, justice and the liberating power of the gospel.

Thank You, Lord.

The Shadow Is a Passing Thing

“Frodo sighed and was asleep almost before the words were spoken. Sam struggled with his own weariness, and he took Frodo's hand; and there he sat silent till deep night fell. Then at last, to keep himself awake, he crawled from the hiding-place and looked out.

The land seemed full of creaking and cracking and sly noises, but there was no sound of voice or of foot. Far above the Ephel Duath in the West the night-sky was still dim and pale. There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while.

The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was a light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach. His song in the Tower had been defiance rather than hope; for then he was thinking of himself. Now, for a moment, his own fate, and even his master's, ceased to trouble him.

He crawled back into the brambles and laid himself by Frodo's side, and putting away all fear he cast himself into a deep untroubled sleep.”

(J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King)

"When Swing Was King" Produces Sweet Things

There were several sweet moments from today’s “When Swing Was King” at LCC in north Omaha. One involved a fellow who regularly refuses to come to the nursing home’s entertainment programs because, in his words, he “always gets bored but then hates to leave early because it seems rude.” So the activities director and her assistant started applauding when he wheeled himself down to the WSWK show. And not only did he stay throughout the program, he told us afterward that he loved it. “It was great, absolutely wonderful!” he said. “When did you say you’ll be back?”

Another delightful moment came when M….(94 in less than a month) came in to tell us she was sorry she had to miss the program but they were busy with her in her room. “I just wanted you to know that I would have been here if I could. And to thank you for coming every month and please keep on doing it.” We ended up having nice conversations with both of these residents and a few others besides. A really great time. Thanks, Lord.

Of course, you are (as always) invited to come along and enjoy the program and help us visit the residents of any of the 11 nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and other senior centers where we present “When Swing Was King” every month. (We’re adding a 12th facility in September.) The schedule is right here.

And the program this time around?

1) Glenn Miller Orchestra, “A String of Pearls.”
2) Duke Ellington Orchestra, “If Dreams Come True.”
3) The Andrews Sisters, “Begin the Beguine.”
4) Artie Shaw Orchestra, “Night and Day.”
5) Ozzie Nelson Orchestra, “I Must See Annie Tonight.”
6) Clyde McCoy Orchestra, “Sugar Blues.”
7) Ella Fitzgerald, “Blue Moon.”
8) Benny Goodman Orchestra, “Stardust.”
9) Frank Sinatra, “The Coffee Song.”
10) Larry Clinton Orchestra featuring Bea Wain, “Heart and Soul.”
11) Les Brown Orchestra, “The Continental.”
12) Fred Astaire, “The Way You Look Tonight.” (Photo theme:  A review of the career of this great American dancer, singer and actor.)

Defense Secretary: "The World Is Exploding All Over"

Yesterday, Chuck Hagel tried to reassure Americans with these comments. “The world is exploding all over. And so is the United States going to continue to have the resources, the capabilities, the leadership, the bandwidth to continue with the rebalance toward the Asia Pacific? And the answer is yes.”

Okay, forget the weird inclusion of “bandwidth” that Hagel is proud of the USA having plenty of. Wonder instead just where is the evidence for his optimism. After all, his boss and the rest of this Democrat administration has continually disappointed and disrespected America’s allies, emboldened and enabled America’s enemies, divided and demoralized the American people, and distracted and dismantled the U.S. military.

Alas, there’s only one thing true of the Defense Secretary’s analysis — the world is exploding all over.

Remember how the crowds cheered wildly when Barack Obama promised he would fundamentally transform America? Well, the crowds aren’t cheering anymore. Not since we have learned (to our regret and shame) just what the fellow envisioned.

Shakin' It Up (A Pro-life Mini-Drama)

The following is one of the brief pro-life plays I've written over the years that you can find on this page of the Vital Signs Ministries website. They were written for performance in churches but they can, of course, be used in a variety of venues. And, yes, you may feel free to perform those plays without paying royalties.

Shakin' It Up

The scene is a high school cafeteria.  A few friends are sitting around a table with their sack lunches.  The scene opens on their conversation.

Abe: "Can you believe that guy?  That was the most awesome presentation I think we've ever had!"

Steven: "No kidding.  This high school will never be the same since Mr. Tanaka showed up.  Imagine the nerve of the guy."

Teresa: "How did he get away with it in the first place?  I mean, doing an all-school assembly about abortion from a pro-life perspective?  That's impossible, isn't it?"

Steven: "Guess not.  He just pulled it off!"

Abe: "Well, here's the deal.  Planned Parenthood has been in here to do assemblies every year I've been here, right?  Sure, they sometimes brought in some ditzy politician to say something completely bland about abstinence, but everybody knows it's always the same message.  (Abe goes into a falsetto, nasal voice.)  'Use a condom, and our low-dose birth control pills, kiddies, and then when they fail...which they most certainly will, by the way... you all come to Planned Parenthood and we'll take care of you but good!'"

Teresa: "And didn't I have a heck of a time getting out of going to those presentations. Remember how my dad threatened a lawsuit before Dr. Bell would allow me to be excused."

Abe: "There you go.  Some freedom of choice. Well, from what I heard, that's exactly what Mr. Tanaka pulled too.  He had all this evidence about Planned Parenthood having a complete monopoly on these sex-ed assemblies and he insisted through some lawyers that they either kick Planned Parenthood out completely or they allow him to present an alternative view."

Steven: "And what an alternative?  Man, he was electric!  I mean, you gotta' figure everybody was expecting a boring sermon and then Tanaka comes out and really shakes it up."

Teresa (Laughing.): "No kidding; how many of those kids guessed a pro-life talk would include a film clip from ‘Blade Runner’ or a music video from Nick Cannon?"

Steven: "My favorite moment was when he used Eugene O'Neill's play 'The Abortion.'  That was super-cool.  I was watching Ms. Nelson-Rice and she was burning up.  You know, O'Neill is one of her favorites and you could tell she hadn't even heard of that play!"

Teresa: "Speaking of surprises, what about when he was quoting all of those early feminists who were against abortion?  That was great."

Abe: "And Marshall McLuhan!  Who knew he was a pro-lifer?"

Teresa: "Don't forget the quotes from Mother Teresa, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Phil Simms, and the Bible.  Wow, you could feel the sense of tension in the whole gym."

Abe: "Even guys like Sally and Carmello who are so pro-choice -- they told me afterwards that Tanaka had scored some heavy points.  Sally was quick to remind me she wasn't changing her mind, and I quote, 'about a woman's choice being paramount,' but she did admit that maybe being pro-life had more going for it than she thought."

Steven: "Chalk up one for the good guys, huh?"

Terry: "Hey wait.  You know what was the very best moment?"

Abe: "Yeah, I think I know what you're gonna' say."

Terry: "It was when Mr. Tanaka pointed out that in those Planned Parenthood sessions, he had never been allowed to make any opposition statement or even ask any questions. But he was different. He believed in freedom of expression and so he would gladly allow anyone to respond to his presentation..."

Steven: "...if, that is, when Planned Parenthood conducts their assemblies in the future, they must allow the very same courtesy."

Abe: "And nobody moved!  Man, you could have heard a pin drop, huh?"

Terry: "The quiet you heard in that gym, fellas?  That was the sound of truth winning a round. And in a public school no less!"

Abe: “And all because a bold Christian did his homework and then took the risk of standing up for what's right!"

Steven: (Raising his milk carton.) "To Mr. Tanaka, a man who is shakin' things up for life.”  (All raise their milk and "clink" cartons.) 

Scene fades.

A Few Not-To-Be-Missed Articles

* “Obama’s Treachery and Republican Silence” (David Horowitz, NRO)

* “The American Left: Friends of Our Country’s Enemies” (Ron Radosh, PJ Media)

* “A teachable moment in foreign policy” (Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post)

* “Bullies for Social Justice: A vision of America that is neither just nor reasonable.” (Janice Shaw Crouse, The American Spectator)

* “The West is ignoring the practitioners of 'disproportionate’ violence” (Charles Moore, Telegraph)

Dispatches from the Culture Wars

* “Fourteen Lessons on Prayer from Daniel 9-10” (Randy Alcorn, Eternal Perspective Ministries)

* “It’s Not Your Founding Fathers’ Republic Any More” (Myron Magnet, City Journal)

* “$7,060,259,674,497.51 -- Federal Debt Up $7 Trillion Under Obama” (Terry Jeffrey, CNS News)

* “U.S. history takes drastic left turn this fall” (John Aman, World Net Daily)

* “A Stronger Israel?” (Victor Davis Hanson, NRO)

* “Insurance Companies Still Required to Provide Abortifacients” (Brittany M. Hughes, CNS News)

* “GOP Rep Gives Straight-Shooting Rebuttal To Nancy Pelosi’s Meltdown Against Him On the House Floor” (Fox News video clip)

"Man's Almost Infinite Appetite for Distraction"

Drunk Drivers Maim (As Well As Kill)

Tragic, But True

Important Reads. Did You Miss These Over the Weekend?

* “Is Barack Obama Plotting a Coup?” (John Hinderaker, PowerLine)

* “The Evil Sentimentality of the Pro-Hamas Left” (David French, NRO)

* “The Obama Endgame Emerges” (Douglas Herz, American Thinker)

* “I Played by the Rules on Immigration. Why Is the U.S. Making It So Hard for Me to Become a Doctor?” (Brandon Macknofsky, The Daily Signal)

* “You Know How They Say The Divorce Rate In The Church Is 50%? Prepare To Be Shocked.” (F. Peter Brown, Western Journalism)

* “Obama and Kerry behind one of most strategic mistakes in military history” (Steven Emerson, Fox News)

In Vitro Fertilization's Monstrous Secret

The research scientists (like those at the Yale School of Medicine who presented an intensive study a few years ago) tell us that around 80-85% of the embryos transferred during in vitro fertilization never make it to birth.

And since nearly two million kids have been born through IVF methods (as has been boasted by specialists in the field), that means that at least 10,000,000 embryos involved in IVF transfer didn't make it.

That's why I again post this brief article originally written for a Vital Signs' radio program. I'm afraid it is as relevant as ever.

What Happens to the "Extra" Embryos?

Amid all the talk about the ever-increasing availability of in vitro fertilization techniques, one issue is almost never mentioned; namely, what happens to all those extra embryos?

Well, to be frank, almost none of them make it.

Despite whatever warm feeling one might have towards infertile couples who are being helped to conceive a child through in vitro fertilization, it is important to understand this fact. In vitro fertilization generally creates multiple embryos to ensure a greater probability of success. And, yes, most of the little humans thus created...die. Either those embryos die as a result of the limitation of the female body to accommodate them or, in many instances, they are never implanted in the first place.

In the case of the embryos left over in the storage facilities of fertility clinics, different fates await them. They can, for instance, be frozen for some unspecified purpose in the distant future (the storage frequently being lethal itself) or they can be sold or donated to scientific research, a monstrous end from which none survive. Many IVF clinics merely incinerate the tiny guys and gals when they die, treating them no better than medical waste. Others, trying to be less crass, give the embryos some kind of funeral.

But no matter where the tiny bodies end up, they’re simply dead bodies, not living, growing human beings. And nothing, not even the heartbreak of being unable to naturally conceive children, can justify such brutal pragmatics.

The Real Story of Obama's "Small-Minded" Speech

Uh, about that video clip of a public speech in which Barack Obama insists that "ordinary men and women are too small-minded to govern their own affairs." You know, the clip that is going the rounds of your e-mail and Facebook friends? 

I’m afraid the video clip manipulates Obama’s speech pretty badly. Yes, he did say these things in a speech in Belgium last March, but the context of his remarks shows that he was criticizing this attitude rather than promoting it. The strength of the clip, of course, is that the doctored version may well be what the President believes. But it’s not exactly what he said. The particularly offensive line (“ordinary men and women are too small-minded to govern their own affairs, that order and progress can only come when individuals surrender their rights to an all-powerful sovereign”) is said in reference to Europe’s history of divine monarchs, not to his own opinions.

Here’s the full text of the President’s speech. But I print below the most relevant portion.

“…And it was here in Europe, through centuries of struggle, through war and enlightenment, repression and revolution, that a particular set of ideals began to emerge, the belief that through conscience and free will, each of us has the right to live as we choose, the belief that power is derived from the consent of the governed and that laws and institutions should be established to protect that understanding.

And those ideas eventually inspired a band of colonialists across an ocean, and they wrote them into the founding documents that still guide America today, including the simple truth that all men, and women, are created equal.

But those ideals have also been tested, here in Europe and around the world. Those ideals have often been threatened by an older, more traditional view of power. This alternative vision argues that ordinary men and women are too small-minded to govern their own affairs, that order and progress can only come when individuals surrender their rights to an all-powerful sovereign. Often this alternative vision roots itself in the notion that by virtue of race or faith or ethnicity, some are inherently superior to others and that individual identity must be defined by us versus them, or that national greatness must flow not by what people stand for, but what they are against…”

Again, what President Obama and his cronies are trying to do ("fundamentally transform" the United States) is certainly sinister. And this speech, even in its actual form, isn't a good one and his version of history, as usual, is wrong. For instance, the ideals of conscience and free will (which Obama himself feels compelled to trample over) did not evolve over centuries but were applications of Christianity. And confusing the initial colonists with the framers of the Declaration of Independence was inexcusably muddled. But I was particularly miffed at his use of the world "colonialists" over the one historically used, "colonists." The former is certainly much more pejorative. Again though, I fear it does reflect Obama's misunderstanding and even disdain for America's philosophic foundations.

Nevertheless, this doctored clip doesn't help us oppose Obama's socialist ideology. Barack Obama's actual words and actions, not distortions of the same, are what we must vigorously and prayerfully oppose.