Hi. I'm Samson...

So if you've ever gone to my profile on myspace.com, you've seen what my greatest weakness is...beautiful women. Wow, I just came out and said it, didn't I? Well, believe it or not, I have other weaknesses. It's just that beautiful women take up more space in that part of my life than most anything else. It really makes me feel like Samson. Not that I'm all strong or anything. If you've ever studied about Samson, you know that he had a great weakness for beautiful women. He also had issues with an invincibility complex that ended up killing him. That's another story. I'll get to it in a little while.
Back to the confusing topic at hand (let's see if I can make it less confusing). In a recent Bible study, we talked about Samson and the different things that made him special and memorable. For example, Samson was "set apart to God from birth" (Judges 13:5) and given strength unmatched by any man. Let's be honest. This guy was a freak of nature. You can't deny it. Anyone who tears a lion apart with his bare hands and beats a thousand men to death with a donkey's jawbone is pretty much a freak of nature. Even though he had all that strength, his weakness consumed him until it killed him. You see, Samson kept getting himself in trouble with people because of the woman he loved. His first love ratted him out to the thirty friends that were given to him as a wedding gift (Judges 14 makes more sense of this story). In his anger, he beat up thirty men, stole their clothes, gave them away, all while his wife was being pawned off to a friend from his wedding. He let his temper get the best of him and sought vengeance. He burned up grain, vineyards and olive groves that belonged to the philistines, who, in turn, burned up Samson's wife and her father. He went back and attacked the philistines, slaughtering many. It took three thousand men to capture him and tie him up, only for him to break the rope and commence the bludgeoning with the donkey's jawbone. It was all about revenge and it was all because of a beautiful woman.
He had a small matter with a prostitute and then there was Delilah. Oh, Delilah. Such a beautiful, crafty, eventually deadly woman. Long story short, she talks him into telling the secret of his strength. Now here's where a lot of people get confused or mislead. Many people think that Samson lost his strength because his hair was cut off when, in actuality, God left him. Samson had relied on himself for so long that he became arrogant and took his God-given strength for granted. You should read the whole story for yourself. It's pretty interesting. You can find it in Judges 13-16. (If you don't know where Judges is, it's in the Old Testament, the seventh book of the Bible. It's right after Joshua and right before Ruth.)
Now, I'm sure you're wondering what this has to do with me and why I went into that crazy long episode giving a summary of Samson's life. Here's why. I'm in the same boat. Granted, I'm not going around ripping lions apart or beating people to death (although I feel like doing that on occasion), I often find myself being persuaded (easily) by beautiful women to do things I wouldn't normally do. I've noticed that I usually become a total goober around beautiful women, as do most guys, and that turns into me wanting to prove my masculinity and ending up doing or saying something stupid that I'll regret later. Any male who has ever had feelings for a woman can probably relate to what I'm saying. You do everything you can to impress her and you would defend her to the death if you had to. The problem is this little thing called pride. You feel like you have to prove your worth and when someone opposes or embarrasses you, you seek vengeance. It may not be physical, but the attacks are very real on an emotional and a spiritual level.
That brings us to the watershed moment. The turning point where you decide you're going to get rid of yourself and, being emptied of all your sinful ways, be filled with God and let His grace give you a fresh start. So now we have a decision to make. Do we keep doing the same dumb stuff over and over again? Or do we make that life-changing move toward living the life we've been called to live, holy and righteous in His sight? Here's the catch. It's not going to be an easy road to travel. We're gonna face all kinds of temptations and trials. It all depends on how strong we are. God has given us all strength beyond our realization or understanding. It's our job to harness that strength to do His will. I have to make that decision every day. I challenge you to start facing the things that are wearing on you and figure out how to overcome them. Here's a hint...the figuring starts on your knees.

Things I Learned in Tulsa

Hey everybody! This past weekend, I was at the Tulsa International Soul-Winning Workshop. I had a great time but I found myself disappointed or frustrated from time to time. My reasoning is that I was expecting to go to lots of classes and hear lots of speakers talk about church unity and brotherhood and love and stuff like that. I was gonna be encouraged like I hadn't been in a very long time. It was supposed to be a "life-changing" experience for me. Didn't happen that way. Since it was my first time at the workshop, I didn't really have a clue what I was getting myself into. I spent most of my time at the Acappella booth or trying to get ready for the next event, whatever that event was. I didn't get to go to one class at all. I was so irritated! After it was all over, we went to worship Sunday morning and got to lead a few worship songs along with Watershed. Then Jerry Taylor from Abilene Christian University gave one of the best sermons I've heard in a long time. He talked about vision. He talked about our vision versus God's vision and how inferior we are. He talked about us making sure our vision is clear before we start checking on other folk's vision. He made me realize that I need to be more careful when looking at people so that I don't judge them. I was encouraged by his sermon but I was more encouraged by Watershed. We got to eat lunch with them after the worship service and had the best time I'd had in a long time. I'm sure I can safely speak for the other guys when I say that we were truly blessed by the Watershed guys and their families. They are some of the coolest guys to hang around with. We have become fast friends with them and I'm looking forward to spending more time with them (maybe we can do some more events together if we get booked together....hint hint!). The other thing I realized is that by being a blessing to others, God blesses you more than you know. We saw thousands of people over the course of the week and I noticed how much a smile can mean to some folk. Sometimes people just need to be spoken to. I saw so many people whose days were brightened by a simple "hi, how's it goin'?". The trick is...get this...are you ready? Listen to them when they answer. I know, novel concept, but so effective. When you're engaged in what other people are saying or doing, you're blessing them with your presence. That's not an arrogant idea. God put so many of us here so that we can look out for each other and bless each other by being near each other. That nearness, be it physical, emotional, or spritual, helps us to draw nearer to God and his infinite mercy and grace. I really said all that to invite you (and myself) to encourage one another and everyone with whom you come in contact. You might notice your day get a little better!

The Time Has Come

Take It Away
To Whom Shall We Go?


He Gave Her Water

Rescue
Be Devoted

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It's finally here! The latest release from The Acappella Company is officially on the market. We debuted RADIANCE at our Madison, TN concert last night and it was awesome!!! There's nothing like singing for thousands of people at your (new) home congregation. I was honored to be able to do a concert like that. It wasn't without it's problems, though. As many of you may know, we've been without our lights for nearly six months now. We just got our new lighting system and had to learn how to set it all up and make it work. We're so blessed at Madison to have people who know about things like lights and sound and are willing to lend a helping hand when we need them to do so. Mark Carver is one of those people. He's a humble and talented man of God who spent lots of time and effort programming and enhancing our lights and we really appreciate his work. We also had lots of help from Todd Hibbs, Tim Coates, Corey Callis (Acappella intern), Darren "D-Money" Whorton (our genius of a sound man who spent countless hours ordering the new equipment, figuring it all out, telling us what to do with it, and programming it to do what we needed it to do), Shana Curtis, and several students from Madison Student Ministries. We owe them all a huge debt of gratitude. They are all incredible people and they mean so much to Acappella and the ministry in general. Gary Evans came to Nashville for a few days and offered tons of assistance and advice. He really made things easier for us and got us to that high level of preparation for which we've been striving for so long. We were also blessed to have Nic Dunbar, former Acappella baritone, in the audience. He spent a short time in prayer with us during the intermission and God heard his prayer. It was so good to have him and his lovely wife (and their friend) there with us. The one person who did the most work on this concert, however, was Phillip Holt, the promoter. Phillip is an amazing, genuine, humble, honest, godly man and it shows in every aspect of his life. He worked his tail-end off to make sure this concert was a success and it really was. He worked so hard, in fact, that he ended up "deathly" ill the day of the concert. By the grace of God, he found the strength to get through the evening and troubleshoot like a pro. He really did an outstanding job. We had such a good time on stage. With our new lights came new video footage, courtesy of Ryan Smith, friend and intern of the Acappella family. He put in hours and hours and hours of his time to create and edit most of the video footage we use in our program. The Master and Mistress of Ceremonies for the evening were Cory Fleming of the Nashville Kats arena football team and Madison's own "U-Turn" Lavern, respectively. They did a great job getting the crowd fired up and ready for an incredible night of praise and worship. They brought out our special guests, Durant, who sang beautifully and got the crowd ready for us. We came out and did a higher-than-normal energy concert that was blessed by God. Toward the end of the concert, we brought out another special guest. Keith Lancaster came out and sang "He Gave Her Water" and "Well On My Way" with us, and brought the house down like he always does. Cory and Lavern hyped the crowd some more and brought us back for an encore. Durant joined us and we sang "To Whom Shall We Go?" from the new album, RADIANCE. After a fiery concert, we closed the evening in true Acappella style (with the help of Durant) by singing Glory and Honor, which has become our signature ending taking the focus back to the one who gave us the talents we have in the first place. Now we have more work to do getting ready for future endeavors. Please keep us in your prayers. If you're ever nearby and want to give us a shout, don't hesitate. We love hearing from you. Hope to see you soon. Next stop, Tulsa!!!

Just Around the Corner

Not long until we release our first album together. We've been hard at work trying to prepare and it looks like the hard work is paying off. We're so excited we almost can't hold back. Can't you tell from the pictures? Actually, these were taken over the last couple of months. Some are us on the road, some are in the studio. One is of Keith putting some finishing touches on one of the songs during one of our last recording sessions. I'm pretty sure that pic is him developing my favorite moment of the album. Four words: "Hey, Hey, Yeah, Yeah!" You'll see when you get the album.

Ten Guidelines

Ten Guidelines From God
Effective immediately, please be aware that there are changes YOU need to make in YOUR life. These changes need to be completed in order that I may fulfill My promises to you to grant you peace, joy and happiness in this life. I apologize for any inconvenience, but after all that I am doing, this seems very little to ask of you. Please, follow these 10 guidelines.

1. QUIT WORRYING: Life has dealt you a blow and all you do is sit and worry. Have you forgotten that I am here to take all your burdens and carry them for you? Or do you just enjoy fretting over every little thing that comes your way?

2. PUT IT ON THE LIST: Something needs done or taken care of. Put it on the list. No, not YOUR list. Put it on MY to-do-list. Let ME be the one to take care of the problem. I can't help you until you turn it over to Me. And although My to-do-list is long, I am after all... God. I can take care of anything you put into My hands. In fact, if the truth were ever really known, I take care of a lot of things for you that you never even realize.

3. TRUST ME: Once you've given your burdens to Me, quit trying to take them back. Trust in Me. Have the faith that I will take care of all your needs, your problems and your trials. Problems with the kids? Put them on My list. Problem with finances? Put it on My list. Problems with your emotional roller coaster? For My sake, put it on My list. I want to help you. All you have to do is ask.

4. LEAVE IT ALONE: Don't wake up one morning and say, "Well, I'm feeling much stronger now, I think I can handle it from here." Why do you think you are feeling stronger now? It's simple. You gave Me your burdens and I'm taking care of them. I also renew your strength and cover you in my peace. Don't you know that if I give you these problems back, you will be right back where you started? Leave them with Me and forget about them. Just let Me do my job.

5. TALK TO ME: I want you to forget a lot of things. Forget what was making you crazy. Forget the worry and the fretting because you know I'm in control. But there's one thing I pray you never forget. Please, don't forget to talk to Me - OFTEN! I love YOU! I want to hear your voice. I want you to include Me in on the things going on in your life. I want to hear you talk about your friends and family. Prayer is simply you having a conversation with Me. I want to be your dearest friend.

6. HAVE FAITH: I see a lot of things from up here that you can't see from where you are. Have faith in Me that I know what I'm doing. Trust Me; you wouldn't want the view from My eyes. I will continue to care for you, watch over you, and meet your needs. You only have to trust Me. Although I have a much bigger task than you, it seems as if you have so much trouble just doing your simple part. How hard can trust be?

7. SHARE: You were taught to share when you were only two years old. When did you forget? That rule still applies. Share with those who are less fortunate than you. Share your joy with those who need encouragement. Share your laughter with those who haven't heard any in such a long time. Share your tears with those who have forgotten how to cry. Share your faith with those who have none.

8. BE PATIENT: I managed to fix it so in just one lifetime you could have so many diverse experiences. You grow from a child to an adult, have children, change jobs many times, learn many trades, travel to so many places, meet thousands of people, and experience so much. How can you be so impatient then when it takes Me a little longer than you expect to handle something on My to-do-list? Trust in My timing, for My timing is perfect. Just because I created the entire universe in only six days, everyone thinks I should always rush, rush, rush.

9. BE KIND: Be kind to others, for I love them just as much as I love you. They may not dress like you, or talk like you, or live the same way you do, but I still love you all. Please try to get along, for My sake. I created each of you different in some way. It would be too boring if you were all identical. Please, know I love each of your differences.

10. LOVE YOURSELF: As much as I love you, how can you not love yourself? You were created by me for one reason only -- to be loved, and to love in return. I am a God of Love. Love Me. Love your neighbors. But also love yourself. It makes My heart ache when I see you so angry with yourself when things go wrong. You are very precious to me. Don't ever forget......

Thanks to my friend, Jennifer Smith, for letting me post this on my blog. I really felt convicted and challenged after I read it and I hope you do to. Blessings!

Cold Sunshine

Ahh, sunny Florida! When you go to a state to the south of you and it takes several hours to even reach it's border, you can expect it to be warm, right? Not this time. This trip to Florida turned out to be quite a bit colder than we bargained for. I guess it really is winter all across the country. This trip was quite the trial for our bodies. We remembered how much Satan tries to do to stop us from doing our godly duty. We started out the trip with Jordan being sick as a dog (no offense intended for dog owners) and barely able to stand up, much less sing a whole concert. Although we didn't know if he would make it through the day, God reminded us how good He is and gave JHouse the strength to perform the first 3 concerts with no worries. God is good! The bug hit us again, however. After Miami, we had a day off in which we drove to Tampa and spent the night. Thanks to Dan and all the folk who hooked us up there. We were pampered by all the gracious folk who put us up in their homes while we were on the road and to those folk we say a heart-felt thanks! Unfortunately, as JHouse got better, Zach "Z-dub" Wilson got sick. He was the only healthy one when we left Nashville Wednesday. It was interesting to see that he turned out to be the only really sick one when we got home. God is still good! He helped Z-dub to get through 2 grueling concerts and he is feeling better daily. Praise God! We had some "repeat customers" at a few of the concerts. We're so glad you think we're cool enough to want to see us twice in a week. I know there was one guy who followed us from Gainesville to Miami which were back-to-back evenings and about 6 hours apart from each other. We also had some folk meet us in Clearwater who saw us in Gainesville, and a few wonderful people who had seen us in Tampa last month came to Winter Garden. We got some real troopers here! I think Gainesville really likes us. I've spoken to a few people on my "myspace" site (myspace.com/rbrannon) who are coming to the big cd release/dvd shoot/ benefit concert in Nashville next month and they're from Gainesville too. That just makes me smile! I hope to see lots of you there. I also hope to see a bunch of my favorite people in Texas next weekend. I'm looking forward to it. I expect to see people I know at Abilene and Seminole. If you know me and you live anywhere close to Redwater (Texarkana), I expect to see you there too. Remember God is good all the time, and all the time, God is good!!!!!

Good Times in Alabama

So we went to Tuscaloosa, Alabama on Wednesday. We had such a good time and didn't want to leave the next day to come back to Nashville, but almost every good thing comes to an end. I say "almost" because I can think of one good thing that will never end...chocolate!!! (just kidding) We were hosted by Byron Sommerdahl, who put the acappella.com site together. He's a great guy and a humble servant for the Lord and we appreciate him and his hospitable church family. The concert was a lot of fun. We did a short worship set in the middle of the concert and found out that the University Church of Christ in Tuscaloosa is one singing church! They really sang well and God was truly glorified. We even set off the fire alarms in the church building. That was fun. Afterward, Byron took us to the Cypress Inn for some of the best catfish and smoked chicken I've ever eaten (and I know about some catfish and smoked chicken). We stayed at a luxurious hunting lodge complete with pool table, ping pong, 48" plasma tv and all kinds of other amenities. We hope to visit Tuscaloosa again soon. Next stop, Alpharetta, Georgia and then back to Florida.
By the way, our upcoming album went to mastering this morning. We are so excited about the release of this album we can barely hold it in. I urge you, if you can find a way to make it to Nashville on March 11th, please do so. The "Quiet the Stones" concert at the Madison Church of Christ is going to be on fire! We're anxiously awaiting the day when we can hand people copies of our voices together for the first time. Hope to see you there!

Psalm 100

Off We Go

One trip down, many more to go. I have to say Florida was a lot of fun. The weather is beautiful there and so are the people. It takes about 14 hours for us to drive from Nashville to Tampa and, fortunately, there are plenty of drivers in the group. As of right now, we travel with 6 people (the 5 of us and our sound man extrordinare, Darren "D-money" Whorton) so we get around well. After taking a couple of wrong turns, we finally made our way to the Northwest Church of Christ where we sang for an energetic 500+ crowd comprised of mainly youth groups and sponsors. We then drove to Englewood, FL where we were loved on by Garry and Joy Clark and the members of the Fellowship Church there. We had a fun battery experience at the first of the 2 church services we sang for. We got the wrong batteries for our mics and in-ear monitors (or "ears" as we call them) and did the "I-need-a-new-battery-but-it's-the-middle-of-a-song" dance. God intervened and got us through that concert without too much embarrassment. We got better batteries for the next service and had a great time with the people there. After eating at "The Fishery," we drove across the Everglades to Boca Raton for our third concert of the day. We got the pleasure of hearing the Brazilian Gospel Union before we sang. BGU was very good and we wish them the best as they strive to raise funds for their upcoming album.
Speaking of albums, we've been finishing our upcoming album since we got back from Florida. I think I can describe it in one word...WOW!!! The new album is incredible. The songs get back to the older Acappella sound with our own little twist here and there. Keith Lancaster has written all but one song for the album (which his son, Anthony, wrote). Some of the songs sound like they should have been on earlier albums but they fit very well together to create a new energetic vibe that has quickly become the Acappella trademark in our live concerts. I have some pictures but I'm having trouble getting them downloaded from my computer. I'll try to get them on soon. Have a great weekend and may God bless you all!
Under His wing

Rom 8:28

The Road Before Us

It's Wednesday night before our first trip of the year and, in true Acappella fashion, we're going through lots of trials and transitions. It was announced today that Gary Evans has left the group. As a group, we are going to miss him terribly. Personally, I have grown to love him like one of my best friends. He's got the heart of a servant, he always gets the job done no matter what that job is. He's a warrior for the Lord (and he sings real good too). I'm gonna miss him like crazy. Fret not, however. The very talented and faithful Allen Brantley from Birmingham, Alabama has graciously stepped into the "bass-ment" to hold it down on the low end. Allen is a great guy and an awesome asset to the group. I want to ask that you all pray for Gary and his future endeavors, for Allen and his new position, and Acappella Ministries as we strive to spread God's word.
I need to add a couple more prayer requests to your lists if you don't mind. I received a phone call today with a message that Rosemarie Scott, my high school voice teacher, was found dead in her home yesterday. This comes as a huge surprise to everyone who knew her, especially my high school choir director, Johnny Miller. Mrs. Scott was like a mother to Mr. Miller and I know this is a devastating loss to him. Please pray for her family, Mr. Miller, and all her students. Pray a special prayer for the student(s) who found her yesterday. I'm sure they are traumatized.
The other request is for my dad, B.C. Brannon. Dad has been a preacher longer than most of my friends' parents have been alive. He was baptized by Marshall in the early 1940's and started preaching in October of 1943. Needless to say, he's seasoned. The prayer request is for his health. He's not feeling too great now. He has strange pains all over his body, he gets fatigued easily and he basically has no cartilage in his right knee. He is 86 years old and I often wonder how much longer he'll be around. I don't mean to bring everyone down. I'm just asking for prayer for him and my family.
On a happier note, we're doing our first road trip of the year this weekend. Florida, here we come! It's going to be a long weekend but it's definitely gonna be worth it. I'll try to get some pics and log them next week.
Eph. 2:8
Robin

Acappella: The Journey Continues

Hey everybody! Welcome to my new blog. I'm gonna do my best to keep you updated on our Acappella journey. You might see serious moments from the road. You'll more likely see a bunch of funny stuff. I'll always try to send some type of encouragement in each posting and I'd love to hear from you. Feedback can be a great tool for Acappella Ministries to grow. I'll get some pictures posted soon, but in the meantime, check out www.acappella.com for info about the group and when we'll be close to you. If we're not close enough to you, contact Rhonda Coleson and let's see about Acappella coming to your town soon. May God bless you this week and keep you safe as you strive to please Him.
Under His wing,
Robin C. Brannon