Friday, June 15, 2007

About Keith Lancaster


We are very blessed to have Keith as our new Worship Minister at Farragut. His experience and enthusiasm, along with his spirit of humility, make him a great addition to this congregation. Read the biographical information below and check out the link to Keith's blogsite to get to know him better.

From http://www.acappell.org/lancaster.htm:


"It all began as a dream and a prayer...

The Acappella Company began as a dream in the mind of young Keith Lancaster. Unusually gifted by God with exceptional musical range in his voice, and a unique ability to compose memorable songs, Keith recorded his first album, singing all the parts a cappella, at an early age. Now, as the founder of The Acappella Company, Keith heads up producing the most unique and diverse a cappella projects ever recorded, using the finest all-vocals techniques, technology, and voices available.While still heavily involved with leadership in The Acappella Company,

Keith is married to a lovely woman of God named Sharon. Their children (Melissa, Kimberly, Anthony, and Allison) have all been home educated. Melissa is actively involved in the mixing and editing of Acappella Company releases. You'll find pictures by Kimberly on the Acappella releases, Radiance; Heaven and Earth; as well as the Praise & Harmony CD, Awesome God. Melissa, Kimberly and Anthony also sing with Durant.

See what i-tunes has to say about Keith and Acappella-


"In 1982, a young Keith Lancaster had a dream to spread the Gospel through the unique form of a cappella music. Lancaster's dream lead to the creation of Acappella Ministries in his hometown of Paris, TN. The Ministries formed a quartet that became known as Acappella. Travelin' Shoes, the first recording of the new group Acappella, was released in 1984. Lancaster wrote the lyrics, produced, and sang for this album. He and his fellow lead singer, Rodney Britt, along with different backup singers sang together on two more albums before Lancaster retired from his on-stage role in 1988. He decided to dedicate his time to the songwriting and production of Acappella. In 1990, Acappella released "Rescue", which gave the group worldwide recognition. The song "Rescue" became a favorite request at the group's concerts. Acappella won four CARAs (Contemporary A Cappella Reading Awards) and received nine nominations in 1994. Five years later, the group received a nomination for Artist of the Year by the Contemporary A Cappella Society. In May 1999, Acappella had the honor of representing American gospel music by singing at the International Festival of the Arts held in Kunming, China. Many in the audience had never heard the Gospel before. In 2001, the foursome performed 140 live concerts. By the end of 2001, Acappella performed more than 2,000 concerts in Canada, the United States, South Africa, Australia, Brazil, Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, France, England, Holland, Norway, China, and the French West Indies. Over the years, the singing personnel of Acappella has constantly changed. At the beginning of 2002, the group consisted of Don Connel (high tenor), Gary Evans (bass), Steve Maxwell (baritone), and Barry Wilson (lead vocals)." ~ Diana Moes VandeHoef, All Music Guide

Anthony Lancaster

ANTHONY LANCASTER is assisting Keith in leading worship here at Farragut.

Anthony, 19, is from Goodlettsville, Tenn. Anthony is already making a name for himself musically through his songwriting. He has arranged music for several local bands around Nashville and written songs for Acappella as well. He has also played with some local bands and worked as a studio musician. Anthony has played the piano for 12 years and has already composed two full-length piano albums. He also plays percussion and guitar, and is currently learning the violin. Anthony can often be found with his headphones on, gathering musical inspiration from an eclectic mix of styles. He has a self-admitted obsession with British rock bands, particularly the Beatles, and knows more Beatles trivia than most people.

Exciting Changes at Farragut

Last Sunday was a historic day in the life of this church. It was announced that Keith Lancaster is our new worship minister. The Elders and Staff believe that an effective worship ministry is important to the future of the Farragut Church of Christ. We have already seen more congregation participation in worship from his leading the last two weeks. Ultimately, the effectiveness of this ministry depends on everyone's involvement and support. Keith will be depending on your help to make this ministry a great blessing, not only to this church, but throughout East Tennessee.

It was also announced last week that Daniel will continue his preaching ministry here, but will no longer be a full-time employee of Farragut Church of Christ. He believes it is in his and the church’s best interest to be primarily self supporting. His role will be almost exclusively related to preaching and teaching. Paul will now assume the role of Senior Minister, overseeing day to day responsibilities of the office and the majority of the pastoral care. These ministerial changes have been made with no additional expense to the 2007 budget.

All three of these men will be needing your prayers, support and encouragement! We have assembled one of the finest ministry teams anywhere. The future of this church and the impact we can have on our community is very exciting! With Keith’s dynamic worship ministry, Daniel’s passionate preaching, Paul’s great servant-heartedness, Philip’s effective youth ministry, and the Elders’ bold leadership, the future has never been brighter. Support and encourage these men as they serve this congregation!
Check out Keith's blog at http://www.keithlancaster.com/

Thursday, June 07, 2007

Honduras Update

We have word back from the Honduras crew. All lost luggage was received on Monday, and everyone is doing good; no illnesses or injuries. So far they have built 8 houses! Tomorrow will be their last day of building houses and plan to build two more. On Saturday the group will head to a boy's orphanage to conduct a VBS for the kids there. They are planning on going swimming with the kids after VBS. On Sunday, they are attending a church and planning on doing another VBS after church. Then they may go shopping at the Valley of Angels. The next week they will be working at the church where they laid concrete last year. Along with doing more concrete work, the teens and adults will be adding classrooms onto the church. They said that everyone was happy and healthy and they were having a good time. Please continue praying for the group for the remainder of their trip.