B-A-Light Productions

I was talking with a friend the other day (Ryan Hannaman). We were talking about the recent local happenings and what we think God is doing in the background. He shared a vision God had given him, he felt as though the Holy Spirit was sitting like an engorged water balloon over our church and the gulf coast area. It’s ready to burst and rain down His goodness. I shared with him about my story of persistence. Ryan told me that idea echoed what he felt God was saying to him. Keep pressing in, keep searching for Him, by doing that the balloon will burst.

Ryan made an analogy that I had not ever heard before. As we were talking he said that the Holy Spirit was like a radio station and we were all tuned in to the same channel. This thought has been rolling around in my head for a couple of days now. I like it, its simple and direct. I like to think that it is true. Just like if we were all listening to the same song, yet hearing different things. Someone will hear the chord progression of the lead guitar, another will hear the subtleties of the lead singers voice, someone else will  hear the complexities of the lyrics and yet another (e.g. me) will pick up the driving beat of the drums. Everyone hearing something different yet listening to the same song. Is that not the way we hear from the Holy Spirit?  All hearing different things and all the while we all hear the same beautiful song.

As I said, I have been meditating on this idea. I began to ask how can this idea help with ministry leadership. Have you asked your team what are they hearing? What differences are they hearing that you are not? The Spirit speaks to all of us and if you are a leader that is too busy to stop and ask your team what God is saying to them about the ministry, you could be missing God!

God’s Love and Peace Out!

At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. He took with him Mary, his fiancée, who was now obviously pregnant. And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.

Savior of the World

That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.” Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in highest heaven,
and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”

When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them. Luke 2:1-20

From all of us here at B-A-Lighting Productions Merry Christmas!

May the Lord bless you this Christmas season and in the New Year.

Performance skills – 101 Sharpening your skills to use in every aspect of your program.

One of my greatest frustrations is that only in the church world do people think that performing, preaching and mc’ing are a natural gift. This belief means that (1) those who believe that they don’t have this gift are excused from any of the aforementioned tasks and (2) those with the gifts just have to keep performing and they will get better and better.
This concept is absolutely ludicrous. It is the same as a man saying “I have always naturally been good with my hands, I am going to start practicing operating on people and I am sure I will get better”. Even in the world of fictional TV shows this would be too far of a stretch. Doogie Howser MD was a wizz kid and a doctor by 16 but he still did all of the study and training…

A football team doesn’t just play games to get better but they run
specific drills to improve specific skills that will help them with the game. This is what I believe we need to start doing.
In this episode we are going to look at one skill that is crucial in on-stage speaking. In fact if I could only tell you one thing that most help you it would be this:

Truth by Vibration!

The year was 2002 and I was in a theatre class. I was performing a piece from the “Dead Poets Society” with a girl in my class, and I had to confess my love for her. We got to the most crucial part where I said with all my acting skill – “I love you”

“CUT”

The teacher stopped me and told me he didn’t believe me and to try again.
“I love you”

“CUT”

The teacher tried to help. He told me to just say the line. I said with no effort “I love you” and he said “PERFECT – that is it” and told me to do it in the scene. I got to the part again, I said my perfect line and he said “CUT”

Over the next 30 mins it was really painful. He got me to stop and start 20 times speaking the line and getting it perfect, then performing it and failing. After the 30 mins I still didn’t get it. I had no idea what he was saying because to me they sounded exactly the same. It wasn’t until a few months later I found out a secret that has changed the way I have performed ever since.

I went to a voice training class and the speech specialist said during a routine exercise “Truth is communicated on Vibration”.

Every time you speak, sing or make a noise a vibration is made in your body. We generally talk with a bit of chest vibration and a bit of throat vibration but when we get on stage for some strange reason most people’s voice gets a little bit higher and it goes straight to the throat. This is the easiest way to tell the difference from a preacher that has been preaching for years and a rookie. The rookie’s voice is always a little bit higher than they normally speak.

When I perform my voice goes high, goes low, goes all over the place for the enjoyment of the crowd, but whenever I want to communicate a message I make sure my chest vibrates.

Professional performers are trained to speak on vibration (that meaning in the chest) because it sounds more confident, it is more relaxing, and you can speak for as long as you want and your throat will not tire. The other main reason is that if you don’t speak on vibration people will not believe you.
So give it some practice. It is a learnt skill that takes time. It is not speaking in a deep voice but it has certain feel that has to be learnt. The best way is to practice your message with your hand on your chest and focus on getting the vibrations lower.

If you look at all the great preachers, performers and mc’s, you will notice that they speak very similarly to when they are off-stage. They may not realise they are speaking on vibration but have just developed that over the years. If you adopt this specific training you will find that you advance a lot quicker than those who have gone before you.

Have Fun

Dan.

I have the distinct privilege of reviewing the newest release from Yancy “Have a Fancy Yancy Christmas.” Two words “ROCK ‘N ROLL” (“n” does not count as a word!)

Click on the picture to order now!

The album is a mixture of classic Christmas carols and all time favorites (like “Wonderful Christmastime” by Paul McCartney!) Totaling ten tracks, one being a medley of 4 songs and 3 originals, 2 penned by Yancy herself, this album speaks Christmas time. The fun, traditions, and reason for the season we all love is expressed in the upbeat arrangements Yancy has put together. My wife (who it seems has taken over my blog) likes the arrangement and performance of “Wonderful Christmastime” from Yance over the original (scandalest, I know!) If you have children who like Christmas, and what kid doesn’t, get this album. I guarantee it will become a Christmas favorite. Don’t just take my word for it, hear what kids are saying about it.

Pierson age 5 “I think that she is the best singer”

Peyton age 10 “I think that she has a great voice” ” I really enjoyed Wonderful Christmastime”

Teresa teacher/mom “We really liked them!”

So act now and get “Have a Fancy Yancy Christmas” today. I’m sure will become an instant classic in your home, car or wherever.

God’s Love and Peace Out!

With over 15 years of experience,  B-A-Light Productions is here to help. Curriculum, training, set design and construction, administration, live action characters, games, special events … whatever comes your way, we have unique and inventive ideas  that will make your kids ministry pop. So, please feel free to send your questions and road blocks our way. We want to help you build a kids ministry that your community can’t stop talking about.  See what others are asking under this category and post your comments.