My late wife Lynne and I moved to Colorado Springs in 1969 to attend Nazarene Bible College. With Dave and Jane Smith we formed the Insights, a sort of unofficial college quartet. We would accompany Dr. Strickland, Dr Williamson, Ron Lush, or Dr. Newenschwander when they spoke at different churches on Sundays.
Later we reformed with Dave Royer, and toured the Colorado area. For a brief period we traveled full time, and toured coast to coast.
I became a youth pastor, then a pastor, then a youth pastor, then back to the pastorate again. The girls joined us in singing and we became the Dittmers.
We were fervent, perhaps rabid Southern Gospel fans, and for worship I played an evangelistic style with octave melody notes. I despised recorded and electronic music, until they came out with triple voicing, making electronic music more luscious than the "real" thing.
Rick, a long time friend, had become my song leader, and began to get me hooked on the new worship music. What finally reeled me in were the words of the songs. "Enough" by Chris Tomlin, as sung by the Barlowe girls became my mantra.
Rick, a long time friend, had become my song leader, and began to get me hooked on the new worship music. What finally reeled me in were the words of the songs. "Enough" by Chris Tomlin, as sung by the Barlowe girls became my mantra.
During my last days in the ministry, (I'm now retired!) Rick and I did a blended service combining the contemporary worship music with a couple of hymns played in the old fashioned evangelistic way (which if done right is an exciting style!) at the end of the service. Our children, whom we call worship leaders, help with the end of the service by leading the congregation in prayer from Psalm 119 and the Lords Prayer and the benediction.
I do hope you will enjoy the little walk through history. And, no, Abraham Lincoln was not one of my classmates!
I do hope you will enjoy the little walk through history. And, no, Abraham Lincoln was not one of my classmates!
