Signs & Wonders Blog

When I rededicated my life to the Lord in 1991, I had been a nightclub disc jockey for over five years. By that time, I lost interest in my work. The constant exposure to alcoholics and the repetitive requests for the same old songs had taken a toll on me. For a while, I continued dancing in clubs. I still enjoyed vibrant light shows and hearing modern sounds, but I hated being around smokers and listening to profane lyrics. Since then, I’ve deejayed at a few Christian gatherings. Two nights ago, I went to my first-ever silent disco at a church in Burnsville, Minnesota. It was an event where people danced while listening to music on wireless headphones . I arrived in time to enjoy free Mexican food. A short while later, the music started. The headphones had two channels of music to choose from. One had the DJ’s performance on the main stage. The other channel had a preset playlist fed through a sound system in the back of the church sanctuary. The room was lit up with colorful lights...

Yesterday I learned from a friend’s Facebook post that it was National Radio Day. This man shared a photo of himself at the first radio station he worked at over 40 years ago. I responded by posting the meme above featuring Wolfman Jack and cast members from the old sitcom “WKRP in Cincinnati.” That brought back memories of my disc jockey work. As a boy, I pretended to be a DJ using my Panasonic tape recorder and playing records on my parents’ stereo system. Listening to Casey Kasem ’s “American Top 40” was an inspiration. It wasn’t until my first year in college I became a DJ for real. I volunteered as an announcer for the radio station at Moorhead State University in Moorhead, Minnesota. That same year, the roller rink I worked at promoted me to floor guard. Part of that job was playing the records. I had a blast doing that but resigned after eight months due to disagreements with the managers. Less than a year later, I landed my only paying announcer job on terrestrial radio. I c...

If someone were to guess what my all-time favorite song is, one might assume it would be a hymn or inspirational tune. There have been a few that touched me over the years. However, one particular song stands out from the rest. In July 1979, I was fifteen years old and went on vacation with my family. One night in my motel room, I turned on a radio and for the first time heard “Born to Be Alive” by Patrick Hernandez. I already knew about the song since Casey Kasem had announced it was #1 on Billboard’s disco chart. I liked it immediately with its entrancing synthesizer sounds, dreamy strings, and catchy guitar riffs. Two weeks later (and exactly 40 years ago today), “Born to Be Alive” debuted on “American Top 40” at #40. I taped the song off the radio and for the next several days played it over and over (even today it still gives me goosebumps). Soon I bought the Patrick Hernandez album of the same name. Meanwhile, I continued rooting for “Born to Be Alive” to hit #1 on th...

At the end of every year, the media reflects on the numerous celebrities who passed away during the previous twelve months.   One who died this year was singer Donna Summer.   The “Queen of Disco” succumbed to throat cancer on May 17 th  at the age of 63. Donna grew up in Boston and originally sang in churches but gradually drifted away from the things of God until she rediscovered her Christian faith in 1980.   That year she released an album called “The Wanderer”, which contained the track “I Believe in Jesus.”   Donna’s recordings from the late 1970s appealed to me not so much because of her voice but because of the innovative sounds created by her producer Giorgio Moroder.   His use of synthesizers in songs such as “I Feel Love” was ahead of its time.   It was one of the things that inspired me to later create my own electronic tunes. However, the anointing of God was certainly on Donna Summer’s voice.   A few yea...

During my grade school years, classmates frequently picked on me.   Eighth grade was by far my worst year in school.   The increased name-calling and bullying I experienced had me seriously contemplating suicide.   Fortunately, I didn’t follow through with that. One thing that helped sustain me during that difficult year was the music of the Bee Gees.   By 1978 I had become a faithful listener of Casey Kasem’s radio show “American Top 40.”   The Bee Gees had become my favorite group the year before.   So it was exciting for me to see the Brothers Gibb dominate the record charts due to the titanic success of their music from the movie “Saturday Night Fever.” The following year, I got to see the Bee Gees live in St. Paul, Minnesota.   That concert inspired me to write my own songs and briefly learn how to play the guitar.   The Bee Gees had a God-given talent that influenced multitudes of people. However, the reality is that all m...