Signs & Wonders Blog

A few days ago, Dolly Parton died of cancer at 80 years old. Subsequent tributes to the singer’s death reminded me of how the world mourned after the 1997 car crash that killed Princess Diana. Numerous celebrities have eulogized the country music icon. President Donald Trump ordered American flags to be flown at half-staff for a week in honor of Dolly.  As a boy, I first heard of Dolly Parton when seeing her introduced on The Porter Wagoner Show. I disliked country music and usually turned the TV channel after briefly watching the intro. Then in the late 1970s, Dolly’s songs started appearing on “ American Top 40 .” One of them titled "Baby I'm Burnin'" was played in discos. By the time I became a DJ , the pop hits for her dwindled except for 1983’s “Islands in the Stream”, her number one duet with Kenny Rogers (written by my favorite group The Bee Gees ). Like many other performers, Dolly got her start singing in church. Her grandfather was a Pentecostal preacher....

A significant portion of my high school and college years was spent roller skating. In the fall of 1979, I began frequenting a roller rink called Skateland in Fargo, North Dakota. The “roller disco” craze had attracted large crowds of people to the sport. I was captivated by disco music , particularly the Patrick Hernandez song “Born to Be Alive.” However, I couldn't get into a discothèque as a 15-year-old. I figured that Skateland would be the next best way for me to experience “Saturday Night Fever.” At first, I could barely stand up on skates. Gradually my rollerskating skills improved as I learned how to go backward, do splits, and other tricks. That helped increase my confidence in asking girls to skate with me during “couples only.” Soon, I noticed that the Skateland employees were like celebrities to the regular skaters. Knowing that working there would bring me popularity that I never received at school, I eagerly pursued employment at the roller rink.  After months of ...

Prior to my salvation, I often went dancing in nightclubs and also worked as a DJ in a few of them. After getting saved, I continued going to clubs for a couple of years but eventually stopped. I could no longer put up with smoke-filled rooms plus listening to music with explicit lyrics. One reason many sinners resist Christianity is the mistaken idea God doesn’t want us to have fun. Some religious leaders have a problem with dancing in general. When I worked for Billy Graham ’s World Wide Pictures, one film we distributed called “The Homecoming” featured students at a high school dance. A pastor who planned to show “The Homecoming” in his church changed his mind because he was afraid the dancing would offend members of his congregation. A more famous movie that dealt with this issue was 1984’s “Footloose.” Based on actual events that happened in a Oklahoma town, an overzealous pastor convinced his city council to ban public dancing. He was challenged by a young man who read the fol...

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...

Dear Macklemore, This letter is a response to your comments at the recent Palestine Will Live Forever Festival. First, let me tell you about myself. I could be considered a rapper since I rap better than sing. Years ago, I pursued a career in the recording industry . I worked as a disc jockey plus produced electronic music that received national radio exposure. Then in the 1990s, I committed my life to Jesus and became a missionary. Occasionally, I glance at the Billboard website to see what’s happening with the music scene. I first became familiar with you in 2013 when your gay anthem “ Same Love ” became a hit. A short time later, a friend who performs Christian rap in parades added “And We Danced” and “Can’t Hold Us” to his repertoire but with rewritten lyrics. I helped him remix the parodies of your songs. You once told an interviewer, “I want to be someone who is respected and not just in terms of my music. I want to be respected in terms of the way that I treat people.” I ...

April 28th is a memorable anniversary to me for a couple of personal reasons. One involves a woman I met forty years ago, with whom I had a very brief relationship. During the spring of 1984, I attended Moorhead State University in Moorhead, Minnesota. In an electronic music class, I used synthesizers and a multi-track recorder to produce a demo tape of original songs. One of my classmates was a guitarist named Greg who played in a band called Switch (no relation to a successful R&B group of the same name). I got hired to be the soundman for their gig at a high school prom in Leola, South Dakota. It would be my only job with them since the band already made plans to break up. On a Saturday afternoon, Greg rode with me in my ’73 Monte Carlo for the three-hour road trip to Leola  (the other members of Switch met us there). Greg brought a bunch of cassettes with him, but my car didn’t have a tape deck. So we mostly listened to the radio. Before the dance started, the band...

One thing that kept me away from Christianity during my younger years was religious ideas regarding music . Some church folk preaches against genres of music they hate, such as hard rock and rap. After becoming a believer, I learned of one denomination that prohibits musical instruments during worship services. They only allow a cappella singing. A meme circulating online lists the following reasons why some believers are against instrumental music for worship (along with Scripture references to defend their beliefs): Was not commanded by Christ (Matthew 28:18-20, Colossians 3:17) Goes beyond the doctrine of Christ, and adds to the Word of God (2 John 9-11) Makes worship vain (Matthew 15:1-9) Is not a part of true worship (John 4:24) Is not a part of “the truth” of the Apostles (John 16:13; 17:17) Is not walking by faith (Roman 10:17) I find these narrow interpretations of God’s word ridiculous. Laptops, tablets, and smartphones aren’t in the Bible. Wouldn’t that mean one shou...

Psalm 100:1 (KJV) says,  “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord.”  Even if Christians cannot sing well (I admit to being one of them), God is pleased when we do it for Him. However, worship leaders should at least be competent musicians. Some churches are better off using recorded music from YouTube or Spotify. I’d be embarrassed to bring someone to a meeting where the musicians played their instruments poorly, and the singers could not carry a tune. Last weekend I attended a church service where a visiting evangelist led the praise and worship. His singing was okay, but I didn’t care for his guitar playing. It sounded like he hadn’t practiced enough even though he recorded CDs of his music. This evangelist had a woman singing with him. They were out of sync much of the time. One song performed was a favorite of mine: “We Will Dance.” This David Ruis classic has a waltz rhythm. The evangelist and the woman attempted to sing the verses in 4/4 time.  Many of the other songs...

This past Wednesday, Tina Turner died at 83. I wasn’t a fan of the singer, but played some of her records while working as a disc jockey in the 1980s. In response to a Facebook post written about Tina's passing, someone repeatedly accused me of being hateful because of questioning her   eternal destiny (she was raised Baptist but later became a Buddhist). I soon unfriended and blocked this person. Whenever celebrities die, those who care about them will often say, “Rest in peace.” Sometimes the initials R.I.P. are engraved on headstones as well as Halloween decorations. R.I.P. originated from the Latin phrase “requiescat in pace.” The truth is that all dead people are not resting in peace. When a person dies, they either experience great joy in heaven or eternal torment in hell. There is no in-between place such as purgatory. Hebrews 9:27 says,  “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.” One doesn’t magically change into an angel or get a ...