The Beauty of Christmas Music

Over on the Sharper Iron blog, they are running a thread on the "Worst Secular Christmas Songs." I would agree that folks in the secular music industry do miss the true message of Christmas. I suppose that when you don't have much insight into the spiritual side of why Jesus Christ was born 2000 years ago, you are probably going to focus on Santa, snow, and commercialism.

I am reminded of a discussion that I had with my good friend and mentor, Dr. Dwight Gustafson, during my freshman year at Bob Jones University. It was during the fall of 1967 that we were rehearsing Bach's Christmas Oratorio to be performed during Thanksgiving Week at BJU. I casually mentioned to Dr. Gus that I just had no idea that there was such beautiful music written for the Christmas Season. I was of course familiar with Handel's Messiah, and I had even played some Christmas music composed by Vivaldi during my high school years in Plymouth, Michigan. Dr. Gus wisely replied, "There's a lot more that you haven't even heard yet!" I think about that discussion every Christmas, particularly as I have had numerous opportunities to perform some incredibly beautiful Christmas music. Some of it is classical, as in Bach, Handel, Corelli, and Vivaldi, but some of it has been written and/or arranged by contemporary composers such as Rutter, Purifoy, and Lloyd Larson.

On December 4 and 5, Pillsbury Baptist Bible College presented A Candlelight Christmas, a Christmas cantata written by Benjamin Harlan and orchestrated by John Purifoy. We had performed this at Pillsbury about ten years ago, so it was nice to end our "Christmas at Pillsbury" concert cycle with this familiar and beautifully written cantata. It was also an emotional and fond farewell for our longtime choral director, Darrell Bevis. I have known Darrell for about thirty years, and he is one class act when it comes to selecting and performing appropriate Christian music. I am going to really miss performing with Darrell and my other Pillsbury musical colleagues.

Last Sunday evening (December 14), the choir and orchestra at Grace Baptist Church here in Owatonna performed Lloyd Larson's recent Christmas cantata, Holy Night of Miracles. Tom Lawson did a wonderful job of combining the forces of the choir and orchestra to communicate the true message of Christmas. As was true of Pillsbury's rendition of A Candlelight Christmas, Larson's text and music was a powerful example of what beautiful Christmas music is all about.

Which brings me back to Dr. Gus' wise observation: "There's a lot more that you haven't even heard yet!" I sincerely hope that you enjoy this Christmas Season, and I especially pray that you will indulge yourself in the beautiful music of Christmas.

Pillsbury College: The Last Day

The last official day of Pillsbury Baptist Bible College has come and gone. On Friday, December 12, faculty, staff, and students ate breakfast together in the dining hall and then met in Kerux Auditorium for a final chapel service. Dr. Greg Huffman, the president of Pillsbury College these last several months, preached about how God providentially orchestrated the events of the "first" Christmas over 2000 years ago and how God is also orchestrating the events of our lives as well. We have come to appreciate Dr. Huffman's ability to share God's Word in a practical and meaningful way. Among the many things I will miss about Pillsbury, Dr. Huffman is at the top of the list. He has been greatly used by God during these last days of Pillsbury.

After chapel, a number of us said our last good-byes, took photos, and basically realized that this group of faculty, staff, and students will never again be assembled in one place this side of heaven. Next spring, Dr. Huffman plans to visit the Christian college campuses where our students will be attending second semester to check up on how our Pillsbury students are doing. He has also said that he is quite willing to be in charge of the "Pilly corner" in heaven. Undoubtedly, some of us will never cross paths again until that glorious day when we assemble together in heaven with all of the saints. That WILL be a glorious day.

On a personal note, I have every intention of continuing Pillsbury History Guy in the future. As an institution, Pillsbury will become "history," but the great memories of Pillsbury will live forever.

Pillsbury College: The Last Week

It is the last official week at Pillsbury Baptist Bible College, and we awoke to about six inches of new snow this morning. Faculty and students are finishing off final exams this week, and on Friday we will have a last breakfast and a farewell chapel. For many of us, it has been a bittersweet last few days. We will be saying good bye to many colleagues, friends, and students for the last time, because some of us will probably not see each other again for a long, long time. Years from now, those of us who were here as "The Last Comets" will look back and be able to say that in spite of the emotions that we are experiencing now, God provided for our needs and showed us His will for our lives.

On the editorial page of this morning's Owatonna People's Press, the editor penned a nice tribute to Pillsbury. I would like to share that editorial with you:

"It must be a bittersweet time for the students and faculty at Pillsbury Baptist Bible College this week. With the end of the semester just days away and the coming of the holidays just a fortnight away, they must surely feel both a sense of completion and the joy that accompanies Christmas. At the same time, those feelings are undoubtedly tempered with a great sense of loss, knowing that when the final test is taken and final grade recorded that these students and their instructors will be saying goodbye to one another and to the college for the last time as Pillsbury sets to close its doors for good at the end of the month.

Dr. Gregory Huffman, the president of the college, compared the situation at Pillsbury to a death in the family. And as with a time of death, there likely will be mourning by those for whom the closing of Pillsbury touches most closely. During a candlelight Christmas concert on Friday night, Dr. Huffman, a former pastor, did his best to counsel and console the Pillsbury community, reminding them that even though the college will close, it will never die as it continues to live in the service and ministry of the students and the faculty.

They are wise words — words that inspire and give hope.

But there is even more reason for hope. Even as the Pillsbury faculty and staff readied for the closing of the school, word was received that representatives from another Christian college have visited the campus to negotiate the sale of the campus. If that sale occurs — and it is far too early to speculate on the sale or the potential buyor, though rumors about both abound — then it will be good not only the Minnesota Baptist Association, which owns the school, but also for Owatonna. The sale would help the association discharge the debt that led to the school’s closure. But it also would bring another strong Christian college to town. If that college, its teachers and its students are anything like Pillsbury, Owatonna would be strengthened by its coming.

In the meantime, we wish the best for those who will leave Pillsbury and Owatonna for the last time this week. Your presence has enriched this community and your absence will be felt."

Even though Pillsbury Baptist Bible College will be ceasing academic operations on December 31, it is my conviction that the College and its faculty members and students have had a positive impact on the Owatonna community.