Adler Ministry Group: News&Observations;

I recently spent a week in the middle of November in Lynchburg, Virginia on the campus of Liberty University. I was invited by Dr. Vernon Whaley to serve as a guest teacher for their Center for Worship and I'm still grinning over the experience I had with so many of God's finest young people.

Dr. Whaley runs a tight ship and kept me running from early morning thru evenings on most of my days there. I was honored to sing a couple of songs before Dr. Jerry Falwell spoke during their 10,000 student convocation. The day time classes were focused primarily on the real-world applications of worship leadership in the local church. Students in the undergrad and graduate level were engaging, intelligent, and full of great aspirations of somehow taking their artistic gifts and putting them to use in God's kingdom.

My thanks goes to Vernon Whaley, John Kinchen and all of the worship staff whose names begin with the letter "K". I'd also like to say thanks to some exceptional students, Kelly, Michael and Jordan for being such encouragers and front line friends to me during my stay.
You even made learning all- things-Mac more fun.

We're back from a very full and very rewarding time with the church at East Springfield, Pennsylvania called "The Federated". Thanks for ALL of the preparation that Michael, Dwight, Rocky and Tom put into the band and ALL of the preparation that Rick and Ed put into preparing the choirs and ALL of the work that the sound team put into services the BLESSINGS of worship and ALL of the work that Sam and his crew put into FEEDING so many; it was ALL a rich, rewarding experience that was SO full of the Lord.

Friend Day was a great success and several turned their lives over to the leadership of the Lord Jesus Christ as a result of the teaching by Pastor Ed Huntley and the work of the Spirit of the Lord in their lives.

They packed 75 singers into their choir loft and I want to say a big THANKS to all of the HIGH SCHOOL GUYS for singing their hearts out!

Many thanks to our great friends, Ed and Connie Huntley (and for marrying us 25 years ago this December!) for being such gracious hosts and for Rick, Sam and the rest of the team for allowing us to be a part of the great things happening at your church.

One final note to the "Trash Girls". You really made "Take the Trash Out" go to a whole new level and I mean that in the nicest possible way.

:)

Thank you all for your prayers and for your support of this amazing time of service in Germany. I left the team on Saturday morning and arrived home Saturday night and was very grateful to be with Linda and the boys again. She and I led worship the next morning at our church and it reminded me again how blessed I am to have the life partner that I have in her. Chris came home with the remaining members of the team today after continuing to lead thru the weekend.



I’m still processing all that we did during our days at this conference center in the woods of Germany and all that I observed while there, but I’d like to give you all a couple of thoughts while I’m still in that process. (I also learned to be a bit more cryptic in my writing, as the security of many of the people I spent time with is often in jeopardy)



-Jehovah God is the GREAT provider. I did not spend time w/ a single couple who questioned their calling to the Middle East. I felt on each family an overriding sense of spiritual peace and conviction that their lives were indeed in God’s hands. It was obvious that God had not only directed them to serve in the Middle East, but had also given them sufficient provision, emotionally as well as materially at every turn.



-Following God means blessing AND sacrifice. Face it. The upside is that there is no greater sense of peace than in living a life of obedience AND when you obey, you are shown the favor of the Lord.



-Worship lyrics take on a whole new meaning in this environment. Many of these families had been evacuated from their homes due to the conditions of war (mostly from Lebanon) and were now in the process of determining when they could return; if at all. War or not, these people loved their homes and loved the people with whom God had called them to live. Our morning and evening worship services were sometimes poignant, sometimes sweet, often triumphant and sometimes a desperate call to “remember your people, remember your children, remember your promise, O God!”.



-I was most deeply moved when I was able to sit w/ some of the children of these families and play my guitar. They looked so completely “normal”, but as they sang along w/ me I found my mind imagining what their stories were in these recent days. I was blessed to be able to get to know several of the little boys who were Jake and Brady’s age. A few were of Middle Eastern descent, but most of the others were from exotic lands such as Kentucky and Illinois. Chris became a “big brother” to many of the boys who loved the opportunity to wrestle and play swords. Light Sabers still rule!



-Thank you for your financial support. Including volunteers, there were about 260 of us in attendance all week. We didn’t charge anything for our CDs and gave one to every family that attended (about 90 CDs) AND all of our expenses were covered.



-Some great quotes from the week:

-“Missions exists around the world because worship does not”. John Piper.

-“Don’t pray for peace in the Middle East. Pray for the SALVATION of the Middle East”. A wife serving there for the past 18 years.

-“You people have thanked us for volunteering a week of our lives to come and serve you. You have volunteered your entire lives to serve. We should be thanking you”. Chris Adler, in our final session.

We are asking for your prayers and financial support for an event coming up in August that is directly related to the Middle East conflict.

On August 25, our son Chris (drummer and singer) and I (worship leader) will join a small team of musicians from North Carolina to serve missionaries serving in some of the most contentious regions of the world for a ten day retreat.

We will all meet at a conference center in Germany as these missionaries and their families come away for some much needed times of worship, spiritual renewal, TLC and fun.

Our church is paying a portion of our expenses and we are covering the rest. We would also like to give away many copies of our CD, “Guard My Heart”. God has used this music to his glory from the deserts of Iraq to Glasgow to the hill country of Texas. Now we have this opportunity to share in an even more remote destination.

Please pray for our protection and for us to be utterly surrendered to the Lord in this trip.

If you would like to help sponsor us, or even to pay for some of our giveaway CDs, we would welcome the support.

As you know, Adler Worship Ministries is chartered as a ministry extension of the Scott Dawson Evangelistic Association, a qualifying 501(c)3 organization. (visit www.scottdawson.org).

Write your tax deductible gifts to SDEA.

Remember to write “Adler Worship Ministries” in the memo line!

Mail them to our address in "contact info".

“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." Revelation 21:3-5

Our experience coming back "home" again on July 2 to the heartland of the US in the Waterloo / Cedar Falls community of Iowa was FAR beyond what we expected.
We were met with amazing love and hospitality from Eddie and Nancy Anders, worship leaders at Prairie Lakes Community Church. They took great care of us, allowed us to have most of the ministry time in both of their morning services, and just opened their platform for us to share our hearts.
We had a great time of worship in both services and knew that God had given us sweet fellowship all morning.
The incredible thing was to see SO many familiar faces from our past. Some even planned their vacations coming from out of state in order to be a part of our time together. It was SUCH a blessing to hug the necks and spend time in fellowship with friends who were raising their young kids with us when we were first married. It moved us deeply to see again such love shown to us in the place where we first learned so much about loving and giving of ourselves.
Many thanks to the Bauers, the Turnquists, the Christens, the Muellers, the Polhemus, the Schreurs and especially to Eddie and Nancy Anders for allowing us this special highlight for our family.
IF you ordered a CD and did so AFTER we ran out, we will promise to get them to you as soon as we get back home to Birmingham, which will be around July 11.

I'm writing this knowing that you wont be able to read it for a while since you'll be sleeping, unpacking and reorganizing yourself after the trip, but I've been so full of all these thoughts, feelings and emotions which I just can't get out of my head. I enjoyed you guys visiting so much and feel like I bonded with a few people like yourself, Linda, Robin and Deb, which has just been so amazing. You guys have just seemed so kind and generous which has struck me in a special place that I'll not forget. It's just been such an overwhelming emotional experience to be with so many people who believe in the same thing and who all just want to praise the Lord in such a fantastic way- through song. Most of the songs you all sang I'd never heard before and they all touched me so deeply in a special way. I'm sitting here with a copy of one of the songs the student band sang which I borrowed from Alan (our minister) earlier. It's the one called "Cry Out To Jesus" which I've just found so moving reading the words and I've been in floods of tears over it- it's actually so beautifully written and just wonderfully orchestrated so that its adaptable for any group of people.

Alan's decided that we're going to try some of the music with the youth band in our church which is like a more basic version of your student band. We have 3 singers, 3 guitarists, 2 clarinetists, a harpist (who also sings occasionally), and then myself …

Your trip to Knightswood has reinforced so much to me about love, fellowship, hope and faith through a medium which I can relate to so much. If someone had presented me with the same stuff that you guys all said, but all written down and in a book I wouldn't have been brought so much closer to the Lord and I wouldn't have been so moved by everything. Music is a medium I understand and appreciate so wholeheartedly


I just want to thank you so much for all the work you've done this week because it has been fabulous to see and hear about. I believe it has made a difference to so many people's lives and ways of worshipping. I've definitely changed and grown in my relationship with Christ this week and also in my relationship with others. I've loved every concert and speech that's been given over the course of the week and I'm just sad that you guys couldn't have stayed for a while longer because I felt like I was starting to know a few people and then you guys all had to leave. Just thank you again so much.

God Bless,
Tamara xXx

Linda and I and our 51 person team arrived home from our ten day Glasgow, Scotland, music mission trip last Saturday night. Our body clocks haven’t quite readjusted yet, but we’re getting over it and that soon will pass as well.



We wanted to take a minute to thank you for your prayer support and for your financial support of this very fruitful time for God’s Kingdom in this beautiful country.



Here are a few highlights.



-the nine piece student band (of which our sons, Luke and Chris played drums, bass and guitar and sang) played to over 3,000 school children in 4 days of school concerts.



-13 daytime performances in public high schools and elementary schools where we freely talked about the Lord and invited them to attend our evening concerts in public venues.



-Our daytime school performance schedule was so tight, that we soon made set up and tear down a sort of contest. Our record was off loading an entire truck w/ our sound system and all of the instruments and being ready to play in 14 minutes. Afterward, we struck the entire system and instruments AND loaded the truck in 12 minutes. We hustle back on the bus and they take us to the next school.



-26 total performances by our entire group, which included 5 simultaneous Sunday morning services in five different churches, five evening concerts in public venues and even three nursing home concerts by a small team in our group.



-Our "person of peace" (see Matthew 10) was named Margaret MacKenzie. She was the volunteer facilitator for much of this entire week and dealt with everything from booking us back to back in schools to gathering volunteers to feed us and even drove our equipment truck. (we would have wrecked it in seconds in this drive-on-the-left world)



-Five wonderful pastors, from five different denominations coming together in unity to collectively build up the body of Christ in Glasgow.



-seeing and speaking with so many non-churched folks in our evening audiences and hearing their delight and interest in all that took place.



-every adult on our team also volunteered to take a day of our week to scrape, prime and paint an iron church fence that was about 200 feet long in front of one of the host churches. They ATTACKED this fence with great zeal and completely finished it with shiny black enamel by Friday. (it is amazing how a group of sweaty, smelly and dirty painters could be SO very attractive and endearing when the work is done for God’s people.)



-Scotland BREAKFASTS and GREAT accents. Aye!



-country side and historical beauty that must be unsurpassed most anywhere else in the world.



SOME LESSONS LEARNED AND MAYBE RE-LEARNED

-There are Godly, humble men and women steadfastly serving God all over the world.

-The Spirit of God CAN do more than we ask or imagine.

-You will not always be received with kindness in presenting your message of hope.

-Linda Adler is an amazing gift from God to my life. She’s a faithful and SO talented friend, companion and a really great mom to her sons.





A PRAYER FROM MARGARET MACKENZIE, OUR GLASGOW PERSON OF PEACE.



“Lord move amongst us in your risen power, bring back those who have grown cold in spirit, re-energise those in your churches that have given their hearts to you but not their lives, bless every child that now knows that God created and loves them just as they are, those who came and who had never heard the gospel message would continue to seek and come to Jesus with hearts of repentance and come to faith in these fruitful days.”





PHOTOS at this link:

http://www.smbcworship.com/photos.html

Dear friends,

Just recently, Michael and Linda Adler came as our guest worship leaders for our Bessemer Baptist Associational Choral Festival 2006. Michael began the afternoon teaching a conference for our local worship leaders. His teaching was both insightful and inspirational. The festival that night was a tremendous success. The church sanctuary could seat 750. Not only was the auditorium full, but many were seated in the lobby for overflow. Michael and Linda led the congregation in worship as the choirs moved in and out of the loft. The music they selected ministered to a wide range of people, young and old. They are both talented musicians (Wow! What voices!), and Michael is a gifted worship leader; however, their humble spirit is what impressed me the most. Michael led us to the “throne” and we had the opportunity to “taste and see” that the Lord is good!

Your fellow Servant in Christ,

Richard Metts

Minister of Music and Children, Bethel Baptist, Pleasant Grove, Alabama

Bessemer Baptist Associational Worship Leader

Your words today were just AMAZING. Throughout this day I have heard remarks about your delivery, your content, and your sincerity. Emails are coming in "bragging" on my selection of YOU as a facilitator. It was perfect for us, and you were the "right person" for the job - no question. I really believe that ChristWay has a new friend in Michael Adler and we want to develop that friendship.

I was BLESSED to be able to serve as a guest clinician at ChristWay Church (Church of God) in Gardendale, Alabama on Saturday, February 5, 2006. Devin Stephenson has done a FANTASTIC job in leading and growing this eager group of worshippers. From their tight and passionate rhythm section to their FULLY committed group of singers in their choir, they are leading an army of worshippers in Gardendale and it was a HUGE blessing.
Cast as the Christian version of Simon, Randy and Paula on "American Idol", we had the opportunity to participate and adjudicate this wonderful group of worshippers.
I did NOT like the Simon role, but being able to work with the very talented vocal coach, Heather Reid, and the B3 organ MACHINE, Gregory Brown, was well worth it.

Sue Ingalsbe, Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Workshop Leader, leads weekend workshop retreats with the intent to provide replenishment for those who serve in a professional caregiving role. Her most recent event was held on the campus of LSU to minister to "first responders" of the Katrina disaster.
Says Sue of the final hand-washing ceremony, "They truly experience the Lord filling their cup as we do a hand washing. Immediately prior to that, we play Linda singing, "Gratitude". The lyrics and lullaby of this song is perfect for those who've had their lives torn upside down by Katrina. I can't begin to tell you just how much that song ministered to these strong, hurting women."

Finally got the chance to listen to the CD. Terrific piece. I'm in my car driving through the hill country first time I heard it. Had been a long and controversial week and I'm coming out of 4th gear at 5000 rpm's. Linda starts singing a prayer about sending rain. And then sings: "maybe not today ... maybe you'll provide another way. And if that's the case ... then we'll give thanks to you in gratitude for lessons learned in how to thirst for you." (I think I'm close ... wind was whistling pretty loud)

Now I'm not an emotive type of guy but I had to slow the ole vette down below 90 mph (that would qualify as emotional for me) ... hit the back button to listen again to those words. Pretty much sums it all up, doesn't it? Tell Linda thanks ... I needed that.

We hope you'll consider joining us as we return to this beautiful part of the world. You can join us as a choir member (yes, where ever you live we can send you practice CDs) or just as a traveler who wants to help with ministry in Scotland.
We will leave on Thursday afternoon, June1, 2006 and return on Saturday, June 10, 2006.
A team of Glasgow pastors of all denominations has created a ministry plan for their area and have asked us to lead a week of evangelistic services with our contemporary choir, teach worship leadership classes to Scottish musicians during the day, and bring a contemporary student band to do ministry concerts in area schools.
The cost will be $2,490 and will include nearly everything you need, including two free days in Edinburgh and St. Andrews for golf, shopping, sight seeing, visiting the home of William Wallace (Braveheart) or just enjoying the beauty of the enchanting place.
We will be updating this information often, so check back in (after you've ordered your "Guard My Heart" CD.)

We highly recommend the LIFEWAY Festivals of Marriage for ANY couples at ANY stage of their marriage! Lindy and I just participated in our very first FOM and were so impressed by the way this event meets needs across any spectrum of the marriage relationship. Danny Singleton is SUCH a skilled communicator. His 20 year career as a nationally known basketball coach has given him all of the gusto of a man driven to live with passion. Add to that a completely transformed life thru Christ, and we all were spurred on toward doing marriage GOD'S Way and with passion and excellence.
The starts-on-Friday-and-ends-on-Sunday-morning format is perfect for people with busy lives but who are still interested in a recharging for the most important earthly relationship that God has given us.

Interested?

Please check out our LINKS section and go to LIFEWAY. Then click "events" and look for Festivals of Marriage for weekend near you.

You can also check our "Calendar Dates' portion to see which FOM events that Linda and I will be serving as worship leaders.

I returned from a very brief trip to Glasgow this week and wanted to give you all a report. I arrived in Glasgow on Wednesday midday after an all night flight and was invited to a night time prayer meeting at a small local church. This meeting was a collaborative event w/ several churches (although there were only about 55 people present) and the primary goal was simply prayer for the spiritual awakening of the city of Glasgow and the return to the Christian roots that have marked Scotland's history. Most of the dear ones there were of the older generation and their impassioned prayers moved my heart as we huddled together to seek the Lord. They asked me to sing a bit, so I started w/ an acapella version of "I know Whom I Have Believed", and then sang our bluegrass arrangement of "Higher Ground" and "If I Stand". (they surmised that Rich Mullins was likely an Irishman).

After our prayer meeting, we adjurned for tea and biscuits in a small fellowship hall. I was surrounded by a gaggle of dear ladies whose average age was probably 80. One of them w/ a large black handbag (like the Queen always carries) grabbed me by the arm, planted a kiss on my cheek and said, "Ye can sing beneath me window any night of the year, lad!".

The following day Brad and Kathy Matheson (Global Mission Fellowship leaders) and I met over lunch w/ a group of 8 area church leaders. This meeting was to discuss their wonderful vision for a week of evangelistic services that are slated for June of 2006. This group is TRULY cross denominational, as there were no two like denominations represented in the group. They also have HIGH expectations for what God can do thru us as musicians and as ministers. They have open access to the public schools and want to have day time assemblies w/ an American student band as well as two night time rallys for students only.
We will be leading a worship workshop for the area worship leaders and will culminate the week with a large venue evangelistic concert on Friday night before we come home on Saturday.

I left the group w/ my committment to come along side of them to assist in whatever way we can to bring people to the Lord in Glasgow. Now we will start to pray and prepare.

If you are reading this from anywhere in America, we would welcome your participation in this event. Yes, you can join us next June and learn the music on your own. Contact us on the "Contact Info" link and we'll give you the info you need.

If you want to help to support members of the student band (it will cost each of us about $2500 to make this trip), you can write your tax deductible contribution to:

SDEA
(see our Scott Dawson Evangelistic Association link in our "links to others" section)
and mail it to:
700 Vestavia Lake Dr.
Birmingham, AL. 35216

You MUST write "Adler Worship Ministries" in the memo line for it to be allocated to this trip.

This note came to us today from one of our former choir members, Lori, now a soldier stationed in the Middle East. Please pray for protection and strength for this Godly lady.

Michael,
Since you answered my email, I can share "the rest of the story." When
the reporter (that she was transporting in a military vehicle) asked for a CD, I turned up the volume and switched tracks
explaining that I wanted to share the song that had become "MY" prayer
for Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). As we motored along the Saudi
Arabian causeway in 105 degree heat, tears filled both our eyes as we
reverently listed to you and Linda. THE PRAYER has truly become my
daily petition to ask God for wisdom and safety. How blessed we are by
your talents!

The new CD is great news. I can't wait to hear it! Unfortunately, the
government computers do not have the software to listen to the website
so I will wait anxiously for the snail mail. GUARD MY HEART is one of
my favorites - what a great title! Please share my gratitude with Linda
for your generosity of talent, faith & heart. Have a great day. Thank
you again for writing, Lori

Well, we've officially launched our new CD, "Guard My Heart". On Thursday night, September 22, 2005, God allowed us the blessing of traveling to San Antonio to premiere our recording "Guard My Heart". The Paradise Farms, Texas, living room of Charles and Jeannie was filled w/ old friends, memories of nine years of ministry and life together, and an intimate setting in a truly beautiful place. Once we all stopped crying (after three or four songs) we enjoyed a night together of music and Scriptures and just life. We know that this is a rare privilege and we just want to keep our hearts utterly grateful for every step that God allows us to take. Thank you again, to each of you who joined us and have supported us along the way. Thank you also to one of God's gifts to us, Charles and Jeannie.

MARRIAGE is a big deal to us. PRESERVING MARRIAGE is also a big deal to us. It is our privilege to be able to work with LIFEWAY as worship leaders for this season of “Festivals of Marriage”. Want to join us for a fantastic weekend of fun, renewal and teaching? Go to our “Links” page and click on the LIFEWAY link.