Nov/Dec 2002

That Old-Time Religion

New Man's interview will Bill Gaither

What's with this Bill Gaither guy? He seems everywhere. Having contributed more than 500 songs to church hymnals, including standards such as "Because He Lives" and "The King Is Coming," he's there with us at Sunday services. Having discovered talent such as Sandi Patti (who spent eight years with the Gaither Vocal Band), Carman (six years), Michael English (10 years), Steve Green (six years), Mark Lowry (14 years) and Don Francisco, Gaither's name pops up in all sorts of tributes and interviews. Because his songs have been recorded by top entertainersincluding Elvis Presleyhis reach extends far beyond church walls. And, more recently, his series of Homecoming videos has sold 7 million copies, giving his nearly-50-year career a renewed boost and introducing him to yet another generation of gospel music fans.

So what's with Bill Gaither? New Man checked in with him to find out.

New Man: I was in the car of a young friend not too long ago, and among his CDs was your What a Time! (Spring House) release. How have you managed to stay relevant?

Bill Gaither: The grace of God.

NM: That's too pat.

Gaither: But true. I guess if I had to analyze it, I'd say that chasing the newest fad in music, whatever style happens to be popular at the moment, becomes very old quickly. Listeners grow tired of it and move on. I've never bent my music into the fashionable styles of the day. I've tried to focus on the gospel, which never changes.

NM: And you've been doing that consistently for...how long?

Gaither: Since 1955 or so.

NM: You're ancient [Actually, he's not; he's just been extraordinarily productive for most of his 66 years.]

Gaither: I don't feel that way. Maybe that's the key. I feel young because I'm still excited about the music. Another thing is, I have a lot of associates, friends, who are either young--maybe 20 years old--or old in years but young at heart. Staying around people like that keeps me young.

NM: You were ready to retire in 1991. What happened?

Gaither: At that time, I realized the type of music I was doing wasn't getting the attention it used to. New music had come along, thanks to the Jesus generation. It was rock and pop, and they were doing a good job spreading the Word with it. When tastes change and you're 50-something years old, either you get bitter and say these crazy people don't understand what I am doing, or you go do something else. I decided to do something else...until my night jobsingingtook over my day job.

So when it was time to quit, I said, "Before we hang it up, let's do one more project with musicians and singers and gospel heroes of ours." I showed it to some network people and they wanted to air the whole thing. That's how [the first] Homecoming [video] came about.

NM: What's your take on contemporary Christian music and modern worship that's all the rage?

Gaither: There are two schools of thought about new music that concern me. One is, because it's new and may sound different from what people are used to, it must be bad or wrong or can't glorify God. Back in the early 1960s, people called the Bill Gaither Trio contemporary and we were criticized for our sound, if you can believe that. Christians have always had problems with communicating the gospel in contemporary ways. We should be looking purely at the message: does it evoke God's characteristics? Just because it's new, does not make it wrong.

The other concern is: just because it's new doesn't make it right, either. There are some people, some worship leaders, who think because some popular artist has just released a new praise and worship song, it must be relevant and good. We should create the structure of our worship from the entire spectrum of songs--from ones written yesterday to those that are hundreds of years old--based on their godliness and ability to stir our spirits, rather than on chronology. I like the music of today when it meets this standard, and I don't when it doesn't.

NM: What do you want to do now? Any territory left to conquer?

Gaither: I'd love to reach more of a secular audience. I really am motivated to try to communicate the Christ that I know to people who maybe see some of the bad things people do and say it's in His name. But they haven't seen Him, and they'd be astonished if they did, if they really got to know the Christ I know. I'll keep trying to find ways to do that.
Bob Liparulo

Screen Shots

Signs (Touchstone). Mel Gibson plays Graham Hess, an Episcopal priest who loses his faith after his wife dies in a gruesome accident. When hieroglyphic crop circles appear in his cornfields and people start seeing strange beings skulking around, Graham is pushed into re-examining his newfound atheism. In one pivotal scene he tells his frightened brother, Merrill, (Joaquin Phoenix) that there are two different people: those who believe everything happens for a reason because of the supervision of a supreme creator and those who think destinies are governed by random chance. Graham, to our dismay, falls into the second category. In one tense moment, he insists, "I'm not wasting one more minute of my life in prayer!"

Without spoiling the ending, let's say that with director / screenwriter / producer M. Night Shyamalan (the wunderkind behind The Sixth Sense) anything can happen.

The alien scenario hyped in the film's trailers and postersand which drew most moviegoers to the theateris merely a backdrop to this story about a man's struggle with faith. In fact, as the reviewer for Our Sunday Visitor wrote, "Signs is the most explicit endorsement of faith in a personal God, a God who takes care of us, to come out of Hollywood in a long time."

This is the movie Christian filmmakers should be producing, and a prime example of the cinema believers need to see and support. Its high production values and intriguing story line form a foundation on which is played a drama about faith, loss and redemption. The New York Times noted that the movie carried a "disturbing implication: [that] unless you have faith...you are putting the integrity of your family and the very lives of your children at risk." What an incredible truth to present (even as a question) to a secular audience!

Bottom line: Spooky and intense, Signs offers an accurate portrayal of life's faith-shaking tragedies and a clear view of the God whose love for us never wavers. Coming to video and DVD January 2003 (exact release date to be announced).

SPY TECH

DigiBino DB100 by Pentax (pentax.com; $350). If you haven't ever wished for a way to capture the telescopic image from binoculars, you need to see more James Bond movies. Think of the possibilities: Close-up shots of Kurt Warner or Barry Bonds...Bruce Springsteen from the nosebleed seats...the license plate of that suspicious car up the street...OK, you can snap that red robin, too, if you must.

A standard (and upgradable) 16-megabyte Flash card holds approximately 100 pictures, before needing to be downloaded to a PC. The lenses create 7X magnification, so a distance of 50 yards looks like only seven.

With its wimpy 800,000-pixel resolution, you'll get better pictures from a $300 2 million-pixel camera. But no regular still camera, even with zoom, can get you as close to a subject as this puppy. Its flip-up LCD screen and crosshairs makes you feel like a spy kid.

GPS Personal Locator for Children by Wherify (wherifywireless.com; $399 plus $24.95-$49.95 per month). The first few hours after a kidnapping are crucial. The FBI says that's when the outcome of 90 percent of these situations are determined, for better or worse. Heaven forbid that anyone's child is taken, but it does happen.

Imagine being able to get the precise, current location of your child, within a few feet. That's what this wristwatch-like bracelet offers. It's sleek and lightweight, so it won't cramp your kid's style. Twenty-five bucks per month buys 20 location checks. It may be unfair to cite the recent surge in child abductions as reason for getting a Global Positioning System (GPS) locator; this crime is still extremely rare. Still, can any parent hear the news of yet another kidnapping without wanting to graft himself to his child? This bracelet may be the next best thing.