Although many people know him as a musician, Ben Everson’s primary calling is that of a Bible preacher. He has been an evangelist since 1995, sent out of Calvary Baptist Church in Midland, Michigan. Ben has preached thousands of times in camps meetings, evangelistic crusades, Bible colleges and Christian schools, Bible and missionary conferences, and many other events.
We host our sermons on Daily Testify.
We are so grateful for the Christian social media site Daily Testify. Their mission is provide a safe place for Christians to encourage each other in the Lord. We host all our sermons on this growing platform where we can be free from godless censorship of the truth.
People have been asking what our plans are now that Miles, Elena, and Daren have all come to the end of their touring days. We are glad to announce that we are transitioning into a gospel trio, singing 3-part harmony for the next several years! We will be writing, arranging, and recording new music over the next few months. Look for a fresh new sound from us this fall. Pray that the preparation necessary for this transition will go well!
With a head full of curly black hair and prominent front teeth, the energetic elementary kid who was the class clown and could never stop talking had a secret hobby. Almost every night before going to bed, he would record himself singing back and forth into two cassette recorders, building a cappella choirs part by part. Autotune, digital shortcuts, and unlimited computer takes weren’t a thing yet; he filled scores of cassettes and, later, reel-to-reels with multi-tracked a cappella music recorded “the hard way” with no guide tracks or metronome.
Not bad for the only kid to be rejected from the elementary children’s choir due to “not having a musical ear.”
Ben Everson grew up in a musical family with both parents gifted and heavily involved in both music education and music ministry. Interested primarily in brass instruments, he didn’t tell very many people about his a cappella hobby until a former Hollywood studio engineer moved in across the street. He offered to give Ben a chance to record during the summer before 8th grade. 4 hours later, Ben had written and recorded an 18-voice a cappella song. He told Ben he had never run across such a talented musical ear at so young an age.
The man moved away soon after, but the encouragement from the producer as well as singing with a local barbershop quartet gave Ben the push he needed.
From that point forward, Ben developed a voracious appetite for a cappella music. He would listen to barbershop quartets, write out the parts, and sing them himself. He formed numerous singing groups in high school and music camps. He studied voice with the late Gwendolyn Pike of Midland, Michigan, and began singing in musical theatre.
“At that point, I was thinking that maybe I’d make a career out of musical performance and entertainment,” Ben says. But it all changed when God called him to preach as a high school sophomore. “Entertainment was not going to be my future. Preaching the Word and using music as encouragement has been my calling since that point.”
Three decades later, Evangelist Ben Everson has ministered along with his family throughout the United States as well as internationally, preaching the Bible and giving concerts that include his one-man a cappella compositions. He has recorded nearly 40 albums in various genres and serves as a musical consultant for numerous ministries and projects. He has no intention of stopping, although the constant road life is tiring.
“Preaching the Word will always be my primary calling, so I never want to completely stop traveling. But I hope to be able to spend more time writing and recording based out of my [Pensacola, Florida] home.”
Find out more about Ben through his website, beneverson.com or his Ben Everson Music channel on YouTube.
You don’t have to be as conservative as I am to read. There should be some thoughts that are good for all of us.
I’ve been in the conservative Christian music circles all my life. I consider myself a conservative Christian musician in the sense that I avoid the fusion of certain pop styles with sacred content*. I care about keeping sacred music sacred.
But without hesitation I can tell you the death of conservative music will not come from compromise. It will come from lack of connection.
Conservative music ministry desperately needs an infusion of connection.There is no impact without contact.
Ministry is about connection. It is about connecting the truth with the hearts of people. As God has designed it, that only happens through the channel of interaction. The cliché, “People will not care how much you know until they know how much you care” is one way of expressing this truth. Connection is one person’s spirit touching another person’s spirit. Singing (or music of any kind) is not designed to be observed from a distance. It is designed to be participatory. Even when it is not our turn to sing, but our turn to “listen,” that listening is not supposed to be as a spectator. It isn’t passive, but active.
We’re constantly reminded that worship is meant for God, and that is true. But Ephesians 5:19 begins by saying, “Speaking to yourselves.” Colossians 5:19 tells us to sing with grace in our hearts to the Lord, but also “teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.” The people we’re singing/playing to matter!
I don’t like to use this illustration, but I need to. I was preparing to sing for a large church a few years ago. I had been forbidden from holding a microphone or from hand movement of any kind on the platform. (That happens once in a blue moon; each local church has autonomy and I respect that. It is hard to sing standing stock-still, but I attempted it.) As I prepared to step forward and sing my first song, a joyous song intended to lift every believer’s heart toward the Lord, the man introducing me asked for everyone’s attention.
In a stern voice he issued this warning: “I want you to know that the last thing Mr. Everson wants is for people to appreciate him. He is not here to entertain you. And he is not here to receive accolades. He does not want your applause. Do not clap. You may say a quiet amen if you want, but this time is not about what we would like. This is about God.”
He paused a moment to make sure his words were sinking in. When the congregation seemed deathly quiet enough, he concluded by saying, “Mr. Everson, you may come and be a blessing to us.”
It was probably the worst introduction I have ever had because it killed the spirit of the service. I felt like I had been threatened within an inch of my life if I dared to smile. There’s nothing like some intimidation to get people ready for ministry!**
I’m glad to say, about halfway through my first song, my heart rose within me as I looked at hundreds of tired, inexpressive faces. I thought, “How dare I sing about my Savior in such a way that makes it easy for people to remain unresponsive?”
I proceeded to pour my soul into every note. I did my absolute best to connect with my expression and my eyes, though I kept my arms pinned to my sides. I was thrilled to see some individuals within the larger sea of faces who were moved by the message and who seemed to desperately want a way to respond.
If the truth truly grabs us, we will naturally respond with our full hearts.
There is no impact without contact in people’s lives. If connection is not important, and we frown upon the needed expressivity required to make that connection, then why have people “minister” in music at all? Let’s just play an audio recording of them. Why bother to have a live person if they are not allowed to act alive?
People will open their hearts to music that is more conservative than their tastes if they sense a heart-to-heart connection. But they won’t spend 20 seconds on music – or a musician – who seems content to be lost in their art form with no human connection.
Photo by Dustin Tray: https://www.pexels.com/photo/dead-end-road-sign-1469196/
*It is beyond the scope of this article to differentiate between being a conservative and being a traditionalist. I am the former but I’m not the latter.
“I haven’t practiced, so ya’ll pray for me as I sing.” Insert cringe emoji here.
When we are told that Daniel had a “superior spirit,” that idea is what we would describe as a “spirit of excellence.” It wasn’t arrogance that he had. He had a drive to do everything he did to the best of his ability in an excellent, high-quality manner. He wanted to excel in his performance.
As usual, how you define your terms is important. If you think performance means you cannot minister, you are comparing apples and oranges. Performance is how well you do something. Ministry is attempting to encourage others to draw closer to Jesus. These two things are not mutually exclusive.
A true performance by a master is moving on many levels. As master composer Beethoven said, “Music should strike fire from the heart of man and bring tears from the eyes of woman.”
Performance and ministry are not enemies. Anytime you are in front of a group of people, no matter what size, there are elements of performance involved.
The Academy of Arts Ministries is based in Taylors, South Carolina. They are dedicated to ministering through the dramatic arts. You will not find a more technically excellent group of performers anywhere in Christian or secular circles. They most recently were asked to present one of their dramas at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C.
What makes them great? Is it their technique in staging and acting? That’s part of it. It is also that they use the platform of performance to minister. Their ministry would not be as effective without their attention to what we call the “performance” aspects of what they do. They do not minister despite performing. They have more effective ministry because of the quality of their performance.They minister through the performance.
Why is that a bad thing? And yet so many people say they don’t want to be a performer but just minister.
A person who hates the discipline that a good performance requires will often cloak their laziness in spirituality by saying, “I don’t perform: I minister.” Don’t be this way. Let’s be willing to work hard at becoming excellent at whatever it is God has given us to do!
When we set up a tension between performance and ministry, we rob ourselves of excellence that would give us a better avenue of ministry. It shouldn’t be this way.
Legendary martial arts master Bruce Lee had the opinion that one learns technique in order to forget it. He didn’t mean forget in the sense of losing it, but instead making it such a natural part of you that you don’t have to think about it. It just flows naturally.
Performance is the platform from which ministry can occur. Make your platform as excellent as you can.
I learned how to breathe properly so that it became second nature to me and I don’t have to focus on it. I can focus on the message instead. Learning good performance helps me minister. They are not enemies. They are friends if we let them be.
Photo by Mikhail Nilov: https://www.pexels.com/photo/businessman-man-person-arrow-6620420/