The Saint Paul’s Baptist Church of Richmond, Virginia announced that Byron Cage will join the organization as the new Minister of Music. Mr. Cage will oversee and lead the implementation of a dynamic, multigenerational worship ministry as well as provide high achievement leadership at all three campuses.

“We are excited to welcome such an anointed leader and worshipper to our team” said Dr. Lance D. Watson, Senior Pastor of the Saint Paul’s Baptist Church. “Byron is an artist, musician, producer, and composer and for years has provided outstanding leadership to the music and fine arts ministry of Ebenezer AME Church in Fort Washington, Maryland. Saint Paul’s is a progressive, forward thinking multi-site congregation of more than 12,000 “people on the grow.” We are certain that he’s going to be a tremendous asset to our Fine Arts team as we position ourselves to go to the next level musically and spiritually. We consider ourselves truly blessed and fortunate to have such tremendous talent, join our team!” says Dr. Watson.

A growing number of artists are holding down jobs as minister of music, while recording and touring.  The task is not an easy one, often requiring the artist to perform on Saturday and rush back to their home church for Sunday service.  This, coupled with loosing Sunday as a concert date is a tough decision many artists are faced with.  

We congratulate Mr. Cage, and wish him luck on his new position.

UPDATE: Per Byron Cage. “I still serve as Senior Minister of Worship and Music at Ebenezer A.M.E. I now split my time between both.”

Source: My Spirit DC.com

PATH received an early notice that BET is set to premiere it’s first reality show centered around Gospel artists.  Karen Clark-Sheard’s family is currently shooting a reality show tentatively titled “The Sheards.”

Word has it that former Sunday Best hosts Mary Mary sent BET scrambling for their own reality show, after Mary Mary decided to bring their show to WE TV.

The show will include Gospel superstar Karen Clark-Sheard, 51, and her children.  Rising Gospel star Kierra Sheard, 25, and son, producer and aspiring R&B singer J. Drew Sheard.  It’s not known whether Karen’s husband Pastor John Drew Sheard will  be in the reality show.  It’s also unclear whether Karen’s sisters (The Clark Sisters) will make an appearance.

DaGospelTruth.com broke the story after hearing for sometime that the network was planning a faith-based reality show.  

Karen is one of the four sisters that make up the legendary singing group the ‘Clark Sisters,’ that includes Dorinda Clark-Cole, Twinkie Clark and Jackie Clark.  Many artists look up to The Clark Sisters, and they’re recognized as one of the best-selling Gospel groups of all time. 

With this news, it has confirmed what we expected after Mary Mary broke the ice.  Gospel artists have the reality bug.  We’ve confirmed that Mary Mary is coming back for season two of their show, while Marvin Sapp and Kim Burrell are taping reality shows as well.  

For a detailed report on Karen Clark Sheards reality show on BET visit DaGospelTruth.com

What do you think is Reality TV a ministry tool, or is it only going to get the Saints in trouble?

EMI Christian Music Group announces the release of Hillsong’s The Global Project. Partnering with ministries across Asia, South America, and Europe, Australia’s Hillsong Church has broken language and cultural barriers to produce The Global Project, a collection of Hillsong’s most impactful songs recorded in nine languages. The nine albums will simultaneously release across the world on September 18th.

The Global Project aims to unite the body of Christ, break down denominational, cultural and geographical barriers and bring churches and ministries from different cultures together. The Global Project will be available in Spanish, Portuguese, Korean, Mandarin, Indonesian, German, French, Swedish as well as Russian.

Well-known Hillsong anthems, “Mighty to Save” and “Hosanna,” as well as newer songs such as “God Is Able” from last year’s release of the same name, have been played by churches across the globe, but never before have Christians of so many cultures been able to listen to the recordings in their own tongue.

“We are directed to ‘go into all the world’ and as a church we are committed to proclaiming Christ for the entire planet,” shares Hillsong worship pastor, Reuben Morgan, about the motivation for the project. “There is something powerful about singing a song in your own language. God cares about all people in all nations and it was a privilege to work with so many great people and churches who are passionately bringing truth and hope to their countries.”

The Hillsong worship team performs on each of the albums, but the local vocalists in the nine countries provide vocals in their respective languages. Worship leaders in the participating countries believe The Global Project makes a significant statement to the world, such as Sidney Mohede, worship leader at JPCC True Worshippers in Indonesia. “As part of the global Church, there is no better time than now to show that the more we are united in love, the more the world sees our Christ,” Mohede said.

GRAMMY® Award-winning Spanish recording artist Pastor Marcos Witt echoed the sentiments. “Hillsong has been a force of God on the earth to bring refreshing and renewal to believers everywhere. They’ve reignited our passion for Christ using ingenious creativity.”

The Global Project is at the heart of Hillsong Church’s vision. Senior Pastor of Hillsong, Brian Houston exclaims, “We exist to champion the cause of local church.” For more information, please visit Hillsong.com. 

About Hillsong LIVE:
Hillsong LIVE is the congregational expression of worship from Hillsong Church – a global church with local expressions. Their music captures the heart and sound of Hillsong Church globally and represents the coming together of the Hillsong worship team from around the world; including Reuben Morgan, Joel Houston and many more. Since 1992, Hillsong LIVE has resourced the local church and received gold and platinum album status multiple times, writing such well known worship songs as “Shout To The Lord”, “Inside Out”, “Hosanna”, “The Stand” and “Mighty to Save,” which was awarded the 2009 Dove for Worship Song of the Year. The Hillsong brands have sold more than 12 million albums.

About Hillsong Church:
In August 1983, Brian and Bobbie Houston founded the Hills Christian Life Centre in the Hills District of Sydney, Australia. It has grown from a congregation of 45 to what is said to be the largest local church in Australian history. It has now expanded to be a global church with local expressions in significant cities; with churches in Australia, London, New York, Paris, Cape Town, Stockholm, Germany, Kiev, Amsterdam and Copenhagen. Each week, tens of thousands of people across the globe call Hillsong Church ‘home’ and the reach, impact and influence of this local congregation is seen across many nations.

Kansas City’s pride and joy, Chrystal Rucker, has been singing professionally for over two decades. The Missouri songbird became known within the Church of God in Christ (COGIC) denomination  (where her father the late Bishop C.N. Rucker was a prominent pastor) for her own spine-tingling renditions of Judy Garland’s “Over the Rainbow” and Tramaine Hawkins’ “Changed.” She’s even fought her way back to good health after suffering a stroke in 2007 at the age of 35. Now, she’s accomplished another life-altering feat: her first Top Ten hit.
 
Rucker’s first national CD release,  “You Deserve” (EPM Music Group), has debuted at #10 on next week’s Billboard Top Gospel Albums chart. “We salute Chrystal on this her first national release as this is a testament that God rewards faithfulness and consistency,” says EPM CEO, Earnest Pugh. The 11-track album features the soul-stirring title song that has cracked the Billboard Hot Gospel Songs chart while earning Rucker kudos as one of gospel’s new treasures. “To say that Chrystal Rucker is a power vocalist is an understatement,” a GospelFlava.com reviewer Gregory Gay writes in a recent commentary. “To her credit, she can preach in the middle of the song and close with a run that will leave the listener in awe, asking, `Now, how did she do that?’”
 
Even though she’s a church girl, Rucker shows she has a flair for urban pop on mid-tempo charmers such as “I Am So Grateful,” the jazzy “Nothing Less” and the infectious hand-clapper, “Make Me Wanna.” She creates a contagious joy on the heart-thumping “Come Bless His Name” while channeling the most poised and refined performance of the album on the soaring gem, “You Will Be My God” that has received the most acclaim from music critics. “It is one of the most beautiful anthems I’ve heard all year,” writes Bob Marovich of The Black Gospel Blog in a recent review. “The singer’s soaring high notes and breathtaking vocal lines are nothing short of perfection.” For more information on Chrystal Rucker and other EPM Music Group artists, visit www.epmmusicgroup.com or www.chrystalrucker.net.

Following four back-to-back GRAMMY Award-winning albums, Israel Houghton returns with New Breed to land his fifth consecutive Billboard Top 200-selling album. The first live recording in five years from Israel & New Breed, Jesus At The Center on Integrity Music / RGM-New Breed, not only hit No. 32 on the Billboard Top 200 chart, but also logged a 346% gain at digital retail over the debut of Israel’s 2010 GRAMMY Award winning album, Love God. Love People.. Jesus At The Center further launched this week to No. 1 on the overall Christian/Gospel Current Digital Albums and Contemporary Christian Overall Billboard retail charts.

Recorded live over four days in front of more than 29,000 worshippers at Houston’s Lakewood Church, the Jesus At The Center double-CD, 18 song album with three additional studio singles features Israel & New Breed returning to their roots, delivering new anthems for the modern day church.

After hearing the album, USA Today’s Brian Mansfield calls Israel Houghton “an impassioned worship leader with impeccable pacing” who has “a killer band that blends ’80s synth-funk, Latin dance, even arena rock.” Associated Press says the music is “superb praise and worship” as Worship Leader confirms it is “a multicultural, polyrhythmic, choral feast of pop-shaded, rock-informed worship that combines and fuses a universe of musical possibility” and watchgmctv.com says, “Jesus at the Center is fresh, relevant and masterful.” CCM calls the music “soulful gospel, crossed with contemporary worship, Latino zest and shaken up with a rockin’ funk” whilegospelflava.com says, “New Breed delivers excellence in production (with both Houghton and Aaron Lindsey at the helm)…Quick and swift melodies, catchy phrases, and superb arrangements will live in your heart.”

Featured this morning on WGN TV (Chicago) and this weekend on The Tavis Smiley Show (www.tavissmileyradio.com), and with multiple major print and broadcast network appearances and features leading up to the release of the album, including ABC’s “The View,” Israel & New Breed is also gathering significant radio airplay across the nation. Jesus At The Center has sparked the No. 11 and climbing Gospel Monitor hit single, “It’s Not Over (When God Is In It),” and the Christian AC single, “Your Presence Is Heaven.”

In addition to the singles and the Jesus At The Center two-disc album, a companion DVD recorded live in high-definition featuring all 18 songs along with behind the scenes footage, story behind the song vignettes and other bonus material, is available at retail now. An exclusive iTunes® LP is also available and includes not only the new music, but also video Work Tapes, a Photo Montage, chord charts and the “Jesus At The Center” video tutorial. A buy link for the album is http://jatc.tv/LP/.

Co-writing all the songs, except the Bob Dylan cover, “To Make You Feel My Love,” and “You Have Me,” by Michael and Lisa Gungor, Israel says, “The overarching story of the album is that sometimes we can be so ‘churched’ that we can lose sight of the ‘who, what, why’ of worship. This project simply places Jesus where he is supposed to be. We intentionally removed the metaphors and simply focused on his name.”

Guest vocalists on Jesus At The Center include Aaron W. Lindsey, Michael Gungor, T-Bone, Jason Nelson, James Fortune, Bishop Michael Pitts, Jeremiah Woods, Daniel Johnson, Charlin Moore, Adam Ranney, Tina Baker, Onaje Jefferson, Krystle Harper and Israel’s daughter, Mariah Houghton.

Taking the message and music on the road, Israel Houghton will share the stage for the very first time with peers Kirk Franklin, Marvin Sapp and Donnie McClurkin on The King’s Men tour. The 15-city major market US tour begins Sept. 16 at Comerica Theatre in Phoenix and travels coast-to-coast through Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Atlanta, Washington, DC and more before culminating in Brooklyn, NY at Barclays Center Oct. 14. For all the tour dates and ticket information, see www.livenation.com.

Prior to The King’s Men tour, Israel & New Breed presents their annual Deeper Conference 2012, which will be held Aug. 29 through Sept. 1 at Lakewood Church and Grace Church of Humble, TX. Hosted by Israel, the worship conference features guest speakers Jentezen Franklin, Steven Furtick, Darlene Zschech, John Gray and Jason Nelson. For all the details and registration information, go to http://deeperconferences.com/speakers.

In 1995, Israel and Meleasa Houghton founded New Breed Ministries, an organization they continue to run and that is comprised of noted musicians and singers who serve within their respective churches and together serve the Church at large. Since then, Israel & New Breed has amassed a legion of followers that crosses generational and African American, Latin and Caucasian listener lines. While blasting down barriers, Israel has been fittingly graced with 2 Gold-selling albums, 4 GRAMMY Awards, 12 Dove Awards, 2 Stellar Awards and a Soul Train Award.

Active as worship leader in his local church, Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church (Houston), Israel has served as worship leader at Hillsong conferences and Franklin Graham crusades. He has written or co-written 11 CCLI Top 500 favorites, been featured on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, accompanied Alicia Keys at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards for a performance of George Michael’s “Freedom ’90,” and performed at the 50th Annual GRAMMY Awards. He uses his own multi-cultural upbringing as a reference point with a desire to draw people of all races, ages and cultures together. More information on Israel & New Breed is available at www.newbreedmusic.com.

About Integrity Music:

Kingsway and Integrity Music compose the music division of David C Cook, a nonprofit global resource provider serving the Church with life-transforming materials. Headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Kingsway and Integrity Music’s resources are distributed in more than 160 countries and sold worldwide. Additional information can be found at http://kingswayworship.com andwww.integritymusic.com.

Pastor Rick Warren has canceled his highly anticipated “Saddleback Civil Forum” with presidential candidates Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, citing a lack of civil discourse between the two campaigns. Warren (the best-selling author of Purpose Driven Life) will hold a forum on religious liberty instead, which may bring attention to the Obama administration’s birth control mandate less than two months before the presidential election. 

“We created the civil forums to promote civility and personal respect between people with major differences,” Warren told The Orange County Register.

“The forums are meant to be a place where people of goodwill can seriously disagree on significant issues without being disagreeable or resorting to personal attack and name-calling. But that is not the climate of today’s campaign.

“I’ve never seen more irresponsible personal attacks, mean-spirited slander, and flat-out dishonest attack ads, and I don’t expect that tone to change before the election. … It would be hypocritical to pretend civility for one evening only to have the name-calling return the next day.”

Instead of a presidential civil forum, Warren’s Saddleback Church in Southern California will host a forum on religious liberty.

Government bureaucrats at the federal, state and local levels, Warren said, “are daily trying to limit that freedom, impose restrictions, and stifle expressions of faith on campuses, in hospitals, and in businesses. There are widespread attempts to redefine the First Amendment to simply mean ‘You are free to believe anything at your place of worship but you are not free to practice your conscience elsewhere.’

“The Constitution doesn’t just guarantee your freedom to worship,” Warren added, “it guarantees your freedom from government intervention in your daily living out what you believe.”

Warren did not specifically name who will speak at the forum, but said that he would have some of America’s most prominent Catholic, Jewish and Muslim leaders.

The most well-known religious freedom issue taking place currently is over the President Obama administration’s birth control mandate. Under the new health care law, employers who provide health insurance to their employees will be required to cover contraception, sterilization and some abortifacient drugs.

Due to a narrowly written religious exemption, many religious organizations that oppose some or all of those services in their religious doctrine will be required to abide by the mandate or face stiff penalties. Dozens of lawsuits over the mandate are currently in various federal courts.

Click Here to read the rest of this article on Christian Post.com 

The State of Florida is preparing for an epic weekend of unity and prayer.  Thousands across the state are expected to come together for the God Belongs In My City Prayer Walk in the designated cities of Jacksonville, Ocala, Orlando, West Palm Beach and Miami on this Saturday, August 25 at 9:30AM.   The God Belongs In My City Prayer Walks are an empowering event for communities, families, all age groups, cultures and denominations of faith to take an active stand for their belief.
 
Participants of the community walks will travel strategic routes throughout each city, making stops at key destinations for a moment of prayer and wear their “God Belongs In My City” T-Shirt as a display of faith.  Concerts, picnics and unity rallies are scheduled before and after the prayer walks with community leaders, city officials and special guests in attendance.

Receiving a 2012 “New Artist of the Year” GMA Dove Award nomination, followed by wrapping up a 65-city tour with Newsboys and appearances on main stages across the US in front of tens of thousands during the summer festivals, — The City Harmonic now announces the tour cities for its first headline US tour. Known for its engaging live performances, the “I Have A Dream Tour” is in support of its highly acclaimed and first full-length album, I Have A Dream (It Feels Like Home).

The tour launches in Sacramento, CA Sept. 20 with the bulk of the dates in November and hitting both coasts and much of Middle America before wrapping up Dec. 2 in Waco, TX. Featuring special guest artist Daniel Bashta, writer of the hit song “Like A Lion (God’s Not Dead),” and nationally recognized author/speaker Bob Lenz, the tour also introduces Eric Brandon and will be in partnership with Compassion International and Life Promotions.

Resonating en masse as listeners instinctively join the chorus as the music dynamically bounces from sparse intimacy to soaring celebration and back again, The City Harmonic will play its hit singles and music from I Have A Dream (It Feels Like Home) while on tour. In addition to the title track, a top 15 Billboard National Christian Audience radio hit; “Manifesto,” which sold well over 100,000 copies and is the only song from a new artist in 2011 to break into the top 10 of the SoundScan Top Current digital singles sales chart; and “Mountaintop,” the hit radio single that will become the band’s third video; the band will also play the soon to be released single, “Holy (Wedding Day),” a beautiful ballad about the ultimate redemption, the glorious day to come when faith becomes sight. 

Whether in full-on pop explosion or in ethereal ballad, the songs of The City Harmonic are connecting with listeners and giving them permission to sing out. The captivating sing-along nature of the music they make was birthed with community expression in mind. This is part of the band’s DNA as they even encourage people to download for free the chord charts and lyrics to their most popular songs from their website, http://thecityharmonic.com.

One of the best-selling new artists of last year, The City Harmonic, continues to connect with music fans internationally while the critics are using adjectives like “fabulous,” “infectious,” “exciting,” “spectacular,” “worshipful,” “captivating,” “creative,” “brilliant” and more to describe I Have A Dream (It Feels Like Home). Released Oct. 18, 2011 on Kingsway with EMI CMG Distribution in the USA, the album hit No. 1 on iTunes® in Canada, No. 6 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart and never left the Top 4 on the iTunes Christian/Gospel US chart in its debut week at retail.

The City Harmonic, consisting of Elias Dummer, bassist Eric Fusilier, guitarist Aaron Powell and drummer Josh Vanderlaan, wrote, recorded and produced all of the songs for I Have A Dream (It Feels Like Home). From the “now but not yet” tension of earthly Christian living heard in much of the album, including the title track and “Mountaintop,” to having hope in the midst of struggle in “Fell Apart” and “Be Still O My Soul,” to dealing with apathy in “Yours” and “Wake Me Up” and living missionally in “Spark” and “Benediction,” the songs take the listener on a poetic journey.
 
More information on The City Harmonic and its touring can be found at: www.thecityharmonic.com