Southern Gospel News SGNScoops Digital

Rob Patz asks “What Does Freedom Cost?”

Freedom subject of Publisher’s Point for July by Rob Patz

John 8:36 “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” Jesus came to bring us freedom.

I think we hear more about freedom during the month of July because of the Fourth of July, and I believe it also makes us think more about freedom. There are many in our world who want us to be free from everything. Unfortunately, there is a cost for freedom.

Clearly, the cost of freedom in our country includes those men and women who sacrificed their lives in service for our country, no matter what the war or conflict, or even during peacetime; those that chose to protect us and our freedom and lost their lives, are one cost of our freedom.

I truly believe as Christians we live in freedom, but this freedom has a cost, too.

To live free from sin means we have to sacrifice things that in the world we would see as appealing. I’m sure each and every one of us have struggled daily with things of this world that have appealed to us, but we realized that the bondage that comes with the sin takes away our freedom. It takes away the simple joy that we can have and the freedom that we can experience in our lives if we submit to what God has for us.

Now, is it going to be easy, or is it going to always be fine? No, but if we want to live in the dimension of freedom that I think every one of us craves as Christians, it means we have to live within the boundaries the Bible sets up for us. There’s always a roadmap, there’s always decisions to make, and there’s no such thing as freedom without a cost.

Rob Patz of Coastal Media

Let me encourage you today. You may be in a place in your life where you’ve chosen things that have now put you in a state of bondage. You’ve chosen things that now control you instead of you controlling them. I encourage you today to return to Christ. He is willing to break those chains and give you the opportunity to live free. Freedom has a cost. I think the cost is worth it.

Hey everybody, I want you to join me for Creekside 2019, on Oct. 27 – 31, in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. This year, it’s not just one event but two, as we add Christian Country at the Creek, Oct. 30 and 31. If you need a hotel room, this year we are excited to have two options for our attendees. Please give me a call at 360 933 0741 or email events@sgnscoops.com.

I

Creekside 2019 presented by Coastal Media

truly believe this year is going to be a year of freedom at Creekside, and I want you to come and experience that in person. We are excited to have added Bill Bailey and Josh Franks as preachers on Monday and Tuesday. Come experience what God has for you during a great week in Pigeon Forge, Tenn.

July 2019 SGNScoops Magazine

By Rob Patz

First published by SGNScoops Magazine in July 2019

Rob Patz asks: Are You Free?

2017 July SGNScoops Magazine Rob Patz’ Publishers Point

Are you Free?

When I ask you that question, what do you really think?

“Of course I’m free,” I’m sure comes to mind.

I live in a country where freedom is celebrated, so of course, I’m free. That is true to a certain extent. We’re all free, but in reality, we cause our own restraint, our own lack of freedom.

Rob Patz

I love the scripture in Galatians that reads, “For you have been called to live in freedom. Use your freedom to serve one another in love.” (Galatians 5:13 NLT)

Sometimes, we take freedom for granted – freedom of speech, freedom to travel, freedom to worship – and not until there is a point in life that freedom is taken away do we realize how much we should cherish it.

Recently, my mom fell and broke her femur bone in her leg. If you know my mom you know that her freedom to be able to do what she wants, when she wants, is one of the things she cherishes most. Unfortunately, during this period of recovery, she has not been able to have that freedom. So, the freedom she cherishes has been taken away and makes her desire for that freedom even greater. I want to thank each and every one of you for taking the time to pray for my mom. Her recovery is going amazingly well, with the doctors saying she is the perfect example of healing, and at some point, mom will regain her freedom that she has lost at this moment.

Rob Patz

How many of us live our life in a way that we have closed ourselves in, taking away our own freedom, or whether through hurt or circumstances like our job, we’ve allowed our freedom to disappear? How many of us have allowed our freedom in Christ to disappear? That is probably the most worrisome of all.

I remember hearing my dad saying we are more than conquerors. Now, if we’re living a life that does not speak that, then we are missing out in the freedom that Christ has given us. He wants us to be bold, and if you look at the scriptures, when we are bold with the freedom that we have in Christ, we then can serve others in love.

How many times have you been at a point in your life where your own hurt, discouragement, feelings of regret, and depression have left you with walls that have become a trap to you and are not allowing you to live in the freedom that is through Christ Jesus? When you are in that position, you can’t help others.

I know personally there have been times in my life where I have been so caught up in the circumstances of my life that I was of no value to anyone else. I had built those walls of hurt, disappointment, and depression around me, and they had me trapped. They had become so harmful to me that I could not, or was not, able to help others. That’s what the Scripture is talking about, being bold enough in our faith to be able to have freedom from things in our life to share the joy of Christ.

Since I was a kid, every morning my father would say, “This is the day that the Lord hath made. I will rejoice and be glad in it.” If you begin to rejoice in your life no matter the circumstances, it will bring a new level of freedom.

AP Photo/Francois Mori

Anyone will tell you that freedom is not free … there is a cost. If you serve, or have served, in the military and sacrificed time away from your family, I want to tell you how much I appreciate what you have done in service for your country.

Freedom as a Christian is similar to being in the military. We live a life where we have to decide whether we are going to serve Christ and lay aside our personal feelings and experiences to serve Him. Freedom in Christ doesn’t come for free. It comes at the price of obedience.

I challenge you this month, the month of freedom here in the United States, to live life to the fullest and live life with the freedom from Jesus that overtakes you and shines through you to those in your community.

Tribute Quartet

I want to invite you to be with us in Vernon, Ala., at the Vernon Alabama Gospel Music Weekend from Sept. 8-9. I would also love to see you at the Creekside Gospel Music Convention in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., from Oct. 30 through Nov. 2 for four great days of Gospel Music with more than 50 fantastic artists.

Have a great month of freedom.

By Rob Patz

First published in July 2017 SGNScoops Magazine.

For more Gospel music news click here.

Award-winning Tenor DAVID PHELPS Takes His All-NEW Recording FREEDOM to the Stage for a LIVE DVD

New Performance DVD Features Guest Appearances from the Gaither Vocal Band and Charlotte Ritchie

NASHVILLE, Tenn.—September 14th, 2015–GRAMMY®-nominated, classically-trained tenor David Phelps has just released an all-new DVD entitled Freedom (Gaither Music Group) featuring the songs from his latest recording, Freedom.

Recorded in The Phelps’ barn just south of Nashville, Tennessee, and produced by Phelps, the LIVE concert DVD captures the powerhouse vocals one might expect from this three-octave, “who’s who of vocalists,” who was backed by a nine-piece band in addition to background vocals from acclaimed recording artist Charlotte Ritchie and his daughters, Callie and Maggie Beth.

Phelps also brought to the stage reverent, acoustic moments portraying some of the down-home musical styles found on the companion Freedom audio recording. Whether sitting at the piano singing a vulnerable lyric such as “What I Need Is You,” penned by him, or energizing the crowd with the driving, country-flavored “Little White Church” or performing his own rendition of the gospel music classic “We Shall Behold Him,” he poured himself into the evening, invigorated by an enthusiastic crowd of friends and longtime fans.

Those audience members were delighted to hear “Water,” a new song penned by Gloria Gaither and Phelps, sung as a duet of David and daughter Maggie Beth; and the room cheered as the rest of the Gaither Vocal Band–Bill Gaither, Wes Hampton, Adam Crabb and Todd Suttles–took the stage to join Phelps for the toe-tapper “When We All Get Together with the Lord.”

Phelps’ vibrato rang out on the title cut of the new video, Freedom, as well as the stirring ballad written by Phelps for his daughter’s graduation ceremony, “Your Time Will Come,” which featured the Bethel University Drum Corps from McKenzie, Tennessee. Vocal Authority, also from Bethel University, was on hand to join Phelps throughout the evening, lending their poignant sound to the project’s arrangements.

The evening ended in celebration as the entire audience followed Phelps, his band, choir and drum corps down the aisle and out the front door, singing and clapping to his soulful, Cajun-based adaptation of the gospel music standard “When the Saints Go Marching In.”

Phelps, one of the most recognized artists on the Gaither HOMECOMING Series, sat down with longtime friend and mentor Bill Gaither for a behind-the-scenes interview for the video which will be positioned heavily at retail, via catalog placements and through a direct TV campaign, beginning this month on networks including Dish TV, DIRECTV, AT&T Uverse, PBS, GaitherTV, TBN, FamilyNet, CTN, GMTN, Guardian, Liberty, RFD, TCT and TLN. The campaign will also air in Canada on Vision TV, The Miracle Channel, Grace TV and CTS.

Freedom is distributed through Capitol Christian Distribution and is now available throughout general market stores and the Christian marketplace in addition to online retailers including iTunes, Amazon and www.gaither.com.

For a preview of the new DVD visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9bE-FEiVEA.

For further information regarding David Phelps, please visit www.davidphelps.com, www.facebook.com/davidphelps or @DPhelpsMusic.

Freedom DVD Song List:
01. I’m Coming Home
02. Who Do You Say That I Am
03. Rain
04. Ghost Town (Freedom)
05. Little White Church
06. Ain’t No Grave
07. Heaven’s Shore
08. Doxology (Featuring the Phelps’ children)
09. The Lily
10. Holy (Sanctus)
11. Revelation Song (Featuring Charlotte Ritchie)
12. If You See My Savior (Featuring Charlotte Ritchie w/ Maggie Beth and Callie Phelps)
13. Water (Duet with Maggie Beth Phelps)
14. When We All Get Together With The Lord (Featuring the Gaither Vocal Band)
15. Your Time Will Come
16. What I Need Is You
17. We Shall Behold Him
18. When The Saints Go Marching In

ABOUT DAVID PHELPS
David Phelps is blessed with a vocal instrument unlike any other. The multi-platinum artist first entered the national spotlight when he joined the Gaither Vocal Band and has since performed at Carnegie Hall, the White House and many other halls and churches around the world. Phelps has won two GRAMMY® Awards and four GMA DOVE Awards. His latest work, Freedom, showcases his talents as a singer, songwriter, arranger and producer. Phelps lives outside of Nashville, Tennessee, with his wife, Lori, and four children: Callie, Maggie Beth, David Grant and Coby.

Rusty Golden: Sober

Review by Lorraine Walker

Have you ever been driving in the dark when you look up and see a house with all of its drapes open and blinds drawn up? The inside lights reveal the life of the occupant and you are drawn in by the intimacy and honesty of that stranger’s world. Sober opens up all of the windows and doors of Rusty Golden’s heart and draws you into his world of addiction recovery, faith, relationships and all the stuff that is life.

Golden has shared with me in the past about his battle to reach recovery, and though I could write word upon word about the darkness that addicts experience and what it means to reach the Light, nothing I write could help you understand this journey as much as Sober. From “Out of My Hands” through to becoming “Stoned on Love,” the emotion and the expression of Golden’s gravelly vocals will speak to your heart. If you can listen to this CD all the way through without tears falling, you are made of stronger stuff than I am. You can hear a sampler of the album here.

Golden has always reminded me of Elton John with the way he interprets music, and I can hear this influence throughout. I love the piano riffs, the incredible saxophone and the driving guitar beat. Just like Sir Elton’s music, you will not get bored or have that déjà vu feeling that every song sounds the same. Golden is gifted and musically articulate.

Each time I have listened to this album, I have been grabbed by the message in a different song. Beginning with “Out Of My Hands,” Golden shows us what it takes to maintain recovery from addiction. However, each track speaks to events that all of us experience. From lines such as “the fine line separating right from wrong that oughta be obvious is all but gone” from “Things I Lean On,” to “…sinning faster than Momma was praying,” the “God-shaped hole” of “Hollow Man,” and the enthusiastic “Stoned on Love,” we can relate to times when we felt ‘hollow’ to times when we were so filled with the love of Jesus, we had a natural high.

Rusty Golden has written many songs for Southern Gospel artists, but fans of “John In The Jordan” should be alerted that this CD is not filled with quartet-style songs. In my opinion, perhaps only a couple of the tunes are playable on Southern Gospel Radio: “The Reason Why I’m Here,” “Thank You Lord For This Day,” and perhaps “Living Right Now.” However, if you enjoy variety and gutsy vocals, this CD is for you. If you feel the relief in “I found Heaven in the hell I raised, in the not-so-good-old, ‘good old days…'”; pain in “though I love you I have to give you up;” and the dependence in “show me how to walk on feet of clay,” then this is an album you want to add to your collection immediately.

From an Inspirational Country and regular Country music radio point of view, most of these songs will appeal to a wide demographic. “Things I Lean On” has an easy feel, perhaps this is one that should introduce listeners to the world of Rusty Golden. This world is intense, provocative and edgy, but not one to be ignored. Sometimes we think we should present a picture with all the right pieces in place. Golden is not afraid to let you know that, like most of us, some of the puzzle pieces are still in the box.

This album is for those who are sober and those who want to be, for those with family who are addicted and those who have ever prayed for someone to find freedom. For the small minority of people whose lives have never touched those in need of recovery, you will find your own lyric on this album that will speak to whatever you are going through.

Sober by Rusty Golden can be purchased here on his website, or on iTunes, Amazon, CDBaby, and other outlets. Find out more about Golden on Facebook or online. Follow on Twitter.

For monthly reviews of Gospel CDs, see the latest version of the SGN Scoops digital magazine, found on the SGN Scoops mainpage. 

Award-winning Tenor DAVID PHELPS Celebrates FREEDOM with All-NEW Recording

Acclaimed Vocalist Brings a “Ghost Town” to Life

SGN Scoops Fast Five: Alan Kendall

A few years back a young man joined the Melody Boys Quartet and that was the beginning of Alan Kendall’s adventure as a Southern Gospel artist. Since then, Alan has married, started a family and is now exploring a solo career. We wondered what Alan was up to lately, so we tracked him down and gave him our Fast Five quiz. Now we all can learn a little more about this gifted Gospel singer!

SGN:  Who introduced you to Southern Gospel music?

AK: My parents introduced me to gospel music literally from birth. My mom is the best soprano any church choir could ask for, and my father has a HUGE collection of records. I had heard more Blackwood Brothers, Statesmen, Harmoneers, Chuck Wagon Gang, and Sunshine Boys records by the time I was five than most hear in a lifetime. We just love it!

SGN:  Please introduce yourself to our readers.

SGN:  Do you have a website and/or a Facebook page?

AK: I do not currently have a website. That is still in development. You can find and “like” me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/alankendallmusic, and you can check out some of my music and view my schedule at www.reverbnation.com/alankendallmusic.  For those who wish to contact me, my email is akendall83@aim.com, or you can call 706-970-0246.

SGN:  What is your favorite place to eat while on the road? 

AK: Where do I start? Fast food wise I am a Chick-fil-a man all the way. When it comes to a good sit-down restaurant, give me Cracker Barrel or Mimi’s Cafe.

SGN:  If you could go back in time and sing with one group, who would it be?

AK: If I could sing with any group in the old days, it would probably be either The Weatherfords or the Original Cathedrals. I love tight harmony singing, of which those two were tops. Also, being stationed at a church like the Cathedral of Tomorrow, enjoying a good home life, and singing, sounds like a dream job to me!

Thanks to Alan Kendall for sitting in the hot seat today and answering our Fast Five! Stay tuned for more Fast Five features here on SGN Scoops website!

Gospel Music Today On SGNScoops.com

Gospel Music Today On SGNScoops.com

October 2012 Edition Of SGNScoops Magazine

We are pleased to celebrate 75 years in Gospel Music with Ms. Lou Wills Hildreth in this edition of SGNScoops Magazine. Sandi Duncan Clark captured many of this living legend’s memories in this month’s cover story. Also in this edition enjoy ministry updates from Larnelle Harris, Voices Won, Freedom, Wilburn & Wilburn, the Hinshaws and Jim Mahalick. Get a peek inside the SGNScoops booth at the 2012 NQC as well as follow Charlie Sexton around as he talks to fans who attended this year’s event. Laura speaks with Gospel Music Historian, Dean Adkins, Sandi shares a conversation with Greg Bentley regarding “talent competitions” and Rhonda Frye speaks with Gloria Gaither about the new Gaither Homecoming Bible. See who released new music and find out who is topping charts! Enjoy several inspirational articles including one from guest writer, Janene Dubbeld and keep up with Jeff Hawes as he travels the world with Karen Peck and New River! Don’t miss the latest update on the Creekside Gospel Music Convention too! We excited to share about this year’s outreach project! This month is packed with the latest news in the world of gospel music delivered by a dedicated staff with many years experience in the Industry. Please share with friends and remember- Always digital, always free…… always good!

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Freedom Reaches Promotional Agreement with Southern Spin Entertainment

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – (July 4, 2012) – Freedom, one of the most exciting new names in Christian music, has reached a publicity and web promotion agreement with SSE Group, Inc.  Through this agreement, the talented trio has gained exclusive access to all media outlets serviced by Southern Spin Entertainment, in addition to advertising and marketing possibilities.

Freedom is the culmination of a mutual lifelong dream for longtime friends Josh Garner and John Rulapaugh. Having spent a combined total of more than 30 years singing the Gospel, these young men have joined forces to create a new standard in Christian Music. Joining Garner and Rulapaugh in this new undertaking is vocalist and pianist Tyler Vestal. Sharing a deep love for God and country, these three men are passionate about sharing the love of Jesus throughout an increasingly hurting nation and around the world. Read more »