WOWWWWWWWWWW!

Last night, my wife and I went to a taping of TBN’s hit show Praise The Lord, hosted by Pastor A.R. Bernard of Christian Cultural Center.  First of all, if you don’t know about his ministry, you may be missing out on some VALUABLE jewels of knowledge and teaching.  He’s so refreshingly transparent, educated, humorous, compassionate… he’s got an awesome heart and an even greater gift.

The show featured a bunch of folks, including Freddy Rodriguez, who is creeping his way up my “favorite worship leaders” ladder… he had a great interview with Pastor Bernard before leading the audience in worship with his hit single, “I Will Run.”  He’s just soooo not an “artist” in the traditional sense– in his mind, he’s a worship leader who happens to be signed to a record deal.  And that influences the way he approaches ministry– humble, laid-back and in full “servant” mode.  It was awesome!

Also on hand was CCC’s own Malissa Redmond, a worship leader at the church.  You’ve probably seen her quite a few times on broadcasts of Gospel SuperFest on Gospel Music Channel.  I always thought she was cool on TV, but last NIGHT… wow!  She’s got a beautiful voice, some really great original material, and a great stage presence– think I’ll try to do a feature soon so y’all can see what I mean.  Visit her MySpace page in the meantime.

As if the music wasn’t incredible enough, the SPEAKERS had such powerful testimonies and words to share.  First came Dr. David Ireland, pastor of Christ Church in NJ (click here to visit their site).  He’s recently written a book addressing FAITH, called Why Drown When You Can Walk On Water?.  I don’t want to give away all his material, but he outlines three practical components to faith– knowledge, belief and assent– and he asserts that we often make mis-steps because we’re wrong from jump– our knowledge is faulty.  It was so powerful… gotta get the book!

Pastor Bernard also spoke with journalist and media personality Jacque Reid.  You’ve probably seen her on BET, where she used to host BET Nightly News, or on CNN or NBC or… everywhere.  She talked about her faith and her refusal to compromise in journalism and media, where the temptation to do so is often strong.  She also launched a new website, as she’s branching out into her own thing as a speaker, mentor, etc.

Finally, Pastor Bernard interviewed retired NFL player Curtis Martin (he was with the New England Patriots and the New York Jets before retiring in 2007).  He shared his testimony of growing up in a very violent community and lifestyle before giving his life to Christ 16 years ago.  The passion with which he spoke of God, though, was as fresh and strong as someone who just gave their life last year– and we need to see more of THAT.  I know that I, for one, don’t always consider the Gospel nearly as shiny and special as I used to.

So, THAT’S THAT.  It was incredible and you’ve gotta watch for it on TBN.  I’ll try to let you know the airdate soon.  And shout-out to Freddy Rodriguez, Point5ive Agency, Grant Jenkins, Integrity Music and Jeremy Castro.  You rock.

I’m going to a TBN taping tonight in Manhattan, hosted by one of the greatest TEACHERS in New York, Pastor A.R. Bernard of the Christian Cultural Center.

Should be oodles of fun.  I’ll let you know more about it tomorrow morning.  Laterrrrrr!

I liked it more than the Detroit one, but probably less than the Chicago one.  And that may all have to do with where I was born and where I currently live…  but I enjoyed it.

The New York program, hosted by Keith “Wonderboy” Johnson, included Pastor Donnie McClurkin, Rev. Timothy Wright, Pastor Hezekiah Walker, Natalie Wilson, JJ Hairston and the folks at Christian Cultural Center, Times Square Church, and The Brooklyn Tabernacle.

The artists shared stories about their humble beginnings– how Timothy Wright gathered dozens of singers for the New York Fellowship Mass Choir, how Hezekiah Walker formed his first choir, how Carol Cymbala started with only a handful of choir members before arriving at the 300+ voices currently in the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir.  It was good.

I think I would’ve enjoyed seeing James Hall on the program.  And a little featurette or something on the Village Underground (or however else we could work Melonie Daniels into the mix).  But, all in all, I really liked it.

I dunno when it’ll be on again, but knowing the Gospel Music Channel, it’ll be very soon.  Cuz I’ll be darned if they don’t play that AARP concert every couple of days…