Last week, I was fortunate enough to attend the Gospel Heritage Foundation’s Praise & Worship Conference in Jacksonville, FL, which is the vision of Gospel Today’s Dr. Teresa Hairston.

I was a featured speaker on two panels for the youth and college division along with Carla Williams (General Manager of Kirk Franklin’s Fo Yo Soul Entertainment), Monica Coates (author/speaker/industry vet), Asaph Ward (super producer), Grant Jenkins (artist manager/artist development consultant, the point5ive agency) and Myron Butler (artist/songwriter/producer).

On the first panel, we talked about the “new” music industry and how the current industry differs from what it used to be.  And we talked about what it means for people, in both the short-run and long-term.  After a quick break, the second panel featured us sharing more about our unconventional careers in this “new” music industry.  Of course, we had lots of time for Q&A, which is generally my favorite part of any panel discussion.

I can’t recap all the nuggets of wisdom that each of the panelists gave– you shoulda been there. In short, we really tried to equip and challenge people to be better, not just to do “business as usual.”  And the audience was of a perfect age to take it and run with it (cuz some of you “seasoned” saints get so set in your ways!).

I’ve been thinking about the panel discussion since then, and I wanted to share some concepts from it with the general readership of GospelPundit.com.  One thing I wanna stress is that it is not enough to look the part– you actually have to be competent.

The “do-it-yourself” theme of the industry is both a good thing and a bad thing.  It’s good because the playing field is being leveled– anyone can promote, market and further their careers from a home computer.  Trust me, I love it.  However, the unfortunate reality is that, of those who do it themselves, only a handful are actually artists or executives of substance.

Don’t be fooled by the current music industry’s resources, now replete with social networking and opportunities galore… you STILL have to do the work, lest you be found severely lacking when the spotlight is on you.  And don’t think that a bunch of views on your YouTube video automatically translates to album sales, ministry bookings, OR (most importantly) impacted lives.  Remember– your shortcut doesn’t speak for you.  You’ll still have to be a person of substance once your arrive at the destination.

That goes for everyone.  It’s not enough to just “look like one,” whatever the “one” is.  Songwriters need to dig deeper; artists, musicians and producers need to be more creative; executives need to actually be educated in what they’re doing.

This is an age of information– but anyone laboring in the gospel industry needs to be more than just informative, they must be transformative.

So, as you’re carving out your niche in this industry, do the gospel community a favor– be a person of substance and refined professionalism, not just someone who grabbed an opportunity and fooled people into buying your hype.  Do your work, beforehand and during, so that you’re actually contributing to, not just taking from, the Kingdom of God.

Cool?

I’m sure you all saw my live tweetin’ and bloggin’ from the set of BeBe & CeCe Winans’ first video shoot in 15 years, for their new single, “Close To You.”  I wanted to provide you with a full recap today.

The shoot was about 45 minutes outside of Nashville, in a wooded area with no cell reception (at least, from my service provider).  There were bugs aplenty and holes in the ground that looked like snake holes (they ended up being vole holes and, FOR REAL, I would’ve preferred seeing a snake over a vole any day… Google it!).

Still, the setting was beautifully serene and the shots that the crew captured were stunning.  BeBe & CeCe were consummate professionals– giving exactly what the director needed without mistakes or re-dos.  They both looked INCREDIBLE (huuuuge shout-out to master stylist Roni Burks).

As the day went on, BeBe joked about being sleepy (he, apparently, goes to bed around 7pm, so at 6pm, he’s given about all he can muster) while  CeCe was busy checking on our comfort (“y’all still doing okay???”).  The chemistry between the siblings is as genuine off-camera as we typically see it on television.

The shoot wrapped at around 7:00pm and everyone was EXHAUSTED.  BeBe & CeCe had already spent the week finishing up their album, so a 12+ hour video shoot was just… a LOT.  But, they were troopers and, judging from some of the playback, this video is gonna be beautiful.  I’m only gonna show photos of one scene (cuz you wanna be surprised, even if you don’t think you do), but I think you’ll LOVE these photos:

Major shout-out to Grant Jenkins (Point5ive Agency) and Ron Gillyard (Strategic Artist Management) for the opportunity.

What do you guys think???

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.

My DUDE Grant Jenkins, of Point5ive Agency, invited my wife and me to an awesome event at Sony’s offices in Manhattan last night– an “Hour Of Power” with Integrity Music recording artist Freddy Rodriguez.

By now, y’all HAVE to know how much I enjoy Freddy’s ministry– I’ve done an album review, album giveaways and a bunch of other features on him at GospelPundit.com.  He’s a great artist, with great music and an inspiring calling.  So, I was super excited to attend the shindig.

It was an intimate “getting to know Freddy” type of deal in which he shared his heart, his testimony and his music with some local industry folks and church leaders.  A very awesome concept and an inspiring time.

Freddy started the event with “No Other Name,” a rousing praise track from his album, Light In The Darkness.  He chatted with us about how he came to know Christ and his passion for inspiring people to worship through music… it was great.  Then, he ministered with his hit single “I Will Run” and the presence of God was practically tangible in the room.  INCREDIBLE.

Among those in attendance were Jeremy Castro of Integrity, Andree Farias (you’ve undoubtedly seen his great album reviews at ChristianityToday.com) and vocalist extraordinaire Melonie Daniels.

A coupla pics for your viewin’ pleasure (please pardon the quality– I used my camera phone cuz I was TwitPic-ing the night away):

Guys, I cannot stress enough that YOU NEED TO CHECK OUT THIS ARTIST!  Visit his website at http://www.freddyrodriguezlive.com and listen to his tracks.  I really think you’ll be blessed by the music, but even more, blessed by his entire ministry.