Jason Crabb, gospel’s male vocalist of the year, brings concerts to Indiana

Fresh off his Dove award wins as gospel music’s male vocalist and artist of the year, Jason Crabb will be in Indiana for two concerts this summer.

The first will be 6 p.m. Saturday, July 14, at the Bean Blossom Southern Gospel Jubilee in the Bill Monroe Music Park and Campground about 40 miles south of Indianapolis. Also peforming that night will be the Perrys and Brian Free and Assurance.

Tickets are $15 for the night and are available by calling 800-414-4677. The gospel jubilee is a weekend-long event and will feature other entertainment on July 12 and 13.

Crabb, who is receiving widespread acclaim for his “The Song Lives On” live album of hymns and southern gospel favorites, also will perform 7 p.m. Aug. 17 at the Roberts Park Ampitheater in Connersville.

For ticket information, contact Vonda Bishop Ministries at 765-827-4844.

Crabb, longtime lead vocalist for the Crabb Family with his father and siblings, broke out as a solo act in 2007. And the segue has been seamless

In 2010, his solo debut won the Grammy for Best Southern Gospel Album. Last year, he won the Dove award for song of the year with “Sometimes I Cry,” an emotional take on the struggles faced by worship leaders that was written by his father Gerald.

And this year, Jason Crabb become the first pure southern gospel singer to be named male vocalist of the year by the Gospel Music Association since Michael English in 1994. He also won the association’s Dove award for artist of the year.

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Give Electric Light Orchestra a jolt of Jesus

So you’re looking for a great new song for worship. Why not write your own?

Even if you can’t write music, you can take an old song of any ilk and give it new life by giving it new lyrics. Or you can write lyrics and work with someone who is able to put them to music.

I tend to be one of those Bernie Taupin lyricists in search of an Elton John melody. But when I can’t find a composer to do the work, I sometimes look for a rock and roll song that can be turned into a worship song with a few word changes.

Easy targets are songs that already have words such as “believe,” “believer” or “king” in the title. Or you can take a romantic love song and bend it into a song about loving God.

Lots of examples can be found here. I recently chose to take Electric Light Orchestra’s “Rock and Roll is King” and turn it into “Jesus Christ is King.”

Here’s a video of the original ELO song. My new lyrics are below. Give it a try and let me know what you think. It’s intended as a defense of the use of contemporary music in worship, for those of you who may run into opposition from the traditionalists.

JESUS CHRIST IS KING

Listen everybody let me tell you ’bout a man I know

Turn to Him and He’s really gonna soothe your soul

I said come along with me, to where salvation’s free

I said whamalamabamalama Jesus Christ is king

She loves that Christian rock when we play it all night long

That’s all she ever tells me when I call her on the telephone

I say feel that jumpin’ beat and get up on your feet

I said whamalamabamalama Jesus Christ is king

CHORUS

Oh let those guitars play

Play for thee, play for thee

Oh let His song ring out

That’s how it’s meant to be

Watch for the long black train that’s comin’ on down the track

Let’s roll over the devil and get salvation back

We got temptation beat; let’s go dancin’ on down the street

I said whamalamabamalama Jesus Christ is king

REPEAT CHORUS

When she comes around and I’m a-singing all the hymns I know

She says you can’t do that ’cause all I want is Christian rock and roll

That back beat’s gonna stay whenever (insert name of your band here) starts to play

I said whamalamabamalama Jesus Christ is king

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Rock and roll conversions: Do they work in worship?

So should you take a rockin’ secular song you hear on the radio, tinker with the lyrics and turn it into a worshipful anthem for Sunday services?

It happens all the time.

KC and the Sunshine Band’s “Get Down Tonight” becomes “Get Found Tonight.”  Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust” morphs into “Adam was Made from Dust.” And “Hey There Delilah” by the Plain White Ts is snipped into a cautionary tale dubbed “Play Fair Delilah.”

Websites such as www.parodeities.org list dozens of other examples. Parody bands such as the ApologetiX perform their Christian versions of rock songs at churches all over the nation.

One of my faves is “I’m a Believer.” My praise band has played it dozens of times for worship and more casual events. With a few lyrical changes, this old Monkees’  ode to romantic love becomes a powerful praise number that gets people up and moving. But should you really be praising Jesus Christ with a tune originally penned by Neil Diamond, a practicing Jew? And what would Neil make of it?

These are the kinds of dilemmas that will always be faced when a secular song is used in worship. Was the song’s original intent something untoward? Did it use coarse language or sexual innuendo? And won’t the congregants always be thinking of the original off-color words, not the worshipful ones you’ve dreamed up?

Probably.

But there are more important questions, with more meaningful answers. For instance:  Did the reworked song touch someone’s heart and strengthen their faith. If the answer is yes,  then performing the song may be worth even the most blistering of criticism. The end most definitely justifies the means, providing the original lyricist doesn’t strongly object to the song’s new Christian direction.

Ethical and legal considerations need to be taken into account. After all, doesn’t tinkering with a song’s lyrics violate the songwriter’s copyright protections?

ApologetiX, the Christian parody band, argues that it doesn’t, provided the reworked song is truly a parody. The band and its lawyers point to a 1994 case involving 2 Live Crew’s parody of “Oh Pretty Woman” by Roy Orbison.  The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that parodies can be a “fair use” of an original song, requiring no permission or royalties.

“One of the main points the Supreme Court made was that when a parodist significantly changes the words and meaning of an original song to spoof it, the parody becomes a new work — even if it uses the music of the original,” the band notes on its website. “ And that to do a parody of a song, you need to use at least some of the music of the original to ‘conjure up’  the original.  You can’t have a parody without having elements of the original in that parody.”

So be bold in your worship. Experiment and see what works best in reaching your audience.

Just remember: It may not be so reasonable to try to convert a certain Cee Lo Green tune into a worship song.

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Bubba Watson, the Tebow of golf

The Guardian

Golfer Bubba Watson is the new Masters champion. He’s also an outspoken Christian.

His Twitter profile @bubbawatson sums it up: Christian. Husband. Daddy. Pro Golfer. Owner of General Lee 1.

A new story on the Billy Graham Evangelical Association web site provides more detail.

After his Masters win today, he tweeted: To God Be the Glory!!!

On Easter, of course.

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Audrey Assad cancels Greenfield appearance as husband battles cancer

Audrey Assad will not appear with JJ Heller at a concert April 17 at Trinity Park United Methodist Church in Greenfield.

The church’s Web site says it was recently informed by the concert’s booking agent that Assad won’t be able to make the show due to the schedule of her husband’s chemo treatments.

JJ Heller instead will be joined by the duo Jenny & Tyler.

In October, Assad disclosed in a blog post that her husband Billy Price has cancer.

“The dearest person in the world to me is fighting disease. I am powerless to stop it, and can be of little help, apart from emotionally and perhaps spiritually—and logistically,” Assad wrote.

“But I can’t make cancer go away. It isn’t subject to my desires, my ideals, my dreams of an easier life. That’s a sad feeling. It is like an unknown aggressor, a blank-faced, brutal intruder upon my expectations for our first year married.”

Price announced on his blog in November that he would soon begin six months of chemotherapy treatment and likely would be unable to travel with Assad while she was on the road.

“So at this point, prayers are welcome for effective treatment, for minimal side effects, and for the grace of the sacrament of marriage to help us through this period of logistical, physical, emotional strain,” Price wrote.

 

 

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Needtobreathe, Switchfoot set to rock Indiana in April

April will be an epic month for Christian music fans in Indiana.

Needtobreathe and Switchfoot, two of the nation’s best Christian bands, will play separate concerts in the state later this month.

Needtobreathe will take the stage April 12 at the Egyptian Room of the Old National Center in Indianapolis, with singer Ben Rector opening the show at 8 p.m. Tickets are $21.50, plus fees.

Switchfoot will play at Ball State University’s Emens Auditorium at 7 p.m. April 15. Tickets are $20, $25, and $30, plus fees.

Needtobreathe is headlining its own tour in support of its new album, The Reckoning, after months of serving as the opening act for country darling Taylor Swift.

The South Carolina-based rockers are known for their gritty live shows and the roaring vocals of Bear Rinehart.

Their new album already has hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Christian charts and spawned two hit singles, Slumber and Able. Each of the band’s previous three albums have had considerable crossover success, hitting the mainstream Billboard 200 chart, with one cracking the Top 10.

Switchfoot is one of the most critically acclaimed Christian bands, known for its modern sonic sound and the honest lyrics of lead singer Jon Foreman.

Six Switchfoot albums have landed on the mainstream Billboard 200 charts, with current release Vice Verses peaking at No. 8. The band won a Grammy last year for its Hello Hurricane album.

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Colton Dixon continues his Christian praise on American Idol with worship song

Colton Dixon continued to boldly proclaim his faith in Jesus Christ on American Idol, belting out one of his favorite worship songs.

Dixon covered Lifehouse’s Everything with such conviction, that he and his grandfather in the audience were both tearing up by the end of the song. And the Idol judges said Dixon’s emotional connection to the song was undeniable.

“I believe you in every song you choose,” said judge Randy Jackson. “That song was an unbelievable performance tonight. I could be looking at a contender for the title!”

Colton Dixon has chosen to publicly display his faith despite warnings from American Idol staff that religious talk could be a turn off for some Idol voters.

While his message of faith is apparent to Christians, it may not always be to others. Stevie Nicks, this week’s celebrity mentor, thought Everything was a romantic love song, not a song praising God’s love.

Dixon emphasized the song’s true meaning by ending his performance on his knees.

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