Philip Wickham

Early Years

Philip was raised in a Christian home, the second of three children (brother Evan, sister Jillian), and after feeling the need to "make his faith his own" he began leading worship for his youth group at 13 years old. He graduated from Calvary Christian School in Vista, California. Wickham's father is currently a worship leader, and both of his parents were at one time members of Jesus movement band Parable. His older brother Evan Wickham is also a musician who used to serve at Calvary Chapel in Vista, and now currently serves at Horizon Christian Fellowship in San Diego, CA. His parents, John and Lisa, encouraged Wickham to learn popular praise songs and to write his own. Wickham began his full-time music career by touring California and recording his first album. On November 2, 2008, Wickham married his longtime girlfriend, Mallory Plotnik. So far, they have one daughter. On September 10, 2011, Wickham tweeted: "Penelope Maye Wickham Born 9-8-11 at 6:05AM"
I want it like it was back then, I want to be in Eden.

In some ways, the seed that eventually grew into Phil Wickham’s third studio album, Heaven and Earth, was planted while reading Donald Miller’s Searching For God Knows What.  There is a chapter in the book that explores the idea of how all humans have a longing for the way things once were, in the beginning.  A longing to be in the relationship we were created to be a part of with the Creator. Wickham's thought was this: how hard it must have been for Adam and Eve to work and struggle through life with the memory of Paradise in their hearts. The longing they had to be back face to face with their God has never left the heart of humanity.

When the first light brightened the dark,
Before the breaking of the human heart…

Wickham chooses these words to poignantly and poetically set up “Eden,” the album’s first track.  From there the listener is invited into the story of the ethereal and the eternal.  From “Eden” to the album’s last track, the simple and soaring “Heaven Song.”

Heaven and Earth introduces us to an artist that has not only grown in his songwriting, but who has also truly found his voice.  While significant strides were made from an artistic standpoint by Wickham between his debut album and the critically acclaimed follow-up Cannons, there is a confidence in the recording that comes only with maturity and the living of life.  You have never heard Wickham’s voice stronger or bolder in the singing of his always artful lyrics and this is a good thing, because as he would tell you – for the first time Wickham feels that he has a story to tell.  From start to finish this album, all nine months of recording, is meant as a reminder to the Church for what and who we are created for.

For the third time producer Pete Kipley (MercyMe, The Afters, Kutless) treats listeners to production that walks a constant line of allowing moments of intimacy and punches of adrenaline – often in the same song.  Heaven and Earth is not only an encouraging album from a lyrical standpoint, but a delight to listen to with guitar parts that feel like they are literally plucking strings connected to your chest. Writing much of the record in the famed Abbey Road Studios certainly paid off as a story began to unfold in the songs being written for the project and for the first time Wickham found himself writing specific songs to connect the dots and join the threads that were beginning to weave themselves in and out across the tapestry that was becoming Heaven and Earth.

With a beginning and end in place, Wickham felt the need for a song to sit perfectly in the middle of the album.  Not by coincidence the song, “Safe,” is aimed directly at all of us who are here – in the present – in the middle of our own story between our own Genesis and Revelations – our collective Eden and Heaven.  The first single on the album, “Safe” also features a duet with MercyMe’s Bart Millard who just so happened to be passing through San Diego as Wickham was recording the song.  While recording the chorus a few days earlier Wickham, having toured with MercyMe and being familiar with Millard’s voice, couldn’t help but notice a certain melody that would be served well by having the singer have his take on the lyrics.  So when the band was in town playing a festival they went down to the studio the next day and some of the guys recorded guitars and bass on the song and Millard lent his voice to the recording. 

The lyrics of “Safe” serve to encourage, strengthen and remind listeners that we are not alone.  Sure, we have each other to lean on in tough and trying times, but more significantly we are safe in the arms of the same God that created the depths of the oceans, the far expanse of the universe and wrote his only son into the story of humanity as a living sacrifice so that we may have the relationship that was once torn by the Fall, resurrected and redeemed for eternity.

“There are so many commandments that say ‘don’t be anxious,’ so many promises that say He will never leave us and never forsake us,” Wickham conveys the importance he sees in the remembering of these truths.  “When you forget God is there and you forget to look up at the sky and stars or any of His creation, you forget how massive God is and how if He can figure out how to make an eyeball work – He definitely knows how to take care of us.”

“It is good that you be reminded of these things,” Wickham continues.  “That is so much of what a Christian artist, even more so a worship leader is

supposed to do for the Church.  If we are Christians, we know God is great and we know what Jesus did on the cross.  We know all the stories, but to be reminded of and to be compelled to move by those stories, I feel, is in a way a large part of what my goal in music is - to remind the Church of the reality of the Gospel, the importance of the cross, of the excitement and hope that we have in Heaven.”

On the last track, “Heaven Song,” Wickham quietly makes a promise and a confession. 

You wrote a letter and You signed your name,
I read every word of it page by page.
You said You’d be coming, coming for me soon.

Oh my God, I’ll be ready for You.

I want to run on greener pastures, I want to dance on higher hills…
…my soul is getting restless for the place where I belong.

Micah Stampley

 






Gospelsinger,songwriter

Micah Stampley's(1971) multi-octave singing range has taken him to the brink of stardom, with a flurry of appearances in the United States, London, and Paris. He is finding fans around the world and earning steady sales in places like Kuwait and Australia. In March of 2005, his first gospel album, The Songbook of Micah, debuted at number three of Billboard's chart, an astounding accomplishment for a new artist. It was the second highest debut in Billboard's history for a male gospel artist, putting him ahead of gospel greats Smokie Norful, Kirk Franklin, and Donnie McClurkin. Made with the help of his songwriting partner and wife Heidi Stampley, The Songbook of Micah combines R&B, traditional gospel, and hip-hop to position Stampley for a leap to stardom.
Stampley was born the fifth child of Richard and Delmarie Stampley's eight musically gifted children on September 7, 1971, in Los Angeles, California. Shortly after his birth, the family relocated to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where Stampley grew up. It was evident at an early age that Stampley had great talent. His parents began to share that talent with the community when he was just four years old, allowing him to join their church choir. That was just the beginning. Stampley later sang and played tambourine on the local Buckskin Bill television show and at churches and various venues around Baton Rouge. By the age of seven he was directing the church choir and the buzz about this young musical genius was growing. Stampley had also learned to teach vocal arrangements and harmonies, taking part in musical productions. Other churches sometimes called on him to lead musical workshops.

Left Behind Despair to Follow
Dreams

The family later moved to Natchitoches where Stampley graduated from Natchitoches Central High School. He knew by this time that his life's work would involve music but he wasn't sure how. Previous years had brought many opportunities to learn and showcase his talents. During junior high school he sang the national anthem during the governor's inauguration and earned several music awards. His talents gained strength and range as he listened to the music of gospel greats like Andrae Crouch and the Winans. He also began to internalize the influences of mainstream artists like Michael Jackson and Billy Ocean. Secular music was something he had had little exposure to at home, but when he did hear it he found its chord progressions and melodies to be a welcome novelty.
By the age of 13, Stampley and his brother Nathaniel, who was not only Stampley's best friend but also his musical partner, were both officiating as ministers of music in their father's church. But in 1994, Nathaniel was killed in a freak accident. The loss left Stampley devastated and without direction for several years. When a call from the nationally renowned evangelist Rev. Earl Johnson came, Stampley found a ray of sunshine that would guide him through his first steps out of the darkness that had enveloped him. Rev. Johnson had heard Stampley sing at a conference and wanted him to join his own church in Pasadena, California. Stampley accepted the offer and spent the next three years doing gospel musicals and crusades with Rev. Johnson. Then another call came, from his own father, who asked Stampley to return to Louisiana to run the music department of the church he was planning to start. Stampley had once believed he would never return to Louisiana. But he did return, sensing that this was a calling from not only his father, but also a higher being. It was during this return to Louisiana that Stampley would meet and marry Heidi Jones, a fellow gospel singer and nursing student. The couple now has five children, and Heidi has been instrumental in her husband's career, writing several songs for his debut album.

In 1999 the couple relocated to New Orleans when Stampley accepted a position as co-choir director and musician for Bishop Paul Morton's Greater St. Stephen's Church. In 2003 Stampley became assistant minister of music at St. Agnes Baptist Church in Houston. The move to Houston would be the catalyst he had been searching for. When the church's music director came down with a serious illness, Stampley was asked to fill in. It was during this time that a good friend of the senior director, who also happened to be the organist for the popular evangelist T.D. Jakes, happened to hear Stampley's voice and the work he was doing with the choir. The organist, Marcus Dawson, who is now running Dexterity Sound Records, Bishop Jakes' record label, knew he had found a powerfully gifted voice, exactly what Bishop Jakes had been looking for. Dawson quickly returned to Dallas to advise Bishop Jakes of the news. Things were moving quickly for Stampley on many fronts during this time. The following January Stampley beat out several thousand other singers to win the 2004 Stellar Award Gospel Star Search competition. He was on his way.

Rode the Whirlwind

After the Stellar Awards, Dawson invited Stampley to perform as special musical guest in Dallas. After the performance Bishop Jakes met with Stampley and offered him a record contract. Several labels had made similar offers in recent days, but Stampley's heart went where he felt spiritual comfort and he accepted the offer. "It has been a whirlwind of blessings ever since," Stampley said in an interview with Contemporary Black Biography (CBB). Bishop Jakes warned him that it would be, but Stampley said he had no idea "how quickly God would move in his life. I tried for so many years," he told CBB. "I couldn't have paid anyone to listen to my demos back then. Now it seems that everyone is after me. I wondered what I was doing wrong. I think God gives you what you need when you are ready for it, when he knows that you won't let it go to your head and forget about the ministry. I believe God looked at me and said, 'Now I can trust you.'"
Stampley told CBB that the most difficult part of his rising fame is keeping the right balance between career and family. "It was very tough when I was growing up. My parents really struggled," Stampley said. "My father worked long hours and I don't want to have to do that and be away from my kids. Sons especially need their father. I don't want my children to be another statistic. God has blessed our family with a way to keep the balance." Another difficulty for artists in the business is protecting oneself from people who will take advantage of them. "I love truth and honesty," he said. "I want our people to know their purpose and be successful. So a person going into the business must protect himself from those who would take advantage of him. You've got to understand the business and how publishing and copywriting works, or you may not end up making a cent."

At a Glance …

Born Micah Stampley on September 7, 1971, in Los Angeles, CA; married Heidi Jones, 1998; children: Brandon, Micah III, Adam, Mary, David. Religion: Non-denominational.

Career:

Church of God In Christ, Baton Rouge, LA, minister of music, 1984-94; Covenant Life Church, Pasadena, CA, minister of music, 1994-97; Shekinah Glory Ministries, Natchitoches, LA, minister of music, 1997-1999; Greater St. Stephen's Church, New Orleans, LA, musician and co-choir director, 1999; Fountain of Praise Church, Houston, TX, 2001-03; St. Agnes Baptist Church, Houston, TX, assistant minister of music, 2003–; recording artist, 2005–.

Awards:

Stellar Award Gospel Star Search winner, 2004.

Addresses:

Agent—Minstrel Muzik Group, Heidi Stampley, Manager, P.O. Box 17331, Sugar Land, TX 77479. Web—www.micahstampley.org.

Although Stampley's roots in the church are grounded and sincere, he said there is another side to him that most people don't know about: his comedic side. "I'm a Def Comedy Jam 'wanna-be,'" he laughs. "I love to act crazy, and I do it a lot. But family will always laugh at your 'stand-up.' I don't think I'll ever have the courage to really do it!" But don't put it past him. With his talents, Stampley is liable to succeed at whatever he tries.

Selected discography

The Songbook of Micah, Dexterity Sounds/EMI Gospel Records, 2005.

Sources

On-line

Michah Stampley, www.micahstampley.org (October 12, 2005).
"Micah Stampley and Wife Join U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Campaign," EMI Gospel, www.emigospel.com/artist/artist_default.aspx?aid=336179 (August 1, 2005).
"Micah Stampley Biography," BlackGospel.com, www.blackgospel.com/bios/micahstampley (July 25, 2005).

Other

Additional information for this profile was obtained through an interview with Micah Stampley on August 10, 2005.

—Sharon Melson Fletcher
obtained from: http://biography.jrank.org/pages/2881/Stampley-Micah.html

Artist Biography by Jason Ankeny

 Come into This House Contemporary gospel artist Deitrick Haddon was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, where he served

as pastor and music director at Detroit's Unity Cathedral of Faith. As the son of Bishop Clarence Haddon and Prophetess Joyce Haddon, he g

rew up in the church and preached his first sermon at the age of 11. Deitrick Haddon and his Voices of Unity drew upon both secular and spiritual influences to create a sound they dubbed "gospel soul." Signed to the Tyscot label, the group debuted in 1995 with Come Into This House. Two years later, Haddon and company issued Live the Life, which scored Gospel Music Workshop of America Excellence Awards in the categories of New Artist of the Year: Urban Contemporary and Album of the Year: Urban Contemporary. After This Is My Story (1998), Chain Breaker (1999), and Nu Hymnz: Live from the Motor City (2001), Haddon went solo and signed to the Verity label. Through releases such as Lost and Found (2002), the Tim & Bob collaboration 7 Days (2006), Church on the Moon (2011), A Beautiful Soul (2012), and R.E.D. (2013), Haddon maintained his reputation for pushing the boundaries of contemporary gospel. Six of his albums have reached the Top Ten of Billboard's Top Gospel Albums chart.

Juanita Bynum

 

For most of you who don't know Juanita Bynum, i have decided to carefully relay the information i got about her with you on this page, permit me to let you know i got this treatise from a co blogger "word-ship.blogspot.com".

 BIOGRAPHY: JUANITA BYNUM 

 Juanita Bynum was  born on January 16, 1959; she divorced in 1985. 

Education: Saints Academy of the Church of God in Christ (COGIC) high school in Lexington, Mississippi. Religion: raised COGIC. 

Career Author. Recorded videos include:

 No More Sheets;

 Are You Planted for the Kingdom (also available on CD); 

I'm Too Fat For the Yoke (also available on CD); 

Limp of the Lord; Now That's Dominion;

 The Refiner's Fire; My Delivery; 

The Spirit of Isaac; 

The Umpire of my Soul; 

Tied to the Altar. Wrote:

 No More Sheets;

 Don't Get off the Train.

Engagements include T.D. Jakes' Singles Conference ("No More Sheets" message), 1997; 

T.D. Jakes' "Woman, Thou Art Loosed!" conference, 1998;

 Women's Weapons of Power Conference, 2001. Life's 

 Work In a time when sexuality permeates the culture, there is a woman who encourages women to find closure for previous relationships, live chaste, and be the kind of people they hope to attract. Using her own mistakes as a basis for her sermons, prophetess Juanita Bynum has dedicated herself to reaching others with a message from God, a message that offers healing and encouragement through suggesting celibacy for singles. Treading on territory where few women have ventured, Bynum has allowed herself to be God's vessel, telling her colorful story to the masses, in hopes of saving souls from following the same dark paths she once walked. As a child in Chicago with her parents, Katherine and Thomas, and siblings Janice, Kathy, Regina, and Thomas, Bynum embraced the church as a distinct part of her life. The family were members of St. Luke Church of God in Christ, where the father was an elder. According to Ministries Today, Bynum was an outgoing child. Her charisma became apparent to those outside her immediate realm, when she landed a starring role in her middle school's production of My Fair Lady. Her performance grabbed the attention of television show agents who wanted to cast her in programs similar to Julia, starring Diahann Carroll. Bynum's mother, however, declined the offers. "I used to make her stop playing outside and come in the house and just sit still," she told Ministries Today. "I wanted my daughter to listen to the voice of God," she added. Though she later admitted in Ministries Today, "Every time I got on my knees I kept hearing [God] say, 'Before I knew you, I formed you in your mother's womb to be a prophet to the nations,'" she struggled in her youth to obey instructions from God. Still, Bynum had hopes of being a servant. She attended Saints Academy of the Church of God in Christ (COGIC) high school in Lexington, Mississippi and graduated second in her class. Soon after her graduation, Bynum, still a teenager, began preaching at churches and revivals. Eventually, she traveled to Port Huron, Michigan, to minister for pastor William T. Nichols and his wife, and ended up on an unanticipated journey that changed the course of her life. Choices Led to Hardship At the age of 21 Bynum married, despite the warnings of her loved ones. "Everybody told me he wasn't right, but I was screamin', I'm in love. I can change him," she told Essence. As Bynum later found out, she could not change her husband, and she had married him for all the wrong reasons. A virgin until her marriage, Bynum admitted in Essence, "I married for sex--and what the man looked like." Her husband left her in 1983 and divorced her in 1985. The pain of the failed relationship landed her in an institution, battling anorexia nervosa, and questioning her life's turn of events. She lost sight of God's path, and eventually sought refuge and healing in empty sexual affairs. In addition to her emotional state, her financial state crumbled. She was forced to go on welfare to survive. Struggled to Rebuild her Life In 1990 Bynum returned to Chicago, became a hairdresser, and managed to leave government aid behind. Her next steps led her to New York as a flight attendant for Pan American Airways, a job she held until the company went out of business in 1991. Bynum told Essence that friends believed the fate of Pan Am was God's way of telling her that she was supposed to be a preacher. "I knew God was saying that this was my destiny, but I didn't want to hear it." In New York, Bynum joined a new church and began ministering again. In 1996 she met a man who would prove to be a key figure in her transformation into a renowned prophetess. Though he knew nothing of her story, Pentecostal evangelist Bishop T.D. Jakes invited her to the singles' conference in Dallas--a step that, according to Essence, was the result of his obedience to God's instruction. Life Story Became Testimony to Singles Jakes' obedience turned out to be the stepping stone for Bynum's explosive break into national popularity, when two years after attending the singles' conference, Bynum's role changed from attendee to keynote speaker. In 1998 she delivered a message titled "No More Sheets" to 17,000 people, the majority women, and brought the crowd to their feet with praise and deliverance. "No More Sheets" proved to be a testimony of Bynum's sexual deviation and her process of purification. She reached out to the crowd with brutal honesty, honing in on the concept that "single" is not synonymous with unmarried; instead "single" refers to those who are free from the remnants of past relationships. "In order for God to bring somebody else in your life, there's got to be room for that person in your life. You're not single yet," she told the crowd. "You're still attached." Wrapped in sheets, Bynum explained that each sheet represented a past relationship and only God could peel those layers away in order to make people truly single--ready to receive their ordained mates. She shared a story of poverty that placed her in roach-infested projects, using McDonald's napkins as toilet paper. Bynum told the crowd that by allowing her to struggle, God was reconditioning her to release her dependence on men and embrace her dependence on Him. It was a sacrifice that she made in order to be blessed. Bynum told Essence that when she was on stage, her message had a life of its own. "It wasn't me--it was God." By end of the video, the camera captured thousands in a moment of spiritual awakening, chanting, "No More Sheets! No More Sheets!" Bynum's endeavors have taken her across the country to deliver her untraditional message to the masses at numerous venues including Jakes' 1998 "Woman, Thou Art Loosed!" conference. With her popularity came the conception of Morning Glory Ministries, a venue that allows people to find out exactly where Bynum will be delivering messages and to obtain information about the prophetess. Videotapes like the now famous, "No More Sheets," and other tapings like "I'm Too Fat for the Yoke" and "The Limp of the Lord," as well as books including Don't Get Off The Train, which was written about her experiences in Port Huron, are available for purchase through the ministry. Her lessons are also available through her ministry's television program, Morning Glory, which according to Ministries Today, was airing on 15 television stations throughout the country in 1999. Despite the great success Bynum has found in ministry, her fulfillment comes from one-on-one contact with people. "I really love people," she was quoted as saying in Ministries Today. "My biggest joy is the individual contact I have with them." In fact, when she isn't traveling, she runs a bible institution training ministry at her church, New Greater Bethel Ministries in Hempstead, New York. Bynum is constantly reminded of the rough days from which strength arose, and told Essence that the memories are still a great part of her existence. "If I close my eyes right now, I can see myself in the snow, wearing a black $2 coat and tennis shoes with no socks, waiting to get my $76 in food stamps. I can see myself in the hospital after my nervous breakdown, crying and throwing myself against the walls of the padded cell they put me in. When I remember the process it took to get myself from there to where I am today--and then I see a sister with no hope--I'm driven to get to that sister. I believe that the pain in each of our pasts gives us an opportunity to help others. If I honestly tell somebody what has happened to me, then maybe that person will be transformed." From the pages of her electronic guestbook on www.nosheets.com, it appears that her mission to help others make a transformation is working. One message was just one of many that speaks to miraculous change. It read, "Sister Bynum, I want to thank God for you. I just read No More Sheets and I can't begin to tell you it has changed my life. I thought I knew, but am now aware that I knew nothing. Everything is so clear to me now. I can't explain how your book has changed me... If it weren't for you and your message, I would still be lost... .I can proudly say no more sheets for me and I love you so much for what you have given me." While Bynum has touched the hearts and souls of many, she is still cognizant of life's little lessons. In fact she found one in her dog, Corky. According to her website, www.nosheets.com, Bynum purchased the red-pepper poodle at a time when her heart was heavy. "The Lord explained to me that the dog was feeling what I was feeling, which was rejection. He said the poodle is thinking: What's the use in going to the window and barking? She's not going to choose me anyway," she was quoted as saying. Bynum did choose Corky. Something as small as reaching out to this dog quite possibly brought healing to both Bynum and Corky. Those who truly believe in God's wonders have testified that He works in mysterious ways. An example of his mystery, Bynum is on fire for the Lord, and she intends to do His work until the flame is extinguished.

MICHAEL W. SMITH

MICHAEL W SMITH.
Personal
Name: Michael Whitaker Smith
Born: October 7, 1957 in Kenova, West Virginia
Married: to Debbie (formerly Deborah Kay Davis) on September 5, 1981
Children: Ryan, Whitney, Tyler, Anna, Emily

Back to Top


Career Statistics
Grammy Awards: 3
Grammy Nominations: 13
Dove Awards: 36
Number One Songs: 31
Albums: 24
Double Platinum Albums: 1
Platinum Albums: 6
Gold Albums: 16
Albums Sold: 17,290,000+


Background

Michael Whitaker Smith was born October 7, 1957, to Paul and Barbara Smith, in Kenova, West Virginia. His father was an oil refinery worker and his mother was a caterer and church secretary. He has one sister, Kim.
As a child, Michael was active in church activities, baseball, and playing piano, writing his first song when he was five. When he was ten years old, he made the decision to give his life to Christ. An early dream was to play professional baseball. During his teens he was surrounded with a solid support group of fellow believers who frequently gathered to play music. After graduating from high school, the group split up.
Michael attended a semester of college at Marshall University in West Virginia but dropped out and moved to Nashville with the hopes of a career in music. He played with local bands. Unable to get a record deal, Smith experimented with drugs and alcohol for a short time before reclaiming his direction and renewing his faith in October, 1979.
He started performing with a Christian group called Higher Ground, playing keyboards. While he was playing with Higher Ground, he signed his first songwriting contract with Paragon/Benson Publishing Company. The sixteen-hour days writing music was a labor of love for Michael.
It was during this time in 1981 that Smith met his wife, Debbie. Quoting from his book, It’s Time to be Bold:
“…one afternoon while I was working in my office, Deborah Kay Davis walked by. I thought she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. When she passed by, it was all over for me. I was blown away. Totally head over heels in love. I frantically picked up the phone and called my mother in West Virginia. ‘Mom, I can’t believe it. You’re not going to believe this, Mom. I just saw the girl I’m going to marry.’ ‘What’s her name?’ ‘I don’t know, Mom. I haven’t met her yet. But I gotta go. I’ll find out and call you back.’ My poor mother! She must have thought I’d lost my mind. But I’d never been so clearheaded in my life. I left my office and went searching for this girl in the warehouse. Sherlock Holmes couldn’t have done a better job of tracking her down, and eventually I found myself standing outside the ladies’ restroom, waiting for her to emerge. She walked out. I introduced myself. We were engaged three and a half weeks later - and married four months after that!”
Michael’s next break came soon after he was asked to play keyboard in a young Amy Grant’s band. He began touring and Amy’s managers, Mike Blanton and Dan Harrell, saw a wealth of potential in Michael (and another young new talent, Kathy Troccoli), but they were unsuccessful in finding a record company to sign them. One door closing is an opportunity for another door opening, and as a result, they started Reunion Records. In 1983, Michael released his first album, The Michael W. Smith Project. Debbie, Michael’s wife, wrote the lyrics for Project. This debut album was nominated for a Grammy award for Best Gospel Performance. Michael’s trademark song, Friends, debuted on this first album.
Michael was elevated to Amy’s opening act and he continued to tour with her.
In 1984, Michael released his second album, Michael W. Smith 2. The next several years saw Michael releasing several more albums and two concert videos, Michael W. Smith Live In Concert and The Big Picture Tour. The style of music was being directed more toward a younger audience with more of a rock-oriented style. Some of the songs were secular in nature and enabled Smith to break into the mainstream music arena.
In 1991, Reunion Records allowed Geffen Records to distribute his albums, hoping to make in-roads into the mainstream pop audiences. There was some controversy from a segment of fans that felt he was selling out to the secular market. But Smith’s motivation was to get his message out to a wider audience and to help young people who he saw struggling with many important issues.
Throughout the 1990’s more albums were released in addition to another concert video, Change Your World Live, music video singles, and the release of several books.
In 1992, Michael received an honorary Doctorate of Music degree from Alderson-Broaddus College in Philippi, West Virginia.
In 1994, Michael founded Rocketown, a club for teenagers, in a warehouse in Brentwood, Tennessee. The club provided a place for teens to gather in a safe, positive, and encouraging environment. The club closed after a few years. The new Rocketown club, a renovated 38,000 square foot warehouse in downtown Nashville, opened in early 2003.
In 1996, Michael, along with Reunion Records executive Don Donahue, founded Rocketown Records. Their initial artist was Chris Rice and over the years their artist roster has included Ginny Owens, Shaun Groves, Wayne Kirkpatrick, and Watermark.
In 1999, Michael was invited to sing at the Columbine Memorial service in Littleton, Colorado. The Columbine High School shootings inspired his album This Is Your Time which is based on the story of Cassie Bernall. In Michael’s own words:
“I went to Littleton (Colorado) to sing Friends at the Columbine Memorial Service and it was a day that impacted me greatly. It was so over-whelming emotionally, that I just had to find a way to cope with it and to digest it all, so I found myself at the keyboard writing music. Meeting Cassie Bernall’s family inspired me the most. Cassie claimed she believed in God and lost her life for it. I have written a song called This Is Your Time which is a challenge for us all to recognize through Cassie’s life, that now is our time to stand up and live life unabashedly for God.”
Also in 1999, Michael and wife Debbie were instrumental in starting New River Fellowship Church. Michael’s Pastor and mentor, Don Finto, helped to provide the new church’s leadership.
In 2000, Michael releases the Freedom album. This instrumental album, recorded in Ireland with the Irish Film Orchestra, included classic piano arrangements.
In 2001, Michael rode the worship wave and created his Worship album, a highly successful and well-received work. A sequel album, Worship Again, and Worship-The Video were released the following year.
In 2002, Michael produced the soundtrack for the motion picture Joshua. Michael’s updated website, Friends Online, was also launched in the fall of 2002.
In 2003, Michael expands his realm of accomplishments by narrating The Gospels Come to Life, which is an audio book featuring the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Also included during the reading is a Smith-inspired musical background scored by Michael Omartian.
Throughout his 20+ year career, Michael has had the opportunity to sing for Presidents, national leaders, community gatherings, memorials, the Billy Graham Crusades, and on national and international television...and his work is not yet done.



Discography
2012 Decades of Worship
2011 Glory
2010 Wonder
2008 A New Hallelujah
2007 It’s A Wonderful Christmas
2006 Stand
2004 Healing Rain
2004 Worship Box Set
2003 The Second Decade
2003 The Second Decade Limited Edition
2002 Worship Again
2001 Worship
2001 Devotions
2000 Freedom
2000 The Acoustic Set
1999 This Is Your Time
1998 Christmastime
1998 Love Me Good Maxi-Single
1998 Live the Life
1997 Live the Life Maxi-Single
1995 I’ll Lead You Home
1993 The Wonder Years 1983-1993
1993 First Decade
1992 Change Your World
1990 Go West Young Man
1989 Michael W. Smith Christmas
1988 I 2 Eye
1987 The Live Set
1986 The Big Picture
1984 Michael W. Smith 2
1983 Michael W. Smith Project


Grammy Awards
2004 Worship Again (Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album)
1995 I’ll Lead You Home (Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album)
1984 Michael W. Smith 2 (Best Gospel Performance Male)

Grammy Nominations
2007 Stand (Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album)
2005 Healing Rain (Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album)
2003 Worship Again (Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album)
2002 Worship (Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album)
2000 This Is Your Time (Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album)
1998 Live The Life (Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album)
1990 Go West Young Man (Best Pop Gospel Album)
1989 Holy, Holy, Holy (Best Gospel Vocal Performance Male)(Track from Our Hymns, Word Gospel)
1988 i2(Eye) (Best Gospel Performance Male)
1986 The Big Picture (Best Gospel Performance Male)
1983 Michael W. Smith Project (Best Gospel Performance Male)

Double Platinum Albums
Worship


Platinum Albums
Worship Again
Worship
Worship - The Video
I’ll Lead You Home
Change Your World
Go West Young Man
Gold Albums
Christmas
Freedom
Healing Rain
Live In Concert: A 20 Year Celebration
Worship - The Video
Worship Again
Worship
Christmastime
This Is Your Time
Live The Life
I’ll Lead You Home
Change Your World
The First Decade
Go West Young Man
I 2 (EYE)
Michael W. Smith Project

FRANK EDWARDS

by Promise Patrick on 02:26 PM, 16-Jan-13

  Frank Edwards is a Nigerian gospel musician. EARLY LIFE Mr. Edwards was born into a family of seven. He has five siblings. He begun singing at the age of ten years. He learned to play the piano from his father when he was young. In his teenage years, he became a Christian. CHURCH LIFE Frank Edwards (nicknamed rich boy) is a member of Christ Embassy Church in Nigeria and LoveWorld Music Ministry. MUSIC LIFE Mr. Edwards plays several musical instrument and is a keyboardist in Christ Embassy Church. His debut album The Definition was released in 2008. It was 14 track album and was distributed by Honesty Music.Angels on the Runway his second album was released in 2010 and another oneUnlimited in 2011.He has four albums ,another one titled "tagjam" was released in November 2011 which he specially made for teenagers and the young at heart. He has released quite a number of singles including '' I'm on point'', " I and you", "something dey",he recently released another ,on the 9th of january 2013 titled "fire go", fire go was produced by mastercraft. In this single ,the Rock town Records ceo encorages christian all over the world to contine the good service they are rendering to God and nothing should stop them.(Download 'fire go 'at frankedwards.org). He is currently known as Nigeria's Hottest Gospel rock artiste Now in Nigeria. AWARDZ In May 2011 he was nominated as the Gospel artiste of the year in the 6th Annual Nigeria Entertainment Awards (NEA). He won the award of the best Gospel Rock artiste in the 1st annual Awards he also won west africa best male vocalist in 2012/ best hit single at the love world awards 2012/ and 3 awards at the nigeria gospel music awards (male artiste of the year,song of the year and best male vocal)

MISTY EDWARDS

MISTY EDWARDS has been a worship leader and song writer at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City since May 1999; it's beginning. Her hunger for reality and depth of encounter with Jesus fuels her worship leading, songwriting and preaching. Misty is on the leadership team that trains and gives oversight to IHOP's worship leaders and prophetic singers.

Misty says, "I have a great desire to see the knowledge of God flood this generation. I mean the real knowledge of God, not the distant Sunday School version but the true encounter with the Uncreated. I have devoted my life to searching Him out through His Word, prayer and fasting, and to ask Him to reveal Himself in my day and time. There's no other point for my existence but to touch the Transcendent. I believe that this is the generation who will usher in the Son of Man as we intercede from our highest identity as a Bride crying out, " Come!" unsatisfied with anything less than Him. As Eternity breaks in we will awaken the Dawn with a song and the Morning Star will rise to have His inheritance on this planet! This is all I care about."

The forgottten Topics

click this link below to read articles from Christian Nordqvist for Medical News Today, first published in March 2009

SCHOOL of ADDICTION

The reality of existence.

Having observed decades on earth about men and women who had one time or the other aspired and burned with immense passion for satisfaction and luxury, i carefully observed that yet, non of them ever got satisfied, so tell me what's worth dying for , known or unknown, substance or non-tangible, name or fame, all of them; is it not a matter of days and some degrees of tempeartures under the weight of dust.
On the same dust we have toiled and cultivated, as a matter of fact from the same dust we all have came out, plus the help of the infinite divine being, we became living, but for sure, that same dust shall be the best witness against us or for us, for when we shall return to it, then we shall see how our days on the earth had being like.
Nothing is worth dying for except God, i think i am tired of trying to make you understand my words, spend some years trying to please yourself and see what becomes of yourself when you die.