My partner Dave Cruse put together this video of our “LIVE from Brandon Heath’s Kitchen Table” broadcast! Take a peek behind the scenes from the grocery store the day before, chatting with Brandon, debuting Leeland & Brandon’s duet and announcing MIKESCHAIR’s release date of their 1st CD!! Oh….and a snapshot of Brandon with his Doves!
Live from Brandon Heath’s Kitchen Table from The Morning Cruise on Vimeo.
I mentioned in my last blog that one of the coolest moments for me yesterday was getting to share the release date of MIKESCHAIR’s new CD with you…and with THEM for the first time! The one & only Amers caught the moment on Flip! (also wanted you to know that b/c when you see me smile into the camera – you’ll know that I’m smiling at Amy!)
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEpCKAHRtlQ&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00]
We broadcasted LIVE from Brandon’s Kitchen Table for the 40th Annual Dove Awards. It was a special morning! Not only was Brandon up for 5 Dove Awards (should’ve been 6), but he made us “Heath” waffles, and fresh juice straight from the Farmer’s Market near his house. We also got to introduce you to a new band, MIKESCHAIR. (tho they’ve actually been together for 6 years!) But here was the BEST part about having MIKESCHAIR…we got to announce the release date of their new CD!! The thrilling part was that they DIDN’T know it was coming either!! Their manager got a call literally 5 minutes before we went on air, and whispered it to me in my ear! The video of the moment is coming, so watch for it!! It’ll be a must-see.
After we talked to MIKESCHAIR, Leeland and his brother Jack stopped by and we debuted the new duet with Leeland and Brandon called, “Follow You”. Leeland wrote the song, and asked Brandon to sing on it with him. Brandon got special permission from their label to share the song this morning. It’s not even mastered yet, but they gave us permission to play it for YOU! I love it!!! It reminds me of my YoungLife days (lyric: follow you into the homes of the broken) and my trip to Guatemala last year (lyric: follow you into the world. I’ll meet the needs for the poor and the needy, God. I’ll follow You into the world.) Can’t wait for it to hit radio. (Of course, there IS that copy I have on my laptop.) Just kidding, Brian!
It was an incredible morning. Brandon says we should make it a tradition. I whole-heartedly agree. Of course, I did go ahead and put him on the spot again at the end of the show. Good thing he’s such a good sport. Here’s a few pictures from the morning:
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| LIVE from Brandon Heath’s Kitchen Table |
I should start this blog by saying that I’ve been introduced to a new band this week. But that wouldn’t be a totally accurate statement. The reality is I’ve met some new friends this week, who happen to be in a band. They are MIKESCHAIR. I actually met them a few weeks ago at a birthday party, and have fallen in love with their hearts, their personalities, their humor, their wackiness, etc. etc. And this was all before I had really listened to their music. 
But of course I am now a fan and I want YOU to be one too! I look forward to sharing some of their music with you next week.
Sunday morning is one of the things that I most look forward to each year at GMA (Gospel Music Association’s Industry Convention/Week). I was introduced to Louie Giglio at my first GMA in 2004. And much to my delight, he was the speaker this year! He is one of the most gifted communicators of our day, and I love listening to any and everything that he has to share. He teaches, inspires, challenges, motivates, encourages, and any other fill-in-the-blank positive verb that I could write here. He spoke this morning on Psalm 40, which is one of my favorite passages in the Bible.
Psalm 40: 1-3
1 I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry.
2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.
3 He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.
So that many will see and fear
and put their trust in the LORD.
Louie reminded us that above all else God is in the healing business. He heals. He heals people’s hearts. He heals people whose hearts have been destroyed, and he heals people who have destroyed their own hearts. I fall into both categories. But as Louie said, “God didn’t send a crane down to pick us up out of the pit. He reached down Himself and pulled us out!” He did for me. And He will for you. But that’s just the first part of this passage – or the “me part of the gospel” as Louie referred. Meaning – yes, God pulled us out and put our feet on solid ground, but….that’s not the end of the story. Not only did He pull us out of the mud and mire, but He put a new song in our mouth!! Why? So that MANY will see and put their trust in Him! It’s for HIS glory that He rescues us!! Our restoration means His glory!!
Louie … knowing his audience (Christian music industry folks) was SPOT ON as he transitioned to ownership vs. stewardship. You see, being in this industry, some would like to think that we’re the so called “gatekeepers” to CCM (Contemporary Christian Music). There can (and sadly, is) this false sense of “I can decide what music & message they will hear and how often they’ll hear it”. As if we own the gospel or the station. This is such a LIE! One of the great dangers in our line of work is that we can get so caught up in doing things FOR Jesus that we forget to BE with Jesus. We also often forget that we need healing too. Sometimes daily healing. (Those are my sentiments, not Louie’s). Being in ministry is hard. We’r
e around “Jesus talk” so much that we can become jaded, white noise so to speak. I pray DAILY….no, HOURLY against this! I don’t want to ever become jaded or have any notion that I own anything. I don’t!! Yes, our stations are owned by humans. Yes, we have influence. And yes, we get stressed that we have to answer to this board, these listeners, and so on. But here’s the TRUTH… there’s one name and one name only that we have to answer to – and his name is Jesus! We don’t own our stations, we don’t own the music, and we’re not the gatekeepers of the gospel or the music. We are simply the stewards. That’s it. Nothing more. God is saying, “Here, carry this for Me”. Can He do it without us? You betcha He can! But does it absolutely blow my mind that He allows me the privilege of carrying it? Oh, you have no idea. Seriously, no idea.
Thank you, Louie for speaking truth to us. And thank you, Jesus for reaching down and rescuing us! Please give us the grace and mercy to carry well, what You have entrusted to us. Thank you for healing us, and thank you for the new song in our mouths. Let us go and sing our new song for YOUR glory. And Yours only.
This one made me cry. Seriously.
PS…Thinking about getting my hair cut like the blonde judge, Amanda Holden. What’d ya think? I haven’t done bangs since high school!
Ok….so do you ever hear a line in a song that just gets ya? I definitely have spiritual ones that remind me of God’s grace & mercy and His overwhelming love for me. For example, Chris Tomlin’s “Indescribable” – the line: “You know the depths of my heart, and you love me the same”. To this day, I can’t sing that line without tearing up.
Well, I have other ones, too. You know what I’m talking about – the ones where “the guy gets the girl chick flick kinda thing”. The ones that make you all warm & fuzzy inside! The ones where you keep hitting the back button on your CD player or iPod just so you can hear that one line? OK, you get the picture. Well, cut #5 – “Closer” on Jars of Clay’s new CD, The Long Fall Back to Earth (available April 21st – BUY IT!) contains that line for me!
Watch below and you’ll see the line, and then you can hear them sing it!! And yes, I know I’m gushing, but it’s a gushable song.
On a serious note, I was thrilled to get to meet Dan, Charlie, Stephen & Matt today. I’ve heard so much about them on a personal level from many of my friends. As I told them today, “along with all of their fans, they are also the artist’s artist”. Our industry loves them. And so do we.
Great guys. Great music. Enjoy.
PS… The 40 Day Water Challenge is complete for me. How cool to have them here on the final day. Dave, Bill & I presented them with a check for Blood:Water Mission. When we endeavored to do the challenge, their visit was NOT on our radar. It came up about a week into the challenge. Providential timing, I’d say!
