VACATION TIME!!!

It's that time of the year,  summer vacation time. We've been very busy the past few months with concerts and releasing a new CD project. The Floodgate family is quite large and we consider it very important for us to spend quality time with our families so we've taken a few weeks off for those reasons.

In the meantime, we've been planning and organizing our late summer events and trying to promote music from the new CD.  We've been blessed to have our local radio station, WDJC 93.7FM in Birmingham incorporate a couple of our new songs into their rotations. The support that they have given us has been incredible and we are humbled and thankful for their efforts. If you have heard our music on their station, we ask you to please call the radio station at (205) 741-9352 and tell them that you appreciate their support of Floodgate. It's extremely difficult, almost impossible, for an independent artist to garner airplay on a large radio station. There's barely enough room for the "signed" artists. We've always considered radio play as a "low-priority" for our ministry. We figure that if we do our job as God has called us, then the radio play will come when God is ready for it to happen.  Fortunately, God has blessed us with the opportunity for airplay in our hometown. We ask  you to do your best to support Christian radio and their advertisers in every way that you can. 

Our music has also been picked up by a very big Internet station called, WhiteDove Radio. WhiteDove radio is an independent internet radio station that plays a large variety of Christian music ranging from Contemporary to Southern Gospel to Blues.  They boast a very large listening audience from all over the world.  They recently featured one of our songs from the "Hero" project on their weekly TOP 10 show.  The response has been very good and hopefully our music will be in their rotations for quite a while. It's quite thrilling to know that our music is now traveling around the globe. If you have the time, drop by WhiteDove's website and listen in.

CD sales have been moving along very well, even though we are on vacation. We've had Internet sales from California to Pennsylvania and many points in between. Several stores in our home area of Alabama has graciously agreed to stock their shelves with the HERO CD.  Lifeway Christian Stores in Birmingham, Alabama as well as the Amen Corner in Pelham, Alabama have the HERO CD on their shelves at a very discounted price.  If you know of a Christian store that would consider carrying our CD, please send us an email with the contact information for that store.

As we finish up our summer vacations, we are beginning to get requests for back-to-school concerts and several are already in the works.  We still have a few weekends available in August and September. We would love to be able to bring the Floodgate ministry to your church.  Visit the booking area of the website if you are interested.

We will celebrate the release of the HERO CD with our CD RELEASE CONCERT in our Hometown of Pell City, Alabama on July 22nd at 7:30pm.  Our friend, Ronnie Bruce, and the wonderful staff at Victory Christian Center has graciously allowed us to give the concert in their main sanctuary which can support a large amount of people.  We are praying that all of our hometown friends and families will show up along with the youth groups of the area churches.  If you are anywhere near this event, we want you to be there so that we can show our thanks to you for your support over the past years. Please let your youth pastors know so that they can plan this outing for their youth groups.

Scott has another intriguing article this month.  We get lots of feedback from his articles. We also get requests from people wanting to read articles from past newsletters. We've created an archive of his past articles on the website.  Be sure to go there and catch up on any that you missed. I hope that you enjoy reading them. Be sure to read this month's article about "The Prison of Christian Music" below.  It's sure to bring a lot of thought and conversation, just as last months. :)

Well, that's all for this month. We look forward to hearing from you and seeing you at one of our events. Please keep the ministry in your prayers.  

God bless,

The Floodgate Ministry Team
Scott, Jason, Kerry, Kelly, Taz, Steve and Andy

Current Concert Schedule

July 22, 2004
 Pell City, Alabama - Victory Christian Center
CD RELEASE CONCERT
7:30pm

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August 14, 2004 
Springville, Alabama
SPRINGFEST 2004
11am - 9pm 
Floodgate performance time to be announced soon

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August 21, 2004
Cullman, Alabama
YOUTHQUAKE 2004
with Todd Agnew and Matthew West
 Floodgate performance time to be announced

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October 30, 2004
Birmingham, Alabama
First Baptist Church of Centerpoint - Crosspoint Campus
as part of Mmagine Music's  Non-Perishable Tour 

Many more concerts dates are in the works.  Please keep checking the website for new event additions. Dates and times are subject to change.  Please check the website for the latest event information.

THE PRISON OF CHRISTIAN MUSIC
from Scott Smith

It is, again, my privilege to come to you with another thought provoking article this month. I want to discuss a couple of things that have become very controversial of late among Christians in the music industry. The issues are: what exactly is Christian music, and should it be played on secular radio stations. 

In a previous article I talked about modern Christian music in today's church and the huge differences of opinions of the church members concerning its use versus more traditional music. In that article I stated that there are no "Christian" musical notes, only musical notes. Music is like money, it is neither good nor bad. It is simply something that can be used for either, and its use is entirely dependent upon the one using it. So then, the only  determining factor is the lyrics. The lyrics will determine if the song will edify Christ, His church, His people, or if it will edify the world.  Blurring that line, are songs that may have a positive meaning, but are not necessarily Godly in nature. What ever the case may be, it's  the lyrics that determine the meaning and nature of the music. Any issue with the music, beyond its lyrics, is an issue of preference of the type of style that the listener finds appealing such as Country, Southern Gospel, Contemporary, Pop, Rock, Hard Rock, Instrumental, Folk, Blues, Rap, and the list goes on.

What would you think if a known Christian artist released a song that had no references to God, Christ, His church, or His word? If the song had a positive, or even a neutral meaning, would it still be considered Christian music? 

What if an artist who has made a career in secular music released an album of hymns? Should it be labeled as "Christian"?  

These are not hypothetical questions. There are songs being played  across the country on Christian radio everyday that have no obvious Christian lyrics, as well as old hymnals being performed by Country and Pop artists. 

As with everything else, there are differing opinions on this topic. There are those who believe that a song should be judged entirely on its meaning. If it does not have an obvious Christian meaning (via the lyrics) then it should not be played on Christian radio. Then there are those who believe that the song should be based more on the artist. If the artist is a known and proven Christian, then his/her music should be played on Christian radio even if the lyrics are just "positive" with no Christian references. 

If it was your decision, what would you do? Would you protect the "sanctified"  Christian image (Romans 12:2 / I Peter 1: 15-16/ I Peter 2: 9), or would you have a more liberal view- songs being reviewed on an individual basis according to its meaning?

Some will say that as Christians we should be separate from the world, and therefore not have anything to do with a secular artist or their music (no matter what its meaning). Which leads me to my next question: 

If a Christian artist had the opportunity to have his/her music played on a secular radio station, should they do so?  Again, this is not just a hypothetical question. In the past few months,  Mercy Me has had great success with their song, "I Can Only Imagine" on secular radio. The song has an extremely powerful message and is not "watered down" in any way. There can be no mistaking the song's intended message.  Is it wrong for their music to be on "secular" radio? Before giving your answer, consider this. How many non-Christians do you know that listen to Christian radio? I have no statistical data in front of me, but I would venture to guess that there are not many "non-Christian" people listening to Christian radio. With that in mind, what better way to reach a lost world than through Christian music being played on the world's own radio stations? 

I really can't answer why secular stations are playing Christian  music, but personally I'm glad that they are. Who knows, that may be the very thing that sparks someone's interest in learning more about Christ. As long as a Christian artist does not water down his/her message with the sole intent on being played on secular radio, I don't see the harm in it. Unfortunately, I also see that happening.  I've heard songs with lyrics that are vague in their Christian meaning but are close enough to "fit" on Christian radio and yet vague enough to fit into a secular radio program. Is this because they have a desire to reach the unsaved? Or is it because of greed and the selfish desire for fame?  That's a question that each individual artist much answer for themselves. After all, if we are to share Christ with the world, shouldn't we take that message to the world? 

I find no where in the Bible that commands LOST people to go to church. As a matter of fact, God's commandments are to HIS people and for HIS people. But those commandments instruct us to go into the world and compel others to come to Him (Luke 14:23 ). It is our responsibility to share the wonderful Gospel of Jesus Christ with others and music is a great and powerful way of doing that. I think its time to unlock the prison that holds our wonderful music. It's time to do away with the ideas that say that we have to be so separate from the world that we can't share the life-giving truth of Jesus Christ with them unless they enter the doors of our churches. 

Don't get me wrong, I realize the importance of protecting "the flock", and making sure we keep the wolves from sneaking in and destroying us. But I also realize that it is very easy to "protect the faith" to the extent that we become like the Pharisees in the time of Jesus. They became so possessive of the faith that they would not dare share it with Gentiles. They essentially imprisoned the faith and would not let it out so that it could do its life-
changing work. 

We do not own God. He owns us. We must share Him with everyone we can. Jesus 
knew exactly how to stay Holy, and at the same time evangelize the world around him. That meant going to them, in the public places and in their homes. We must find a way to do the same, even with our music.

That's my perspective on it. What's yours? Email me or post your opinion on our message boards.

Scott Smith
you can email Scott at  scott@floodgateonline.com

OUR MINISTRY NEEDS

God has blessed us tremendously.  Most of our equipment needs have been met. We have an incredible sound and lighting system that allows us to take our ministry on the road and present the Gospel in a very powerful way.  The largest need that we have now is transportation of that equipment.   Our current equipment trailer is now over 8000 lbs when we travel.  We are in need of a vehicle that can tow our equipment trailer.  If you have a vehicle that you can donate or if you own a vehicle and would be willing to join our ministry team as a driver, we would love to hear from you. We will be happy to furnish all fuel and cover your towing and maintenance expenses.  We are confident that God will answer this need.  Thank you for your prayers and support. 

We've recently adopted our first child through Compassion International. As God continues to bless our ministry, we'll continue to help feed and clothe needy children through Compassion's program.  Would you consider adopting a child as well?

DO YOU NEED A DAILY DEVOTIONAL?

My Daily Psalm, Floodgate's daily online devotional, has quickly grown to be a very popular resource. It is now delivered daily to thousands of mailboxes in over 40 countries all around the world.  The FREE devotional is sent daily and is very brief and also contains a "humor" section and a "Featured Christian Site" section. You too, can receive the "Daily Psalm" by visiting the website at http://www.floodgateonline.com/dailypsalm.html. 

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Copyright 2004, Offbeat Ministries Inc.
www.floodgateonline.com