Fall is in the air.  School is back in session.  Football games have begun. Labor Day has passed.  All are indicators that it's time to bid farewell to the summer of 2004.  For us, it was a very memorable summer.  God blessed our ministry in many ways.   He allowed us to release our 2nd CD and He allowed us to perform at many concerts and venues. Most importantly though,  He used our ministry to change lives and to expand His kingdom. 

From a personal standpoint,  the summer provided us with some excellent opportunities to actually meet and interact with popular artists like the David Crowder Band, Skillet, and Todd Agnew but even better than that is the fellowship and friendship that we found with our fellow Independent Christian artists (also known as "indies").  What does it mean to be an "Indie"?  Basically, it means that we function without the support and services of a major record label.  The independent artist handles their own booking, promotion, recording, CD promotion, radio marketing, website, etc.  and they do it with their own finances. Most people do not understand how much work and money it takes to function and be successful as an independent artist.  The costs of instruments and audio equipment alone is enormous and the expense that is incurred to take that equipment to different venues can become quite burdensome at times.  Nonetheless, most "Indies", including ourselves, will quickly tell you that we don't do it for money. We do what we do because we have a calling in our lives to share the news of Christ through song. 

We are blessed to have so many Independent artists that we can call our friends.  We all share a common bond, a strong desire to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ with music.  I urge all of you who read this to take the time to support the Independent artists you know.  Pray for them, purchase their CD's and merchandise.  I can't speak for every Independent Christian artist, but from most that I know,  100% of all CD and merchandise sales goes back into their ministry. Very few, if any, ever place any money into their own pocket because of the expense to take their message on the road and into the recording studios.  The Internet has dramatically changed the playing field for Independent artists. We are able to quickly and easily distribute our music and message throughout the world.  Just over the past several weeks, our CD has been purchased in states like California, Colorado, Washington, New York, Utah, Kansas, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, Georgia,  and North Carolina.   Just in the past few weeks over 1500 copies of select songs from our first CD have been downloaded FOR FREE from our listing at download.com by Christian music enthusiasts all over the world.  As independent artists we have a tremendous opportunity to share our message around the world. All because of the power of the Internet.  

If you haven't taken the time to learn about the Independent artists in your area, please do.   Unfortunately, you won't hear much of their music on Christian radio. Why? Most of the major Christian radio stations only play music from the major record labels. It's a business and they must play the most popular music in order to maintain their advertisers. Fortunately, for us, we live in a city where the largest Christian radio station has a heart for Independent artists.  For many other indies, they don't have that opportunity and they must depend upon "word of mouth" and the internet to get their music heard. There are some very talented musicians and some incredible music in the Independent arena. For a start, visit our "links" page on our website.  It is packed with Indies that we've befriended over the past several years.  You will be surprised at the quality of Christian music you will find and 100% of your purchases will be going to the artist's ministry, rather than being split up between record labels, distributors, and publishers.

Being an "indie" does has it's advantages.  We get to control our schedule in a way that allows us to continue to effectively balance our ministry and our family responsibilities.  Among the Floodgate crew, we have EIGHT children under the age of twelve years old.  We have an obligation to make sure that we put our family responsibilities as the highest priorities if we expect God to bless our ministry. We intentionally leave some weekends as "unavailable" so that we can make sure that we are taking care of our responsibilities of being fathers and husbands.  Being an "Indie" gives us the opportunity to have the best of both worlds.

We are proud to have joined forces with the Alabama Indie Community.  The Indie Community was formed to be a network for Independent Christian artists in Alabama. If you'd like to find out more about the Independent Christian artists in Alabama and how you can support their ministries and bring them to your church or event, then visit them online at http://www.indiecommunity.com .  You'll find everything that you need to support some very good Independent artists.  The community is just getting started so bookmark it and visit it frequently as more Independent artists join the community.

In August, we had a song reach the #1 spot on 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.  Each Tuesday night at 8pm CST, they host a TOP 10 radio show that features music from "Indies" all over the USA.  Listeners are able to vote online for their favorite song.   For several weeks in July and August,  "Give Him One Reason", from the Hero CD stayed in the top 10 and even garnered the number 1 spot for one week.  WhiteDove Radio is a great Internet radio station and is a great way for you to support the music of Independent Christian artists. 

We still have a few weekends available in October, November, and December. We would love to be able to bring the "Hero" concert to your church.  Visit the booking area of the website if you are interested.

Scott has another great article this month.  Please take the time to read his message on "What Matters Most" 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

P.S. Don't forget to visit the website and sign our guestbook.  We'd love to hear from you.

Current Concert Schedule

September 10, 2004
Athens, Alabama
First Baptist Church
Outdoor Concert  - 10:00pm
free admission

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October 9, 2004 
Columbiana, Alabama
Charity Event
 2nd Annual Ride for Foster Kids
 sponsored by the Shelby County Foster Parent Association 
 12:00pm
Details will be posted on the website soon

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October 16, 2004
Palmerdale, Alabama
Details will be posted on the website soon

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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 

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November 7, 2004
Pell City, Alabama
Eden Westside Baptist Church
Main Church Sanctuary
7:00pm

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.

WHAT MATTERS MOST
from Scott Smith

Wow! Can you believe it? It is already September, and summer is quickly coming to an end. Time really flies by. I look back on the last few months of this year, and I can see where I have accomplished some really good things. I can also see plenty of times that I blew it, as well.

What about you? Looking back on this summer, or year, or even your whole life, what do you see? It is always a good thing to look back occasionally and really examine your life. Are you where you need to be spiritually with God? What about relationally with your family?

Life passes by so quickly, there is really no time to waste. Wouldn’t it be a tragedy to wake up one day to find that most of your life was over, and you were filled with regrets? What a loss to have spent your whole life in search of something, or dedicated to something that seemed worthwhile at the time, only to realize that your kids are grown and you never were the dad or mom that you should have been. Or maybe you look across the table at your spouse only to realize that you don’t even know who they are, what they like or dislike, and what the future will be like with them. 

It doesn’t have to be that way. It has been well said that we spend time on the things that mean the most to us. Look back on this past weekend, or week, or even year. What person, object, or endeavor received most of your time? What did you most passionately seek after and devote yourself to? We know that we all have to work to provide for ourselves. Whether it be a man or woman (or both) working outside of the home to make a paycheck, or a stay-at-home mom diligently working to keep things in order around the house, we know that there will be a great deal of time devoted to work. 

What about the rest of your time? What do you do with your time when you get off of work? What about the weekends? Our world offers so many things for us to be involved in: television, video games, books, newspapers, movies, theme parks, vacation get-a- ways, etc- so many things that can occupy endless amounts of time. Not all of these things are trivial, either. In most of today’s churches there is always something going on. There are countless “ministries” that you can be involved in every day of the week, and even weekends, as well. 

With so many things (good, bad, or indifferent) going on around us, is it possible that we have lost focus of what matters most? Could it be that we have fell hook, line, and sinker for the world’s theory of “personal time”? After all, you work hard everyday to provide for the family. You are constantly putting up with crazy people at work, or children who just seem to always know how to push your buttons. You deserve to have time to your self to do whatever you want. Does this sound familiar?

Obviously, we all must have time to catch our breath and gather ourselves together. Without a doubt we do, on occasion, need a vacation just to relax. But more and more I see people who involve themselves in hobbies and other activities to such a degree that they ignore their responsibility to their spouses, children, and family. Is it really worth it? I think that is the question we must all ask ourselves when we realize that we are spending a large amount of time away from the people who mean the most to us. Is the activity I am so involved in worth not seeing my wife, husband, or family today? Even if you do set aside time for them, would it be considered quality time?

In my own life I have seen God call me into several ministries. And to each of those ministries I have given my heart and soul. At first I sacrificed any and all time with my wife and children (not to mention my mom and dad) to counsel or teach or do whatever it took to meet the needs of others. I could not see that I was failing to meet the needs of the ones I had promised God I would always be there for. Eventually it cost me peace, happiness, and even my health. So, I cut back on many things so that I could be at home more. But even with that decision made, I found myself using the time at home that was supposed to be spent talking with my wife and playing with my kids to practice guitar and write songs. I still just didn’t get it. 

What I failed to see is that one of the greatest expressions of love that you can show someone else is how much time you devote to them. But not just any time. It has to be time freely given to them without distraction. Now obviously we cannot control all of our circumstances; sometimes things happen and situations pop up that we have to address. But when we deliberately over commit ourselves by planning things on top of things (especially “things” that are supposed to be for the family) we defeat any good purpose we may have had.

In many of Paul’s letters, he urged people to live simple lives. The more we pack into our schedules the less simple our lives become- and that leads to stress. Not only is stress harmful to our bodies, but many times it expresses itself as anger towards those we love. There is so much value in simple lives built around God and family. Lost are the days that families sat on the front porch swing and just talked about their day. To most kids today that seems old fashioned, and maybe it is, but it still works.

Don’t fall into the trap that I fell into. Don’t be deceived into thinking that it’s okay to spend all of your free time with buddies, or involved in activities that take you away from your family. Time is quickly fading for each of us. I have had the painful experience of burying family members, both young and old. Each time that happened I immediately looked back on all the times I chose to spend time with others rather than my family. I sincerely regret those decisions. Remember that your wife or husband and children are gifts from God. We should always treat them as such. They should be what matters most.

Scott Smith
you can email Scott at  scott@floodgateonline.com  
You can also read Scott's previous articles at this link.

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 sponsor a 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. 

If you received this in error you can unsubscribe entering your email address in the box below and clicking the submit button.

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