Ransomed Blog 2008-08-20T15:02:14Z http://ransomedblog.ransomedonline.com/atom.aspx Quick Blog Welcome "Bonus Berry" tag:ransomedblog.ransomedonline.com,2008-08-14:ae24cec5-a379-4ccd-983e-8c8bb65f6fae Ransomed 2008-08-14T20:22:43Z 2008-08-14T20:13:00Z Ransomed would like for our fans to join us in welcoming Joe Gordon, aka Bonus Berry*, on board as a permanent member of the group. We already considered him part of our family and are delighted that he has decided to work with Ransomed full time.
 
Joe is the promoter and emcee for Rodeo City Music Hall's gospel night in Mesquite, TX on the first Friday of each month. He also has recently sung with Trusting Hymn and other area groups. Aftrer much prayer and seeking God's will he has decided to step down from Trusting Hymn and sing exclusively with Ransomed. In the 80's he sang with a group from Denton called the Arden-Davis singers and The New Life Quartet of Dallas. He has received numerous awards including Song Writer, Male Soloist, and Song of the year in 2008 for the GMAA among other accomplishments from the SGMA of Texas.
 
In order to straighten out any misunderstandings that people may have I offer the following: I first asked Joe to sing one song with Ransomed, Midnight Cry, when we were going to be at Rodeo City Music Hall last fall. After this song was well received I then asked Joe to sing with Ransomed as a guest singer. I was unaware that there was any commitment on Joe's part to Trusting Hymn, as was Joe. After we had begun singing together, Joe found out that Trusting Hymn was considered a quartet. That is when Ransomed was aware of this development. By this time we had already worked on a number of songs as a quartet and all members of Ransomed and Joe were excited with the sound and the personality mix. All of the members of Ransomed and the wives waited patiently for Joe to come to a decision about what he should do according to God's will. We knew in our hearts what we wanted but wanted to allow God to point him in the right direction. In the mean time, every church, without question, felt like Ransomed had attained a completely different level with the addition of Joe.
 
Understand this...I, nor any member of Ransomed, would never ask someone from another established group be a part of Ransomed without first contacting that group and gaining their approval. Had Joe already been a permanent part of Trusting Hymn he would never have sung with Ransomed in the first place. We believe that God had His mighty hand on things as they took place and are excited about what the future holds for Ransomed. There are some who are forgetting the timeline in which things happened. The result of this misunderstanding is bringing about accusations against Ransomed from members of the singing community that are unfounded and simply false. Furthermore, we are not getting any calls directly but are instead receiving these accusations second hand from individuals that we respect very much. I would encourage anybody to call Lee at 972-800-9349, Chris at 972-613-6747, or Joe at 214-537-2097 if they have any further questions. Each question will be handled with respect and complete honesty.
 
Still Singin' For Him,
Lee Berry
Ransomed Music Ministry

*For those who wonder why we call Joe "Bonus Berry": A bonus is something that adds to, is a benefit to the thing it is involved in. Joe is our "Bonus" because he has already added so much personally and professionally. We encourage you to get to know our "Bonus".
]]> CCM vs SG tag:ransomedblog.ransomedonline.com,2008-08-14:bc5726fd-b071-4bd5-bccb-534478c6f752 Ransomed 2008-08-14T20:12:23Z 2008-08-14T20:03:00Z There has been an ongoing battle between the generations that I have been caught in the middle of for the better part of my adult years. What do I mean?
 
I have the heart for Southern Gospel. I always have and always will. As a young man, howeve,r there was a time where I ventured into the contemporary. While battling my two sides inwardly, especially as a music minister, the battle raged on the outside between the prime timers of our church and the youth department. Everybody was so sure they were right and had valid arguments that it was difficult to argue with anybody. The problem with the CCM vs. SG is that we have always let it get bogged down into a battle over style rather than substance.
 
Now when I say I ventured into the contemporary you must realize at one time the Imperials, Amy Grant, Keith Green, Gaither Vocal Band, Dallas Holm and Praise, Andrus, Blackwood, & Company were among the leaders in contemporary music when I was in my teens and early twenties much to the chagrin of the conservative church leadership. Now much of that same conservative leadership embraces the history of these groups and wish we could go back to those simpler times. I knew there was something different about the music but could not quite place my finger on it.
 
Through the years, there was a transformation that took place in the church. The church began to embrace CCM, and Praise & Worship in particular, placing more of an emphasis on singing to God. Some of the churches departed from the hymns, forgetting the importance of singing about God. Meanwhile in the SG camp, we continued to steadfastly sing about God to our listeners, ignoring the changes going on around us.
 
Friends, may I tell you that both camps are right, yet both are wrong. Chris and I went to a seminar a couple of weeks ago with Phil Cross and had validated what we already knew to be true in our hearts. Scripture teaches us that we are to sing both to God and about God. Our CCM friends have been very good about this vertical relationship with God but have been severely lacking in the teaching aspect of their ministries. Before you SG connoisseurs get too puffed up you have been very zealous about proclaiming about God and what He has done while claiming that you are singing to God. Singing about God is not singing to God no matter how much you are singing for Him in your heart. He already knows who He is. Singing to God is proclaiming our love for God directly to Him. The overflow of that is that the audience gets to listen in on our conversation with Him.
 
I want to encourage our listeners to broaden their thinking just a little bit to the music of today. Next time your music minister brings out one of those dreaded 711 songs, sing with all your heart to the Lord, for it is He that wants to hear your voice. We in SG could use a little more "in love with God music" rather than the "drop kick me Jesus over the goal post of heaven; now don't we feel better" thinking.
 
To those of the CCM persuasion who happen to dabble in SG, may I encourage you to do more singing about God. One of the issues we have these days in Christendom is that our church is intellectually bankrupt when it comes to the knowledge of God and His character. Some of the "dumbing down" in Christianity stems from the "I want to feel good so I sing about loving God so I don't have to think long and hard about anything else" mentality found in CCM.
 
Notice that both parties want to feel good. That is okay and I love the toe tapping, feel good songs as much as the next guy in the pew. All I am suggesting to everybody is a little bit of balance. One of the songs that Ransomed has been singing lately is "Go Ahead Lord", a song that asks God to take over what it is that we are doing and indicating our willingness to follow His leading. Imagine how our thinking will change when we enter a service along these lines:
 
     Go ahead Lord, I will follow
     Right behind you I will stay.
     In your glory, in your shadow
     Go ahead Lord, lead the way.
 
These words indicate to God that we are ready for Him to do something right now in this service and prepares our listener to be ready for what God has in store. We can't make these just mere words. Hopefully we will make this a heart attitude as we sing.

]]> A Comment Sometimes calls for a response tag:ransomedblog.ransomedonline.com,2008-07-17:ed8c7729-7fd5-410b-9108-f1e2a3c9fd9b Ransomed 2008-07-17T17:55:09Z 2008-07-17T17:06:00Z I am the administrator for Ransomed's website and blog. The last entry brought a very volatile and uninformed comment. True to our commitment in this endeavor, I have approved the comment so that anyone who comes to this site will know we are not afraid of criticism. This comment, however, deserves a response. Below is the text of the comment and then MY response to the person who left it.
 
"I have had your blog brought to my attention and I must say you spend alot of time talking about something you know very little about. Obviously you think you do but being involved in Ministry takes a lot of comittment and I fail to see any mention of that in your blogs. What I do see is something that is very disturbing, You spend a lot of time saying nothing. I can't believe people read these things and you can count on one thing I won't be reading any more of them. What a waste of time..."

Before commenting on the vitriolic hatred contained in this comment, I will make it clear that it is so sad that the person who left this comment didn't have the guts to back it up with a name or email. If this person truly believes what they say, then they should have left something with which we could have handled it in a biblical way. I am sure they didn't expect me to approve the comment, they just wanted us to know of their dislike of us and/or what we have to say. As a side note, the blog software we use gives us what is called the IP address of a sender even when they don't leave a name or email. I have been able to trace it very easily and know exactly who and where it came from. I will be providing the information to the people that need to know. Now to the substance of the comment.

Anonymous states that Lee spends "a lot of time talking about something he knows very little about." The writer obviously doesn't know us because if they did they would know that just between Chris, Lee, Steve and I alone there is almost 50 years of experience in Southern Gospel ministry. Glenna has also been in music ministry for several years, although the format that is used in SG music is still kinda new to her. So the lack of knowledge or desire to gain knowledge before speaking or writing is not one of the writer's traits.

Now to address the commitment issue which seems to be this person's problem. Again, they did not do their homework very well. In the 10 years that Ransomed has been in SG ministry, we have cancelled a total of 2, yes two, events. One was when Steve had hernia surgery and the doctor would not release him to sing because of the use of the abdominal muscles in tenor singing. The other was last December when Chris had heart problems and couldn't breath or stand. I am not sure what the writer considers commitment, but I know the commitment level we have. We have driven through major tropical storms where torrents of rain didn't even allow us a three foot distance to see where we were driving. We have driven on ice when DPS said NOT to drive because we were scheduled to be somewhere. Lee has performed while literally passing a kidney stone onstage. Guess what? No one except us knew what he was going through. He took some extra strength Tylenol beforehand, unloaded, setup, sang and emceed, and tore down equipment, then took some more Tylenol before going to the doctor. Like I said, the only people in that church that night who knew what was going on were the rest of us. Except for a few close friends, no one knew about that until now.

I question the writers definition of commitment. Let me tell you where our commitment comes from. It comes from a commitment to God first and to obedience to His calling. Many people may be of the opinion that they are the only ones who are called to do something if it isn't done their way, but we don't believe that. Anonymous may be called to whatever their ministry is, but if they define bragging about this as a sign of commitment then I will question them. Bragging about how "hard" things can be at any given time as a point of pride isn't our normal mode of operation. We don't boast and we don't complain, we obey.
 
The only reason I have chosen to respond is because of the totally uninformed and hateful way the comment was left. I could have easily deleted the comment and never let it be published, but we aren't afraid of disagreement or controversy when it is done fairly. This one wasn't really fair in the respect of the person thinking they could not be traced, but we don't concern ourselves with those kind of issues. I doubt if this person will have the guts to come out publicly and state who they are, but that is okay because like I said I already know. I just think it is sad and pathetic that they didn't have the guts to back up their words with a name.

Rhonda ]]> Oh, Really?!!! tag:ransomedblog.ransomedonline.com,2008-07-12:5e8562e2-1686-477e-b262-d851e201d272 Ransomed 2008-07-16T20:16:38Z 2008-07-12T15:57:00Z
I periodically will go to one of our favorite spots, www.averyfineline.com to see what the rest of the world is thinking about our beloved music. I will usually lay out a few ideas and see what ideas I can give to others as well as receive for myself. I wanted to pass along a few ideas that are being thrown out there. Southern Gospel music is "hated" by teenagers. This is a nice blanket statement about all teenagers. I even joke about how the kids don't listen to the same music as their parents nearly always invoking some laughter, especially from the parents. What Ransomed has found through the years is that teenagers are actually open to southern gospel music, as long as it is done well and without some of the corny antics that is generally associated with southern gospel. This doesn't' t mean they are going to run out and buy our music. Our goal is to provide a time of ministry that the WHOLE family will enjoy. It is rare indeed to find music that the prime timers and the teenagers will enjoy. So while some on this particular website will speak in disdain about SG, they would prefer to leave out a whole age group of society that is still in need of ministering, quite the opposite of what Ransomed tries to do. While they may enjoy the moment they will not go out and buy cd's. This was mentioned on several posts. This speaks to the heart of the individual making the comment I fear. Many of the people within the music industry, SG included, are simply in it for the money. Ransomed has chosen to build it's philosophy on living and ministering in the moment. We may bring a smile to your face at this moment but it is Christ that will provide the long term joy in your heart. We are not concerned with making it "big". We are concerned about expanding our ministry further at a pace that the four of us can live with. This is why we will be taking the next step and working with Nick Bruno in the fall, not so we can have a name behind us, but so we can improve what we do and become more effective in out ministry. I personally believe that God will continue to meet the financial needs that we have so we can continue to minister. There is also an overwhelming sense that SG music is going to soon die. I do not think this to be the case. Remember when the Pharisees were upset about Christ casting out demons? They were ready to kill Him at that point. However there was one wise Pharisee that stepped forward and said that if Christ was from God then they could not do anything about it. If He was not from God then God would take care of it because a house divided against itself wouldn't stand. Using this same principle I believe that SG music will remain in one fashion or another because it does stand for God in a clear message. We are told that we need to update our music or it will die. Updating our music means add heavier rhythm and guitars, dumb down the words, and maybe change the way we look. Excuse me but wouldn't that then make it contemporary music? One of the things that SG is noted for is that the music is not like any other. You don't go to the music store for the most part and see a chart that says "if you like The Rolling Stones, then pick ________" when it comes to SG. It is variety at it's best. You may hear a slow ballad, an upbeat song that may get your feet to tapping, it may have a banjo, or it may be four guys doing something acapella. We try to incorporate variety into our program. We hope that the listener does not come away saying they heard one song sung many times over. We have fun with what we do and seek to minister God's grace from the platform to the whole congregation. We believe that if you open up someone's spirit with some laughter then you better have a message worth bearing to penetrate to the heart of that listener. I enjoy listening to some of the CCM music. There are some outstanding CCM songs and I am sure that there is a group out there that this reaches. From what I gather on the websites, the primary desire of the majority of listeners to CCM finds it's emphasis in the music rather than the message. Contemporary artists will not go to small to mid-size churches because the churches simply cannot afford the 12 - 20k fee that will be required. This is probably the biggest factor as to why SG will remain for many years to come. It remains steadfast to the message and the groups continue to tweak the music just enough to add the variety that the average listener will want to hear. That is why you have The Booth Brothers, Signature Sound, McKamey's, and even the Inspirations. Two of the groups I am very fond of. The other two, not so much, but they still minister to their respective crowds effectively and with great fervor. What I want to encourage our groups in this area with is to offer a greater variety of style of music to your audience. If you find yourself settling into a certain style too easily, take a step back and get outside of the box and find something that will recapture your listeners attention. You will find that this makes your ministry, and your songs that you intend to use to minister with, more effective.

]]> "We Are What We Are" or Are We? tag:ransomedblog.ransomedonline.com,2008-04-19:9842485c-70d3-40f8-b34d-0eab77ddfbc3 Ransomed 2008-04-19T08:00:35Z 2008-04-19T07:50:00Z As a sports fan, there is one thing I do not like to hear when it comes to my favorite teams. It is the phrase "you are what you are". You see, if you are in first place you generally hear "this team is tremendous or among the elite". When the sports broadcaster says "you are what you are" generally you are sitting somewhere in the lower half of the standings, mediocre to lousy. Unless something drastic changes the playoffs are out of the equation.
 
In recent years the overall quality of southern gospel music in the metroplex has risen several bars. Groups such as Southern Joy, Trusting Hymn, His Call, New Day, First Voice, Southern Charm, and Praise Inc are a few that immediately come to mind. These groups have done well to raise the bar as far as quality gospel music. This has resulted in some of the other local groups working to improve their overall quality.
 
As a result, we collectively have brought an awareness to area churches as to the quality of southern gospel music. What has NOT happened is the overall perception of southern gospel music in the area to others, especially those outside our area. We are perceived as groups that basically are using cover songs that national groups have already sung. If this trend continues then "we are what we are".
 
We have made a lot of talk among ourselves about moving to the next level. If the next level is to be realized we must begin to make the move toward original songs. It is my personal belief that Ransomed has done all Ransomed can do in this area. We have made great strides to improve what we do but unless we make a change, "we are what we are."
 
It is for this reason that Ransomed is beginning to take steps in moving toward original songs. If we are successful, our prayer is that we can begin to make further strides and go farther with our ministry. We are also hoping that other quality groups from the metroplex will continue to seek to find original music. One way is to write our own songs and work with musicians to come up with quality work. Another way is to find a producer not interested in simply making money but in looking out for the interest and integrity of the group and pay them to find original music for you. Ransomed is trying both. First, we will be going into studio with Jimmy Duty of His Call to work on a couple of songs written by Ransomed group members. Secondly, we are currently in the process of working with a top producer to be named later on a future project. He will be seeking new songs to go with our own material. 

This doesn't say that we will never do "cover songs". We are ministered to by these songs and that is part of our criteria in choosing our music. My point is to emphasize that the next step for Ransomed's ministry (and others who are doing this) is to add to the body of music that is out there and continue to use the gifts the Lord has given us.
 
By taking these steps we are hoping this will raise what we do yet another notch. Our hope is that other local groups will follow suit and collectively we all benefit by a raised standard of quality for southern gospel music in the metroplex.
 
Consider this: two local groups have had a national following, Southern Charm and Shiloh. Both have had a number of original songs on their projects along with a quality sound. Coincidence? I think not.
 
We can do one of two things: 1) continue to do what we do and enjoy our marginal success, wishing we could could get more and better bookings-expecting different results while we continue to do the same thing, or 2) we can change and raise the bar. Ransomed chooses to do the latter.

Each group must do this in their own way. This is the way we have chosen based on many prayers and advice.
 
I do not know how this is going to be received but I do know that as long as we settle to do cover songs, regardless of how well we do them, "we are what we are" and ever will be.

 

]]> Definitions tag:ransomedblog.ransomedonline.com,2008-04-19:96d0c28a-e1a2-46ac-a3a8-88f3d594c0c6 Ransomed 2008-04-19T07:49:07Z 2008-04-19T06:32:00Z
Usually Lee writes the majority of the blogs for the site, but I have decided to be a guest blogger today. Lee will return later.

In my studies of late I have had to think about the meaning of words in our lives. The interpretation of some words has changed over the years but their meanings are still the same. The word tolerance is a good example. Josh McDowell has been saying for many years that our society has changed the meaning of this word in order to reflect the belief system that is most popular at the time. It is not a biblical view and he won't treat it as such.

I personally have noticed that the words forgiveness and grace have taken on a whole new meaning in many churches and among many Christians as well. In some churches and among some Christians, forgiveness and grace are given just as the Lord Jesus Christ intended it-freely, without malice, and to all who ask for it without question. In other churches and among other Christians, it is a matter of agreeing with them and doing as they expect. I am not sure this application of forgiveness and grace is the one that the Lord intended, but it is the one seeming to make the rounds of popularity.

But that is another blog for someone more knowledgeable than I.

The word that has jumped out at me lately is integral. According to Webster's one of the definitions of this word is "made up of parts, forming the whole." So I started thinking about the different parts of Ransomed that make up the whole.

We all know who is seen. Lee, Chris, and Steve are up front. When he isn't busy with his many other ventures Joe Gordon joins us as a guest singer. We affectionately call him Bonus because he is an added benefit when his schedule permits. We all appreciate him and are glad to have him with us when it does not interfere with his other commitments. Joe also ministers to our hearts personally, keeping us uplifted and laughing. We have "adopted" him, you could say, since my kids now call him "Uncle Joe" out of their pure affection for him.

There are many behind the scenes people in our ministry, however. The ones that are seen most of the time are the wives and Tresa Lynn. Anyone who has seen Ransomed in person knows that they will find a wife at the table or sound board, and anyone who knows us know that I have website and calendar updating duties.  And if you have followed or known Ransomed for very long you know Tresa Lynn. She is definitely an integral part of our ministry as she chooses her seat up front and then greets the people and tells them about "her daddy and uncles". To say she isn't a part that contributes to the formation of the whole of Ransomed's ministry, is not to know us.

But there are other persons that are behind the scenes, integral parts of the whole of Ransomed's ministry.

Starting with the music, there is Mark Hampton. Formerly of Shiloh, Mark is the music minister at a large Arlington church and also makes our background tracks and has produced our first three projects. Without Mark, the Ransomed sound would not be as defined as it is because he has given us an outside ear and sound advice and provided us with some of the best music tracks there are. I cannot fathom what the last 5 years of ministry would have been like if we had not established the relationship with Mark. Not only is he a blessing, he is an integral part of our ministry, another one of the parts that forms the whole.

Another couple that is behind the scenes, but very much a part that forms the whole, is Ron and Cyndi Livingston. Ron and Cyndi own Cornerstone Press and Ron is (to us) the Number one soundman in Southern Gospel. Most of our printing is done by Ron and Cyndi, our last project was reproduced by Ron and Cyndi and they have also recreated and reproduced our first one (and it is actually sharper looking than the original). Ron has also stepped in to run sound for us when I was ill last winter and whenever we are where he is going to be, I happily step aside for him to run the sound. (Some would say I beg him to). Ron and Cyndi are also personally uplifting and minister to us as friends, not just fellow SG people. They have hearts of gold and have spoiled us rotten on birthdays and other times. In my over 40 years of life, I cannot say that I have met two finer people than Ron and Cyndi Livingston. The hearts they have for the Lord stand out and they are such fun people. They are definitely parts that make up the whole of Ransomed's ministry.

Then there are the other groups who are gracious enough to share the stage with us. His Call, Trusting Hymn, Southern Joy, Crosspoint...the list goes on and on. These wonderful Christian people are not only fellow ministries, they are friends. We love and respect each and every one of them and enjoy their ministries very much. Each is unique and integral to Ransomed's ministry because they encourage us through their own ministries and friendships.

We also count the pastors and music ministers of the churches we are allowed to minister in as integral to our ministry. Without pastors and music ministers, Ransomed would have a very difficult time getting the message of the Gospel to people. Many of them have become friends and give wise advice and encouragement at various times. This one applies especially to the pastors and music ministers of our own churches. Steve's church-Amazing Grace Fellowship Baptist Church has Pastor Cliff and Lucinda Baugus, Associate Pastor Mike and Karen Ellis, and Music Minister Bill and Linda Black in the roles of encouragers for Steve and the rest of us. At Lee's church-Hillcrest Baptist Church-is Pastor Mike Simmons and Music Minister Donnie Page as the encouragers for Lee and the rest of us. At our church-First Baptist Church Forney-Pastor Jimmy Pritchard and Music Pastor Joe Daniels are encouragers of us and the rest of the group. While they may minister to us individually they are integral to Ransomed's ministry because each of them help us keep our focus on the purpose for our ministry. However, all pastors who open the doors of their church to groups such as ours are parts that make up the whole of Ransomed.

Another group of people who are integral to Ransomed's ministry is the congregations and attendees of our events. Without these people we would sing and minister to an empty room, large or small. There would be no one to hear and no one to be encouraged or saved. Without these people (some call them fans) there would be nothing to do and we would just end up staying home on the weekends.

I don't want to forget our parents or kids. While Tresa Lynn goes with us to almost every Ransomed event, Chris and I have four boys. We also have a niece who lives with us. For Chris and I, their support and encouragement in this has been essential. I don't know if we did everything right, but I can proudly say that two of our four boys have surrendered to the ministry in various capacities and I am excited to see what plans God has for them. In growing up, the guys parents encouraged their involvement in music and while they are no longer with us, they are still an encouragement and a part of the whole because of the foundation they laid. My parents were always encouragers as well, attending events when they could and buying cd's for themselves and others. In-laws are a part of the whole too, because they are called on to take younger children when we are going to events and such and that is a necessity at times.

Now I come to the One who is not only integral but is the whole, the Lord Jesus Christ. What would be the point of Ransomed's ministry or any ministry without Him? Even when there are people to sing to, friends to support and sing with us when schedules permit, pastors to encourage us, people to produce our projects, and all the other parts of the whole that I have mentioned; there is nothing without Jesus. That brings me to the other definition of integral (and it is really the first one)-"necessary for completeness, essential".  While the parts that make up the whole are essential INGREDIENTS in our ministry as they are needed or available, the Lord Jesus Christ is the One necessary for our ministry to be complete.

As Lee has said lately "It is only because of the Lord Jesus Christ and His grace in teaching us to trust Him more each day, regardless of the circumstances or the personality differences that may get in the way." We in and of ourselves could not do it, only through Him.

Rhonda]]> How Ransomed Got Started tag:ransomedblog.ransomedonline.com,2008-04-12:75a04c2f-756e-4a96-a264-c1b0eaa369e6 Ransomed 2008-04-12T09:47:16Z 2008-04-12T09:35:00Z

II get asked a lot during our concerts two questions. How did Ransomed get started and how long have you brothers sung together? I am going to answer both of those questions by giving you a history on Ransomed.
 
On the first question, most of you do not realize that Chris and Steve have not always been a part of Ransomed. About eleven years ago or so, as a music minister I had a thriving love for quality southern gospel music. I loved groups such as the Bishops, Brian Free and Assurance, Poet Voices among others. I went to the concerts and took some people with me. I longed for my church to be able to have this music but I knew that we could not afford these groups because we were a small church. Understand this, I am one that wants to take care of the groups when they come in and believe in my heart that the vast majority of them are worth their fee. When I settled in on the realization that bringing quality national groups to my church was not an option I begin to settle in on developing a group that would have the same quality yet without the sticker shock of a national group. It didn't happen over night but I knew that a fresh sound could be developed.
 
About a year later there was an opening in the group and I asked Chris if he would consider singing southern gospel with Ransomed. Chris was still young and was a little more contemporary in his music and, bless his heart, had visions of singing from The Heavenly Highway Hymnbook around a piano.... There is nothing wrong with that scenario but he and I both had bigger visions than that and I believed that he could go a long way in developing what I had personally envisioned. So after much prayer Chris joined Ransomed in 1998.
 
Over the next 5 years Chris and I worked with Barbara Brooks and together we began to develop what Ransomed should sound like. Slowly more of the smaller churches started to invite us to sing and my original vision of bringing quality southern gospel music to smaller churches was being realized.... We learned the importance of blending in with a female tenor which is important to us today. After about 5 years, I was going through a particularly difficult time in my life and Ransomed basically took a sabbatical. At the same time the Lord was working on Steve's heart and life. He was singing with his good friend Eddie doing the country circuit at the oprys.
 
Chris was the original one to suggest bringing Steve in. I thought Chris was crazy and Steve was sure of it when he found out he wanted him to sing tenor but it was an opportunity to sing with the family so he decided to give it a shot. So in February 2003, Steve joined Ransomed and Chris and I had to learn all over again how to sing, this time with a male tenor.
 
During the past 5 years the Ransomed vision has continued to grow into what it is today. Our schedule continues to get busier which keeps us pressing forward. Oh yeah, one other thing that has recently happened. Last fall Ransomed was going to the Rodeo City Music Hall in Mesquite. About two weeks prior to us being there we came across the director Joe Gordon. I asked him if he knew the song Midnight Cry. He said that he hadn't sung it yet but he could learn it. I told him to learn it and Ransomed will provide his backup. The song was a hit that night with only one run through before the evening began. Since that night Joe Gordon has steadily become more of an integral part of Ransomed Music Ministry as a guest singer when he is not busy with his other ventures, chiefly going to Arkansas and operating gospel night at Rodeo City.
 
The uniqueness of Ransomed is that it is rare for a family to have three brothers who can sing, each being designed by God for their own part. God's uniqueness didn't stop with just the vocals but also includes the varying personalities. I am not sure how much of it is personality and how much of it is birth order. When it comes to seeking out the future of Ransomed ventures it usually will fall to Lee who then will try to include the rest of the gang in on final decisions. We often joke about Chris and his OCDness but it is because of this that we have the sound that we do, especially in the recording studio. I would prefer to get ‘r done and move on to the next thing but Chris will not settle for that and will stay until it is right. Steve, well….is Steve. He brings a lot of personality to the stage that otherwise would not be there without him. Add in Joe, whom the Berry's have adopted as 'Bonus' Berry, and he brings a voice that blends well with the brothers and the heart of a songwriter.
 
It is Ransomed's prayer that we will continue to grow in our walk with the Lord, find songs that minister to His people, and seek to further the southern gospel fan base.

 

]]> Calvary First Baptist Benefit tag:ransomedblog.ransomedonline.com,2008-03-11:3b84fc13-a23e-409e-b67c-100939085380 Ransomed 2008-04-12T09:23:38Z 2008-03-11T16:15:00Z
We were able to raise at over $2400 towards the contents of their new facility, made many new friends, and caught up with some old friends. Our prayers continue to go out to that congregation as they move toward their new facility.

A special thank you to Pastor David Mills and Ken Case of Berean Baptist for allowing us to have the concert there. Also, thank you to the Baptist Progress for the advertising in their weekly newsletter free of charge. Another thank you should go out to Edgemont Park Baptist Church as they have allowed Calvary First Baptist to meet there on Sunday afternoons for a nominal charge. An additional thank you goes out to Ron and Cyndi Livingston of Cornerstone Press for the posters and to Ron for his effortless sound man prowess.

In this day and age, it is extremely refreshing to see several different churches, Baptist organizations, and groups working together to accomplish something for the Lord.

Below is the letter received from First Baptist Calvary.

God bless,
Lee Berry


Dear Ransomed Music Ministry,

The pastor, staff, and members of Calvary First Baptist Church would like to thank you for giving of your time and talent for the Benefit Concert on Saturday March 1st for our church.

We were so blessed by attending the concert and the love offering of $2,498.50 was very much appreciated.

Thanks again for your donation of time, talent, and substance. Please keep us in your prayers.

May God bless you and your music ministry.

Joe Morgan, Treasurer
Calvary First Baptist Church]]> Cracks In My Vases tag:ransomedblog.ransomedonline.com,2008-02-04:eee81294-32db-4a05-9b85-84cafacb196d Ransomed 2008-04-12T09:29:28Z 2008-02-04T20:27:00Z
Picture if you will, a remote village where the only running water is the water that flows back and forth in a pitcher carried by one of the children. It is close to suppertime so the mother asks her teenage son to run and get some water. Without a second thought, the child grabs the first available vase and darts off to the local watering hole. As he begins to fill the pitcher he notices there is a small fracture down the middle. "Too late to run back and get another vase, this one will have to do," he mutters to himself. His watering vase full he brings the pitcher to his head and begins his journey home. It sure is hot this afternoon. The cool water running down his face from the pitcher offers relief from the heat so perhaps the crack is not too bad after all. By the time the lad reaches home he only has a portion of the intended water necessary for the evening meal. The crack now looms larger than what he originally thought.
    
As a Christian, our life is to be a vase, pouring out blessings toward others as we receive blessings from the Lord. for the unbeliever there is a hole in the bottom of the vase where any blessing from God pours right on through and hits dry ground until God reaches out with His Spirit and touches the unbeliever allowing Christ to fill that void. Then He begins to work on the cracks within the vase of that believer's life.

Over time, God's children begin to bless others and we tend to become oblivious to the cracks in our own vase and some of the blessing that we could be pouring out gets lost. We are quick to find the cracks in everybody else's vase but never step back enough to find our own cracks. Cracks such as selfishness, anger, fear, faithlessness, and the one that you are thinking of now will do.
    
I think we can all agree that we want to be a blessing to others, especially those of us in the music ministry. After all, if we are not a blessing, then what's the point? However, along the way, the blessing to others may get lost through the cracks in our earthen vases.

Having basically been unemployed the past seven months, God has used this time to reveal some cracks in my vase. I don't want to go through this time and learn nothing so I began to ask God to reveal places where I may have, or could have, given Satan to enter into my life. I was not prepared for the revelation that God unfolded.

As I was applying for jobs and then follow through with the subsequent interview process, I found myself asking friends, family and my wonderful Sunday School family to pray that I might obtain that job. Don't get me wrong, it is fine to ask blessing from the Almighty. Remember though, my prayer was that God would reveal places in my life (cracks in my vase) and this one revealed a split. It recently occurred to me that, as this latest job became available and is now down to one other candidate and myself that...there is another candidate for this position. I know nothing about him or his situation. Is he single or does he have a family? Does he already have a job and is simply looking to better his position? Does he need the job as badly as I do? Does he have a team of prayer warriors as large as mine? What does God do in this case, the most prayer warriors wins?

Do you see where I am going? God began to reveal to me a full blown crevice of selfishness in the my vase. It's a crack that if God does not mend, will cause me to lose blessing and effectiveness for my part of the ministry with Ransomed. I confessed to God my selfishness and began praying for this other candidate. How will God answer this? I have no idea, but I have at least learned something through the process. It goes something like this:

Lord, mend the cracks in my vase
I want to be a blessing to others.
don't let the sin in my life
Be a hindrance for another.
May your loving grace be a balm
To cleanse the error of my way
Lord, mend the cracks in my vase
So I can be a blessing today.

Lee Berry]]> Lay Aside The Weight tag:ransomedblog.ransomedonline.com,2008-01-07:4dd49f62-d0ff-46be-bf68-8bf5f0d98ad8 Ransomed 2008-04-12T09:31:08Z 2008-01-07T22:09:00Z  
Our Sunday School class recently embarked on a study about removing our masks with God and with one another. Our initial lesson was focused on the difference between pleasing God vs. trusting God. Nothing wrong with wanting to please God except that the concept is faulty in that it is works based. When it comes to our relationship with God, humanity tries to slip down the path of what must I do to please God. Whether it is salvation, trying to keep our salvation, or somehow getting God to love them more, people usually want to do the spiritual thing on their own terms. The irony in all of this is that the very act of trusting God leads us to the point of pleasing God (Heb. 11:6).
 
When it comes to removing our masks one thing that gets in the way is sin. If you are the one who has sinned, guilt will cloud your ability to be genuine with others because you will fear being “found out” for being less than perfect. On the other hand, if you are the one who was sinned against, hurt will be the barrier to openness. In either case, the victim is the one holding onto the guilt or the hurt.
 
A familiar verse to the guilt laden is Hebrews 12:6 in which we are encouraged to lay aside the sin and the weight which easily ensnares us. As we lay aside the sin which brought on the guilt we can move forward with our walk with God. This same verse works for the guilt’s counterpart, the hurt. If we do not lay aside the weight of hurt, the sin that caused it will eat away at our ability to trust God and others.
 
This leads us to another avenue of laying aside this particular weight, forgiveness. One of the reasons we have difficulty with forgiveness, whether it is ourselves or others, is we do not have the proper prospective of what God did for us. Colossians 2:13-14 speaks of God’s forgiveness in terms of “blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us”. During Paul’s day when someone borrowed money there was an ordinance written and signed by both parties that could be used against them if the debtor was to default on the loan. In order for the debt to be forgiven the very ordinances against the debtor had to be destroyed. That is what Christ did for us on the cross of Calvary, blotted out the ordinances of the debt of sin that was against us. To truly forgive ourselves or others is to literally destroy any connection to the transgression from existence. This is a tall order but one that is necessary if we are to move forward in our walk with Christ.
]]> The Gift Not Seen tag:ransomedblog.ransomedonline.com,2007-12-14:36ef77f2-f91a-445d-9039-570569e8047a Ransomed 2008-04-12T09:35:26Z 2007-12-14T22:23:00Z
They say that "time flies when you are having fun". This requires my mind to ask several different questions. Does this mean that we are having more fun as we get older? As a child Christmas could never get there fast enough, but as bigger children we begin to prepare for Christmas sometime around Labor Day. That is because we are having soooo much fun that Christmas will soon be upon us again and we musn't disappoint anybody. If time does indeed fly when we are having fun, what does this mean when time appears to be standing still? During these times are we incapable of having fun? Then again, how do I know when I am having fun? Oh yeah, the loose leaf pages of my desk calendar seem to be flying off the pad as if being blown by a breeze from an open window.

Another saying that says more about us than the actual saying is "time is of the essence". Usually when someone is saying this it is because someone didn't use their time wisely thus causing time to be "of the essence". Usually the very person notifying us of our clock emergency is the source of the problem to begin with. Therefore, lack of planning on their part creates an emergency on our part.

One saying that I never quite got was "a stitch in time saves nine". Nine what? is the first question that comes to mind. Perhaps the reason I don't understand this is because it is a sewing reference.

Scripture talks about the importance of time all the way back to Genesis. The Creator of time chose to sum up the number of years in the genealogies by saying that the number of their days were... . In Methusalah's case it was 969. Psalm 23:6 tells us that surely goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives. I think in each instance, the message that God is trying to get across to us is the importance of each individual day and how do we hold ourselves accountable for each day.

Probably the most common phrase regarding time is "time is money". That says more about the focus of our culture than anything. We don't always understand the concept of time and all that it implies. However, place it in terms of money and we get it. Shouldn't we as Christians have a different perspective? Perhaps our mantra should be "money is time". Let me explain.

Gift giving in our country has changed through the years as we have become more prosperous. Because of this change we have difficulty in grasping the value within a gift. It used to be that mom or grandma spent time during the late hours making gifts such as quilts, socks, gloves; or granddad made a toy out in his shop. The value of the gift was not found in the money it took for the gift but the time and effort of the person who made the gift. When someone has given me a gift I try to look at it in terms of the time it took that person to earn the money for that gift along with the time it took for them to select it and wrap it. The person giving the gift has placed a time value on the individual they are giving the gift to. Think about that the next time we casually drop a dollar or two in the plate for an evangelist or a missionary.

The song "Time in a Bottle" was brought to my attention the other day. The singer wishes he could capture all the special moments in his life and keep them in a bottle for posterity's sake. Whether intentional or not, the writer has stumbled onto a very deep truth. 

When I spend ten minutes with you that is the only time I will have that ten minutes, and I chose to spend it with you. You are also choosing to spend that time with me, time that is just as valuable to you as it is to me. The other choice that we have is how we spend that time with one another. Do we use it to build a bridge that we can cross at a future point in time? Or do we use it to build a house of cards made from small talk?

Time is a gift that we can give one another that may often go unseen, but rarely unnoticed by the recipient. It can be measured by dollars and cents if it is in gift form. However, it could also be that it is measured simply with a hug, a word of encouragement, or a prayer. As we approach the end of one year and the beginning of another, may we consider one another and provoke each other to good works with this gift, time.

Lee Berry]]> Messed Up People tag:ransomedblog.ransomedonline.com,2007-08-14:d059402d-f692-4e3d-849b-1a3fd17767b6 Ransomed 2007-08-14T14:04:17Z 2007-08-14T12:57:00Z One of the things I have learned through nearly 25 years of ministry, counseling, employment and, more recently, through one week of insurance training is this underlying truth: People are messed up.  They have health issues, financial issues, relational issues, issues about issues, and last but not least, sin issues.

It appears when I talk with individuals.  People reveal a lot of things about themselves as they talk.  How they talk about others tells me a great deal about how they handle relationships.  They begin talking and before they know it they have "revealed" a whole slew of issues within others, most of which probably would have been better left unrevealed.  They tell us things about themselves that allow us to better minister to them through prayer.  With any shred of honesty in them they know that many things were brought on by themselves.  They are messed up.  But God still loves them and, somehow, we must love them through these issues.

I see this when I talk to pastors.  Some have staff issues, some have health issues, some have church issues, some have financial issues, and some have issues to go with their issues. Most of them still manage to love the people that God has given them through their issues.  What I have found is that they are messed up.  But God still loves them and, somehow, we must love them through these issues.

I also see this when I talk with other groups.  Jealousy appears when they start talking about other groups.  Sometimes they reveal things about themselves and their individual situations that, most of which, deep down they know they brought on themselves.  I don't know all of the individuals in all of the groups we minister with, but I do know some of them.  They're not perfect yet God manages to use them in spite of their imperfections.  They are messed up.  But God still loves them and, somehow, we must love them through these issues.

I see it when I talk with family members.  Sometimes they have financial, relational, health, and ego issues.  They even have vehicular issues.  Now these individuals I know a lot better than I do the pastors, church members, and other groups.  God still manages to use these family members in amazing ways to minister to each other and individuals in churches that we sing and attend.  Let me tell you from a position of authority and from the standpoint of knowledge, these people are messed up.  But God still loves them, and somehow, we must love them through these issues.

I see it when I talk with myself.  Yes, I talk with myself and on most occasions I will even answer myself.  Sometimes I have financial issues, vehicular issues, personal issues, ego issues, anger issues, jealousy issues, and usually I find issues where I didn't think that I had issues.  I am messed up.  But God still loves me and, somehow, I must love myself through these issues.

What I am trying to say is that everybody is messed up in one way or another.  We try to mask it, over-compensate, hide it, among other things.  When it is all said and done, the issues are still there when we go to bed at night. We can talk about other people in order to divert attention away from the fact that we are messed up, but honestly, the person across from you still knows that you are messed up because they are messed up.  If it wasn't for the fact that I realize that everybody is messed up one way or another I would absolutely go crazy.  I think that is one of God's gifts to everybody.  One day we wake up and it hits us, we are all messed up.  When that reality slaps us in the face we no longer have to worry about how one group conducts themselves on stage.  We allow ourselves to laugh at ourselves and poke a little fun.  We lighten up on each other because God has allowed each of us to reach others that nobody else can reach.

So with open arms I embrace all of you to this messed up race we call humanity.  God still loves us and, somehow, we must love each other through our issues.]]> The Politics of Southern Gospel tag:ransomedblog.ransomedonline.com,2007-07-16:3649443b-656e-48bb-9e80-6d1d6d0605d2 Ransomed 2007-07-16T14:28:00Z 2007-07-16T14:28:00Z
Growing up liking SG, I was always intrigued by the "Battle of the Quartets" in the coliseum in Ft. Worth.  Eventually it spread to places like Tyler, Greenville, and other locations.  While attending one event in Tyler there was a prominent "national" group along with a pretty good regional group.  Everyone was there to see and hear the national group, but I was curious as to how well the regional group would perform since I was familiar with them and liked them very much.  When they first started they were on fire and the crowd absolutely loved them.  Curiously, about halfway through their set, the sound got worse, and the crowd got cooler.  Then the national group got up and the crowd got warm again.  If often wondered what had taken place that evening until I heard stories about some jealousy from a national group (the same one I might add) and how they rigged the sound to make the other group sound not so wonderful.  Had I not experienced that evening in Tyler some 25 years ago, I would not have believed it.  Yet the stories continue on to the national quartet convention where some groups cannot even be placed in booths next to each other because of the fighting.

Unfortunately, the jealousy does not stop at the national level.  There are some churches that quality local groups cannot get into because the music minister has a group and they feel they have an "exclusive" right to their church.  Okay.  There are a number of groups that I enjoy that have been subject to some negative mail that the people who send them do not even have the decency to sign.  Christianity is not cowardice!!

To be frank with you, when I or Ransomed is subject to criticism, it will reach open ears if the person at least has the common courtesy to sign their letter, email, or talk to us face to face.  If not signed or simply passed on by word of mouth, I consider it garbage and file it accordingly.

I have heard so many rumors about the different groups, and even some that involve my own brother, that it is beginning to make me sick.  This is the type of stuff that Sanballat and Tobiah used against Nehemiah.  The purpose of the actions of those two fellas was to STOP the work of the Lord.

Some of these groups are in the beginning stages of a cooperative effort to increase our base with one another.  Since we have begun this undertaking, it seems that the devil or his imps have tried everything to not get these groups to work together.  I hope that this is a sign that the four groups are onto something and that God has bigger and better plans for all of these groups.

The whole purpose of why we started this was to help one another move on to better ministries and reach more people.  I am thankful for each one of them and hope that collectively we all have greater things ahead, not because we put each other down, but because we build each other up.

Lee Berry
Ransomed Music Ministry]]> Southwest Gospel Group Announces First Concert tag:ransomedblog.ransomedonline.com,2007-05-15:cd3374b6-11e2-40b3-8671-b96acba4205a Ransomed 2007-05-15T08:36:38Z 2007-05-15T08:11:00Z
I know that you enjoy quality gospel music being brought in to the Dallas area.  I am also very aware of the struggles that we face trying to bring in these groups.  To those who have contacted us about Crossway I ask for your patience.  It is going to take time to build an audience.  This means that I need to see support for the quality local groups grow so I can justify to Chris, who handles the Ransomed finances with abundant grace, that when we bring these groups in we can pay the price and not have to put our own ministry on hold.

Your first opportunity to show your support of some of the finest local and regional talent will be October 20, 2007 at Hillcrest Baptist Church.  That is when Southwest Gospel Music Group will host its inception concert with favorite local groups His Call, Southern Joy Quartet, regional favorite Crosspoint Quartet, and Hillcrest Baptist's own Ransomed at 6:00 pm.  The cost, as addressed in the previous blog, will be a mere $10 a ticket.

Southwest Gospel Music Group's vision is for this to be a pre-cursor to future convention type events in which we hope to bring in national talent such as the Booth Brothers, Brian Free and Assurance, Triumphant Quartet, Legacy Five, Poet Voices, Greater Vision, and Crossway.  The attendance at this inaugural event will go a long way in determining the feasibility of such an event.

Our fans talk about wanting to have the best in local and national gospel music.  It is now time for them to show us in a tangible way, their attendance, that this is truly what they are wanting to see.  To help them show their support, we are offering church groups of 20 or more to get tickets at $8 each in advance.  In addition, that group will get 2 additional tickets for free.

In the future you will hear more about Southwest Gospel Music Group and the standards that we would like to achieve and the makeup of our organization.

]]> To Stack or Not to Stack? tag:ransomedblog.ransomedonline.com,2007-05-08:87201a1b-db24-47d3-97f8-d0a778647c7b Ransomed 2007-05-08T14:53:00Z 2007-05-08T14:53:00Z
One of the chic things to do these days in our genre (truth be known it exists in ALL genres) is the stacking of tracks.  Most of gospel music fans do not realize this is being done because they simply enjoy what they are hearing.  Most national groups do this simply fromthe standpoint of the toll that is taken on their voices from singing every night.  I know of one group that has gone through the trouble of placing all their parts on separate trcks simply to help when one of their compadres has a cold.  When this happens they augment that singer's part to help them work through their cold.  And you thought singers never get sick...I have even heard rumors that the Cathedrals had even done this.  You learn a lot of things about gospel music the longer you are in it and the more people you talk to.

I have to tell you, having gone through a significant time of sickness over the past several months myself, this is not a bad idea.  With the technology we have today most people would not be able to tell the difference.  This would allow the fans to still enjoy the quality without making them feel uncomfortable for the poor lady or gentleman trying to croak through a concert.  Can I get a witness from Ransomed's concert at Medical Center Baptist earlier this year?  I promise folks I will make it up to you.

To begin with, we probably need to decide exactly what we mean when we say stacked tracks.  As stacked track is not haveing the original artist' voices singing with you on your song.  This lends credence to the argument that some have that we are merely glorified karaoke.  I have watched groups ues Crossway, Signature Sound, Cathedrals, Booth Brothers, and on and on as their "stacked" track.  This is not a good practice to get into because the quality of the solo rarely, if ever, matches the quality of the original artist.  Then when the quality of the original artist comes through on the chorus there is a glaring discrepancy between live and Memorex.

A stacked track occurs in one of two situations.  Ransomed's situation is that due to the fact that there are only three of us, we have difficulty in trying to pull off four parts.  Lord, Do It Again and Good Time in The Lord are good examples of us simply recording an extra part to complete the chord.  Before we did that the song just did not sound right.  I think we currently have about four songs that we do this with.  And you thought I was just that talented, able to sing two parts at once.  The awesome arrangements that the Booth Brothers use require this sort of stacking.  I do not have a problem with this because three people can only do so many parts at once, namely three.  This was also a very popular thing for solo artists from the 70's and 80's to do.  After all, who better to harmonize with yourself than yourself.

The other situation is when the artist has a split track and all their voices on the track.  That is how some groups get the sound that they get.  My personal opinion (and only my opinion) is that this is a little on the shady side from the standpoint of being genuine.  It isn't to add an extra part but to make the group sound fuller than what they really are.  There is nothing that I can go back to Biblically saying "thou shalt not" but I can say that the Lord wants us to be authentic when it comes to our ministries.  In one instance, the power to themains and the microphones was lost, but the track AND background vocals continued.  I knew the tracks were stacked and had no problem with it.  I was truly embarrassed for the group when that happened,  However, these are the type of things that we are setting ourselves up for when we make the choices we make.  By the way, a similar thing happened to us when we all got to laughing on stage and an extra part came out while we were still laughing.

The underlying principles of consistency and genuineness should be considered when deciding if you are going to stack your tracks.  Consistency in that, if you are going to stack (especially in the second situation) stack them all.  This will help you sound the same throughout the concert and with less change in quality from song to song.  Genuineness in that you are not trying to become somebody or something that you are not.  I can say that what you hear at a Ransomed concert is Ransomed only, not Ransomed times two.  The only exception is the occasional four part harmony that canonly be accomplished by adding the extra track.

As always, I encourage added insight and ideas that you may have in regards to any subject when it comes to gospel music.

Still Singin' For Him,
Lee Berry]]> Lee identifies some of the problems of national group events in the Dallas area tag:ransomedblog.ransomedonline.com,2007-05-08:73253626-aded-446b-bf7d-91ef365bce51 Ransomed 2007-05-08T11:21:00Z 2007-05-08T11:21:00Z
1) Cost.  We that sing our particular style of gospel music must realize that most of our audience is on a limited or fixed income.  Tickets for these events were $35 a night.  When you include parking, a senior couple will drop over $70 before they enter the door.   EVen Gaither isn't priced this high.  His name alone will sell 800-1000 tickets.

2)  Location.  Downtown Dallas on Friday and Saturday evening?  Are you kidding me?  I don't even brave that in my middle age state.  The Dallas Convention Center is in the middle of downtown.  With all the traffic, the loonies frequenting downtown, and the directionally challenged this is not favorable location. 

3)  Timing.  Sunday afternoon is NOT a good time for a concert.  It IS a good time for a post meal nap as most good Baptists can attest.  It is also rumored that Methodist, Assembly of God, Pentecostals, and other evangelicals are among the horizontally afflicted during this time frame.  Think people!

4)  Advertising.  Because I am heavily involved in Southern Gospel I knew about this event.  Even my music minister at Hillcrest was unaware of this event until I mentioned it to him.

5)  Attendance.  I address this because of my own experience with the Crossway concert.  We kept the cost down ($10/ticket).  The location is great because you don't have to deal with Ft. Worth or Dallas traffic.  They tell us that Saturday is the best time for our event.  We advertised to all of our churches and the two radio stations that play our music.  All that was needed was about 400 paying people to show up and we come out even.  An awesome concert but the results were that our current project is 6 months behind schedule due to the financial hit that we took.  We have also witnessed similar results on two different occasions with The Booth Brothers with no more than 300 in attendance and the Perry's with a mere 25 in attendance.

The fans have to show up or these events cannot continue.  Maybe it is true that our music is dying.  I don't believe that this is the case based upon the schedules of the better groups in the area.  Here is my theory of what may happen in the Dallas area.  Mind you, this is only a theory.  Fewer and fewer national groups will be able to frequent the area.  Fuel prices and agent fees (a whole separate blog) will prevent promoters from being able to afford the national groups.  Know this, the days of the $5 Battle of the Quartet days are gone.  Harold Marshall has managed to gather a good crowd for a relatively good price at $17 a ticket in Terrell.  Even then, the demographics of his crowd by location would probably prove to be about 1/3 of his crowd coming from the Dallas area.

The events are going to have to be built up over time.  Harold has not seen overnight success.  He has success because he has been doing this for nearly 15 years and has continually had quality groups.  Unfortunately, he does so to the exclusion of the fine local talent (yet another blog), but he does generate a good crowd because of 15 years consistency.

We are throwing ourselves into the fray and desire to build an audience for quality gospel music.  In the coming days you will be hearing more about the opportunity for you, the fans of Ransomed, to be included on the ground level of what we hope to be something much bigger later on.

In the mean time, feel free to offer your thoughts on solutions to the unique situations that we as promoters in Dallas face and what you have done in different parts of the country.]]> What's Your Goal? tag:ransomedblog.ransomedonline.com,2007-04-02:4cdb0da7-983c-4554-987c-ef595d40c2f4 Ransomed 2007-05-08T12:35:32Z 2007-04-02T17:50:00Z Back in the 1970's, when I was a teenager, our church used to have visitation on Tuesday evenings.  On these evenings we were inviting people to church; encouraging those that needed to be encouraged, and on occasion, would be blessed with the opportunity to lead someone to Chris.  After our witnessing adventures, we would gather back at the church and tell about the results.  Inevitably, there was always some man thee who would tell (with great joy mind you) about his door slamming adventure.  It seems he took great pride in "suffering for Christ's sake" in this manner.  I felt as though I was missing out somehow because I never managed to have the door slamming inauguration into Christianity.  After all, suffering for Christ is part of our calling, isn't it?  This was almost as big a part of the Baptist faith as tongues is to the Pentecostal.  Fortunately, I didn't fall into that trap.  Somehow I always thought the basic idea of visitation is to leave a door open for the next Christian to come along.  I do not recall ever having somebody mad because I had told them that God loved them.

The difference between what I was doing and what the men were doing when they returned can best be summed up in one word...goal.  Their goal, according to their actions, (Out of the mouth comes the abundance of the heart) was to see if perhaps the Love of God might draw them to the Savior.  Notice that there is no greater or less Truth in the two methods.  Also notice that, for the most part, both parties accomplished their goal.  The difference in the two is the result.  Not everybody in my scenario eventually came to know Christ, but everybody was left with a shred of dignity and I left with an open door for the gospel to return at a later date.

Another interesting thing that I learned when going to one church was that if the pastor had not taken time to prepare for his message and was not on his game, it was somehow the people's fault for not preparing to worship and thus not having their hearts in tune with what God was up to.  Let me get this straight, lost people are supposed to have their heart "prepared" to be reached?   The saints are supposed to have everything taken care of before they enter the service?  Ty as I might, this just doesn't happen every time.  However, in my current church situation I have rarely gone where I have not received something from the Lord, whether I am prepared or not.

What does this have to do with gospel music?

The groups that are "prepared" for their event tend to "reach" their crowd.  It may mean that the crowd is "pleased" with what they hear.  I have heard a few of the groups locally talking about how the crowds are not like they used to be.  With the explosion of great "national" groups through the 80's and into the 90's, the bar for what is considered "good" Christian music was raised to new levels; so no, the crowds aren't like they used to be.  Throw in the added boom of contemporary Christian music and there isn't much room left for sub-par talent and preparation, except on a very limited level in smaller churches.  The bar has been raised to a certain extent even on that level as long as the better local groups are able to continue to go to the smaller churches.

There is a strong correlation between work and bookings.  I recently heard one of the first recordings that Ransomed did before we actually took the time to "work" at our craft (by the way, NO! you cant hear it!).  Bookings were rare back then and at the time I often wondered why.  Needless to say, we were in need of some serious work and time in the studio to see what we were doing wrong.  We have since worked very hard to get to where we are at and desire to continue working to improve even more.  Consequently, our bookings have been on the increase.

As for the goal of each group, only God can truly know the heart of man.  However, those things which come out of the mouth do come from the heart.  Hang around a group long enough or watch them on stage long enough and you will eventually know what they are all about.  You can't watch one concert or have one conversation with them and determine what their motives are, whether good or bad.  Over time though, by watching their actions on stage, the songs they choose, and their interactions with other groups.  you can learn a lot about a group and what their goal is.  Even then a person's biased toward people or style may cause us to misjudge a person's motives.  Ultimately, we will all have to wait until Christ takes over and reveals to each of us what our true motives were.

]]> Letting Go of The Past tag:ransomedblog.ransomedonline.com,2007-01-02:88c64def-4730-4b7e-a052-3c8141dce7e7 Ransomed 2007-01-02T19:07:00Z 2007-01-02T19:07:00Z One organization, in an attempt to eliminate some of the parade and make it more enjoyable for the listener, has required that groups sign up by a certain date and offer a preferred night to sing. Each singer then gets two songs in a row when their opportunity comes along. I personally enjoy this as it cuts the parade in half and I get to enjoy some of the better groups a little longer and we’ll not discuss what we do during the not so good groups. Don’t judge me in regards to this because I have seen the rest of you at these conventions and you are doing the same thing even during some of the better groups.
Ransomed does what is requested and when it is requested. Consequently, we get our time to sing when we would like to sing. Some groups have waited past the deadline, not rejoined the association for another year and yet have the audacity to wonder why they can’t sing at the convention. I don’t know, you haven’t followed the requirements maybe? Here is the line that I absolutely love - “that’s not how we used to do it!”
Here is a principle to remember - THE BIGGEST HINDRANCE TO FUTURE PROGRESS IS THE INABILITY TO LET GO OF THE PAST. Most of us now use cordless microphones. Not so long ago it was appropriate to only sing from behind the pulpit. As opposed to the PA system, many groups now have multi thousand dollar systems. And don’t EVEN get me started on “canned” music. It seems we have come a long way in every facet except for our pettiness.
To make matters worse on the topic of how a convention is run, we now have some of our better groups engaging in gossip, back-biting, and behind the scene efforts to have groups not join because of their “agenda“. Somewhere in the book of Matthew around chapter 16-18 is a manual to follow in dealing with differences between brothers and sisters in Christ.
Some things should change while other things should remain a constant. Quality and methods may change over time. The message and how we carry ourselves should remain positive, truthful, and constant.

Lee]]> Thanksgiving and Prayer Request tag:ransomedblog.ransomedonline.com,2006-10-03:80068e47-0e92-4946-90aa-8884b39e555b Ransomed 2006-10-03T07:44:00Z 2006-10-03T07:44:00Z What a time we had with the fine folks of the STGMA and laceName w:st="on">KirbylaceName> laceName w:st="on">BaptistlaceName> laceType w:st="on">ChurchlaceType>. We were received exceptionally well and all of the people of the STGMA should be commended for their organization, especially Ed and Norma Burton. Keep up the great work. Thank you for the contributions toward the Steven Whitlow Benefit coming up on October 15 at the laceName w:st="on">FirstlaceName> laceName w:st="on">BaptistlaceName> laceType w:st="on">ChurchlaceType> in Rowlett.

 

Steven is a ten year old boy who has had a number of surgeries due to a tumor originally the size of a grapefruit on his brain. His father is the music minister at First Baptist and mother is a teacher at laceName w:st="on">LakeviewlaceName> laceName w:st="on">CentenniallaceName> laceType w:st="on">High SchoollaceType>. Please be in prayer for this benefit that it will truly be a blessing to the Whitlow family and will also be a special time of praise and worship of our Lord Jesus Christ. Anybody who would like to contribute may do so by mailing a check to our group address and mark it for the Whitlow benefit. We would love nothing more than to be able to hand the Whitlow's a large check from the people of Texas who are showing that they are thinking of them during their time of need.

 

Let me tell you of one incident that occurred about a week ago. We mentioned this benefit as a matter of prayer. Afterwards we were having dinner in the fellowship hall when a little girl about 8 or 9 came up to us with her hands cupped together. She placed in our hands an assortment of pennies, nickles, and dimes to equal 80 cents. The associate pastor told us that was probably every penny she had. I would to God that we had as open a heart for people that we know, let alone those we do not know.

 

Several churches have already committed to praying for the 15th benefit and Ransomed asks that you too join us in prayer for this special evening. I believe in my heart that God is going to use this little boy's illness to reach others for Christ.

 

Until another time,

 

Singin' for Him,

Lee, Chris, and Steve Berry

Ransomed Music Ministry

]]> More thoughts from Lee tag:ransomedblog.ransomedonline.com,2006-08-20:4d443446-9740-421b-8ac8-24ccf378ddc6 Ransomed 2006-08-20T21:21:00Z 2006-08-20T21:21:00Z When I was just a child I had the desire to be an astronaut. There was something about flying through space that just thrilled my mind. Then I rode the Spindle-top at Six Flags. I don't know if it was the moving around real fast around in circles or the hot dog I ate beforehand but something told me that it just wasn't in the cards for me to be an astronaut. When I was a little older I wanted to be in the NBA or the NFL. There was only one problem with my desire. My brothers will tell you that instead of Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" it was more like, "I'm dreamin'". I actually tackled our tree once while trying to tackle the youngest brother. I had all the heart in the world to play football or basketball but I lacked something necessary to qualify for those sports: ability. My dreams now crushed in the athletic world I sought solace in the guitar. If you have seen us lately, you now know that it is the middle brother playing the guitar and not myse lf. Something about coordinated fingers on the neck of the guitar didn't work with me. I then turned my desires to being a youth minister. After all, I wanted to do SOMETHING for the Lord. Why not play havoc with the lives of teenagers. However, this too presented a problem for my desire-calling ratio. It had a little something to do with my disdain for impetuous behavior amongst teenagers. I love teenagers, I just don't deal well with teenage behavior. This led to my inability to get along with the “blessings” and consequently the crushing of my final dream before settling in my true calling, music.

 

Can we all agree on something? Just because we have the desire to do something doesn't necessarily mean it is something we should do.

 

Not everybody is called to be a pastor. Not everybody is called to be a youth minister. And, not everybody is called to be a singer. David played before King Saul because he was skilled. King Saul could have had anybody but he chose the best, the soon to be King David. Even David wanted those skilled with the instruments to play for the Lord.

 

Ransomed is not qualified to sing before every congregation. Some congregations will prefer a more contemporary sound than what we have. As we have talked amongst ourselves it has occurred to us that the following successful people in SG have had standards. Bill Gaither for one. He does not let just anybody stand on his platform. Consequently, people travel many miles and pay serious money to see the Gaither Reunions. Singing News has a very high standard to be on the cover of their magazine. While I think it is a bit over stated, I cannot argue with the success. Well that's the national people. Fair enough. Let's take a look at one of our own from North Texas, Harold Marshall. While Harold and I have not always seen eye to eye, I still cannot deny the success. He sold 1700 tickets to a gospel concert in north Texas? Are you kidding? How did he do it? He has the good sense to have a high standard. Even His Call has had some success with their concerts because they insist on us ing the best local talent and bringing in solid talent from outside the state. People don't pay to see poor talent.

 

These people were successful because God has given them an idea and the common sense to pursue those ideas to their fullest. The argument that I really like is that Moses had a stuttering problem but God used Him. Whether he had  a stuttering problem or not is debatable. He was raised in the house of Pharaoh and had the best education available, including public speaking. More than likely Moses was seeking an excuse to get out of doing God's will. The reason this argument gets me is because with Moses, David Ring, and Joni Tada we are talking about handy-capped people. The people that I am talking about are not handy-capped unless the inability to carry a note with a beat qualifies. These people have an anointing that defies explanation.

 

Speaking of anointing, why is it that we were part of a group a few years ago and nobody was talking about an anointing? However now we hear this about an anointing quite a bit. Chris and I are the same people, probably a little more worn. May I present an argument that we have refined our sound and now people may "hear" an anointing because it can get past their ear drums and into their heart.

 

Please understand that it isn't that I think we are the best group out there. I chalk that up to personal taste and personalities. Quite honestly, I don't even view myself as having the best voice in Ransomed. I have, however, been a music minister for about 20 years and taken voice lessons for another 10 years. I would think that would qualify me a little bit as to what is good and what is bad. I also allow room for personal taste before I decide whether something is good or bad. Some of the sweetest voices that I have heard in the area tend to sing praise and worship.

 

If you disagree with what I am saying then by all means offer your reasoning as to why the crowds in the metroplex are so small. I look forward to hearing your response.

 

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