Craig Groeschel Impresses With His Latest Offering ‘ALTAR EGO: Becoming Who God Says You Are’ According To Blog Writer Hervict Jacobs.

Darlene Zschech Hits A Home-Run With Her New Worship Album Revealing Jesus

Newsboys Announce New Album To Release In September, First Single To Release May 31st 2013

Acclaimed And Beloved Author Dallas Willard Passes Away

Amy Grant Releases First Album In 10 Years, How Mercy Looks From Here, To Wide Critical Acclaim And A Massive Media Blitz

New BEC Recordings Artist Shine Bright Baby To Release Debut Album Dreamers July 23

Matt Redman’s 10,000 Reasons (Bless The Lord) Named ASCAP’s Christian Music Song Of The Year

Hannah Luce, Daughter Of Ron Luce, Signs Book Deal To Tell Story Of Surviving Plane Crash That Killed Her Friends

Christian Music Legend, Carman, To Release New Album Thanks To Resounding Kickstarter Campaign Success

Duck Dynasty’s Willie Robertson’s Book, The Duck Commander Family, Reaches Half A Million Copies In Print

It’s official, Newsboys has revealed that they will release a new album on September 10th, with the new offering yet still unnamed.  What we do know so far is that the first single off the new album will be released May 31st.  The new single is called “Live With Abandon” and will be released on iTunes at the end of May.

The great news was first broken by the Newsboys drummer Duncan Philips on his twitter account: “@newsboys first single drops may 31st! New album drops Sept. 10! Can’t wait for you to hear it!”  Phillips announced to his followers.

One of, if not, the most prolific Christian music artists ever, the band has released 16 albums in their storied career.  The new album will make it 17 albums.

So this past week I got a hold of famed Hillsong Live Worship Leader Darlene Zschech’s brand new worship album “Revealing Jesus” which released two months ago March 19 with Integrity Music. And I have to say I am blown away at how good it is.  Its undoubtedly one of my favorite worship albums of the past 2 years. I’ve got no issue telling you that when I first got the CD I didn’t expect much.  And when I gave the first 3 songs a listen the first time, my suspicions were confirmed.  Nothing special here.

Except that I couldn’t get the refrain from the opening track “God Is Here” out of my heard.  I went back the next day and listened to the song again and was like wow this an awesome song.  And so begun me starting over with this album.  I listened to the whole album, and by the 6th track I was just so taken aback with how good the album is.  And my biggest, most persistent thought was how come Darlene doesn’t release an album like this every year !!!!!  The songs are brilliant, the lyrics searching and beautifully intimate.  My favorite tracks are “God Is Here” “Magnificent” and “The Cry Of The Broken.”

Something really cool that I didn’t know about the album is that it wasn’t recorded in Australia, it was actually recorded live at Church Of The Highlands in Alabama.  I can assure you, if you’re thinking about getting this album, you will be kicking yourself that you didn’t get it sooner, it’s that good!!! Well Done Darlene, Well Done.  Hopefully, you won’t deprive us too long, of your incredible gift.

‘Revealing Jesus’ Track Listing:
1. God Is Here
2. Best for Me
3. All That We Are
4. In Jesus’ Name
5. Your Presence Is Heaven
6. Victor’s Crown
7. Yours Forever
8. Magnificent
9. My Jesus I Love Thee (I Love You Jesus)
10. Your Name/Cry of the Broken
11. I Am Yours
12. Jesus at the Centre

The New York Times best-selling book The Harbinger: The Ancient Mystery That Holds the Secret of America’s Future by Jonathan Cahn was awarded the Evangelical Christian Publisher’s Association (ECPA) Gold and Platinum awards for achieving sales of both 500,000 and one million units within one consecutive year at the recent ECPA Awards Banquet in Nashville, TN.

Deserving products receive the Gold award for 500,000 copies sold, and the Platinum award for over one million copies sold. ECPA has only presented both the Gold and Platinum awards within a consecutive 12-month period to four titles including the Left Behind series by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins, The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren, and Heaven Is for Real by Todd Burpo and Lynn Vincent.

Tessie DeVore, Charisma House Book Group executive VP, said, “The record-breaking sales of The Harbinger is indicative of the interest byreaders from all walks of life who have been gripped by the uncanny scriptural parallels to what’s happened in current events.” She added, “What makes this milestone even more gratifying is to know that people around the world are not only learning about these mysteries but are also
praying for America.”

Released Jan. 3, 2012, the book has gone to reprint more than 17 times. It is the first New York Times best seller for Cahn.

Raised in a Jewish home, Cahn became an atheist before accepting Christ as Messiah as a 20-year-old. Since 1988, he has led Jerusalem Center/Beth Israel, a worship center in Wayne, NJ, one of the country’s largest Messianic congregations. Through his Hope of the World ministry he has ministered in Cuba, Nigeria, and India.

The Harbinger is the 11^th New York Times best seller for Charisma House Book Group. Fasting by Jentezen Franklin, 23 Minutes in Hell by Bill Wiese, and The Seven Pillars of Health by Don Colbert, MD, have also previously made the list.

Charisma House Book Group has also published several ECPA award-winning books, including 23 Minutes in Hell by Bill Wiese, Jerusalem Countdown by John Hagee, and The Bait of Satan by John Bevere.

Award-winning author Ruth Haley Barton has signed a six-book contract with InterVarsity Press. Barton, president of The Transforming Center, a spiritual formation ministry to pastors and Christian leaders, will releaseInvitation to Transforming Community, the first of six books in the Transforming Church series, in Fall 2014.

“I am very excited about publishing a new series of books on becoming a transforming church with IVP,” Barton said. “This series will include a ‘big book’ addressed to leaders which will cast vision and clarify the major components of a church or ministry organization committed to becoming a transforming community plus a collection of smaller books designed to guide community members in studying and learning together in small groups and educational settings. Developing resources that equip and empower leaders to cultivate transforming communities is a natural next step for me and for the Transforming Center. We are so pleased to be taking it in partnership with IVP!”

“The Transforming Center is doing significant work equipping leaders in the church to have a transformational impact on the lives of the people they touch,” said Jeff Crosby, InterVarsity Press associate publisher and director of sales and marketing. “Throughout its existence, both IVP and, more personally, I have been honored to be a partner with Ruth and her team. I look forward to collaborating with them on the launch of this new collection of books.”

Barton published her first book with InterVarsity Press, Equal to the Task,in 1998. She has published five more books with InterVarsity Press, including Invitation to Solitude and Silence (2005 Christianity Today Book Award), Sacred Rhythms (2006 Logos Book Award), Longing for More, Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership and Pursuing God’s Will Together (2012 Leadership Book Award).

Cindy Bunch, Barton’s editor and associate editorial director said, “It has been a delight to be Ruth Haley Barton’s editor for the past 15 years and to follow her journey as a leader in the area of spiritual formation. We are very pleased to be continuing the relationship long into the future. Ruth has some very important work ahead of her as she helps churches bring spiritual formation into the center of their ministry.”

Dallas Willard, renowned teacher, acclaimed writer and one of our most brilliant Christian thinkers, died of cancer today, May 8, 2013. He was 77.

“This morning our wonderful teacher and friend awakened to the full goodness of the Kingdom of the Heavens he had described so beautifully,” said friend and colleague Gary Moon, director of the Dallas Willard Center for Spiritual Formation at Westmont College. “I believe Dallas Willard was one of the great reformers of Christian thought of the past century and that his most powerful lessons were in how he lived an unhurried life with God.”

Kent Carlson, a friend of Willard, said, “I heard Dallas say recently that some people will die and it will be a while before they realize they are dead. That is vintage Dallas. Eternity is real and it has already begun. He lived this. He once wrote, ‘You are an unceasing spiritual being with an eternal destiny in God’s great universe.’ I cling to this truth today.”

Willard is known for changing the way thousands of Christians experience their faith. “Again and again I have been profoundly struck by Dallas Willard’s ability to speak fully to both mind and heart,” said Richard J. Foster. “His intellectual stature and his deep devotion to Christ are distinguishing marks of his life. And, above all else, the humility and gracious character of his life is simply stunning.”

“He is the kind of figure and person that only is given by God once in many generations,” said Keith Meyer, friend of Willard.

Willard was an acclaimed author whose books include The Divine Conspiracy (Christianity Today’s Book of the Year in 1998), The Spirit of the Disciplines, Hearing God, Renovation of the Heart and others. Willard’s most profound influence is in the area of spiritual formation and in the way he humbly mentored so many of today’s leaders in the Christian faith.

“My beloved friend and mentor, Dr. Dallas Willard, was the most brilliant and Christlike man I have ever known,” said James Bryan Smith. “He preached and taught the gospel of the available Kingdom of God, and lived it each day. Quite simply, his life and teaching radically changed my life for the good.”

“Dallas Willard has called evangelicals back to the ancients and their practice of the forgotten disciplines of silence, solitude, reflective reading of scripture and unceasing prayer, fasting, etc. and their vision of the kind of life these can produce,” said Meyer. “We who have learned from him stand on his shoulders looking for how to build on his work.”

Cindy Bunch, Willard’s editor at InterVarsity Press and associate editorial director, saw his influence play out in the lives of authors she worked with. “I have had the delightful privilege of getting to know Dallas Willard through many of the authors we have published, particularly in the Formatio line. James Bryan Smith has shared with me of how Dallas would encourage him not to reference him so much, saying, ‘If it was any good, it did not come from me, but from the Holy Spirit, so consider it public domain.’ Todd Hunter likewise told me how Dallas encouraged him to run with many ideas that Dallas had seeded in him. Alongside the encouragement from Dallas came a gentle guidance. Keith Meyer has often recalled the message he received from Dallas after we had sent a book contract: ‘Keith, just remember, you are the donkey pulling the Jesus cart.’ So thank you to James Bryan Smith, Richard Foster, Nathan Foster, Gary Moon, Kent Carlson, Mike Lueken, Todd Hunter, Mindy Caliguire, Keith Meyer, Gayle Beebe, Glandion Carney, Emilie Griffin, and Jan Johnson for giving me glimpses into what it is like to do life in companionship with Dallas. Dallas Willard was a person who repeatedly gave himself—even when it meant sidelining his own projects—to invest in the lives of others.”

Dallas Albert Willard was born in Buffalo, MO, on Sept. 4, 1935. A 2006Christianity Today article about Willard said that his elders told him he was insatiable about the “why questions” as a child. Willard did not remember that, but he did recall the struggle to stay alive during the Great Depression and the anguish of being separated from his siblings some years after his mother died when he was only two years old. He devoured books after following his siblings to their one-room Missouri school as a 4-year-old. After high school he worked as an agricultural laborer, and he continued to work with his hands throughout his life, doing carpentry and landscaping on his hilltop property north of Los Angeles.

Willard was 19 when he married Jane Lakes. He says that apart from the knowledge of God, Jane has been the greatest blessing in his life. “On many occasions, she has held me steady and preserved me from going off track,” Willard said in a Christianity Today interview. The Willards have two children, John and Becky, and a granddaughter, Larissa.

Willard attended William Jewell College, and he later graduated from Tennessee Temple College in 1956 with a BA in psychology, and from Baylor University in 1957 with a BA in philosophy and religion. Willard was ordained a Southern Baptist pastor but left the pastorate to study philosophy in the 1960s. He went to graduate school at Baylor University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, earning a PhD in philosophy with a minor in the history of science in 1965.

Willard was a professor in the School of Philosophy at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Beginning in 1965 he taught at USC, where he was a director of the School of Philosophy from 1962 to 1985. He also taught at the University of Wisconsin (Madison, 1960-1965), and held visiting appointments at UCLA (1969) and the University of Colorado (1984).

Willard believed passivity to be a widespread problem in the church, and his greatest goal for the church was to make genuine disciples of Jesus. “Dallas thought about his faith and he talked about his faith but most importantly he talked about Jesus whom he called the ‘smartest man who ever lived,’” said Bob Fryling, InterVarsity Press publisher. “I am deeply indebted to Dallas for his winsome example and rich teaching on how to be a spiritual person as a disciple of Jesus Christ.”

Todd Hunter, friend and student of Willard recalled: “Many years ago in a private moment I asked Dallas: ‘What is your greatest concern about the Kingdom-based spiritual formation movement?’ Without hesitation he answered: ‘Willard-ites.’ We sat silent for a few moments, that word hanging in the air. On his countenance, in his eyes, I could see a fear that someone might mistake Dallas or his teaching for the endgame, not the signposts he meant them to be of his profound love of Jesus and his kingdom. I can’t say much more or I’d run the risk of either hyperbole or sounding like what Dallas wanted greatly to avoid. Perhaps, though, I could end with this: no human being taught me more about life in Jesus and his Kingdom. And I vow, until the day I die, to the best I can, as an apprentice to Jesus, to announce, demonstrate and embody the gospel of the Kingdom of God.”

B&H Publishing Group president Selma Wilson has announced a new strategy for the company’s fiction program.

Uniquely positioned for developing strategic partnerships, B&H will intentionally focus on publishing only those novels that are tied to broader strategic endeavors, including initiatives with ministries, external film partners, LifeWay Films, and the B&H Kids line. Past releases using this model have included such best sellers as The Love Dare, The Vow, The Resolution for Men, as well as titles such as October Baby andUnconditional. New and upcoming releases include the “Experiencing God at Home” line, The Lost Medallion by Bill Muir and Alex Kendrick, and “The Truth Seekers” series by Bill Myers.

“B&H is focusing on projects that align with our core strengths,” said Wilson. “We are uniquely gifted in working alongside partners and utilizing all of the tools that LifeWay Christian Resources is blessed to have. We are a team of people who want to spread the gospel around the world, and we believe we accomplish that best when we deploy our gifts to broader movements alongside strategic relationships.”

Upcoming B&H releases this year include The Love Dare for Parents by Stephen and Alex Kendrick (Jul. 1), Whispers of Hope by Beth Moore (Oct. 1), and Operation Christmas Child by Franklin Graham and Donna Lee Toney (Oct. 1).

Skillet have just released the title track off their forthcoming album, Rise, which is available June 25th. The song “Rise” is part of the band’s first ever concept album, as singer John Cooper explains, “The narrative idea happened after we had 10 or 11 of the songs chosen. As we recorded them, we started to realize that there was something going on – that the album was really telling a story. Realizing that, I knew we needed to make it as powerful as we could.” The title track is available on iTunes now.

The band are also offering their die-hard fans the chance to hang out with them on tour via the “Road to Rise VIP Experience.” There will be two all-day events only for fans to attend, hang out and eat with the band, hear the new album first and see the live DVD first: June 14 in Nashville, TN and June 21st in Chicago, Illinois. For more info check out this video here.

Skillet will also be hitting the road this Summer on the Festival Circuit. Be sure to catch them at Rock on the Range, Alive, Creation East, and Rock the Park this summer.

To stay current on all things Skillet related, be sure to check out their Official Site, Facebook, and Twitter.

Official Sites:
Website: www.skillet.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/skillet
Twitter: www.twitter.com/skilletmusic

Earlier this year, Mars Hill Music entered into a partnership with Tooth & Nail Records / BEC Recordings to share the variety of worship bands from Mars Hill Church. The second full-length release from this partnership will be from Ghost Ship, which finds its home in the new Mars Hill Downtown building in Seattle. The folk-rock worship band will release their full-length album, The Good King, on June 11. Click here to see and exclusive preview video from the Ghost Ship’s release.

Lead Worship Pastor at Mars Hill Church Downtown Seattle Cam Huxford thought he’d follow in his father’s footsteps (a pastor to the same congregation for 28 years); however, this Georgia native started down the path of a musician early as he discovered music.

“I had this really bad folk band,” he admits, detailing his early days as a musician, “And we were kids, just sharing songs we’d written, and I had an idea for a worship song…and we just wrote it.” He went on to study Music and Theology at East Tennessee University, and post-graduation landed as the lead worship pastor for a 20k congregation back at his father’s church.

Years later, Huxford and his wife started feeling called towards urban ministry and, after researching, found that Seattle was one of the most un-churched cities in the nation. They learned about Mars Hill and Huxford quickly became involved. He’s been leading worship at the downtown campus ever since.

Seeing the congregation sing alongside him is what Huxford and his band Ghost Ship have been doing for about two and half years. Comprised of Huxford, Doug Finefrock, Jamison Dewlen, Chae Choi, Shay Carlucci, and Fancy Morales, the septet worships with a rock-folk sound that fosters Huxford’s specialty of scripture-inspired storytelling. They write and lead with the faith that God will be at the center of it all, thus the name of their band. “Ghost Ship” is a reminder that they’re moving by the power of the Holy Ghost, active vessels for the Lord motivated through the Spirit.

Click here to see the album artwork and complete track listing.

ABOUT MARS HILL MUSIC:
Mars Hill Music is made up of a variety of musicians and worship leaders who serve throughout the various Mars Hill locations. Since its humble beginnings in 1996, Mars Hill has been committed to engaging the surrounding culture in order to point people to Jesus. Each Mars Hill band strives to do this with a natural expression and outgrowth of what God is doing in their cities.

The foundation behind Amy Grant’s first full-length studio album in 10 years came from some advice given to her by her late mother – “sing something that matters.” The six-time GRAMMY® Award winner, who releases her 18th studio album today, May 14 is dedicating How Mercy Looks From Here to her mother and drawing from some of her favorite singers and songwriters in what critics are calling her most impactful release to date. The impressive array of talent includes Sheryl Crow, Vince Gill, Will Hoge, Carole King, Eric Paslay and James Taylor.

To launch her first album in over a decade, Grant dives in to street week with appearances on CBS This Morning (5/17 and 5/18) and the nationally syndicated lifestyle program, The Better Show (5/17) as well as Morning Joe on MSNBC (5/14), NPR’s “Weekend Edition” (5/12), WOR Radio with Rita Cosby (5/14), ABC Radio, Keep the Faith radio and more. Grant also recently conducted an in depth interview for Lifetime TV’s “The Balancing Act,” (5/28) as well as their “Hollywood Watch” program (5/31). Additionally, Grant is also scheduled to appear on the highly acclaimed shows The View and The Chew early this summer.

Other media highlights for How Mercy Looks From Here include a special two-part Artist to Artist interview with FUSE NEWS between Grant and Sheryl Crow, an exclusive online video interview for Entertainment Tonight online as well as their featured artist for New Music Tuesday today, exclusive song premieres with Billboard.com and GoodHousekeeping.com, and cover stories with CCM Magazine, Called Magazine, Guideposts, FIRST for Women Magazine, SOCIAL and WHOA magazines. Additional feature coverage includes Billboard, Country Weekly, People.com, SiriusXM, and more.

The album’s lead track, “Don’t Try So Hard,” features legendary songwriter James Taylor and continues its rise up the AC monitored chart, jumping 4 spots to #25 this week, and up 6 spots on the National Audience chart to #27.

Along with special mother’s day promotions with several stations across the country, additional radio promos for the record are happening with key market stations throughout the country. Grant is making personal appearances at record listening parties with WAWZ, WGTS, WCIE, and WHPZ, as well as participating in a special promotion with KSBJ, while KXOJ and K-LOVE are both promoting a flyaway to The Greek Theater in Los Angeles to meet Amy and see her live.

Welcoming back the iconic singer-songwriter with open arms, here are just a few of the multitudes of praises on How Mercy Looks From Here:

“[Amy's] time away from music seems to have given [her] a renewed fervor for the job – a feeling that she doesn’t plan to extinguish any time soon.” – Entertainment Tonight

“…her singing has an easy grace that’s well served by these songs of love, loss, faith and resilience, which benefit from Marshall Altman’s spare, glowing production.” – USA Today

“Grant’s most emotionally compelling release since 1988′s “Lead Me On”… proves that sincerity is not overrated and that open-hearted storytelling will outlast any musical fad.” – Atlanta Journal Constitution

“The revered veteran is at another creative peak punctuated by authentic vocal delivery, understated but sophisticated production and a slew of all-star guests.” – CCM Magazine

“…the songs glow with the gentle redemptive wisdom that is her strong point as a songwriter and singer.” – iTunes

“…a start-to-finish true album experience… Every song on this album is heart and soul music, and Grant hits a home run in her quest to “sing something that matters.” – Nashville Parent

“A collection of songs that mine the depths of both heart and soul as only Amy can. This is easily one of the best albums of the year.” – NewReleaseTuesday.com

“Ultimately a profoundly encouraging record, How Mercy Looks From Here is a vibrant collection of thoughtful, reflective ruminations on life and the passage of time, from the lens of one who realizes the purpose for which she was created.” – Christian Musician