Dream In Soul – Creativity for the Kingdom:

Join thousands of young people from around the country in a mission to bring glory to God!

The Impact Movement’s 2008 conference will be held December 27, 2008 – January 1, 2009 at The Atlanta Marriott Marquis in Atlanta, GA. Join over 3000 college students, mature high juniors and seniors, marketplace professionals, ministers and educators of African descent from across the nation in this inspiring and life changing event! The conference will feature several speakers such as Michelle McKinney Hammond, Reverend Charles Gilmer, and Pastor Keith Battle, and Gospel artists Kirk Franklin, and Lecrae. Visit the conference site now to learn more and to register.

View Lecrae’s promo video for the conference below:

It’s truly uplifting to hear stories of music artists explaining how God has moved in their lives to bring them to where they are now. I was truly blessed by these interviews on Streaming Faith’s show Center Stage, hosted by Grammy-award winning music producer Kevin Bond. He interviews some of the biggest stars in Gospel music and delves into their spiritual lives, their beginnings, and highlights clips of their latest projects. He does a wonderful job of capturing the essence of each guest as they give their personal testimonies. The interviews are down-to-earth and really relevant to what people go through each day, and I think it’s inspiring for the artists to be so open and transparent.

In the interview with Trin-i-tee 5:7 they tell us how they met, transitions they’ve gone through during their careers, and how they are using their creative talents for God. They speak about how important it is to be obedient and to be within God’s will in order to reach your true purpose. I was also really touched by the one with Canton Jones who talks about how he’s handling his “Kingdom Business” by listening to the voice of God, and reaching out to the new generation of believers. Deitrick Haddon speaks on how he’s using his music to bring a new sound to Gospel music, and talks candidly on how there should be more community within the Kingdom to nurture future leaders.

Later I’ll highlight in more detail some of my favorite parts of the interviews and jewels of wisdom I took from them. All of them are lively and interesting, and more are added every few weeks. Be sure to watch them all below or on the Center Stage website!
(Scroll right in the iframe so you can scroll down to see more videos).

Mary Mary’s new album “The Sound” is realeased October 21st! Make sure to go get it!

Here’s the description of the album from Mary Mary’s website:

THE SOUND
When it comes to urban gospel superstars Mary Mary, everything is done on a big scale. All of their pursuits—musical, spiritual, or otherwise—are larger-than-life: not a single thing is left to chance. For them, there’s simply no room for halfway, half-done, half-baked efforts. No matter the venture, the bar is always sky-high. Absolutely everything must be handled with an utmost sense of excellence.
This commitment to greatness isn’t novel for them. As far back as their breakout, career-defining first single, “Shackles (Praise You)” in 2000, Mary Mary have time and again gone for broke. Their landmark fifth album for Columbia Records, THE SOUND, is no different. Hands down, the project is their boldest, most complete work yet—a remarkable milestone in their now decade-long trajectory in music.

“We represent a great, big God who is excellent, so we like to think that our work represents that, too,” says Tina Campbell, one-half of the best-selling duo. “God’s blessings are new every day. He’s blowing our minds every day. We should be able to speak to a new day in a new way.” Her sister Erica Campbell can’t help but concur: “I wholeheartedly agree,” she says. (Read More in Their Bio)

“Get Up” is an upbeat and motivational track off of the album. I love it’s message and can’t get the beat out of my head. Watch the video below:

“It’s your dreams, Your choice, Your time, Your life
So don’t you, Don’t you, Miss it

What are you afraid of?
Don’t you know what you’re made of?
One of God’s greatest creations
Take this invitation now…” – Lyrics from Mary Mary’s “Get Up”