Author: Texas Gospel

Chosen Road’s Zach Alvis celebrates arrival of baby Josie

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AMY TURNER

Josie Leona Alvis arrived a little ahead of schedule, and her dad, Zach Alvis of Chosen Road, made sure fans heard the news. Born July 3rd at 6:11 PM, Josie weighed 6 lbs, 6 oz and measured 18.5 inches long.

Alvis shared the news on Facebook with the same heartfelt honesty that colours his music: “It wasn’t the timeline we had planned, but we’re reminded once again that the Lord’s plans are always better than ours. His providence is perfect, and His faithfulness never EVER fails. We’re overwhelmed with gratitude that our baby girl is healthy, Momma is doing well, Jack is the proudest big brother ever and shown once again how God has been so kind to us through it all. We know every good and perfect gift comes from Him, and this sweet little life is a reminder of His grace and mercy.”

Congratulations to the Alvis family on the newest addition to their household.

The clear promise of Christ’s return

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JEFF TURNER

The return of Christ has become a contested question in our time, debated in pulpits, published in books, dramatized on screens. And yet, for all the noise, the Bible speaks with uncommon clarity.

Two camps have emerged. Some teach that His coming will be invisible, purely spiritual. Others hold that it will be real, bodily, and visible to all. This is not a small disagreement. What we believe about His return shapes how we read all of Scripture.

Much of the confusion traces back not to the text, but to fiction. When imagination fills the spaces that Scripture already occupies, the truth grows dim. We must return to the New Testament, where the teaching is plain and direct.

Jesus will come again, and His coming will be seen. Visible signs will precede Him across the earth. There will be nothing quiet, nothing hidden, nothing merely inward about it. His feet will stand upon the Mount of Olives. The mountain will divide. Waters will flow. Dry places will bloom. The physical world itself will bear witness to His arrival.

This matters because truth always matters. When we anchor our hope to what Scripture actually says, confusion gives way to conviction.

For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.

Matthew 24:27

Steve Ladd on the mend after hip surgery, eager to get back to what he calls his calling

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AMY TURNER

Steve Ladd has spent his life singing about redemption, and this summer, he’s living out a smaller version of that story: recovery.

The artist, who grew up in Dayton, Ohio, and was once nominated for New Artist of the Year by the Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame, underwent a full hip replacement at the end of June. It wasn’t a routine procedure. Ladd had surgery on the same hip as a child, and the old complications resurfaced on the operating table. According to a Facebook post by his wife, Meagan, the surgery ran about an hour longer than doctors had planned.

Still, Ladd came through it, and by all accounts, he’s bouncing back fast. He’s already deep into physical therapy, and the reports have been encouraging. On Monday, he shared the news himself in a Facebook post that read like classic Ladd: equal parts gratitude and gospel fire.

“Therapist just left. He said everything looked great and that I’m doing good (movement wise),” he wrote. “I’m ready to get back to doing what I love to do and what I’m called to do… SING! Maybe this new hip will help me sing better?!”

That sense of calling has defined Ladd’s career for years. His music has always leaned into themes of faith and restoration, and his latest single, “Mercy Seat,” carries that same thread forward, exploring spiritual redemption, forgiveness, and what Ladd describes as unconditional freedom found through Jesus.

For an artist whose whole catalogue circles back to grace and second chances, a hip that’s giving him a second chance of its own feels almost fitting. Fans who’ve followed Ladd’s journey through the Gospel Music world will recognize the tone: humour, humility, and an eagerness to get back to the stage.

For now, Ladd is focused on healing. But if his Facebook post is any indication, it won’t be long before he’s back on the road, mic in hand, doing the thing he’s always said he was made to do.

What Jesus really meant when he told a man to let the dead bury their own dead

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JEFF TURNER

The call to follow Jesus is urgent, and Luke 9 shows just how seriously he took it. A man asked permission to go home first and wait until his father had died before committing to discipleship. At first glance, the request sounds reasonable, even respectful. But the situation was not what it appeared to be. The father had not yet died.

What the man was asking for was time: go home, wait out his father’s remaining years, secure the inheritance, then follow Jesus once his financial future was settled. Jesus was not calling anyone to abandon grieving families. He was calling out a heart that wanted to follow only after every earthly arrangement was in order.

The lesson is this: when Jesus calls, the right response is to trust him with the details and go, not to wait until personal security is guaranteed.

 But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Luke 9:62

The Hyssongs bring daughter Makayla into the family harmony with new Worship Medley single

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AMY TURNER

Makayla Hyssong may not have known what to expect when the Hyssongs walked into the studio and she stepped up to the microphone. She just wanted to sing “Shout to the Lord” the way she’d always heard it in her head.

“Her emotional rendition of this anthem brought tears to everyone in the studio while recording,” says her father, Richard Hyssong, still sounding a little amazed by it. It’s the kind of moment that doesn’t come around often, even for a family that has spent nearly three decades making music together.

The Maine based Southern Gospel trio is barely getting comfortable with their new label home, Horizon Records, where lead single “Good News Savior” is just now finding its way to radio. But The Hyssongs have never been a group content to sit still, and their new “Worship Medley” arrives close behind their last release, “It’s Not Over Yet,” a song that turned Makayla’s own health struggles into a testimony about faith and healing. This time, rather than singing about her, the family is singing alongside her, and it marks the first time Makayla has been featured on a Hyssong recording.

Working again with producer Jeff Collins, the family threads together three worship standards into one continuous, sweeping performance. It opens with the propulsive energy of “You Are Good,” settles into the emotional core of Makayla’s “Shout to the Lord,” and closes with “Awesome God,” a version built around a string arrangement that swells into a full orchestral finale.

For Richard Hyssong, the medley isn’t just a showcase for his daughter’s voice, it’s meant as something closer to an offering. “With all of the noise and issues in this world,” he says, “these songs will help us reflect on almighty God and bring us to the point of worship.”

That instinct, to cut through the noise with something plainspoken and sincere, has defined The Hyssongs since they started singing together as a family 29 years ago. Their sound draws on classical training as much as gospel tradition, and it shows in the tight harmonies and unusual chord voicings that set them apart from other trios on the circuit. Add in a horn section featuring trumpet and trombone, plus the easy humour that runs through their live shows, and you get a group whose ministry feels less like a performance and more like an invitation.

The accolades have piled up accordingly. The group took home the Singing News Fan Award for Favorite New Trio in 2014 at the National Quartet Convention in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, and they’ve landed among the Top Ten Trios of the Year every year since. Their chart run has been just as consistent, with songs like “There Is A God,” “Choose Life,” “Run The Race,” “I Tell Them Jesus” and “Let the Hallelujahs Ring” all reaching number one on the Singing News Radio Charts. AbsolutelyGospel.com tapped them as an artist to watch back in 2015, and their album Faith & Family was named a Top 10 record of the year by Singing News Fans in 2017.

None of that history explains what happened when Makayla stepped up to sing, though. Some things you can build over 29 years of family harmony. Others just arrive, fully formed, in a single take.