Former Gaither Vocal Band and Imperials singer Jonathan Pierce dies at 49

Jonathan Pierce, remembered fondly by the Southern Gospel community for his three years with The Imperials as well as three years with the Gaither Vocal Band, died Sunday at the age of 49.

Pierce, whose voice is featured prominently on GVB’s “I Believe In A Hill Called Mt. Calvary,” enjoyed solo success in Contemporary Christian Music after leaving the group. He also did a stint on television as the lead in the show, Ultimate Country Home, on Country Music Television.

Pierce had recently undergone heart surgery. His died from complications.

Please keep his family and friends in your prayers.

 

Carter Family Band releases Overflow

Daywind Music Group this month announced the release of the Carter Family Band‘s new single, “Overflow,” for radio airplay on Gospel stations across Canada and the world. The song follows the group’s success with its last single, “I Won’t Turn Around.”

 

The group’s Facebook page says Bryan Carter, former lead guitarist for Jeff and Sheri Easter, and his wife & children, make up the Gospel band they describe themselves as Southern Gospel with a touch of bluegrass.

Listen for “Overflow,” and future releases from the Carter Family Band on Texas Gospel Canada!

A misleading and unfair question

It’s not uncommon for someone opposed to our faith to ask: How could you believe in God given some of the things science has proven? It’s a misleading and unfair question for several reasons.  It’s usually directed at someone who is not an astrophysicist or even someone who holds some advanced degree. It’s easy to imply that advanced science has proven there is no God when talking to someone who is not a scientist. It’s an unfair advantage that some exploit. One can claim that science has proven anything when talking to someone without such an education.  But doing so speaks more to the intentions of the one making the claim. Science has not proven there is no God.  It’s either a claim intended to deceive, one made from ignorance, or it’s an expression atheist faith.

It’s important to note that the Bible wasn’t written to teach us about the processes by which God created the universe. Its books were written to explain in words we can understand, the nature of God and our need for salvation. The processes by which God created the universe may or may not be something that men and women can understand. When one considers how little of the universe is even visible to us, we would have to make a lot of assumptions to claim we understand it.

Researchers have learned things about the physical world that that appear to be gibberish to common understanding.  I’m talking about things such as subatomic particles that exist in two places at the same time and the universe being made up of mostly dark matter that we can’t see or detect other than its gravitational pull. Something existing in two places at the same time? That doesn’t make sense.  It sounds like gibberish to say most of the universe is invisible, but they’ve demonstrated that as well. Reality is not what we think, and it’s certainly not what our senses tell us.

Researchers and our finest scientific minds have never come up with something that “proves” there is no God.  If anything, they’ve demonstrated we’re going in the wrong direction if our goal is to confirm that our understanding of reality in this universe reveals that the idea of God is hard to believable.  But there are some people who work very hard to try to convince us that science has eliminated God.  Let me restate this.  As top scientists find things that go against our common sense, they find that making sense of God’s creation isn’t as simple as we’d like it to be.  Fallacious arguments such as the “celestial teapot” lose their bite when used to say the idea of God is false because it seems absurd. In fact, Bertrand Russell who devised the argument was intentionally being absurd to demonstrate that the burden of proof lies with the person making a claim, not to “prove” there is no God.  How something seems or feels does not tell us anything about its reality.  As science advances, the  arguments of those calling the concept of God absurd recedes, and the idea that science has eliminated God is revealed as little more than anti-theist faith.

I believe God created the universe, and us, and loves us enough to offer His son’s blood to cover our shortcomings.

What do you believe?

 

 

Gospel musician with missing fingers adopts son who has same birth defect

Special to Texas Gospel Canada from Daywind Records

Our God is an amazing God. He shows Himself in some of the most unlikely ways. Barry Abernathy of Appalachian Road Show was born with only a thumb and partial index finger on his left hand. He adapted and has a unique three finger style of playing the banjo.

He and his family recently adopted siblings, Tyler and Zoey. Barry’s daughter, Chassady, encountered the children through their daycare. They had been removed from an unsafe home and put in the foster care system. Chassady noted when she saw 4 year old, Tyler, that he had the exact same birth defect as her father.

Barry decided to stop by the daycare as he drove through Nashville, feeling that God was leading him to do so. Tyler looked at him and said, “You’re my dad!” The Abernathys didn’t wrestle with God very long. They quickly decided, Tyler was right. This amazing story was shared on NBC’s, Today. over the weekend! What a beautiful story and a beautiful family! Be sure to read the full story for yourself! Here’s Barry Abernathy and the rest of Appalachian Road Show with “Tribulations.”

CLICK HERE TO SEE FULL STORY FROM “TODAY”

Original Hinson member dies

Southern Gospel fans are mourning the death of original Hinsons’ member, Larry Hinson. Mr. Hinson passed away Wednesday April 22.

The Hinsons are a Southern Gospel family group that captivated Southern Gospel fans for decades. They started out in Freedom, CA, in the late 1960’s. The sibling group consisted of Ronny, Yvonne, Kenny and Larry.

Between his two tenures with the group, collectively, he was with the group 17 years.