Tag: Southern Gospel Radio

One body, one life: the true meaning of the church

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TEXAS GOSPEL VOLUNTEER

The true church of Jesus Christ should never be understood as a mere organization; rather, it functions as a living organism, a single body.

Consider a tree as an illustration. The same life found in its roots also flows through the trunk, the branches, the stems, the leaves, and the fruit, with one continuous sap running through every part. Jesus used a similar picture when describing the believer’s relationship to him, instructing his followers to remain in him just as a branch stays connected to the vine, since the life within the roots is the same life running through the entire vine.

In the same way, the human body operates as one life expressed through many different limbs, each assigned its own function, yet all working together as a single, growing body, a picture Jesus used to describe how the church operates as well.

For just as we have many parts in one body and all the body’s parts do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually parts of one another.

Romans 12:4-5

Jesus alone holds supremacy over all creation and the church

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TEXAS GOSPEL VOLUNTEER

Jesus holds a position of complete supremacy, having created everything that exists, and he occupies the place of highest authority within the church as its sovereign Lord.

The church has only one head, and that position does not belong to any pastor or religious leader, regardless of their title, appearance, or location. The one and only head of the true church, made up of everyone who has placed personal faith in Jesus Christ as saviour, is Jesus Christ himself.

While scripture does describe pastors as shepherds who care for God’s people, they function as undershepherds serving beneath the great shepherd, who remains sovereign over the entire body of believers that make up the church of Jesus Christ.

He is also the head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.

Colossians 1:18

The Office of prophet in the early church

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JEFF TURNER

Among the leadership roles Paul describes in Ephesians, prophets occupy a distinct place alongside apostles, evangelists, and pastor-teachers. Understanding this role requires distinguishing between a general sense of speaking truth and a specific, recognized office within the early Christian community.

While anyone preaching or teaching could loosely be described as prophesying, the formal office of prophet referred to specially appointed individuals serving within local congregations, distinct from the apostles who travelled to plant new churches. These prophets appear to have received direct revelation intended for their specific community, though their messages still required validation from fellow prophets and had to align with established apostolic teaching.

In essence, the apostles functioned somewhat like the early evangelists of their day, spreading the gospel across new territory, while the prophets functioned more like resident teaching pastors, instructing and guiding congregations already established.

Doesn’t this explain why, once the apostolic era concluded, the offices naturally transitioned into the ongoing roles of evangelists and teaching pastors that continue within churches today.

But the one who prophesies speaks to people for edification, exhortation, and consolation.

1 Corinthians 14:3

Triumphant Quartet teams up with Gordon Mote on new project

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TEXAS GOSPEL CANADA VOLUNTEER

The Triumphant Quartet plans to release new music in 2027, according to a social media post from the group.

The band said it has been working in the studio and is partnering with Gordon Mote on the upcoming project. Details about the songs and their release date have not been announced.

Triumphant thanked the musicians, writers and others involved in creating the new music.

“We’re incredibly grateful for the songs, the musicians, the writers, and every person who has helped bring this new music to life,” the group said in the post.

The band did not say when in 2027 the music would be released.

We’ll let you know when we learn more.

11th Hour finds gratitude in a new day with “Today is the day”

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TEXAS GOSPEL CANADA VOLUNTEER

Southern gospel trio 11th Hour is leaning into gratitude with their new single “Today Is The Day,” a song built on a simple but stubborn idea, that mercy resets every morning, whether you feel like accepting it or not.

Amber Eppinette Saunders points to scripture as the spark. “His mercies are new every morning,” she says, citing the familiar verse that anchors the song’s message. She and her bandmates, Garrett Saunders and Victoria Bowlin, wrote the track from a place of plain gratitude, the kind that comes from simply waking up and getting another day.

Eppinette Saunders penned the song alongside Kenna Turner West and Jason Cox, the same team behind the group’s previous release, “Just Keep the Faith.” Musically, “Today Is The Day” borrows a page from mid-60s Beatles records, favoring off-kilter phrasing over anything predictable. Producer Roger Talley builds the arrangement around staccato piano, a rhythmic backbone that pushes the song through its shifting tonal centers without ever losing the thread of its central message.

For Eppinette Saunders, the daily decision behind the song matters more than the music itself. “It’s about starting fresh,” she says, “trusting God a little more, and making the choice every day to be more like Him.”

11th Hour has built a decade-plus career on that same instinct toward renewal, adapting their sound while staying rooted in worship music. The group has landed multiple Top 10 hits on the Singing News charts and picked up award nominations across Southern Gospel music, including a Singing News Trio of the Year nod and an AGM Album of the Year nomination, with Eppinette Saunders herself nominated for Soprano of the Year.

“There is nothing more fulfilling than ministering to the body of Christ and sharing the gospel,” Eppinette Saunders says. “Every dream we have ever had, God has already fulfilled. He never ceases to amaze us.”

The trio shows no signs of slowing. Eppinette Saunders, Garrett Saunders and Bowlin say they intend to keep singing wherever the opportunity leads, treating each new stage as another chance to spread their message.