Red Sizzles at the Masquerade

Coming off a 10 day tour with Breaking Benjamin, Thousand Foot Krutch and Chevelle, RED played to an intimate crowd at the Masquerade. Even though Breaking Ben isn't a Christian band, they provide a lot of exposure for Christian bands like their recent tour mates. Likewise, RED had several up and comers open for them in Atlanta.

Charlie Daniels Calls U.S. Government a 'Dictatorship'

He may proudly sing patriotic songs, but now Charlie Daniels says he's angry and disappointed by the country's leadership. Speaking out against the recent health-care reform bill, Charlie says America is on a fast downward spiral.

"We no longer have a representative government; we essentially have a dictatorship that is willing to force their will on us regardless of what we want," he says in a March 22 post on his website's "Soapbox and Message Board" titled 'Black Monday.' "This is the most despicable act ever perpetrated on the American public by the most dishonorable congress we've ever had."

Rest of article here.

Charlie Daniels Recounts Stroke & Recovery

Charlie says he's not the type to "sit around and think, 'what if?'" after suffering a mild stroke, but he's had two friends in the radio industry suffer strokes recently and both have had a more difficult road to recovery (one is having to learn to walk again), so he knows that he was very blessed. "I will never believe it was anything other than the hand of God that got me down the mountain," says Charlie, who realized he was having a stroke when he noticed numbness in his left hand and his face.

full account here

From Middle East to Bible Belt: Courtesy of the Press

There aren’t many who can do what Don Teague did.

A few years ago, the former Baghdad correspondent for NBC and devout Christian brought over to the United States a young Iraqi Muslim he had known for only a month.

Not only that, he also made her a part of his family.

“God has something in mind for Rafraf, and it wasn’t for her to die at the hands of Iraqi insurgents,” Teague recalls thinking.

It was at NBC’s Baghdad bureau that Teague first met Rafraf Barrak, who – at the age of 22 – was hired in the summer of 2003 to be the news bureau’s youngest translator.

Teague was only scheduled to work for one month in Baghdad before returning home to his wife and two daughters in Atlanta.

Rest of amazing story here.

Representative coverage here.

Miley Cyrus 'Parades' on Cover

Miley Cyrus is all smiles on the cover of this week’s Parade magazine, out this Sunday (March 21).

Here’s what the 17-year-old teen queen had to share about her faith: “I don’t necessarily define my faith by going to church every Sunday. Because now when I go to church, I feel like it’s a show. There are always cameras outside. I am very spiritual in my own way. Let me make it clear, though—I am a Christian. Jesus is who saved me. He’s what keeps me full and whole. But everyone is entitled to what they believe and what keeps them full. Hopefully, I can influence people and help them follow the same path I am on, but it is not my job to tell people what they are doing wrong.”

Knowing her faith.
"The one thing I’m really strong about regarding my religious beliefs is that you should know a little bit about everything before you define your own beliefs. I think all religions have a good practice in them. Liam and I have been reading about Buddhism lately and it’s all about hope and love. To me, faith is about having a clean slate and a clean start.”

Making mistakes and learning the power of forgiveness.
“You don’t have to say, 'Well, I’m already a bad person so I might as well go ahead and do this other bad thing.' It’s about knowing sometime that what you did wasn’t always the best choice but you now have the chance to start over again. That’s the biggest thing to me about my faith: you don’t have to live tallying up all the things you’ve done wrong. It’s all about forgiveness. If God who created the world can forgive you then you can forgive yourself.”

Tweeting up controversy.
“There has been so much controversy sometimes about what I’ve said or done because I believe there are no mistakes because God is the only one who can judge us. That’s the reason I deleted my Twitter account because I said on there that I believed in gay marriage because everyone should have the right to love each other, and I got such hate mail about my being a bad person.”

'Son of Hamas': Story is God's, Not Mine

Mosab Hassan Yousef can now add “best-selling author” to his lengthy list of titles, which includes “son of one of the founders of Hamas,” “spy for the Israeli security agency Shin Bet,” “U.S. political asylum seeker,” and “follower of Jesus.”

His book, “Son of Hamas,” is No. 13 on Publishers Weekly’s list of hardcover nonfiction bestsellers, No. 11 on the New York Times’ list of hardcover nonfiction bestsellers, and No. 6 on the Washington Post’s list of top political titles.

And his story has been heard through countless media sources, including Fox News, NBC, the Wall Street Journal, CNN, GQ, and BBC.

“What I can say about ‘Son of Hamas’ – which I believe it’s not my story it’s God’s story, and it’s His project – I wish it would be successful because it’s His project,” says 32-year-old Yousef, whose father, Sheikh Hassan Yousef, was a Hamas founder and leader who spent numerous years in Israeli prisons.

Read full article here.

Major League Baseball Plays Ball with TobyMac

The title track from TobyMac's latest CD, Tonight, has been chosen as the theme song for Major League Baseball Network's "30 Clubs in 30 Days" spring training series. The song will be featured throughout each episode.

The "30 Clubs in 30 Days" series provides extensive coverage of each MLB team with field reports, interviews, predictions and inside access to every club's training camp as Opening Day approaches.

To find out when the show airs, visit the Major League Baseball Network site.

Switchfoot drummer Chad Butler featured in cover story in Drum! magazine

Switchfoot drummer Chad Butler was featured in a 10-page cover spread in the March 2010 issue of Drum! magazine.

In the article, Butler talks about the band's two year break from touring and their latest album, Hello Hurricane, as well as his faith and the limits of the "Christian band" label.

"I'm a believer and I'm honored to be associated with the name of Christ," Butler says in the artisle. "But to call ourselves a Christian band puts up a wall and makes people feel uninvited to the party."

You can read the article online on the Drum Magazine site.

Carrie Underwood: My Fiance Improved My Walk with God

Grammy-winning, country music superstar Carrie Underwood said she shares a deep Christian bond with her new fiancé, whom she credits for improving her faith.

“Mike has improved my walk with God,” Underwood told People magazine in its latest issue. “It’s important to me, because down the road, I want someone who will help shape our kids into people who make the world a better place.”

The winner of the fourth season of “American Idol” became engaged to Canadian NFL hockey player Mike Fisher of the Ottawa Senators in December.

The Blind Side Captures Top Acting Oscar

First-time winners took all four acting prizes yesterday at the 82nd annual Academy Awards. Sandra Bullock won as best actress for "The Blind Side".