In the long, long ago... in the beforetimes... way back when I was a student at LSU, I happened upon a televangelist whom I did not recognize. After watching and listening for about 15 seconds, I sensed the Holy Spirit telling me that this preacher was not as holy as he was portraying himself to be... that he was more about himself than he was about Jesus.

A few days later I saw this preacher on television again. Turns out he was broadcasting from right there in Baton Rouge. Wow. We had a bonafide telesuperstar right in our own backyard. Name was Jimmy Swaggart.

About two years later ol' Jimmy was arrested in the whole prostitute mess and he gave his infamous, very, very tearful, lip-quivering, "I have sinned..." sermon. Donations to his ministry took a substantial hit but with his "sincere" and "humble" request for forgiveness, his financial setback was only temporary... until a couple of years later when he was arrested once again... for pretty much the same reasons. His ministry took a financial nosedive and it is a shell of its former megaministry. But there are still those who accepted both of his apologies... who still seem to worship him and send their hard earned money. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

Fast-forward 25 years. A couple of years ago I was doing what all good "All-American Men" do... I was channel surfing on cable. I came across this young, energetic, good-looking, charming, charismatic, smiling, engaging, energizing, did I mention 'smiling', smart-sounding guy. I listened for a few minutes and thought, "Oh, he must be a pop psychologist... basic Psychology 101 stuff... a lot of fluff 'n stuff... feel good, warm fuzzy guy. Hmmmm...", The most notable thing about this pop psychologist was his smiling face.

I thought further, "Now what was that song from the '70's? Something about "Smiling faces..." Well, here are the lyrics to that song... take a good look... (notice the name of the group that wrote and recorded the song...)


THE UNDISPUTED TRUTH - Smiling Faces

Smiling faces sometimes pretend to be your friend
Smiling faces show no traces of the evil that lurks within
Smiling faces, smiling faces sometimes
They don't tell the truth Smiling faces, smiling faces
Tell lies and I got proof

The truth is in the eyes Cause the eyes don't lie, amen
Remember a smile is just A frown turned upside down
My friend let me tell you
Smiling faces, smiling faces sometimes They don't tell the truth,
Smiling faces, smiling faces Tell lies and I got proof

Beware, beware of the handshake That hides the snake
I'm telling you beware
Beware of the pat on the back It just might hold you back

Jealousy (jealousy) Misery (misery) Envy
I tell you, you can't see behind smiling faces
Smiling faces sometimes they don't tell the truth
Smiling faces, smiling faces Tell lies and I got proof

Smiling faces, smiling faces sometimes They don't tell the truth
Smiling faces, smiling faces Tell lies and I got proof

I'm telling you beware, beware of the handshake That hides the snake Listen to me now, beware
Beware of that pat on the back It just might hold you back
Smiling faces, smiling faces sometimes They don't tell the truth
Smiling faces, smiling faces Tell lies and I got proof

Your enemy won't do you no harm
Cause you'll know where he's coming from
Don't let the handshake and the smile fool ya
Take my advice I'm only try' to school ya

So anyway, I'm watching this pop psychologist guy and startlingly he throws out the name of Jesus. Well that caught my attention so I decided to listen to his message a bit more intently. Once again I sensed the Holy Spirit warning me that this guy was not preaching the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. Then it dawned on me... another "prosperity gospel" preacher. The measure of God's favor that rests on you is shown in the material wealth you have to show for it. Ahhhhh... yes... if we DO have God's favor upon us, then we will have material possessions and wealth beyond our itsy bitsy imaginations. And if we DO NOT have God's favor upon us... well... everyone will know because we WON'T have all these material blessings. Poor Mother Teresa... she must not have had God's favor... and I guess St. Francis of Assisi, and St. Padre Pio, and, well you get the picture.

This pop psychologist and his ilk cite and completely, COMPLETELY, quote out of context one line from Scripture: “I have come that you might have life, and have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10) The people who follow this “prosperity” gospel interpret it to say this: “I have come that you might have material possessions and money, and have them more abundantly.” I say this is their interpretation because these pop psychologist “evangelists” clearly state that to have “life more abundantly” is measured by how much money you have and how many material possessions you have. That is FACT. And this pop psychologist I was watching I have now begun to research… and his name is Joel Osteen. He is not the only one spouting the FALSE prosperity gospel, he is just the most famous.

Many from my own church and in my family watch this guy faithfully and purchase and read all of his books. They have helped him become a multi-millionaire by the false gospel he preaches. They will not be pleased that I dare speak out against this false, misleading "preacher". The truth hurts sometimes.

Folks, I DON'T subscribe to the fallacy of the "prosperity" Gospel. Why? Because it is a FALSE GOSPEL. Do I think God wants to bless His children? Of course! Do I think we are supposed to measure our spiritual lives, our walk of faith, our relationship with Jesus Christ based on our material possessions? NO. NO. NO. A very simple reading and understanding of the New Testament shows that material possessions were not the focal point of Jesus' ministry. If you need specific references, let me know. Or, better yet, read the New Testament. All of it. Not just the tidbits that Osteen and his ilk throw out there to tickle the ears of honest people.

If you want a critical analysis of looking carefully, very carefully, at exactly what Osteen is saying, here is an excellent blog link to read:  http://wooq.blogspot.com/2006/01/on-false-teachings-of-joel-osteen.html

The thing I am most concerned about is that Osteen adamantly refuses to take a stand on any issue. That's so liberal. That's so politically correct. That's so un-Jesus like. Jesus was not afraid to take a stand on any and all issues. Everyone knew where Jesus stood on every issue. If you read the enitre transcript of his interview on Larry King (see the link below), you'll see Osteen even say about abortion that he "doesn't think that's best..." Well golly gee. He is absolutely afraid to call abortion what it is: the choice by at least two people (patient and doctor at the very least) to take the life of an unborn human being.

In this excerpt of the infamous Larry King interview, count how many times Osteen's response is, "I don't know." http://www.rapidnet.com/~jbeard/bdm/exposes/osteen/king.htm

If you missed Joel's interview with Larry King, you missed a spectacle. The smiling preacher did such a pathetic job of witnessing for Jesus Christ that the outrage from his own church-goers led him to issue a written apology on his own website! Here is a link to a transcript of the Larry King interview: http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0506/20/lkl.01.html

He also REFUSES to use the word "sin" and instead makes references to "mistakes" that people make in life. Note to Joel, "sin" is a turning away from God, a refusal to follow His truth. "Sin" is the reason Jesus died upon the Cross... to reconcile our sins to God's love and mercy. "Mistake" is when I get dressed in the morning and put on two different color socks... or turn "left" on a street instead of "right". Get it? "Sin" needs to be called what it is: Sin! Acknowledging sin and being reconciled to God through Jesus Christ is a matter of eternal life and eternal death.

Am I saying, "Don't read his book(s)!" or "Joel Osteen is not a Christian!" or something like that? No. I'm just saying in today's day and age, all of us need to be very careful in who we listen to, who we read, who we believe. We need to listen to more than just the words that ticke our ears and instead research the substance of what is being said. The Bible warns us that the time will come when satan will speak the words that tickle our ears... that he will come as an angel of light... so I'm saying critique what Osteen says. Think in a critical manner about the words he uses, and notice what words (and names... like the Name above all Names) that he chooses so often to not use. (He does say "Christ" but seems very, very uncomfortable using the name, "Jesus") Be informed.

“For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” – 2 Timothy 4:3

Would I send my money to his ministry? Not a chance. Would I go to see him in person, even if he was right here in San Antonio? Um, nope. I keep in mind that smiling faces, sometimes, they don’t tell the truth.

Dan believes… that there was a conspiracy in the assassination of JFK… and 9/11 might have been an ‘inside job’… that life probably exists elsewhere in the known Universe… that from an orthodox Christian perspective, there are MAJOR spiritual problems with Harry Potter, “The Secret”, Centering Prayer, and the “ministry” of Joel Osteen… that liberalism and relativism are the playground of satan… that people need to take responsibility for their actions and stop claiming ‘victimhood’ as the new religion of excuses… that U2 is the greatest rock band ever… that John Paul the Great was a living Saint amongst us… as was Mother Theresa… and I’m grateful that I had the opportunity to be in an audience with both of them… that ‘extra sharp cheddar cheese’ is the bomb… that there is constant spiritual battle taking place all around us that we do not see with our human eyes… that the charismatic gifts of the Holy Spirit are meant to be used today (perhaps more than ever)… that although he is not Catholic, Billy Graham should be considered for some sort of “honorary” Saint status whenever he passes from this life to the next… and I’m glad I got to see him, too… that there’s no place like home… that the 2007-2008 sports season will see the New Orleans Saints playing in the Super Bowl, the LSU Tigers playing in the BCS National Championship game, and the San Antonio Spurs repeating as NBA Champs… that there probably exists cures for diseases such as cancer and diabetes but that the multibillion dollar pharmaceutical companies are keeping that under wraps because they are making wayyyyyyy more money off of the current medicine regimes of patients… that ‘royal gala’ apples and ‘creole’ tomatoes are the best… that while we need to take better care of the environment, Algore (sic) is hyping up global warming for purely political purposes… that Jesse and Al are two of the biggest racists in America today (but I do enjoy listening to Al)… that political correctness is garbage and another playground of satan… that ‘pride’ nailed Jesus to the cross and that many people are nailing themselves to their own crosses with their self-pride… that Oprah is not a Christian… that Steve Camp is the most under-appreciated recording artist in contemporary Christian music today, perhaps because he had the courage to challenge the Christian music industry and IT didn’t like that… that death is nothing to be feared… but that skydiving is and spiders are… that fixing a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for a child is much more fun and fulfilling than being whisked away to the finest restaurant with a millionaire… that Hollywood is made up of approximately 99.999% hypocrites… that there are too many children who go to sleep at night not fully convinced that they are loved by their parents… that abortion is murder, period… that the world is headed for a holy war between Christians and Muslim extremists by the year 2012, in Europe… the music of Lifehouse is awesome and the lyrics are very Christian… that my being diabetic will not stop me from following God’s plan for my life… that I would rival St. Paul for the title of worst sinner… that we need to get rid of all the ‘hyphen-American’ baloney and just call ourselves Americans… that coin collecting is cool… that professional wrestling is real (NOT)… that Henry D. is THE MAN… that I have been blessed way more than I deserve… that the ‘leadership’ (word used lightly, very lightly) in my hometown city of New Orleans is the biggest obstacle to the rebuilding of one of America’s great cities… that people who believe “reality” shows are reality really need to get a life… that poker is not a “sport”… that the sports fans in San Antonio have proven four times now that we are among the classiest in all of professional sports… that as painful as it might seem at the time, it is better to have loved and lost rather than to have never loved at all… that if you have read all of this you are either really bored, really curious about what I believe, or you deserve a discounted price on my next CD (send me an e-mail and I’ll do that for ya)…

In an effort to not "offend" anyone, I've decided that when singing Carols at this time of the year, I'll be more politically correct. Thus, the songs I think I might record on an upcoming CD include:

1. O Holiday Tree
2. Have Yourself a Merry Little Day of Winter
3. Frosty the Snowperson
4. Chestnuts Roasting on a Safely Contained, Continuously Monitored, Eco-Friendly, Nontoxic Outdoor Fire (for which I do have a permit)
5. Higher Power Rest Ye Merry Gentlepeople
6. Grandma Allegedly Got Run Over by an Unidentified Non-Human Perpetrator
7. Deck the Halls with Boughs of Unendangered Foliage (if office policy permits)
8. Hark! The Herald Mythical Winged Creatures Sing
9. I Saw Mommy Greeting Santa Claus with a Purely Platonic Expression of Inoffensive Mutual Affection
10. I'll Be Home for a Short Period of Time in December
11. The Little Drummer Person
12. I Heard the Bells on December 25
13. O Special Night
14. The Twelve Days of a Specific Time Period in December
15. We Wish You a Merry Day in December (if you so choose to acknowledge such a day of merriness)

Here is a link to a priest who is an exorcist. Keep in mind that his ministry is of casting out the spiritual being known as the devil and demons. They are real. Jesus was serious about casting them out of people. St. Paul was serious about the REALITY of spiritual warfare. And this exorcist is serious about how the devil can use something so "innocent" for his opportunity to lie, steal, and destroy.

Christians need to WAKE UP.

Here is the article.

With the United States standing on the brink of becoming a Socialist nation, it was refreshing to see the results of the recent mid-term elections. Not only was it the beginning of being able to move our nation back towards the Capitalist and Christian principles it was founded on, but we have some real, authentic Roman Catholics in office now. The most notable and exciting change will be the Speaker of the House.

The soon-to-be former Speaker, Ms. Pelosi, is a “Catholic” and during a television interview, decided to give Catholic teaching on abortion. Her famous teaching was that the Catholic Church teaches it is at the beginning of the second trimester that life begins. Huh? She was speaking with the “authority” of, well, the fact that she is a Catholic, therefore she knows what the Church teaches.

Thankfully her teaching reached Rome and when she visited there not long after this televised interview, Pope Benedict XVI himself had a private meeting with her where it is reported that he (1) informed her of the actual Church teaching (life begins at the very moment of conception), (2) rebuked her for spreading false teaching in the name of the Church, and (3) rebuked her pro-abortion stance and policies.

Now we have a new soon-to-be appointed Speaker, Rep. John Boehner from Ohio. Not only is he a practicing Catholic who embraces the moral authority of the Church, but he is staunchly pro-life. Earlier this year he won the “Henry Hyde Defender of Life” award from the pro-life organization, Americans United for Life. It is great to have a defender of life in Washington.

Perhaps with a breath of fresh air headed to DC, we can get our nation headed back to Christian values. Here is a link to a great article: http://www.thecatholicthing.org/columns/2010/catholics-and-the-mid-terms.html

There was a short update on the News tab that covered the first part of this tour. Now we continue...

The concert tour thus far has been quite an adventure! Following the slow start of just a few concerts in two weeks, it has now been a flurry of activity. As I write, tonight I’m in Albuquerque for concert #8 of 13 in a row!

I began the northern New Mexico leg of the tour here in Albuquerque, over at Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary. We had a great crowd, although something odd happened right in the middle of one of my songs… about 20 people stood up and walked out. I wasn’t sure what was going on… but one-by-one, two-by-two, people stood up and began walking out… during the third song of my set. I later found out that it was an RCIA group that had only come in for part of the concert and then were headed back to their class. I just wish they had waited until the song was over before walking out. It was disconcerting and distracting as it happened right in the middle of a song.

Otherwise, the evening went off without a hitch. Ben Maes opened the concert and did a great job with six songs. Later, he joined me for several of my songs.

The next night Ben and I drove up to Santa Fe to the Shrine of OL of Guadalupe. The weather was horrendous. It rained the entire day and night. When we reached Santa Fe, many of the streets we were driving on were flooded. We unloaded gear in the rain and had to walk about 75 feet through the rain to the front door of the church. Only two parishioners came out in the weather. We still performed the entire concert!

We were back in Albuquerque the next night at Holy Ghost. Never before have I been greeted so warmly and generously as Ben and I were at Holy Ghost. What a Spirit-filled evening we had with a nice sized audience. Fr. Mark was so gracious and awesome!

The next night we drove off to Las Vegas, NM. It was a Friday night and we found out that there were many competing activities going on in town. We still had a good turnout. Ben and I attended their evening Mass and started the concert about one hour after Mass was over.

After Mass and before the concert I met one of the parishioners, Loretta. In conversation she let me know that one of her sons died 5 ½ years ago. So that night I dedicated the concert to his memory. After the concert Loretta and I had a chance to talk, to cry, to hug. I believe the Holy Spirit did some healing.

Then we were off to Bernalillo, just about 30-45 minutes north of Albuquerque. We attended Mass there and had another good turnout. This was a tough audience… in the sense that I tried all of my most humorous lines and stories between songs but they really made me work for those smiles! They were a very appreciative audience, though, and our contact person, Ray Perez, was awesome.

This past Sunday we had the privilege of performing at the Sacred Heart Cathedral in Gallup, NM. Another parish where we were received so extremely well and graciously. We had another great turnout and the audience seemed to really connect with what Ben and I were trying accomplish… that through music Jesus and the Holy Spirit can be, and are indeed, present. Spoke to many parishioners after the concert.

Our contact person from the Cathedral, Ruth, and one of the parishioners wanted to treat Ben and I to dinner following the concert. What an adventure that was! The first restaurant we attempted to dine at was the headquarters of some big sports car rally thingy. There was no way we were going to wait hours for a table… Ben and I had a two-hour drive in front of us. So then we drove to another restaurant… only to find that it was already closed for the evening. Right next door was a Pizza Hut so we went there.

Hmmm… they were out of salad. Then I ordered spaghetti… but I was told 10 minutes later that they were out of spaghetti sauce. So I changed my order. Another 10 minutes and Ben was informed that they were out of the sauce for his pasta. So he ordered something else. It was really becoming quite funny. The poor guy who was waiting on us was so appreciative that we took the reports of the food shortages so well, that he had the manager give us a free order of bread sticks.

Later, he asked if we were with a church. We told him about who we were and what we were doing. He told us how he had just started going back to church. I gave him my card and invited him to send me an e-mail if he ever had a prayer need for him or his family, and Ruth invited him to attend Mass at the Cathedral. We all felt like the Holy Spirit led us to that restaurant to witness to this young man.

Last night, Monday the 27^th, Ben and I went to Our Lady of Belén in Belén, just south of Albuquerque. I had performed here last year and it was one of my favorite stops on the tour. Well, last nights return did not disappoint. By far the largest crowd yet, and very responsive. We did have to shorten our respective play lists a little as the parish was not ready for us to start the concert until 20 minutes late, but we were still able to accomplish the ministry we set out to.

And now tonight here we are at St. Anne’s, Ben’s parish where he is the Parish Administrator and Music Director. We are looking forward to a great crowd and powerful ministry from Jesus and the Holy Spirit. St. Anne, pray for us!

After six successful fundraising concerts in San Antonio, Matt Di Filippo and I were able to fly up to Calgary for the workshops and gala. Thank you to the many, many people and organizations who donated the necessary financial resources to make our journey possible.

We arrived in Calgary on Thursday afternoon and made our way to the hotel… after getting lost a couple of times. Matt treated me to dinner (a birthday gift) and we went back to the hotel to chill out and watch Canadian television.

Part of our package at the hotel included free breakfast each morning in the Holiday Inn restaurant. Good food and very generous portions. On Friday morning we went for breakfast and saw Susan Stein, the driving force behind the UCMVA and head of Heartbeat Distribution. We spoke briefly and met up later at the event site for the workshops. We also saw a few people wearing “Unity Awards 2010” t-shirts and although we did not know who they were, the excitement began to build.

After getting profoundly lost in trying to get to the event site, we finally arrived and there was a flurry of activity taking place. It was obvious from the get-go that Denis and the army of volunteers were ready for everyone to begin arriving for a day packed with activities and events.

The first thing Denis had me do was to report to the sound engineer (Daniel) who was in charge of the outdoor entertainment to let him know I would perform on the back of the flatbed. He said, “OK. Can you go on right now?” Not quite what I expected as I needed to get my thoughts together, create a 30-minute play list, and oh yeah, I needed to find a guitar.

Daniel had been speaking with a couple of young musicians and one of them, Andrew, pointed up to the stage at his acoustic guitar and immediately offered to let me use it. It turns out the Andrew and his friend, Dylan, were part of a band that was going to play at noon. They are called “Majesty” and are made up of five high school guys who love to sing worship songs. More about them a bit later.

So after getting my thoughts together and a quick sound check, I found myself in Calgary, Alberta, after only a few hours and on the back of a flatbed doing a 30-minute set. I gave a few shout-outs to other artists who were there listening (Gretchen Harris, Dave Flitton and Dave Wang of ‘Critical Mass’) or just walking through the parking lot (Jerry Aull). It was a BLAST!!

Immediately upon coming down from the stage I met the “Boy Band Mom”… Karen Jones. What a Holy Spirit-filled woman of God. She is mother to two of the boys from ‘Majesty’, Dylan and Daxon. I had already met Andrew Peloso and now met his brother Nick as well as the lead guitarist, Asthon Siquera. They were great guys and, as I found out when they took the stage, they are very Spirit-filled and mucho talented.

After Majesty performed it was time for Critical Mass. I have listened to their music many times but this was the first time I had the pleasure of watching them perform and man oh man can they perform! Matt and I spent a lot of time with those guys. Their lead guitarist, Dave Flitton, wrote and recorded the string arrangement on Matt’s song, “Within the Missing Peace”, featured on his most recent CD, “Without Words”.

Right after Critical Mass performed, Susan Stein and I met for about 20 minutes to review the plans for the 2011 Unity Awards. Although we had reached an agreement in principle for Two-Twelve Ministries to host the event, she was meeting with the UCMVA Board of Directors on Saturday morning to gain official approval. She seemed very excited with our discussion and with the initial plans our Steering Committee had already been working on.

As the day progressed, more and more artists began arriving. And after a day of workshops and such, everyone went out to dinner in small groups. I found myself with an illustrious party and we had a fantastic time.

We then returned to the event site for a concert featuring Ceili Rain and Tony Melendez. Opening the concert was a great up and coming Catholic rap artist from Orlando, Masheti Moses.

Following the concert we headed back to the hotel and wound up socializing and fellowshipping. Along with Matt and I, among the other artists who joined us were Dave Flitton, Dave Wang, Gretchen Harris, Masheti Moses, Tony Melendez, Jose Melendez, Lorraine Hartsook, as well as Susan Stein and so many more people I cannot name them all. Needless to say, we had a really great time.

On Saturday, Matt and I helped Susie Gorrell in handing out script outlines to the various presenters. By way of this task, I had the pleasure of meeting Greg Walton, Tom Booth, and Brian Flynn among others.

Before we knew it we were finished with rehearsal and headed back to the hotel to get ready. Between the two of us we were on what is called the “Final Ballot” in seven categories. Being on the final ballot does not guarantee that an artist will be a “Final Nominee” whose name is called out during the event. What it means, though, is that you are one of either six or seven finalists for a particular award. After the UCMVA members do one final vote, the final three (in some cases, four) nominees are called out during the event and are, of course, the final nominees.

Matt was on two final ballots and although he was not a final nominee, he stressed to me several times that he was honored just to have gotten as far as he had. He had a great time networking and meeting so many incredible Catholic performing artists, songwriters, etc. He was also one of the presenters during the show itself.

Somehow I made it as a final nominee in all five of the categories I was nominated in, though I did not receive an award. Between them, Matt Maher and Greg Walton were the recipients in all five categories. What great artists to receive the accolades. I had a great time getting to know Greg before the awards. Truly a sincere minister of Jesus Christ.

As is the Unity Awards custom, we celebrated Mass at just about midnight at a nearby parish. What a great way to bring the event to a close.

The only bummer came on Sunday when Matt and I were flying back to San Antonio. Although I won’t go into details here – I’ve already filed a complaint with the airline – I don’t think I will ever fly Continental Airlines again. Ever.

We are looking forward now to hosting the 2011 Unity Awards in San Antonio. A small but growing number of volunteers on the Steering Committee have already been meeting and planning. We know that to raise the bar as high as we want to raise it will take an incredible amount of prayer, focus, determination, and just plain ol’ hard work. But with the support we have already received from the 2010 Calgary Steering Committee and the UCMVA, we are well on our way. As soon as we can lock in the date and location, we will post it.

By the way, for a list of the 2010 Unity Award Recipients, go to Grapevine.