Christian Artists - Part One

As a music pastor, I get calls all of the time from Christian Artists looking for a church to host them for leading worship or concerts or events. I have had some good, some bad and some really ugly experiences working with Christian Artists. These individuals make their living from traveling all over the country singing and playing music. Most Christian Artists are genuine Christians with a desire to share the gospel message through music. A small group seem to have gotten caught up in the whole artist scene and come off as spoiled rotten prima donnas with a laundry list of ridiculous demands.

I thought I would jot down my thoughts concerning the various Christian artists that I have had the privilege to work with during the past few years (at my church or through other venues). Maybe this will help others in the music ministry as they are searching for someone to book for an upcoming event.

• Point of Grace - very gracious in every way. We had them for a Christmas special sponsored by our local Chickfila and 95.1 Shine FM radio station. They performed two concerts. They were a joy to talk with prior to the concerts and they spent lots of time signing autographs and taking photos following the concerts. Their rider was handled by the radio station so I cannot really comment on those.
  
• Joel Engle - he is now a full-time senior pastor for a church plant in Texas. Joel is best known for his single "Shadow of the Cross". I did not work directly with him as he came as part of a youth ministry weekend. His rider required some specific equipment needs which cost us an extra $1500 in expenses.
  
• Calling Levi - very willing to work with us regardless of the need. They performed for the BCM/D Annual Convention as worship leaders and for a mini-concert. Great Christian attitudes all around. They pretty much bring all of their own equipment as needed.
  
• Chris Sligh - very humble and somewhat shy. He has an incredible talent and displayed a very generous spirit in leading worship for us. No big demands concerning his needs, he basically need a pick-up for guitar and a mic for the djembe drums.
  
• Michael W. Smith - one of the first CDs I ever bought was a Michael W. Smith CD. It has been a dream of mine to meet him. Well, I did not really get to meet him, but I did get to sing onstage with him as part of a choir for his "A New Hallelujah" tour. He was very friendly and encouraging to the choir as he worked with us, but his schedule did not allow him anytime really interact with us. I doubt that a single church could afford to have him in for a concert, but I still look forward to a day when I can actually sit down and talk with him.
  
• Keith and Kristyn Getty - it was such a joy to meet and work with them. They have such wonderful, humble spirits. They were more concerned about what others would want than about their own needs. I was able to watch Kristyn as she jotted down thought after thought in her journal, much in the form of poetry. Keith shared with worship leaders his creative process for writing. They were wonderful worship leaders and did a great job with leading worship for our BCM/D Annual Convention and a mini-concert time. Their rider was very simple and straight forward.
  
• Dee Jones - she is actually one of my praise team members, but also a local Christian Artist. Dee has a wonderful soul for sharing Jesus. She sings any chance she gets for whatever you are willing to work out for her. No demands. She has also led worship for the BCM/D Annual Convention and other conferences throughout the area.
  
• Curt Collins - he was able to come and lead worship for us in conjunction with a concert he was doing for the Arrow Child and Family Ministries in our area. The Arrow representative worked out the details for us. Curt came only with his keyboardist, Eddie Keyser, but they did a fabulous job of leading worship and spending time with the people following each service. I enjoyed my time with them and while we discussed options for a future concert at our church, I never felt like they were trying to use any high pressure tactics. Both Curt and Eddie had great Christian character. The rider was very basic with no unusual demands.
  
• Adam Paul Williams - had the great opportunity to have Adam at a last minute concert. Adam contacted me personally. He was very gracious and understanding of our needs. Since many in our area would not have heard of him, he offered to sing some songs in the morning worship services (all three) and then hold an evening concert. You could tell that he enjoyed meeting and talking to the people between services and after the concert. Not only was his singing incredible, but he also shared some humorous stories as part of his testimony time. His rider was very simple with no unusual demands.
  
• National Christian Choir - we are planning to host this group in October 2010 for an evening concert. We have had several of our choir members who sing with this choir as well. The director of the choir contacted me personally about setting up a concert date. It is always preferred when the person in charge contacts the person in charge so that nobody is working through a middle man. We were offered the chance to provide a meal for all 150 of them or to request that they brown bag it. They plan to send out a scout to check out our facilities prior to the concert.
  
• Denver and the Mile High Orchestra - I have been working behind the scenes to pull off this great opportunity for our church to host a last minute concert with DMHO. We have been asked to commit to a much reduced rate because they are in need to fill this empty spot at the last minute. Denver Bierman contacted me personally through facebook and asked me to call him. We have been in contact almost daily working out the details even though he is not the one who usually handles their booking. The concert will be sponsored in part by Plaza Ford and Chickfila. I would highly recommend them based on the gracious spirit Denver has displayed throughout this process. The concert is scheduled for Friday, April 23, 2010, 7:00 PM.