Carrie Underwood's Newest Song Sings of Strong Christian Themes

Carrie Underwood's Newest Song Sings of Strong Christian Themes

By Charis Brown, 7 Cultural Mountains

Her newest song, "Something in the Water," describes a heartfelt conversion experience.

Carrie Underwood, the country superstar and Grammy winner first discovered on American Idol is not shy about her Christian faith.

"It's really kind of a joyous, uplifting song about changing your life for the better and kind of having that 'a-ha' moment, to waking up and your life being different from that moment forward," she told NBC's TODAY.

From singing "How Great Thou Art" as a duet with Vince Gill to talking with Oprah about her prayer life, Underwood is never afraid to talk about her faith when she has the opportunity. Recently, she and her husband, hockey player Mike Fisher, surprised attendees at the Q Conference in Nashville to talk about their marriage and respective callings. She credited Nashville with being a supportive environment to be a Christian.

"It's easy to be a Christian in Nashville," she said.

But, there are definitely some critics who don't appreciate the song's candid message.

"I'm not the first person to sing about God, Jesus, faith [or] any of that, and I won't be the last," said Underwood to Glamour Magazine. "And it won't be the last for me, either. If you don't like it, change the channel."

Listen to the song here:

ISRAEL MINISTRY OF TOURISM - Nashville report

ISRAEL TOURISM WOWS 

CHRISTIAN BROADCASTERS 

AT NASHVILLE CONVENTION

TOURISM MINISTER UZI LANDAU DECLARES 

"BEST WAY TO STAND FOR ISRAEL 

IS TO STAND IN ISRAEL"

Minister of Tourism Dr. Uzi Landau invites
members of the NRB to Israel, telling delegates,
"If you liked the book, you'll love the country."


400 delegates in America's NRB Convention rose as one to wave
the Israel flag at the organization's annual "Celebrate Israel" breakfast.


Haim Gutin, Israel Tourism Commissioner, North America,
at the National Religious Broadcasters' (NRB) "Celebrate Israel" breakfast in Nashville.


Minister of Tourism Dr. Uzi Landau and Israel Tourism Commissioner join the President and Chairman of the NRB, and Danny Saadon, Vice President the Americas of EL AL Israel Airlines, to inaugurate the Israel Pavilion at the organization's annual convention in Nashville.

Nashville, Tennessee - February 24, 2014: 400 delegates of the National Religious Broadcasters' (NRB) International Christian Media Convention attended the Israel Ministry of Tourism's annual "Celebrate Israel" breakfast this morning. Keynote speaker, Tourism Minister, Dr. Uzi Landau, received loud applause when he declared, "I invite you to visit Israel where the Bible is both a living testament and a GPS - "God's Positioning System."

Hosted by Israel Tourism Commissioner, North and South America, Haim Gutin, the delegates viewed a variety of video testimonies from Christian Evangelical leaders and heard addresses by Efi Stenzler, World Chairman of the Jewish National Fund; Dr. Jerry Johnson, President of the NRB; Shahar Shilo from Jerusalem's City of David; Richard Bott, Chairman of the NRB; and author and broadcaster Mike Evans.

2013 was the best year ever for tourism to Israel, and 15 Christian leaders* were presented with the Ministry's Goodwill Ambassador Award for their leadership in bringing millions of American Christians to Israel. At the event's climax, the delegates stood to wave Israeli flags as Broadway star, Amick Bryam, sang the anthem, "You'll Never Be The Same."

The "Celebrate Israel" breakfast was sponsored by the Israel Ministry of Tourism, with support from the Jewish National Fund and EL AL Israel Airlines.

*Honorees for the Ministry of Tourism's 2014 Goodwill Ambassador Awards were Dr. Kay Arthur, Richard Bott, Earl G. Cox, Arnold Enns, Mike Evans, Annette Garcia, Mark Jenkins, Dr. Richard Land, Michael Little, Rev. David Mainse, Janet Parshall, Dr. Linda Smith, Peter Sumrall, Dr. Charles Travis and Dr. Frank Wright.

For more information about travel to Israel, visit www.goisrael.com.

PHOTO RELEASE

ISRAEL MINISTER OF TOURISM 

DR. UZI LANDAU SPEAKS AT 

NATIONAL RELIGIOUS BROADCASTERS' 

INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN MEDIA CONVENTION 

IN NASHVILLE

Nashville, Tennessee - February 24, 2014: Israel Minister of Tourism, Dr. Uzi Landau, spoke to 1,000 members of the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) at its annual International Christian Media Convention. Flanked by Jerry Johnson, NRB President and CEO (left) and Rich Bott, NRB Chairman (center) at the Media Leadership Reception & Dinner, he urged the delegates to bring a new generation of young American Christians to Israel.

For more information about travel to Israel, visit www.goisrael.com.

MEDIA CONTACTS

Ross Belfer at WEILL - rbelfer@geoffreyweill.com 

      - 1-866-PRWEILL

Israel Ministry of Tourism, N.A. - Gail Barzilay 

     - gailbarzilay@imot.org - 212-499-5647

ISRAEL GOVERNMENT TOURIST OFFICES ◦ NORTH AMERICA

 
New York ◦ 212-499-5650
Canada ◦ Director: Ami Allon ◦ 416-964-3784
Los Angeles ◦ Director: Eliezer Hod ◦ 323-658-7463
Atlanta ◦ Director: Eyal Carlin ◦ 404-541-2770
Chicago ◦ Director: Omer Eshel ◦ 312-803-7080

Geoffrey Weill Associates Informational material is disseminated on behalf of the Israel Ministry of Tourism. Additional information available at the Department of Justice

Mark Schultz - All Things Possible - with lyrics

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Mark Schultz

Musical Artist

Mark Mitchell Schultz is a contemporary Christian music artist. He has been nominated for numerous Dove Awards, winning his first at the 2006 Dove Awards when the CD/DVD Mark Schultz Live: A Night of ... Wikipedia

Born: September 16, 1970 (age 42), Colby, KS Education: Kansas State University Origin: Colby, KS Albums: Song Cinema, The Best of Mark Schultz, More Record labels: Word Records, Curb Records

Songs

'Til I See You Again	2004	Greatest Hits
He's My Son	2003	Delilah My Child: Heartwarming Songs of a Parent's Love
Remember Me	2002	Dove Hits 2002
I Am	2006	WOW Hits 2007
All Things Possible	2012	All Things Possible
Until I See You Again	2006	Broken & Beautiful
He Will Carry Me	2005	WOW Hits 2006
I Gave Up	2012	All Things Possible
Love Has Come		The Best of Mark Schultz
What It Means To Be Loved		The Best of Mark Schultz
He Is		The Best of Mark Schultz
Everything to Me	2006	Broken & Beautiful
You Are a Child of Mine	2003	WOW Hits 2004
When You Come Home		The Best of Mark Schultz
Walking Her Home	2006	Broken & Beautiful

http://markschultzmusic.com/

Mark Mitchell Schultz^[1] (born September 16, 1970) is a contemporary Christian music artist. He has been nominated for numerousDove Awards, winning his first at the 2006 Dove Awards when the CD/DVD Mark Schultz Live: A Night of Stories & Songs was named Long Form Music Video of the Year.

Contents   [hide]  1 Early life 2 College 3 Moving to Nashville 3.1 Up With People 4 Career 4.1 Mark Across America (2007) 4.2 Mark Schultz Cruises 4.3 All Things Possible (2012-present) 5 Activism 6 Discography 6.1 Studio albums 6.2 Compilations 7 Awards and nominations 8 References 9 External links

Early life[edit]

Mark Schultz was adopted at two weeks old by his parents Gary and Ronita Schultz in Kansas City, KS. He has an older brother, Brad and a younger sister, Susan. Most of his childhood was spent in Colby, KS where he attended Colby Elementary School. When he was about eight years old, Schultz began to teach himself piano by ear. Schultz attended Colby High School and sang in musicals and with his friends in a band. He was also very involved in athletics as a basketball player, a track runner, a pitcher in baseball, and the quarterback of the football team. He graduated from Colby High School in 1989 and was elected to be the graduation speaker for his class.

College[edit]

Schultz attended two years at Colby Community College where he played baseball. Next he transferred to Kansas State University where he finished his college career, graduating in 1994 with a BA in marketing. He is a member of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. At KSU he auditioned for the small elite singing group known as the Kansas State Singers and was given a spot. He traveled with the Singers during his college years, and it was in this group, led by director, Gerald Polich, that Schultz honed his singing voice and started to dream about a bigger career in music. Late at night he would sneak into the music building at K-State to play the piano and write songs.

Moving to Nashville[edit]

After graduating from college, Schultz drove to Nashville, TN to try to make it in the music industry. He had no job lined up, and all of his belongings fit in the back of his car. When he got to Nashville, he began looking for internships with music labels, and he also took a job as a waiter at one of the larger hotels in downtown Nashville. The hotel was right down the street from the famous Ryman auditorium. When Schultz's parents came to visit him for the first time in Nashville, his dad told him that he would one day listen to his son doing a concert on that stage.

Schultz found an internship at BMI, Broadcast Music Incorporated. One of the other interns who was leaving gave Schultz a name and number of a youth pastor in town and told Schultz to contact him for a job. That pastor's name was Mark DeVries. Although he was a Christian, Schultz did not feel like he was being called to work in a church but rather have a career in country music, so he tore up the piece of paper with the name and number on it and never called the minister.

Almost a year later Schultz was struggling to make ends meet as a waiter and was not getting any time to write songs or perform. He was ready to return to Kansas and give up on his dream. Late one night as he was closing the restaurant a couple came in through the front door. They explained that they had been given a gift by their church members to spend a night out at the hotel and have dinner. Even though he was tired and ready to go home, Schultz began to enjoy the conversation with the couple. Immediately a friendship was born with Mark and Susan DeVries. This was the youth pastor that Schultz was supposed to call a year before. DeVries told Schultz that he should enter youth ministry because of his engaging personality. Schultz did not think he would be good at working with kids, but eventually, he agreed and started at First Presbyterian Church, Nashville, TN as a youth director. He worked there alongside Mark DeVries for eight years, and it is at FPC where his music career was born.

Up With People[edit]

About a year after he started working at FPC, Schultz was offered a part in the group Up With People to travel the world performing concerts. He was allowed to go while still keeping his job at FPC secure. During that year he visited France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, and other countries performing concerts and community service. It was a defining experience for Schultz who had never traveled outside of the country.

Career[edit]

Schultz began writing songs for the youth at First Presbyterian Church and their families. He wrote personal songs of people's struggles (He's My Son, Cloud of Witnesses, etc.) as well as songs for certain church events (Remember Me, I Am the Way). The members of the church and specifically the mothers of the youth group helped Schultz organize a concert at the Ryman auditorium which was held in 2000. Tickets were sold at FPC and all over Nashville by the women of the church. The auditorium was full that night and Schultz's parents were in the front row. Mark DeVries introduced him, and after the Ryman show, Schultz was offered a record deal with Myrrh Records. The songs performed at the Ryman concert made up Schultz's first record, his self-titled debut, Mark Schultz This virtually unheard-of feat for a new artist landed Schultz not only a record deal where he went on to sell over 1.3 million albums but also garnered him 10 No. 1 singles to date. Mark has landed the top spot on Billboard magazine’s Christian Adult Contemporary Songwriter list and has been featured on “48 Hours” “CNN” and “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.” In 2011, Schultz released his first instrumental album, Renaissance and his first novella, titled “Letters From War,” based on his hit song through {Howard Books} a division of {Simon and Schuster}. His 2005 release, Mark Schultz Live: A Night of Stories & Songs, was certified Platinum by the R.I.A.A. and earned Schultz his first GMA Dove Award.

Mark Across America (2007)[edit]

On May 6, 2007, Schultz began bicycling from California to Maine in an attempt to raise money for widows and orphans. Official Mark Across America Website. Schultz's inspiration to make the 3,500 mile trek came from a visit that he and his wife made to orphanages in Mexico. During the trip, Schultz performed concerts along the route and all of the proceeds benefitted the James Fund, a non-profit that meets the needs of orphans and widows. In total, Schultz raised approximately $250,000.

Mark Schultz Cruises[edit]

In 2010 Mark Schultz set out on the "Come Alive" cruise to Alaska with Bebo Norman, Joy Williams, Bone Hampton and Mark DeVries.

Mark will set sail again in 2014 on the "All Things Possible" cruise to the Caribbean with Jaime Jamgochian, Jimmy Needham, Cindy Morgan, Sigmund Brouwer and Pastor Mike Glenn. Find out more at Inspiration Cruises.

All Things Possible (2012-present)[edit]

Mark's latest album, "All Things Possible" was released on September 4, 2012. The album's lead single, "All Things Possible" was released on July 17, 2012 and the next sinlge, "I Gave Up" is scheduled to release at the beginning of Summer 2013.

In the Spring of 2013 Mark headlined the "All Things Possible" tour with Aaron Shust and Jonny Diaz, playing over 20 shows in 15 states.

Activism[edit]

As an adopted child, Schultz believes that giving to orphans in need is part of his life's purpose. In addition to the bike trip, he has been an advocate for orphans and adoption during his entire career. Specifically, he has been a spokesperson for Bethany Christian Services, World Vision, Compassion, Food For the Hungry, The Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute and many others. More recently, Schultz has been participating in mission trips to serve orphans in Mexico with the group Good Goers.

In 2011, Schultz and his wife started the Remember Me Mission, which is a non-profit dedicated to helping orphans all over the world. Proceeds from Schultz's music and other creative projects go toward healthcare and education for orphans at home and abroad.

Discography