On Sept 28, Ransomed will celebrate 10 years in ministry with a love offering concert at Hillcrest Baptist Church. They have graciously turned over their Sunday night service to us for this event. Unlike other groups in our area who have recently celebrated their third, fourth, fifth (or whatever) anniversary, there will not be a national name, there won’t be tickets or anything like that. This will be a pure celebration of the decade we have spent going out to tell people about Jesus.
I took some time to think through where we started and where we are. There are so many things we have learned over the years that it amazes me to realize that we have had this awesome privilege and have survived this long. You see, Ransomed is three brothers (and their wives, plus kids sometimes) who were not even speaking to each other much 12 years ago. As Lee says, that is the miracle of Ransomed. We started out with Lee, Chris, and Barb until Feb of 2003 when Barb had to leave. Enter Steve. God’s timing is really His when you look at this. Steve had been singing country with his best friend on the Opry circuit for several years when the Lord said it was time to get his heart right and join his brothers. That occurred right after Steve and Eddie decided to end their successful partnership. Steve and Eddie stayed good friends and we just saw him and his wife on a quick swing through East Texas.
When Steve joined his brothers, we knew something special was about to happen. Steve was a young, enthusiastic Christian and he brought that energy with him to the mix. Today he is one of the top tenors in Southern Gospel music in this area and probably many others.
We have learned many things over the years that have served us well in growing in the music.
One of the main things we learned is a work ethic. Anyone can go out and sing on a stage (and we have seen many who do) but the Lord calls us to do more than just sing. He wants it good, and He wants our passion for it to be obvious. We knew that regular practice was essential so we started out practicing at least once a week for hours, sometimes more. We have learned that to really know how well you are doing in the song, the best place to hear what needs fixed is in the studio. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard the guys say that they had figured out what wasn’t working right in a song after they went to the studio and heard it recorded. We have a great producer, Mark Hampton. Mark was with Shiloh until he came off the road to handle the music in his church. Mark has a great ear, knows the guys and what they can do, and helps them push the envelope vocally and musically. He is a behind the scenes part of the Ransomed team and greatly appreciated. Mark also creates almost all of our soundtracks. We call it Ransomizing a song. It is just another one of his many talents.
Another thing we have had to learn over the years is how to market. We aren’t perfect at it and have much more to learn but there are a few things we have grown to since we started. While we were always concerned that we presented ourselves in the best way because we wanted to represent Christ at our best, we have learned that the presentation starts with the first contact.
We are always kind and encouraging, even if the event is one that we aren’t going to do for various reasons. When we do book an event, we accomodate what the church wishes are and encourage the pastor or leader to share concerns or needs for us to focus on. When we arrive for an event, we approach it as if we were a professional full time group and try to reflect Jesus from the moment we walk in the door until the minute we leave. We all try to reflect Jesus in our daily lives, but we feel a responsibility to give the best we have at every booking. It has paid off. Last fall we did an out of town event with a promoter who has booked some of the biggest names in SG. He told Lee afterward that we were the most professional acting group he had ever met. We also were the first group ever to return 10% to the ministry we booked with. We aren’t the first group to do it (we got the idea for this from His Call) but we were the first of all the groups he had booked to do it. So we know that we are doing something right, and that even part-time weekend warriors can and should be professional in all their dealings. We try to exhibit that from our website to the promotional materials to the projects to our dress and deportment.
We have learned to keep the focus on Jesus, no matter what Satan tries to throw at us, and that it isn’t about us it is about who we can reach with the Gospel message for the lost and encouragement for the saints of the church. We have had many good examples along the way either through personal contact or observation. Two on the national level that stand out in my mind are Phil Cross and the Booth Brothers. While I have heard some people criticize Phil Cross on various issues, we have never seen anything but Christ-like behavior and encouragement from him. He has been very helpful and very giving and how he handles himself and conducts his events has been a great example.
The Booth Brothers are my personal favorites. From the first time I saw them in person in Greenville, TX until the last time we saw them at a church in Richardson, they have been just awesome in how they perform and plan their concerts to tell people about Jesus. The first time we met them in Greenville, they were swamped with people. The guys introduced themselves and visited with them for a short period of time. The next time we saw them, a year later, they remembered Ransomed and asked how everyone was. Since then, we have seen them several times and they have even taken my daughter, Tresa’s heart. They even rank above Taylor Hicks in her mind, and for her that says a lot. If the definition of friend were kindness and acceptance, they are our friends. Tresa will tell you they are hers, that’s for sure.
So another lesson learned was that people from all levels can teach us something.
These are just some of the outward things we have learned over the years, and we know there is so much more to learn. We sometimes learn our lessons slow, but we learn them.
The one lesson that overrides all the outward things is the continual lesson of learning to walk by faith. There is always a business side to anything in this world, but we are not called to be of the world. Without faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and trust that He has called us to this work, we are nothing. None of the outward things mean much without the inward reality of our salvation. We believe in the grace and love God showed us by Jesus death on the cross and know that no matter where the road leads it will end at heaven’s door. That is enough for me.
