Pardon any typos on my part.  I wanted to get this out quickly.  Let us know your thoughts. 

ALBUQUERQUE, NM – Last night (June 25^th) will be a night that I think that we will obviously remember.  If you have looked at Shiloh’s touring schedule lately, you will notice that we have been invited to perform the National Anthem at a number of ballparks across the country.   A few months back, we were confirmed to be with the Albuquerque Isotopes on Thursday, June 25^th.  Little did we know then, what would take place.

Jeremy and I began our travel up from Alamogordo to Albuquerque yesterday afternoon.  It was a typical summer day in New Mexico… hot!  We were going to be meeting Steve at the stadium because he had just flown in from DFW.  He was back at home with his daughter Stephanie helping with her preparations for her first semester at Baylor University. Per the advice of the Isotopes staff, we were encouraged to arrive earlier than “normal”.  They were once again expecting a standing room only crowd and would be opening the gates at 5:30 PM for entry in order to help everyone get in and seated in time for the 7:00 PM game.   We did as we were told, and arrive to find long lines outside the stadium and people piling in.  Mind you, it was over 100 degrees in the middle of the afternoon.   We met Steve at that time, and were blown away by the swarm of folks coming to the game that night.Now you are probably wondering what the big draw was… well, it was Shiloh!   

Although I wished I could leave it at that, I cannot.  If you are a follower of professional baseball, you will know the name Manny Ramirez and be familiar with the story behind this player.   For those not tuned in to ESPN 24/7, Manny is currently a member of the LA Dodgers and former member of the World Series Champs Boston Red Sox.   Manny is a unique player to say the least, and it seems trouble somewhat follows him.   Being from the Dallas area, we have seen this type of thing with T.O.

A few months back, Manny was banned from baseball for 50 games due to his failure of a banned substance test.  Therefore, Manny has not been playing for quite some time.   However, in order to prepare for his return, the LA Dodgers sent Manny to Albuquerque to “tune up” before his return July 3^rd.   This would be Manny’s final night as an Isotope, and folks came out in mass quantities.  

As we entered the gates, we saw Manny jerseys, Manny hats, Manny bats, and Manny hair.   There were kids dressed up like Manny as well as adults.  There was definitely a unique buzz in the air, and folks were ready to welcome their hero and wish him well as he returns to the major league with the Dodgers.  So, this is where things begin to get interesting!

At about 6:15 PM, the skies burst open with some of the “normal” afternoon thunderstorms.    The crowd moved into all the covered areas, but didn’t seem to mind.  They officially announced that we were in a rain delay.    That didn’t seem to bother most of those in attendance.  However, we did begin to wonder if they would be able to get the game in that night.  We met a gentleman and his wife that had never been to a ballgame before.   He explained that he didn’t have enough money to come to games, but he wasn’t going to miss Manny’s last game.  We met other folks with similar stories, and they were not going to miss the opportunity to see Manny.

Well, at about 6:45 PM, the staff asked Shiloh and a few other folks to follow them downstairs.   We found ourselves in the players’ area.   As we were being led closer to the field, we came to the entrance tunnel.  We looked down the corridor and all that we could see were fans hanging over the railing with items that they wanted autographed.   The cheers for their team was overwhelming.  We began our walk down the tunnel and onto the field.   When we reached the field, it was amazing.   It was packed!  Even after the rain, the seats were full, people were standing, and folks were still coming into the stadium.  

It was about 7:15 PM by this time.  The players were on the field stretching, throwing, and running as they prepared for the game… except for Manny.   However, you could sense something big was about to happen.  Everyone was waiting for the big announcement and for the man of the hour to come out that tunnel.    The PA announcer did his normal pre-game announcements, and then he began to announce the lineup for the Nashville Sound.  Once he finished, it was time for the Isotopes lineup.   The crowd was enthusiastic for all the players, but especially when they announced Manny’s name.   Then, they threw out the traditional first pitch, but it was more contemporary this time because they had 3 first pitches!!!  However, just as soon as they were done with that… another rain storm came through.  So, the covered the field again and whisked us off back up the tunnel.  We spent a little time down there saying hello to players/coaches, and giving the mascot a hard time.   Had a great time.

It was about 7:40 PM, and they asked us if we were ready to go back out on the field.  Of course, we said yes.   The tunnel was even louder than before.  I thought that some would have left, but when we entered the field… there were more folks than before.  It was absolute pandemonium!  Something like I have never seen before.   Once again the players, began to warm up and prepare for the game.  You could begin hearing chants of “Manny, Manny, Manny”.    Then, the PA played the song “Bennie And The Jets” by Elton John.  You could hear people substituting “Manny” for “Bennie”.   It was hilarious.

It was now 7:45 PM, and they informed us that they wanted to start the game at 7:50 PM.   It seemed as all was in order, and no question folks were ready.   Then, the announcement came…

“Ladies and gentleman.  We regret to inform you that due to the recent rains and the wet field conditions, we have been informed by the LA Dodgers that Manny Ramirez will not be playing in tonight’s game.  Even though the game will be played in its entirety, fans will be able to redeem their tickets from Thursday for a ticket of equal value based on availability to any future Monday through Wednesday 'Topes game.”

What broke out after this announcement was an enormous and obvious display of anger and displeasure by the 15,000 plus in attendance.   That is the nice way of stating it.  Then, the following announcement…

“Ladies and gentleman.  Please stand as we honor our country with the singing of the National Anthem performed by Christian recording artist Shiloh.”

We could hardly hear the announcement due to the still visibly angry crowd.  However, they quickly and respectfully settled down for a moment as they sang with us the National Anthem.  It was an incredible sight.   When we finished, the crowd was incredibly kind.   Although they were angered by the news, we were greeted with well wishes and many kind words.

Here is my problem with this whole thing.   Manny could have come out and tipped his hat to the standing room only crowd that had gathered to see him.  He could have signed a few balls for kids who just wanted a glimpse of their baseball hero.  There was definitely time with the 2 rain delays.  He could have at least acknowledged that folks spent their money to wish him well.  However, he did not.   As a matter of fact, what they could not see, and we could, was that Manny was only a short 50 ft from the field in the tunnel taking promo photos. 

Instead, Ramirez left Isotopes Stadium about 7:50 p.m. Without answering any questions from media or acknowledging the fans, he took off in a white Nissan flanked by several Dodgers officials.   He wanted no part of the fans, his teammates, or the media. This is a guy who is coming back from a 50-game suspension for violation of Major League Baseball's drug policy.   This is a player who received a hero’s welcome from this community and the kind fans of the Isotopes that were in attendance.

I have always been a huge fan of sports, and baseball in particular.  I will always remember the look on many of the kids’ faces.   I will always wonder why Manny could not be more gracious, but then I realize that in many ways “we” have created this monster in sports.   I also realized last night that this is a man that has everything this world could offer (whether obtain legally or illegally).  Yet, he really has nothing. Interesting evening of baseball.

As far back as I can remember, Christmas has always meant Jesus. Sure…as a child in Tennessee, we always had our get-togethers on both sides of the family with lots of good food, sweets, and gifts. As children, we all had a hard time sleeping on Christmas Eve, wondering what Santa was going to bring us. Were we “really” good enough? (usually not…lol)  Those last few days of school before Christmas break….ohh yeah….lots of candy, lots of fun, and most importantly, NO SCHOOL WORK! However, I also remember my Papa McKissack giving a devotion at many of our Christmas gatherings.  Papa McKissack made sure that every single one of us knew who and what the real gift of Christmas was all about.  Both sides of the family always included prayer, thanking God for the real reason we were celebrating. I’m thankful for being brought up in a family that knows the real meaning of Christmas; and my wife and I plan on passing it down to our children.

When we first got married, I would hear my wife humming a particular tune during the holidays that I didn’t recognize. I finally asked her about it, and she said it was a song she sang for a school Christmas pageant when she was younger (surprisingly she still remembers the words…love ya Honey!)  The song was a spelling of Christmas with something about Jesus on each letter.  The chorus went something like this…”C is for the Christ-child, born upon this day; H for herald angels in the night; R’s for our Redeemer, I’s for Israel, S is for the star that shone so bright; T is for three wise men, they who traveled far; M is for the manger where He lay; A’s for all He stands for; S for shepherds came; and that’s why there’s a Christmas day!”  I believe this about says it all. Yes, we try to provide a “good” Christmas for our children and other family members with our material gifts, but we as humans will never be able to match the one perfect gift from God – his Son.  Everyone KNOWS the real reason for Christmas; however, it sometimes gets pushed to the backs of our minds with all the hustle and bustle of the holidays.  But we need to remember WHY there is a Christmas…we are celebrating Jesus’ birth! Jesus…the reason for the season! Can I get an AMEN?

Shiloh, along with our families, would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! We pray that Jesus will be lifted high amidst all that you do during this wonderful holiday season!

In Christ,

Jeremy

          Hope everyone is well! It’s been a while…sorry! I am going to recap the last 2 months. Hopefully it’s not too boring…lol! We began October with worship at Bedford Baptist Temple in Bedford, Webb Baptist in Arlington, followed by Cornerstone Community in Springtown. Exciting yet?...lol! Just kidding!

          We then took a trip down near Corpus Christi, to Robstown, to lead worship in a revival at River Hills Baptist Church. This was my second year to be a part of this revival. We had a great time with those folks, leading worship on Sunday morning, a concert on Sunday night, and leading the worship in revival Monday through Wednesday!

          The following weekend, we were blessed to be part of the concert series at the Texas Gospel Music Hall in Athens. We shared the stage with The Stanley’s, a wonderful family group! It was also good to see our friends Kris and Reese, as well as many others! The following weekend, we took off for our annual trip to Kansas. We began with a Saturday night concert at Country View Baptist in Ulysses. This is where we learned that we had a tenor who…really shouldn’t be driving. We kind of knew that already, but a situation happened that reinforced it!  Brian went to move the bus and decided to bury us deep in some mud. How he didn’t see the huge construction area that looked like wet mud is beyond us. Steve had to put his redneck skills to work, because our trailer was still attached. DUCT TAPE could not solve this problem…lol! By the time we were done getting the bus and the trailer out of the mud, we had the church some irrigation paths dug up, ready to put a sprinkler system in or something…lol! We apologized as best we could! I want to especially thank Loy and Cindy Henderson for letting us stay at their Bar Lazy L Ranch Bed & Breakfast in Ulysses. This beautiful ranch was way out in the country…beautiful. We stayed in a fully furnished unique bunkhouse, where hunters stay throughout the year. In fact, pheasant season was about to begin, and they were booked up for weeks! We were treated to an awesome country breakfast before heading out on Sunday morning. 

          On Sunday morning, we led worship in Moscow (pronounced like “Costco”, not Mos – COW, as in the farm animal – we learned that you don’t dare say it like the Russian capital, which has the same exact spelling), a small farming community in Kansas, where both the Methodist and the Baptist church combined for a morning worship service at the Moscow Methodist Church. It’s great to see a community come together to worship. It was a real blessing for us to be a part of. We closed the Kansas trip with a community concert in Hugoton, at the Hugoton Middle School auditorium. We will look forward to getting back up to Kansas in 2009!

          We closed the month of October with a day at the Chaparral Baptist Camp in Iowa Park, Texas for an associational Senior Adult Rally. For Halloween, I was blessed to be able to attend our home church’s Fall Festival with my wife and kids. They had a blast bungee jumping, rock climbing, and climbing all over a bunch of blown up giant playhouses. Of course, they had WAY too much candy….keep’s the dentists busy…right?

          November kicked off with a Sunday at First Baptist Church in Carthage, where we led some worship Sunday morning and did a full concert Sunday night. Later that week, we took a trip up to Little Rock, Arkansas, for another all-day association rally at Immanuel Baptist Church. The following weekend, we were a part of the worship service at First Baptist Church in Magnolia, north of Houston. Then we headed back North to be at mine and Steve’s home church, First Baptist Church in Corsicana. We had a great time with all our families, our church family, and many community friends. The following week, we had a concert at First Christian Church in Duncanville on Thursday night and Pleasantview Baptist on Friday night.  I t was good to see Mark Hampton and Lynn Dodson, a couple of the original Shiloh Quartet. It was especially good to hear The Hamptons sing (Mark, his wife, daughter, and son-in-law), as well as others.

          The following week, we were back at Travis Avenue Baptist Church in Fort Worth for the quarterly Friday night singing. It was good for me to see my friends Wade Traylor (who just became a daddy as of September), as well as the Russell family from Athens (Brandon, Mandy, and the Russell Rugrats….lol). Oh yeah….remember Brandon, I’ll send you the bill for the dry-cleaning for my jacket to get the greasy Cheetos stains off….lol. Love all you guys! Oh….it’s always great to see our DJ friends, Lorene Kirksey of KVTT 91.7 FM, Charlie Campbell of 90.9 FM KCBI, and Steve Randall (formerly of KCBI radio). For those of you who are in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, we would encourage you to contact KCBI radio and ask that they bring back their Southern Gospel, Inspirational, and Christian Country programming on Sunday afternoons. I was listening today and they have totally removed this type of program from their play.  Steve always did a great job with the program, and it would be great to have that program back on the air. Finally, it was also great to see Holly with Steve Randall. Holly…you’re what I like most about Steve.

          We closed the month with worship services at Bible Baptist in Jacksboro (the church I nearly passed out in about a year ago) and Field Street Baptist in Cleburne. We are just about to finish up our week off for Thanksgiving. I’m so thankful for my wife, Lynell for staying by my side through the good times and the tough times. There is no one I know that could be a better wife or mother. She’s had a tough time these past couple weeks with her back being out. I’ve actually had to cook a bit. Scary… I know! So far, it hasn’t turned out too bad…lol! I love you, Honey! I’m so thankful for my children: Erika, Jonah, James, and Emilee. They love me no matter how tough I get on them about doing their chores. They are the best kids a dad could ask for! I’m thankful for mine and Lynell’s extended family (my mom, Donna, and step-dad, Mike,  are here as I finish typing this – it’s been awesome to have them in our home a few days), for keeping me in church, for encouraging me in music, for loving me so very much despite my many flaws…for so many things! I’m so very thankful for my close friends, which are too many to list here (you know who you are), and my best friends, Steve Colburn, and Brian White. I truly love you guys…otherwise I would have killed you already…lol!

          Hope each of you had a great Thanksgiving. Stop and think about what and who you are thankful for! I’m thankful most of all that Jesus died on the cross for me so that He could save me! Thank you, Jesus!

In Christ,

Jeremy  

September started with a day and a half road trip, driving through the remains of Hurricane Gustav. It rained steadily, and the wind was so strong we had to keep at 60 mph or less! Hallelujah! We made it to Floyd, Iowa, safe and sound. We were so soo sooo blessed to meet some great folks, our hosts, Paul and Vernabelle Mull. They so graciously put us up in their house for 3 nights, fed us well (lots of absolutely wonderful sweets, all fat-free of course….yeah right!), washed our clothes, provided some interesting and fun conversation and fellowship, shot pool with us,…basically took us in as three new sons. I, also, had my first ever hamburger with pudding as the dressing. I basically thought these little bowls of pudding/pie filling were mayonnaise and slapped it on both sides of my bread and peppered it real good. A couple minutes later, Steve smelled of it before he was going to use it…then asked, “Do you have any mayonnaise?” I thought…what!?! LOL! It didn’t taste that bad!

Both Paul and Vernabelle are artists and amazing at that. Paul showed us some of his incredible woodwork and Vernabelle’s absolutely beautiful paintings. These are very special new friends in each of our lives and we will look forward to being back with them in the future. Paul and Vernabelle…thank you so much for everything! We love you!

While we stayed with the Mulls, we were part of the Annual Floyd Gospel Sing. We met many great folks from Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and who knows where else. We shared the stage with many groups as well, such as our good buddies Forgiven Quartet (“pavement ends in 40 feet”), Master’s Voice (riffraff to say the least…lol), Phil and Pam Morgan, and others. There was lots of fellowship and awesome food, including the traditional funnel cakes that were delish! We were rained out a bit on Friday night, but we just took it inside the community center and packed in like sardines to finish the night! Brian and I also got to cruise around Floyd a bit in a 1934 Pontiac Sedan…YES…we did look very cool, in case you were wondering…lol! A special thanks to Paul and Dixie Phillips for letting us share our ministry in Floyd and for such a great weekend. We closed our weekend in Iowa leading worship at Rockwell United Methodist Church.  Now…heading east to Louisville to NQC.

            My second year at the National Quartet Convention in Louisville, Kentucky was not as overwhelming as last year was, but equally as awesome! We were blessed to have our friends Pat and Cindy with us part of the week and our new friend Kris Hutchins with us the entire week. They helped us at our table throughout the week so we could be free to visit with other artists, songwriters, do TV and radio interviews, and other necessary “stuff.” Thank you Pat, Cindy, and Kris! We love you so very much!

            Speaking of Kris…man is that dude crazy! He sings with a group out of Tyler, Texas and is a young man of God. He took a little video camera around and did little interviews with lots of folks. We are going to put together a video and post it online. He got some great, genuinely kind words from lots of other artists and fans, as well as some down-right hilarious stuff…some we probably can’t show you…lol! Kris was a big help in moving stuff, fetching stuff, eating stuff…lol…anything we asked, he helped us with! Thanks so much Kris! Be on the lookout for new pics from NQC ‘08 as well. They should be up soon! It was great to visit with so many of our friends from across the country. We always meet new friends, as well as those who have followed Shiloh for years. It is also always great to catch up with other groups, artists, and musicians that we don’t get to see much or at all throughout the year.

            After NQC, we had a couple of stops before heading back home. Sunday morning we worshipped with the good people at Stithon Baptist Church in Radcliff, Kentucky. They were so gracious to let us share our ministry at the last minute, due to another church having to cancel on us. Thank you so much! We look forward to being back with you in the future! From Radcliff, Kentucky, we headed south to my home town of Leoma, Tennessee. We stayed with Uncle Mark and Aunt Melody McKissack. We had a wonderful supper at Melody’s mother’s house, Ruby Newton, who was my very first piano teacher. We hung out with the whole Newton crew and sang a few songs for them (that was a requirement, to compensate for our supper…lol). We also heard some funny stories from Uncle Mark…the guys were crackin’ up! The guys really enjoyed staying the night at Mark and Melody’s. Brian kept saying we were on the “Little House on the Prairie” mixed with “Beverly Hillbillies”…lol. A big thanks to Rachel and Becca for giving up their rooms and their beds. Thanks for sharing your home! The next night we were at Loretto United Methodist with a church full of family and friends…mostly family. We had a great night…unfortunately I was still so nervous in front of all that family. Not so sure how to overcome that…lol…maybe I need to drink some of that Tennessee moonshine next time…(that’s a joke…lol)! I busted out cryin’ uncontrollably on the first verse of “When I Got Saved”…didn’t see that coming! Anyway...something else for the guys to make fun of me. I guess it just hit so close to home. That song really is my testimony. I have some great, awesome family members who were and continue to be Godly examples for me! It was neat to be able to get my dad up on stage to sing bass with us on “Jesus Knows Who I Am.” It was just awesome to see mom and dad, Mike and Janet, my little bro Lee, so many aunts, uncles, cousins, and so many others! Let’s do it again soon! Too bad we couldn’t stay a week or two!

After a couple days at home, (actually a day and a half), we took off again to Amarillo. On Thursday, we got to be a part of Larry and Jodi’s Goodtime Gospel Jamboree at the Church at Quail Creek, sharing the stage with some good folks. Later that Sunday, we shared with the Church at Quail Creek family for their morning worship, then with the South Georgia Baptist family in Amarillo that night. Now…off to Glorieta, New Mexico.

We were honored to be a part of the Pastors’ Masters Golf Conference,  a three-day event with In His Grip Ministries and Lifeway. We led the worship each night and played golf each day. Now…most of you probably know already that I do not really have a golf game. I fetch balls… I fish for balls…. I absolutely stink!!! The first day was miserable for me, especially after the first 9 holes. However, I was so blessed to have some personal golf instruction from Scott Lehman, the President of In His Grip Ministries. Scott paired me with him for the 2^nd day of golfing, but then decided to give me some instruction, starting with putting, to chipping, then pitching, and finally to the driving range. I felt like a sponge, taking it all in for a good 5 hours. Scott gave golf lessons prior to accepting Jesus and going into this ministry. He was awesome! Thankfully, I didn’t have to pay for those lessons (they would have easily cost me 5 to 600 dollars). I can’t thank Scott enough for all he did!  Thanks BROTHER! The 3^rd day of golf was much more enjoyable…I still stink, but I KNOW what I’m doing wrong and what I need to do to fix it. I connected with a few, baby! I’ll tell you this, the scenery at each golf course (each course was about an hour or so surrounding Glorieta) would take your breath away. Absolutely beautiful! How can anyone say God didn’t create that beautiful landscape? Impossible! A big thanks to Ron Pratt with Lifeway for letting us be a part of this event. When you get a chance, visit In His Grip Golf Association at www.inhisgripgolf.com . Scott uses golf as an outreach tool for churches, if any of you are interested.

We ended the month with a great night of worship at First Baptist Church in Round Rock, Texas. It’s nice to be back close to home for a few weeks. Please continue to pray for us as we travel. Be on the lookout for more info on our new double CD of fan favorites. We are working hard now booking dates for the first part of 2009. If your church or another venue you know would like to have us, have them email me at jeremy@shilohnet.com and we’ll go from there!

Love God and Love Each Other

Jeremy

For the most part, August was a light month, with a lot of time home with our families. We planned it that way. July was crazy and September is going to be crazy, so we carefully planned a light and local August. It has been great to spend a lot of time with our wives and kids, especially right before school has started.

We started the month off with a great Saturday night concert in Houston at Spring Woods United Methodist Church. The following Sunday morning,  we were in Lewisville at Northview Baptist Church where we led the morning worship while the music minister and choir were traveling and leading worship at another church in Tennessee (by the way…GO VOLS…opening game is tonight against UCLA, one of the few games I'll probably get to see live). 

The following week, we spent the entire day at Trietsch Memorial United Methodist Church in Flower Mound. This is the church that Stan helped build years ago before Shiloh ever started…and…YES…it's still holding up…LOL! A highlight was singing "Sinner Saved By Grace" with the choir…absolutely powerful!!

The following weekend was by far the busiest of the month. We began, on Thursday night, at Northwest Baptist Church in Lawton, Oklahoma. During the middle of the concert, a much-needed downpour of rain began and those Lawton folks were so very thankful. We decided, spontaneously, to sing "When the Rains Come" from the Blessed CD, which we hadn't done in a long, long time, but it was very appropriate! We then returned home for another singing at Travis Avenue Baptist Church. As usual, we shared the stage with several great groups and musicians. It was especially a blessing to have Poet Voices on the stage that night with Phil Cross, Dave McVay, and Mitchel Jon (the later two formerly of Three Bridges). We had a great time visiting with them afterward at our "regular" late-night-after-Travis-Avenue-Mexican-food-fix! Phil Cross sure had some good jokes for us! Make sure and check out the new pics on the MySpace! The next day we took off for about a 6-hour trip to Canyon, Texas, where we shared with them in the AM service and a full concert in the PM service! Once again, you folks at FBC Canyon have yourselves a wonderful youth minister! Thanks Jason for your great hospitality throughout our day in Canyon!

The following Sunday found us in Waco at Bellmead Calvary Baptist Church for their 55^th Church Anniversary. We shared a few songs in their morning worship service, had a great luncheon and then gave a concert afterward. Once again, Happy 55^th Bellmead!

On the final weekend of August, we were honored to be invited to sing the National Anthem at the Frisco Rough Riders AA baseball game. Also, we all got to be at our home churches on that Sunday morning. Steve, Lynell (my wife), and I got to sing "When I Got Saved" from the Passion for the Mission CD in both services. As a matter of fact, Brian better look out, because Lynell had NO problem with his part, and she is SOOOO much better looking..lol! That night we shared our ministry with First Baptist Church in Crowley and enjoyed a wonderful ice-cream supper along with some great fellowship!

As we go into September, please remember to pray for us as we travel many miles! Also, pray for all the people affected by the hurricanes and tropical storms that are hitting our country and for those to come! We all have "storms" of many forms in our lives. But, for those of us who know Jesus Christ as our personal Savior, we know that He is always there to help us through any storm that comes our way!

God has blessed us throughout this month in so many ways! We met so many good people, made many new friendships, and, most importantly, worshipped our Savior, Jesus Christ! At the same time, we had some awesome quality time with the most important people in our lives, our wives and children! By the way, I'm finishing this blog up just as the UCLA Bruins are about to kick-off to the Tennessee Vols. My two boys, Jonah and James, are here by my side, ready to enjoy a good game! These are the BEST of TIMES!

In Christ,

Jeremy