The Beauty of the Internet: Exploding Whale

Because everyone should see a real Sperm Whale exploding in the middle of a busy city in Taiwan.

Thank you (again), National Geographic!

Freedom Contest

From the Press Release:



“Karen Harding Releases Brand New Single To Radio”

-Patriotic Song To Hit Airwaves For Independence Day-

GOODLETTSVILLE, Tenn- 6/30/09- The newest member of the Cross & Crown Music family, Karen Harding is set to release her first radio single on the Cross & Crown Records’ label this week. “Freedom, Oh What A Word!,” was written by Karen and accomplished songwriter, John Darin Rowsey and will hit radio airwaves just in time for Independence Day. The single features Karen’s unmistakable vocals alongside a special appearance by Mike Bowling. “Freedom, Oh What A Word!” is also available digitally on Itunes.com, Amazon.com and numerous other online music stores.

Cross & Crown Music has launched a contest in conjunction with the single release. Radio listeners can phone or e-mail their personal stories of what freedom means to them to their local radio stations from July 1^st until July 15^th. They will be entered into a contest and have the chance to win free DVDs and CDs from the “Memories From MorningStar” library. The winning stories will also be featured onwww.crossandcrownmusic.com. A national winner will be selected August 1^st. The Memories From MorningStar library includes classic recordings from the Perrys, the Crabb Family, the Isaacs, the Perry Sisters, the Bishops, the Wilburns, Carroll Roberson, Palmetto State and the Dixie Melody Boys.

Cross & Crown Music launched April 2009 just outside Nashville, Tennessee. Cross & Crown Records, 4 Square, Morning Star and Cedar Hill record labels are encompassed within the music company. The recording labels are currently home to Heirline, New Ground, Diane Rudd and a plethora of other well known Southern Gospel artists. The company plans to release classic favorites from the Morning Star label and are pursuing additional musicians to add to their ever growing roster. Cross & Crown Music offers custom projects for groups who desire the experience and excitement of recording in Nashville, Tennessee.

For more information on Cross & Crown Music, Memories From MorningStar and the “Freedom, Oh What A Word!” radio contest, visit www.crossandcrownmusic.com.

Happy Birthday U-S-A!

We've got more than our share of faults, but we're still the hope of the world! Let's keep earning that responsibility.

90&9 is on Facebook!

If you've got a profile, drop on by and give us a shout! We're still working toward a more robust site, but we'd love fans along the way!

Darrell W. Johns: New President of Gateway

The official Press Release (which, strangely, was released at 5 p.m. at the start of a holiday weekend. You would think they would want to make this part of every Pentecostal's conversation for days to come.):


SAINT LOUIS, MO - On June 19, 2009, Reverend Darrell W. Johns was unanimously elected by the Board of Trustees to become the eighth president of Gateway College of Evangelism. He formally commenced his presidential duties effective July 1, 2009.

Brother Johns currently serves as a board member for Gateway College, a pastoral board member of the Foreign Missions Board of the United Pentecostal Church International (UPCI), and pastor of Atlanta West Pentecostal Church in Lithia Springs, Georgia. He will remain in these capacities and execute his presidential responsibilities at Gateway via telecommunication and by commuting to the campus on a monthly and as-needed basis.

An ordained minister of the United Pentecostal Church, President Johns is deeply committed to the Apostolic message including the articles of faith of the UPCI. He brings a wealth of experience to his role as president. Upon graduating salutatorian from Jackson College of Ministries, Darrell Johns worked in both faculty and administrative capacities there for nine years. During his years at Jackson, he was also Youth Pastor and Assistant Pastor at the First Pentecostal Church serving under Pastor T.L. Craft. He served as UPCI General Youth Secretary from 1988-1993 and UPCI General Youth President from 1993-1995. He most recently served as Secretary of the UPCI Division of Education from 2007-2009.

Brother Johns has invested his time, talent, and treasure in Gateway College as a Board member, Foundation partner, and by sending numerous students to the College from his church, including two of his sons.

Darrell Johns has been married to his wife Carol since 1978. They have three sons: Ryan, Joel, and Justin. Ryan holds a BBA in marketing from the University of West Georgia, is an accomplished musician and recording artist, and serves on the pastoral staff of Atlanta West Pentecostal Church. Joel graduated in 2007 with a Bachelor of Practical Theology degree from Gateway College of Evangelism and serves as youth pastor of The Pentecostals of Titusville, Florida. Justin graduated in 2009 with an Associate of Biblical and General Studies degree from Gateway College and will return to the campus in August to pursue a Bachelor of Christian Ministry degree.

President Johns accepted this new role at Gateway with a conviction that the college will positively affect the future of Apostolic leadership in the church. He has stated that his life goal is to develop leaders for the Kingdom of God and he will bring that sense of purpose to the office of president. His vision for Gateway is to see the College fulfill its mission "to train and biblically educate disciples for Christian ministry, church leadership, and world evangelism." Under his leadership, Gateway College will continue to seek regional accreditation while maintaining the biblical integrity and Oneness Pentecostal distinctives of the College.

We welcome Darrell Johns and his family to the Gateway team. Your prayer and support will help make the vision of Gateway a continuing reality.

Q: The Christian TED

Q is the Christian equivalent of the highly regarded TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) Conference. The basic concept is cutting edge minds, in their respective callings, share talks of no more than 18 minutes. Both offer incredible content to ponder and apply.

For instance, listen to "Christianity in 1,000 Years" by the co-creator of Wired magazine. You'll be thinking about his points for quite a while.

Then tell us what you think!

My Calling: How Do You Encourage Others?

This week's cover story offers several opinions on the best way to help others pursue their calling from God.

You've read theirs, now let's hear what you do when you encourage other believers.

Twitter in Iran

"Twitter on the Barricades: Six Lessons Learned" is an even-handed analysis on the effects of Twitter on the Iranian demonstrations—and a peek into the future of its liabilities & assets for future movements and the media that covers them.

In The New York Times, Noam Cohen writes:

“But does the label Twitter Revolution, which has been slapped on the two most recent events, oversell the technology? Skeptics note that only a small number of people used Twitter to organize protests in Iran and that other means — individual text messaging, old-fashioned word of mouth and Farsi-language Web sites — were more influential. But Twitter did prove to be a crucial tool in the cat-and-mouse game between the opposition and the government over enlisting world opinion.”

It is interesting that is (somewhat) concludes that Twitter continues to be oversold in the West.