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Well, here we go....Some of you will be surprised by what I have to
say, and some will not. One thing for sure is that if you know me or
have known me, you for sure know that I am willing to whole heartedly
let you know what's on my mind and how I feel about it.
I have gone through many changes over the last 4 years. These
changes have been a long time coming and they cover areas of my life
like, physical, emotional, and spiritual. It all started by deciding to
get my physical self under control. I lost more than 120 pounds 4
years ago and still feel fantastic! During all of the physical changes
I began to feel a pull by God to get my life right with him. This was
not something that I was unfamiliar with even though I had fallen away
from God. I grew up in a family where my father was (and still is) a
preacher. My dad was (and is) much more than just your typical dry, hum
drum, stale sermon giver. No, my father is an on fire servant of God.
He currently is a pastor at a church here in my home town and he also
is (has been for 40years) the director of a youth based ministry as
well. In addition to this he also makes regular mission trips to the
country of Haiti where he has seen just about everything imaginable and
has even been taken hostage as a political prisoner. He shows no signs
of slowing down or letting up. Through all of this, my Mother has stood
right by his side and she is a source of my entire family's strength.
As I was going through this process of "getting it together", I began
to feel a desire to go and hear my Father preach. Now this was
difficult for me on a few levels. Level one, being a producer and a
studio owner has meant that I have worked just about every Sunday for
the last 20 years. Level two, I have traditionally hated Church! Why
the hatred of Church you ask? Well it's simple. Because my Father and
Mother have been in ministry all of these years, I have seen them
experience a great deal of judgment and persecution. For the most part,
this ugly junk hasn't come from the non-Christian community, No…it has
come straight from the folks that have proclaimed to be Christians! My
experience has been that when people come to know Jesus, they seem to
take on this persona that through Christ they can be self righteous,
arrogant, and judgmental. It's a crazy concept if you really look at
what Christ was and is all about. Jesus Christ showed compassion to all
people. He was not judgmental. In fact if you really look at him, you
will learn about a guy that pretty much surrounded himself with all the
down and out people of society. In fact Jesus was considered a Rabbi,
and as a Rabbi he was persecuted, and he was a Rabbi (spiritual leader)
without a Church. He took his ministry to the streets and to the places
where no other spiritual leader dare go.
So back to me and level two…Because of this disgust I was harboring
towards organized Christianity, I pretty much stayed out of the Church.
However like I said I was really starting to feel a pull to go hear my
Father preach. So to make a long story a little shorter, I started to
periodically go to church. As I did this I began to find myself being
moved to tears every time I would hear my Father's messages. One of the
other things that came from this was that my Wife and Children were
really becoming interested in attending Church too. It was having a
profound positive affect on my relationship with my family and it was
changing me for the better as well. So then a few years ago I felt led
to become the Praise and Worship music leader at my Dad's church. I did
this and I now get up in front of a good sized congregation along with
two of my band members Eric Poe and Albert Hurst, and my daughter
Lindsay every Sunday and play guitar, sing, and pour my heart out like
I never have in all of my life. It has really been meaningful, and
exciting. So I found myself with a desire to write, record, and release
music that reflects what I am feeling. So in November of 2007 I started
production on my latest album "Sundays at Church" I decided to do
everything on the project, meaning I played all the instruments and did
all the production end of it as well. The album was recorded and mixed
at my studio Cellar Records in IL. And I had Nick Blagona(Chicago,
Rainbow, The BeeGees, The Police, Cat Stevens, Nazareth, Rainbow, April
Wine, Kim Mitchell, Deep Purple, Roger Glover, Ian Gillan, Bruce
Hornsby, George Jones, Foo Fighters, Greenday, Starewell, Alexisonfire
etc., etc..) Master the album at his studio in Dundas Ontario Canada.
It was a large undertaking but the making of this record turned out to
be one of the biggest blessings on so many levels. The songs are pretty
much about my life and my relationship with God, Church, and other
Christians. After the production of the new album wrapped up I decided
that I needed to put a live band together in order to bring this music
and the message to the people. God has blessed me once again with a
great line up of musicians and Brothers in order to do this. It still
amazes me how much God blesses my life when I turn everything over to
him and simply say “God let your will be done”. The band is called Todd
Anthony Joos and the Revelators. One day I was in my office listening
to an old blues song called John the Revelator. Suddenly it hit me
right between the eyes (or ears) Revelators!! In the time of Christ,
John the Baptist was this radical character that was doing and saying
things that were extreme. Jesus and John the Baptist were really out
there and they were shaking things up and questioning all the
foundational and traditional ways. This band and the music are all
about keeping the focus on Jesus! We want to glorify and praise our
risen lord and savior Jesus Christ. We are not concerned with
professional Christians and Church politics. We are not playing
“Church”! We are praising the Lord!
The band line up is:
Todd Anthony Joos: Lead vocals and guitar
Mike Rhoads: Lead guitar and backing vocals
Eric Poe: Bass guitar
Albert Hurst: drums In my mind, music is a gift from God. I think God
loves it when his people make a joyful noise. So I will now, and until
the end of my life sing out with all of my heart in order to prepare ye
the way of the Lord! Ok, there's so much more, but that's enough for
now… Peace my friends, Todd Anthony Joos and the Revelators
3:07 PM
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