I grew up with a heavy diet of gospel folk and blues because those are kind of the cornerstones of traditional American music.

The learned are not agreed as to the time when the Gospel of John was written some dating it as early as the year 68 others as late as the year 98 but it is generally conceded to have been written after all the others.

In the past missionaries have traveled to far countries with the message of the gospel - with great hardship and often with the loss of life. In contrast we can reach millions instantly from the comfort of our homes by merely hitting the 'send' button on our computers or with iPads or phones.

Like all soul singers I grew up singing in church but sometimes I would leave early and sit in the car listening to gospel band The Blind Boys of Alabama. Hearing their lead singer Clarence made me connect the idea of church and show business and see how I could make a career singing music that stirred the soul.

If you don't die of thirst there are blessings in the desert. You can be pulled into limitlessness which we all yearn for or you can do the beauty of minutiae the scrimshaw of tiny and precise. The sky is your ocean and the crystal silence will uplift you like great gospel music or Neil Young.

I think the amazing thing about gospel music is that not only does it lift up the death and resurrection of our Lord which is consistent with the Gospel but it is uniquely communicated depending upon the generation.

God writes the Gospel not in the Bible alone but also on trees and in the flowers and clouds and stars.

Anybody under the age of forty knows hip-hop gospel and R&B pretty well and it's all a part of what we consider to be 'black music.' There is a natural synergy between the three.