In this week’s “Behind The Album” series we’re talking to Phillips, Craig & Dean about some more great songs off their new record “Breathe In!” Plus, we also wanted to find out more about how Randy, Shawn & Dan balance everything in their lives. Each of the guys has a full time pastor job in addition to their music career, so we asked them to share more about their experiences doing both. Scroll down to see what they had to say, and check back next week for more behind the scenes interviews with the guys!

Phillips, Craig & Dean’s much anticipated album “Breathe In” has finally hit stores today, and we’re celebrating by giving away a free song! It’s packed with awesome worship anthems that you don’t want to miss, and our free track is no exception. Scroll down to watch our interview with the guys about their song “Great, Great God” and then download it for free below. Also be sure to check out our “Behind The Album” video where the guys share their hearts behind the new record.

Oh yea… and go get the album today!!

Click here to preview the record and get your copy now

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Pastor Shawn Craig sat down to talk with us about one of the songs from Phillips, Craig & Dean’s brand new upcoming album, “Breathe In.” Check out the story behind the track “All Is Well” below, and stay tuned for more interviews in the weeks to come!

Visit PhillipsCraigAndDean.com now to listen to the band’s new single “When The Stars Burn Down” and download it instantly when you pre-order. The New Album, “Breathe In,” hits stores March 13th!

If you liked “Revelation Song” then get ready for the brand new Phillips, Craig & Dean single hitting radio airwaves now! The band is sharing a sneak peek of the song “When The Stars Burn Down” over on their Facebook page HERE, so if you’re a Facebook user be sure to go take a listen. In case you missed it last month, we also have a special behind the scenes interview with the guys about the song and what it means to them. Check it out below!

When I first heard “When the Stars Burn Down” it immediately had that same impact as “Revelation Song,” with that big worship moment where you’re transported out of this mortal world into the next. – Randy Phillips

I love this idea of the unveiling of Jesus Christ in glory and the melting down of the universe. And how when all that is said and done Jesus Christ is still Lord. – Shawn Craig

It is another one of those songs that, similar to “Revelation Song,” puts things into perspective of what life is really all about. – Dan Dean

And Now For Some Encouraging Words From Pastor Shawn Craig about New Year commitments…

The Book that Keeps on Giving

I don’t buy many movies. Why? Because once you’ve seen it, you know how the story goes and it takes the punch out it.

Not so with the Bible. It keeps on giving. Regular reading will prove this: the Bible is the one book that keeps on giving. Any student of scripture will tell you how often you read the verses you’ve read before but it comes alive to you in a way that it didn’t before. It keeps on giving. That’s another reason why I keep on reading it year after year.

Now is the time to renew commitment to reading God’s Word daily. I renew my commitment every year to have a daily dose of scripture. Sometimes I skip it and I regret it. But I get up the next day and start over. I don’t quit.

Even if you miss a day, don’t quit. What if you fail on a promise to kiss your wife everyday? Just because you miss a day, you don’t say, “Well, I failed to remember to kiss my wife today. So I quit.” No, you renew your commitment the next day! Simple illustration but it works!

Click here to see more from Pastor Shawn and get a good bible reading plan.

The 42nd Annual GMA Dove Awards will be held on Wednesday, April 20, 2010 at Atlanta’s historic Fox Theatre and will be televised nationwide on GMC (http://www.watchgmc.com/), Easter Sunday, April 24, 2011 from 7-9p.m. EST. This year marks the first time the show has taken place outside Nashville in 40 years.

Multi-platinum selling band MercyMe received three total nominations for “Group of the Year,” “Song of the Year” and “Pop/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year.” The song recognition was for “All Of Creation,” the first single from their May 2010 release of The Generous Mr. Lovewell. The song was also named Billboard’s National Christian Audience and Christian AC Song of the Year.

Horseshoes & Handgrenades, the latest No. 1 album from Disciple, took top honors in the “Rock Album of the Year” category while their No. 1 hit “Dear X, You Don’t Own Me” also garnered attention in the “Rock Recorded Song of the Year” category.

GMA Dove Award winner Laura Story was honored in the “Female Vocalist of the Year” category. Her next album, Blessings, is due out April 12.

Phillips, Craig & Dean’s “Great Are You Lord” is nominated for “Inspirational Recorded Song of the Year.” The song earned the GMA Dove Award winners their 20^th No. 1 single in 19 years.

Sara Groves’ Fireflies and Songs was recognized in the “Recorded Music Packaging” category. The singer/songwriter released the album in November of 2009.

Randy Phillips of Phillips, Craig & Dean recently donated $15,000 from his Texas Ranger’s fan favorite tune, “The Claw,” to Col. Dave Jones of Ft. Hood’s Phantom Trackers unit. The full proceeds from the song will go to support the families of the 400 piece squadron while they are serving in the most dangerous parts of Afghanistan for a year, and ensure that their families experience memorable times during their deployment such as celebrating Christmas, birthdays and anniversaries.

“The Claw,” written by Phillips and gospel rap artist Canton Jones, grew to fame amongst the Dallas and Fort Worth area during the Texas Rangers baseball season. Outfielder Josh Hamilton also got behind the tune as well as local television and radio stations in the area as the Rangers made their way into the World Series. Radio stations such as KLTY had Phillips on the air every week to give updates on the total amount raised, and local ESPN networks, the CBS affiliate and more also had Phillips on for interviews to promote the song.

When launching the sale of the song on www.dotheclaw.com, Phillips always had the intention of donating the raised funds to the military, specifically the Ft. Hood army base in his home state of Texas. “I wanted to do something noble with the funds if God chose to bless this quirky song,” explains Phillips. “Those serving at Ft. Hood and their families have such a huge place in my heart.”  Phillips also wrote “Wishing On A Christmas Star” for the holiday season with proceeds from the song benefitting the USO Wounded Warrior Program. The song is written from the perspective of military personnel being deployed during Christmas, and missing loved ones. For more information and to hear the song, visit www.operationstar1.com.

Over the weekend, superdad Randy Phillips of Phillips Craig and Dean bought Lily, his 7 year old daughter, TWO French Bulldog puppies – one male and one female.  Now, I don’t know about you, but looking at that picture makes me want to go get a Bulldog puppy for myself…

The puppies don’t have names yet, and Randy and Lily want your help making the decision!

They’re giving away TWO Apple iPod Touch MP3 players two the people with the most creative names.  Just send an email to bulldogs@phillipscraiganddean.com by September 12th with your votes.

In the meantime, pray that Randy get’s some sleep with crying puppies in the house.

Phillips, Craig & Dean walked away from the 41st Annual GMA Dove Awards last week with the honor of “Inspirational Album Of The Year” for their latest release “Fearless” which features the smash worship anthem “Revelation Song” (btw, if you haven’t heard it you need to go listen now- see below).  It’s hard to believe that this is their very first award, but Randy Phillips gave us his thoughts about it.

“After singing for almost 20 years, to be honored with our first career Dove win for an album, specifically for ‘Fearless,’ is such an honor. We are humbled by this accolade and the continuation of our ministry as well as the success of ‘Revelation Song.’ Thank you to the Gospel Music Association and to Jennie Lee Riddle for writing such a great song.”

We love “Revelation Song” and are super excited about the guys’ next single as well, so we wanted to share them with you in case you haven’t heard them. Take a listen to “Great Are You Lord” below and let us know what you think We’ve got some great contests in the works, and will let you know details soon!

Until next time!

Laura

Did I also mention that we’ll give you a couple hours worth of music to load onto it? That’s right. You heard me correctly. You could be the winner of an iPod touch – a brand new, shiny one, at that. And – if for some reason you don’t win that, you will still have a chance to win the latest albums from Chasen, Stellar Kart, Catalyst, Phil Wickham, Fee, Sara Groves, Jonny Diaz, Derek Webb, Phillips, Craig & Dean AND (deep breath) MERCYME’s BRAND-SPANKIN’ NEW The Generous Mr. Lovewell. All of them – at one time. Excited? We are.

Here’s how you win – it’s super simple: Sign up for our newsletter HERE. Yep – that’s all you have to do. If you are already signed up, then you are already entered. How awesome is that??

We may be a little biased, BUT have to say that the best kind of newsletters are the ones that tell us about free music, cool prizes and contain funny interviews and videos. They’re the ones that shine brightly in our inbox and instantly turn our frowns upside down. Ok, that was really bad. Way too cheesy. ANYWAY – Sign up and maybe you’ll be our latest winner! Click here for full contest rules and prize details.

Talk to you soon!

Rachel and Laura