Christian Music/Entertainment News (8)

1. When you think of Matthew West, you don't automatically think country music, but spending all that time in Nashville has to wear off on a guy eventually. So people were probably pretty surprised to see Matthew strumming a song at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum Tuesday afternoon. Regardless of the genre, the music was sure to be heartfelt and full of storytelling.

2. Britt Nicole is writing a song about her husband. Currently in the studio working on her next record, Britt snapped a selfie with her man, Joshua Crosby. The pair have been married since 2012.

3. Be praying for Jamie-Grace and Morgan Harper-Nichols' mom, Mona. Dealing with a condition called pudendal neuralgia, she frequently deals with excruciating pain that doctors can't really treat, she says. It's been a difficult journey for the entire family, and they all just want some answers and some hope of relief at this point, rather than constantly dealing with being sent home from the ER with pain and no cure.

4. JJ Heller just wants you to know that she made herself a Bitmoji. Remember those Bitstrips comic things on Facebook that turn you into a cartoon character? Now there's an app that turns that comic into textable emojis. And JJ Heller has them. Here's hoping that they show up in tweets and even as album art.

5. Jason Crabb is getting ready to record again. He's currently in rehearsals at Restoring Hope Church in Nashville, and his wife, Shellye says she can't wait for the world to hear what Jason's cooking up.

6. Recording often brings out artists' serious game faces. Phil Wickham said he's practiced the tambourine all his life for the moment of an epic tambourine part on his new album. He said he never really realized how seriously he took the tambourine until he was in front of the mic with it. His expression, captured in an Instagram photo, says it all.

7. Vertical Church Band--the worship ministry out of Harvest Bible Chapel in Chicagoland--is going on tour, and is bringing along a couple of its fellow Harvest worship leaders who also have solo projects. Jon Guerra and Meredith Andrews will be heading out with their buddies on the 12-stop tour in May, which is largely in the Southeast. Find out where they're going on their social media pages and at verticalchurchband.com.

8. Rend Collective says its next album is going to be special, but said so after thanking the lads of Tenth Avenue North for providing their beautiful voices to a recording. The band shared with fans a photo of both bands gathered around a studio microphone.
 
Quotes (3)

1. "Faith may not keep you from all the trials and pains of life, but faith will heal you, restore you and make you a better person through those trials." - Danny Gokey

2. "Let's not talk about love today. Let's practice real love." - Mike Donehey of Tenth Avenue North

3. "We know God has a plan, but my goodness, the road to seeing it all isn't close to easy." - Jamie-Grace