Charisma Magazine

Platinum-selling, Dove Award-winning Mark Schultz releases his long-awaited Come Alive. His first new studio album in nearly three years is perhaps his most personal to date, with songs of hope, loss, joy and redemption.

Many of the songs were inspired when Schultz rode his bicycle from coast to coast to raise more than $250,000 to benefit the James Fund, which provides assistance for widows and orphans. "He Is," the first radio single from the recording, was inspired by stories of families battling cancer.

Recording artist Britt Nicole returns with her sophomore effort, The Lost Get Found (Sparrow Records). “It’s about stepping out, being who God has called you to be and not being afraid,” Nicole says of the message of her new album. "I believe when we look different, when we carry something different, people are going to see that, and they are going to want it too."

Among the highlights of the album are the upbeat “How We Roll” and “Headphones”—written to a young girl dealing with the pressures of fitting in.

L to r: Randy Phillips, Dan Dean, Shawn Craig.

A crumbling economy, wars without end, new health risks, security threats and more. The media give us a constant stream of reasons to be afraid. But what if God's people shined a light of eternal hope right into the face of this world's temporary circumstances?

That's the compelling idea behind Fearless, the 10th studio album from one of today's most respected Christian vocal groups, Phillips, Craig & Dean. Uniquely gifted and positioned in their dual roles as musicians and full-time senior pastors in three separate U.S. cities, Randy Phillips, Shawn Craig and Dan Dean know well the current struggles people face and with their new CD are boldly taking the opportunity to respond to them in life and song.

By Twila Paris, Koch Records.

Music veteran Twila Paris is back with an album that until recently was only available at LifeWay Christian Stores. Paris, whose career has spanned three decades and produced dozens of hit singles, offers a solid collection of gentle pop that's in keeping with her past work. Though far from edgy or innovative, this clean-sounding album is quite good at points, particularly with "You Lead Me," which has a jazz piano motif that reminds one of Ginny Owens, and "Alleluia," a pretty ballad that channels Amy Grant. It's probably the best song here, though "We Know Love" and "You Are a Great God" are good and occasionally offer just the right touch. The biggest criticism here is that this album can at times seem cloying, or at least too mild-mannered. But much of this quiet music is tailor-made for a Christian women's conference-especially the snappy, "Live to Praise You"-and that's undoubtedly the target audience for this pleasant collection of biblically based songs. Click here to purchase this CD.