A former vocalist with the United States Air Force Band, the Rev. Tim Wilson of Wynnbrook Baptist Church had the opportunity to sing once with Greater Vision, a 19-year-old Southern gospel group.
“I was stationed at Langley Air Force Base and they came to sing at Liberty Baptist,” said Wilson, who’s been associate pastor/music minister at Wynnbrook since January.
“Their appeal is they’re Southern gospel, down-home boys who love Jesus and love Southern humor,” Wilson said. “They’re not your typical entertainment hogs. They just want to do ministry.”
After his 1996 impromptu appearance with the threesome, Wilson kept in touch with one of the Greater Vision founders, Gerald Wolfe.
Greater Vision will be in concert March 15 at Wynnbrook, where Wilson will get another chance to sing with the trio for one number, with the Wynnbrook Four. (Thus for one song making it the Wynnbrook Five.) The men’s quartet consists of Mark Foster; Chad Rexrode; Brian Hicks; and Bob Tiemann. They’ll also open for Greater Vision.
Since organizing in 1990, Greater Vision has become “the most awarded trio” in the history of Gospel music, according to The Singing News Magazine.
Wolfe, who also serves as emcee for the group, sings the lead. Songwriter Rodney Griffin is the baritone, while Jacob Kitson, the group’s youngest member, takes the tenor part. Griffin has been named Songwriter of the Year for 10 consecutive years, as well as Favorite Baritone. Wolfe has been named Favorite Male Vocalist seven times.
They have been featured on the Gaither Gospel Series, and are regulars on the “In Touch” television program, hosted by the Rev. Charles Stanley of Atlanta.
Their latest recording is “Not Alone.” It’s been named one of Christian Music’s Top Ten Recordings for 2008 by the staff and senior music editors of the Gospel Music Channel.
Staying busy & blogging
Greater Vision performs about 200 times a year. Some of the dates are on cruise ships, including the February 2010 trip from Florida to the Bahamas aboard the Southern Gospel Music Cruise; and the October cruise with the Rev. Charles Stanley of Atlanta.
On the Greater Vision Web site, Wolfe has a blog. It’s called “Just the Way It Is.”
His recent posts included music pirated from the Internet (he’s against it); and President Barack Obama. (He didn’t vote for him.)
About the Internet: “Most people who love to listen to Gospel music don’t know the majority of traveling Gospel Artists derive somewhere near 50 percent of their revenue from the sale of CDs, DVDs, and other recorded media.
In 2008, that revenue dropped by close to 20 percent, for most artists,” he writes.
“Most people would say that decline was a result of the slowing economy, but in reality, sales of recorded music have been slowly declining over the last five years, even when the overall economy was strong.
“If you don’t believe me, go to your local Christian Bookstore and ask the manager. Is the decline because fewer people are listening to Gospel Music? No. Actually, more people are listening now, than ever before. I believe the decline is a direct result of the availability of illegal copies of music easily found on the Internet, as well as the availability of inexpensive equipment that allows anyone to make illegal copies of CDs in their own home.”
And from Nov. 8, four days after the election, Wolfe wrote: “Throughout the evening, as state after state went to the left, someone in the room would lighten the moment with a funny story or a great ‘one liner.’ However, by 10 o’clock, it was obvious that a majority of the American people had decided to sell-out liberty and traditional values for the sake of ‘change.’ So … change is what we’ll get, but I fear it won’t be the change most well-meaning people thought they were voting for.”
In another blog post, Wolfe also called on Christians to pray for Obama, and that he would change his pro-choice stance.
Wilson said the group should appeal to people of any age.
He differentiated between people who merely entertain and those who worship. “The key to it is the pride issue for the group. They are full of humility. That not only shows on stage but in their lives,” he said.
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