Gospel Soundcheck

American Idol favorite Danny Gokey debuted his first single "It's Only" this morning on FM 106.1 in his hometown of Milwaukee.

You can hear Danny Gokey's song, "It's Only" on the radio station website.

So what do you think? Was country a good genre for him to pursue? And how do you think his song compares to his co-finalists' Adam Lambert and Kris Allen's new music?

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This just in: rock band Mae woke yesterday morning in Philadephia to find that their trailer was stolen from the parking lot of the hotel where they'd been staying.

They lost all of their equipment, instruments and some personal belongings. The band will finish the last few dates on their tour with help from friends in Deas Vail and Jenny Owen Youngs.

Mae isn't the first band to have a trailer stolen, and they won't be the last. It's one of the hazards of the business. Most bands either don't have insurance or don't have enough insurance to cover everything (I don't know Mae's situation) but the band is open to donations to help them replace what they can.

I'm happy recommending that you help if you can. This is a band who has dedicated every day to helping others. In fact, to day they've raised almost $59,000 since January for charities like Habitat for Humanit as well as supplying educational resources for classrooms with their 12 months, 12 songs, 1 goal project. The band offers a new song and all donations to download the song go that specific charity until the band has met their goal.

You can learn more and make a donation on Mae's website, WhatIsMae.com.

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Hip hop artist Da' T.R.U.T.H. announced on his website that he is taking a sabbatical from ministry after a "moral indescrtion" in his personal life.

In the statement, Emanuel L. Lambert, Jr, - aka Da' T.R.U.T.H. - said that he has apologized to his wife and family and is working towards reconciliation with the help of his church, pastor and restoration team.

In May, hip hop artist The Ambassador was released from his label after a "moral failure in his marriage."

And currently in the news, BeBe Winans arrest in February on domestic assault charges against his ex-wife Debbie.

The first thought that came to my mind: perhaps these are the issues that the Gospel Music Association might consider helping artists address - how to be in the spotlight and hold a marriage together, maybe offer a place for artists to go for confidential counseling and support, facilitate support groups, offer marriage retreats?

Christian music artists - regarldess of genre - aren't immune to sin. They struggle with pressure and failure and falling, just like everyone else. The pressure of being held up by music fans as somehow holier than the rest of the Christian community simply because they're in the public eye can often lead artists to struggle silently with problems. There is a bit of a "stick your head in the sand and ignore the problem" mentality in Christian music.

I don't share these stories to be exploitive; I hope that you'll pray for Christians who have been called to share the gospel or encourage believers through music, as well as hold them as accountable as you would the folks sitting in church with you. Not to condemn, but to uphold in brotherly love and accountablity.

Got a gospel or Christian music news tip? Send me an email!

Click here to subscribe to Gospel Soundcheck by email and have the Gospel Soundcheck headlines delivered daily to your email inbox. And don't forget to follow me on Twitter!

I've been following the internet chatter all week about BeBe Winans' recent appearance on Oprah and the comments made by BeBe's wife Debbie, questioning Oprah's double standard about domestic abuse.

BeBe Winans was arrested last February on domestic abuse charges when he allegedly assaulted his ex-wife Debbie by shoving her to the ground during an argument. Winans will appear in court again in January to face the charges.

Oprah has been outspoken against domestic abuse in the Rihanna/Chris Brown assault case, and yet recently had BeBe Winans on her show with sister CeCe in support of their new album, Still. BeBe was scheduled to also appear on Oprah as a judge in her Karaoke Challenge.

The arrest is old news. The chatter all week has been about a comment from Debbie Winans, who called Oprah out as a moral hypocrite for having her ex-husband on the show while also condemning domestic abuse in the Rhianna/Chris Brown story.

Oprah apparently agreed, and has banned BeBe Winans from her show. A spokesperson frm her show told the website TMZ, "BeBe will not be appearing on the 'Oprah' show until his legal matters are resolved in court."

It's been suggested more than once this week that I cover the story, but I've held back. I'm not a fan of just writing a post to garner page views; it's more important that I have something to actually say about it, and I've been thinking about what it is that I want to say.

And now I know:

It started with whispers last week that the board of the Gospel Music Association might be closing its doors. Just whispers, that is, until someone with inside knowledge tweeted that GMA was considering closing its doors and asked if this was the end of Christian music.

Immediately, the internet lit up like a Christmas tree with speculation about everything from the GMA's financial problems to lawsuits from former GMA staffers to the total demise of the organization.

No one in GMA will confirm the rumors on the record, although sources close to GMA tell me that indeed there was a board meeting scheduled to vote on whether or not to close the doors on the organization.

But when it became public, GMA apparently decided to rethink that option. (More than one person used the word "backpeddling.") Officially, the organization is continuing forward and considering ways to best serve its membership, and there's no reason not to believe that's true.

Whether the rumors were true or not, GMA still has to deal with several problems: