"Therefore Jesus said again, 'I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.'" -- John 10:7, 9-10

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FRONT PAGE NEWS

Barbara Nicolosi, director of Act One in Hollywood and editor of Behind the Screen: Hollywood Insiders on Faith, Film and Culture (Baker Publishing Group), appeared last week on ABC's "World News Tonight" last week to discuss faith in films.

Nicolosi and Behind the Screen have also been featured in Newsweek, WORLD, Charisma, The Village Voice, Baptist Press, The Toronto Star and Atlantic Magazine.

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THE BEAT(MART) GOES ON

Up-and-coming hip-hop label Beatmart Recordings has finalized a new distribution deal with Provident/Sony/BMG.

"Given that they are arguably the top distributor in our marketplace, and are currently dealing in urban-based music, we as a company can highly benefit from their 'know-how' and sheer power in this market," remarked Beatmart's Todd Collins. "Not to mention the fact that they seem excited about our new relationship does nothing but sweeten the pie for us as an upstart label. Hopefully in this relationship, they'll be able to garner some education from us, and we'll certainly gain a vast amount of knowledge from them. We're certainly excited about this venture."

For the complete press release, including reports on the label's busy 2006 slate, click on over to Beatmart's official site.

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MERCYME ON THE AIR

Salem Radio Network and multi-platinum selling MercyMe have partnered for the "MercyMe Christmas Radio Special." The band members share tales from holidays past and present, plus music from their new Christmas CD, The Christmas Sessions.

The radio special, recorded in the SRN studios in Dallas, Texas, features live in-studio versions of Christmas songs, recorded exclusively for this one-hour radio special. "We have tried to capture the excitement and joy that MercyMe conveys on its CD in a radio special," says Dick Marsh, executive producer of the special.

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TALENT SEARCH!

The Gospel Music Association (GMA) will host the GMA Academy Regional Talent Competition and Seminar on Feb. 10-11, 2006. The theme of the two-day event, to be held in downtown Nashville, is "Your Day of Discovery."

Detailed registration information and hotel and transportation options for the GMA Academy Regional Talent Competition and Seminar are available online at www.gospelmusic.org.

Entry into the talent competition requires advance registration and has a firm deadline of Jan. 9, 2006. Registration for the seminar is available up until the first day of the event.

The regional event will be held at First Baptist Church in downtown Nashville (108 Seventh Ave.) with two days of training with specific tracks for songwriters and performers.

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Chris Well is the author of the suspense thriller Forgiving Solomon Long (Harvest House). He is a member of International Thriller Writers, Inc. Find him online at StudioWell.com, or at his new blog, Learning Curve. (Subscribe to the RSS Feed).

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