Blessed Out Loud! Is a Christian band in East Texas. The key members are Jim & Katie Spellman. They write and produce the music. Jim and Katie are kinda - sorta average folks with a plain brown wrapper, no reputation and no pedigree. Jim gives his top-line description of their experience in Christian music: "God chooses unlikely servants. It's funny when I think about how we were shunned by the various religious establishments early on. Katie and I have been learning and playing music for just six years. The first song we ever learned was one that we wrote together at about 3 AM when we were comparing my 5 chords to her 5 chords back in early 2000. We each knew 5 chords. Anyway, we wanted to learn from church folks but for the most part religious people want nothing to do with Spirit filled independent artists. People would say, 'Sure we'll get together on Thursday.' but thursday came and went. Looking back now I see that empty promises went unfulfilled as though they were made by degenerate drunken gamblers. For me, the real breakthrough from guitar owner to guitar player came on a ministry trip to Angola Prison Camp F where the famous Angola Rodeo Band resides. We all played some music together each day. On the 3rd or 4th day at Angola a prisoner came up to me and suggested I learn a couple simple techniques to add dimension to my ability to play lead guitar. When I worked to internalize these techniques, I found exactly the sound I wanted." "The writing of songs when inspired of the Holy Spirit results in awesome songs for us. The writing done on our own steam, generates mediocrity at best. We've also found that to write to please God is way more rewarding than to script a performance tune in order to earn the validation of people. It seems though that much of what pleases God, offends certain religious leaders and others who would enjoy to stand as barrier between us and God. I think that it may just be that our music ministry is that of the Samaritan. We receive terrific acceptance in the secular realm way more often than we do within the confines of religious oppression. Even within the modern churches of crossless altars, we find that they are so often steeped in their small centralized and authoritative religious fiefdoms, many of which are born of rebellion to the cross, that new 'non-Nashville, USA approved' music is unwelcome regardless of quality unless it is generated by their own designated worship leader and approved in committee. We have seen far more free flowing acceptance and out-pouring of the Holy Spirit in beer joints, homeless shelters, AA halls and prisons through our music than we experience in the typical church. The reason I note this is that Jesus experienced the same thing in His days as a man." "It seems to me that there is a huge population of folks who want to worship God passionately but that the vast majority haven't found an outlet to freely worship Him in a church environment. The overtones of guilt, judgment and condemnation culminate into bondage and tend to make small the God seeking desire. As a result, true worship fails and the rote takes its place. So, Katie and I do not seek only the comfortable Christian as audience. Instead, we look for a God-seeking audience. It seems that the percentage of real God-seekers is about the same everywhere but at church they often won't feel free enough to let it manifest. All those doctrinal differences diminish when any diverse group of people comes together in one accord to lift vertical praise to God the Father. Yes, God chooses unlikely servants. And unlikely servants are found in unlikely venues for ministry - like ChristianBands.co.uk. It is as Jesus wants it."

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