Dove Awards 2013: Reunited Feels So Good

My favorite singer!

It was a reunion of sorts last night in Nashville as the annual Gospel Music Association Dove Awards returned to town after a two-year stint in Atlanta. In fact, the move back was the talk of the show, replacing the journalists’ regular token questions such as “Where are you going to put all of those awards?” and “Are they bringing more cookies to the pressroom?”

The backstage area, enlarged and full of eager press, was where I found myself, taking notes, snapping pictures, and checking Facebook during the six-hour process. Although I’ve been backstage many times, I’m by no means an expert and would normally avoid any appearance of it. I did break character, however, to offer some solicited advice on how the whole thing operates to a newbie from out-of-town. I’ll repeat that breakdown here: after an artist or group wins, performs or presents an award, they line up backstage in a press conference setting so we can ask each one of them how they feel about being back in Nashville.

Frequently, we were given a three-question maximum (I was never able to ask if the Nashville question counted as one). This is done to prevent the bottle-necking of gospel’s finest, who were frequently waiting on the sidelines for their turns. During her turn in the spotlight, comedienne Chonda Pierce told us we were a rowdier crowd than those in the auditorium but today I’m a little suspicious that she was being sarcastic.

The night provided me with my own little homecoming (that word is still public domain, isn’t it?), having sat out the past six shows working on other projects. I’m perhaps a little too cheerful and geeky to have ever gotten to the jaded journalist level, but still the break provided me a chance to miss the overall energy and excitement of it. Adding to that newness was the presence of my wife, LeAnn, who had only experienced the show once from a nominee’s viewpoint in the audience. We did the nerdy thing and posed for pictures with David and Tamela Mann, American Idol’s Colton Dixon, Kari Jobe, Candace Cameron Burre and chatted with fellow Lee University alum Jay DeMarcus (Rascal Flatts).

David and Tamela Mann were cute backstage. He’s taking her picture.

A real highlight for me was meeting Pastor Rick Warren. I told LeAnn it probably says something about how old I am getting, seeking out the pastor in a roomful of exciting young talent. As he and I are longtime Twitter users, Pastor Rick surprised us by sending a special greeting after we discovered we were having a girl. I tweeted the announcement as we left the doctor’s office and before we drove off, we received a direct message from him saying, “Congratulations on your upcoming baby girl! Doing your part for church growth! Love, Rick.” We thanked him for making our day even more special.

Having covered a collective decade of the Dove’s 44 year history, to me there was something affirming in itself about Pastor Rick addressing the press, tearfully thanking them for prayers for his family since his son’s passing. He spoke from the heart and connected with the group in the way he does best, as pastor. His presence also served as a reminder for what makes gospel music so unique. He said that during his grieving, he didn’t find encouragement in sermons but in the music that was being honored that night.

Well said, pastor.