Smokie Norful – Worship & A Word

Smokie Norful
Worship & A Word
EMI Gospel 2010
www.emigospel.com

EMI Gospel has made it possible for you to spend an hour, or two, or almost three with one of its biggest stars, Smokie Norful…the pastor.

As most know, Norful (“I Need You Now”) has parlayed his successful singing career into the establishment of his own church, the Victory Cathedral Worship Center in suburban Chicago. But if you cannot travel to hear the good pastor in person, you can listen to him speak via the new Worship & A Word series.

Each of the series’ three CDs – “According to Your Faith,” “The Myth of Unmet Needs,” and “Matters of the Heart” – runs from 45 minutes to an hour and showcases Norful’s engaging and personable repartee. He’s not a whooping preacher but a motivational teacher. He reminds the congregation that his messages are lessons, not sermons, and keeps things lively with generous doses of humor and relevant references. Norful is alternately playful and serious, but in all cases, he keeps it real. The congregation responds positively and affectionately to its leader, although their specific responses are hard to hear because the audience doesn’t sound miked.

The most poignant moment on the set occurs during “According to Your Faith.” Here, Norful recounts his parents’ hard-knocks upbringing in Arkansas, narrating a story of two people who struggled to make ends meet so their children could enjoy a better life than they did. For those unfamiliar with Norful’s back story, this will be an especially eye-opening experience.

Pastor Norful concludes each lesson with a brief song selection from his recorded portfolio that reflects the message lyrically.

Sermon albums are not the rage they once were. Labels such as Randy’s Spirituals, Jewel, Nashboro, Checker, Peacock, and Savoy used to pepper their gospel and spiritual catalogs generously with album-length messages by the country’s most popular ministers. Some, such as Revs. James Cleveland, Cleophus Robinson and C.L. Franklin, could be heard preaching and singing. Perhaps Worship & A Word will ignite a resurgence of commercially available sermons and sermonettes so they do not end up entombed in the catacombs of church tape ministries or, worse yet, erased and lost forever.

Four of Five Stars

Reviewed by Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog.