Bishop Gregory M. Davis, Sr. – Let the Healing Begin III

Bishop Gregory M. Davis, Sr.
Let the Healing Begin III: My Change Has Come
Greg Davis Ministries International 2009
www.gregdavisministries.org

Let the Healing Begin III: My Change Has Come is the third installment of a compact disc series that intermixes singing and instrumentals with the spoken word message of Bishop Gregory M. Davis, Sr.

Although Bishop Davis is now based on the east coast, he is a native Detroiter. His grandfather, Rev. Ananias Davis, was pastor of Welcome Missionary Baptist Church on the city’s east side.

Fellow Detroiter Stephanie Pride, guest vocalist on Bishop Davis’ 2007 Today Is Your Day for a Miracle, plays a major role on this CD as producer, arranger, composer and singer. Pride duets with Ernest J. Lee on “I’m Blessed” and although she is not credited on “Let the Healing Begin,” her voice is strongest among the background vocalists, which include her sisters Myra and Leah Bennett. Pride channels her inner church wrecker on “I Trust In God,” a traditional-flavored composition by Rev. W.C. Martin that features a trusty B3 and bluesy piano. By the song’s conclusion, organ and piano have moved lock-step into an instrumental reflection on the COGIC chant, “Yes, Lord.”

Pride’s work on the delicate title track, a song that bears more than a passing resemblance to pop balladry, is the album’s finest selection. Another fine singer, Kelli Kinney-Brownlee, sweetly sings “Declaring My Future.” Kinney-Brownlee has been a background vocalist for Dorinda Clark-Cole, Vanessa Bell Armstrong and Deitrick Haddon, among others.

Bishop Davis, part preacher and part motivational speaker, punctuates most of the songs with messages of encouragement and empowerment, persuading the blessed to look forward and upward. Sometimes he calls out the lyrics and the singers respond; other times his exhortations are extemporaneous. In addition, a good part of the CD intersperses songs with Bishop Davis’ recitations of prayers from the book Courageous Confessions by Bishop Alvernia Johnson.

The musical soundtrack of Let the Healing Begin III: My Change Has Come is light and lithe in keeping with Bishop Davis’ messages of prosperity and healing. I must confess that although praying for health and happiness is part of my spirituality, praying for material wealth always makes me uneasy, but I sure do love to hear Stephanie Pride sing.

Three of Five Stars

gPod Picks: “My Change Has Come.”