The RIAA certified platinum-selling praise and worship ensemble, Shekinah Glory Ministry’s (SGM) new concert film, “Refreshed By Fire” (List Price: $14.98/ Kingdom Records), has debuted at #4 on Nielsen Soundscan’s Top Christian Music Videos chart and #11 on the Top Music video charts, sandwiched between a new Jimi Hendrix DVD and Beyonce’s “I Am The World” video. The much-anticipated concert film is a companion to last year’s #1 live double CD, “Refreshed By Fire.” Filmmaker Joel Kapity recorded the elaborate concert before a SRO crowd of 3,000 at Shekinah Glory Ministry’s Chicago area home church, Valley Kingdom Ministries International. This epic film is destined to become for the praise and worship music genre what The Rolling Stones’ “Gimme Shelter” and U2’s “Rattle And Hum” concert movies are to rock music.
With divine pomp and circumstance, the reel showcases emotion-packed singing from a variety of virtuoso vocalists covering rock-edged music and dance rhythms to quiet melodies, dramatic stage lighting, colorful banners and the synchronized praise dancing that have made the ensemble’s programs a fan favorite for the last decade. One particular highlight is the nearly 15 minute “The Minstrel’s Release” segment that showcases a lone dancer telling a story of a Biblical battle through her gestures as a guitarist’s strings illuminate the tale while a graphic artist paints a picture of the victor on the spot that is revealed at the end of the suite to rousing applause from the congregation.
The DVD is rounded out with behind-the-scenes footage and commentary on the ministry’s evolution that helps explain what has led to Shekinah Glory Ministry’s Top Ten hits such as “Praise Is What I Do” and “Yes.” Even more so, it explains how a ministry that never set out to become famous has racked up more gold and platinum (two RIAA gold albums, two gold DVDs and one platinum DVD) than any black gospel choir in music history. In explaining Shekinah Glory Ministry’s success, Apostle H. Daniel Wilson, the group’s visionary, says, “We put worship on wax and God just blew on it.”