Cook's United Methodist Church Benefit-Nashville Style

Most churches have a fundraiser by having a bake sale or maybe a yard sale. But if you're from the Nashville area, well things are done quite differently, especially when a member of the church congregation is an award-winning country artist.

Tracy Lawrence took it upon himself to arrange a benefit performance in Mt. Juliet, TN where he's lived since 1993. He and his wife, Becca, along with their two children, joined Cook's United Methodist Church earlier this year. "We've really enjoyed the congregation and the warmth of the pastor and the wonderful relationships that we're developing now. We really are excited about contributing and being more a part of the community."

Lawrence enlisted assistance from local Methodist choirs, the Stoney Lonesome bluegrass band, Jeff Bates and Craig Morgan to perform as well as Opry star Bill Anderson, who took on emcee duties for the night. Lawrence actually met Anderson through the church and became friends.
Anderson shared his thoughts about Cook's - "I have been a Methodist all of my life because my grandfather was a Methodist preacher and I grew up going to little Methodist churches all around North Georgia. One of the things that I've enjoyed about going to Cook's, the few times that I've been able to go, is that it's a small friendly church like the ones I was brought up in."

Bates was affected by the hurricane in that a family from Mississippi adopted him when he was just a mere three months old. The singer also traveled, along with band and crew, to the ravaged area and, with chainsaws in hand, assisted residents with clean-up on their property. Bates' approach to the stage was met with girls running to the edge to get as close as they could. Bates performed the majority of the set with material from his debut "Rainbow Man" project and even took time to pay tribute to musical heroes, and fellow Mississippi natives, Elvis Presley and Conway Twitty.
Standing at the side of the stage during the performance was Bates' friend and producer, Kenny Beard. Beard also has connections to Tracy Lawrence. He helped write a lot of the hits on his latest endeavor. Also in the crowd for Bates' set was 2005 Nashville Star winner Erika Jo along with her Dad, Bo Heriges.

Craig Morgan arrived on stage with his guitar, two guitarists and his bass player for additional background vocals. Morgan has just recently scored two number one singles, a rarity on an independent label, and treated the crowd to both. "Redneck Yacht Club" co-writer, Thom Shepherd was in the audience as well - [Shepherd wrote the song with Steve Williams]. Morgan was quick to respond to Lawrence's call for help before he even knew the date of the show. Morgan was also quick to share his thoughts, "I love the fact that he's getting involved with his local community and helping out and the fact that the church has stepped forward too, to help out with the hurricane victims. I think this is a great, wonderful thing."

Tracy Lawrence had been in and out of the bus so much, throughout the night, it was hard to imagine that he would even have the energy for a performance. He obviously wanted to make sure that everything ran perfect. He, like Morgan, arrived on stage carrying his guitar along with two guitarists in addition to his own and his fiddle player/band leader.
Lawrence has just released his second greatest hits package entitled, Then & Now: The Hits Collection. He was very happy about the way the event turned out stating, "I think it's been a wonderful event, a wonderful night. I think we should make in an annual event. We couldn't have asked for a better night. I guess God was smiling on us."

When the event was initially thought of, it was to raise funds for the Fellowship Hall. In the midst of arranging the concert, Hurricane Katrina struck. This caused the church to realize that they needed to share the benefit funds with the victims of the hurricane. Everything used to generate funds were donated from the park to the lights to the sound to the food. The artists even donated twenty percent of their souvenir sales to the cause. Should you want to further help the folks at Cook's, donations may be sent to: Cook's United Methodist Church, 7919 Lebanon Road, Mt. Juliet, TN 37122.

Set lists:
Jeff Bates
· Lovin' Like That
· Long Slow Kisses
· My Mississippi
· Tribute Medley: · Don't Be Cruel (Elvis Presley)
· Hello Darlin (Conway Twitty)
· I'd Love To Lay You Down (Conway Twitty)
· Rainbow Man
· Mama Was A Lot Like Jesus

Craig Morgan
· Country
· What I Like About Sunday
· Redneck Yacht Club
· When A Man Can't Get A Woman Off His Mind
· Something To Write Home About
· The Song
· Almost Home
· I Got You
· That Ain't The Way I Want To Go Out

Tracy Lawrence
· If The World Had A Front Porch
· Lessons Learned
· Lonely
· Bobby Darwin's Daughter
· Time Marches On
· If I Don't Make It Back
· Sawdust On Her Halo
· Paint Me A Birmingham
· Better Man Better Off