Religion

By PATRICK BUTLER
Religion Editor

David is on the road again. Actually all three Davids are on the road on just about any weekend of the year. Pick a weekend, any weekend, and David Huffine, David McKain and David Fowler are probably singing their way across the South.

“We did 49 weekends last year,” said Huffine, leader of the Southern Gospel Trio called — what else — David’s Song. “We did 48 weekends in the past few years and that was only because there were family illnesses.”

But the three Davids didn’t give up their day jobs during the years of weekend warrior road trips. Singing and music has been a passion for years in each of their lives, certainly, but on Monday morning they were back on the job again; Huffine in Tyler, McKain for years in San Antonio and Fowler in Homer, La.

For years the Davids met in Tyler each weekend and pointed their 45-foot Eagle bus on that ribbon of highway and beyond, ready to sing about God’s love. David’s Song audiences can expect an entertaining evening, feeling they “have been in the presence of the Lord,” said Huffine.

“Our concerts are more than entertainment,” said Huffine, who was the announcing voice of the Tyler Junior College Apaches for 20 years before retiring in February. “We want people’s hearts to be touched and going away feeling better. We strive to present Jesus in all our concerts whether it’s programs in church, fairs or outdoor events.”

Huffine is a credit manager for Dealer’s Electric Supply in Tyler. He called basketball, football, baseball and soccer games at TJC for men’s and women’s teams for 20 years and loved it. But his daddy was a preacher in the Christian Church for 52 years, he said, and the life is in his blood.

“At Dallas Christian College, I was part of the ‘Master’s Four,’” said Huffine, “before they made it big in Branson. But at the time there was no way I could support myself and sing, so I took a job.”

But singing remains in his soul. In 2003, he met the piano-playing McKain who’d been a pastor for 16 years and “has a giant heart for the Lord,” said Huffine. Fowler

was a minister of music at Calvary Baptist Church in Homer. He also promoted Christian singers Ivan Parker and The Greens. He was an accountant in Homer until April of this year.

“We’re all former music ministers for the Lord and came together in 2003,” said Huffine. “We formed the group and began to travel.”

It quickly turned out to be a 48-weekend-a-year gig. Then 49.

Driving a few hundred miles each week for McKain got tiresome, said Huffine. In 2007, McKain made the jump and moved to Whitehouse where he works as an algebra teacher at Whitehouse ISD. But Fowler still makes the weekend drive from Homer, where he worked as an accountant until April. Huffine attends University Christian Church — when he’s in town.

“I’m out spreading the Good News,” Huffine said. “Anybody out there doing this kind of a ministry, along with the local churches and ministries, is God’s spokesman.”

David’s Song has recorded five albums at Nashville’s Mark Five studios with producer Rick Sandidge. The newest release is “The News Is Out” and clips are available to hear at the group’s Web site at www.davidssong.com.

TRAVELIN’ MEN: Tyler’s David Huffine (standing), San Antonio’s David McKain (left), and Homer, La., resident David Fowler are on the road 49 weekends a year with their Southern Gospel group David’s Song. Huffine was the voice of the Tyler Junior College Apache games for 20 years.
((Courtesy Photo))