$5.00 CD's didn't hurt either!

This past weekend I attended an event that I probably would normally avoid. It was called "The Rock and Worship Show," a concert tour headlined by Mercy Me. I say I would normally avoid this for a few reasons; I have an aversion to most mainstream christian music. To me, it always feels like it's all been watered down and fed anti-depressants so that it will play well on "family friendly" radio stations and on Sunday mornings when church worship leaders can easily adapt simple melodies and words for their services. It just seems to lose it's artistic merit when that happens. There is an undeniable sound to christian radio, when you are scanning through stations for some reason it's easier to pick out christian stations than country stations. And when most of the music seems to sound the same, that tends to turn me off.

So when I heard Mercy Me was headlining the tour, I was almost ready to dismiss it out of hand. But the other big name was David Crowder Band. It's a group that I've read about their beginnings and believe that they've actually tried to keep things very authentic, so that even though they do mostly worship music and radio stuff, they're an exception to the general movement (particularly on their album "A Collision or 3 + 4 = 7"). So between them and the amazing ticket price of only $10, I decided it was worth a go. And God definitely took the opportunity to point a few things out about myself and about his church.

The concerts were all fairly good and entertaining. Nice energy, great sound volume from the Rose Garden sound system, and I had a good seat. But while I was sitting there I was waiting to be impressed, doubting each act as they stepped on stage. I was sitting only 4 rows up from the floor, but I probably should've been sitting in the upper balcony for how much I was looking down on the first few acts. And while they did fulfill my expectations, God would use this as a point of correction and instruction for me.

Francesca Battistelli stepped on stage and pleasantly surprised me! It was the first group that really felt like they weren't over-produced and whose lyrics didn't sound like remixes from other christian pop songs from the last 5 years. Plus she could really sing! Her act started to warm my opinion to the whole tour. And following her was one of the most original christian acts out there, Family Force 5. Loved their set, constant energy for 7 tracks, non-stop bass-thumping and head-banging rocking out.

After them came the act I had really wanted to see - David Crowder Band. I knew that they had a reputation of being a good live act, and they lived up to it. Played several crowd faves and a couple songs from their new album. Everyone got involved, clapping hands and singing along, made for a fun set.

Mercy Me was ok. They sort of epitomize my feelings with most mainstream christian music, so I wasn't very excited for it. And the vocalist had gotten sick in Idaho, and woke up that morning with only half a voice. Which actually made for a nice show, because the crowd ended up singing most of the songs without band vocals. This touched me. First, God whispered to me, "Look at this, 10,000 of my children, of your brothers and sisters, all praising me with one voice, united in heart and soul. How often do you see that?" Then I look up onto the screen, and there was a shot of the lead singer. He turned the microphone out to the crowd, pulled the feeds from his ears, stepped back and smiled; just taking in the experience of being serenaded at his own concert. "See what I did there," said God. "I just used all of you at once to minister to the heart of this man, who thought he was coming here only to minister to you."

Say whatever about whether I liked the music or not, I couldn't deny the good that God used it. God had blessed these artists with musical talent, and they were using it to glorify him. So how dare I place myself above them, turn my back to them and say their worship, their offering, was beneath me. It wasn't for me, it was made for the Creator, and he alone needs to be pleased with their joyful noise. I had confused my own personal taste with some sort of authority, which I never had any right too especially since I know little more about music except what music I like. I asked God to forgive me there. My pride and my desire to elevate myself above common Christians caused me to sin. I had insulted the artists and my siblings, nearly all of whom are strangers to me.

Humbled, I joined my family in worship. I will still avoid christian radio, but now only out of personal taste with respecting the tastes and gifts God has blessed others with.

Best $10.00 I've spent in a good while.