4 posts tagged “concert”
There is an aspect of being in full-time ministry that is very difficult for me to swallow sometimes. Being in full-time ministry is a lot about "giving"...your time and energy, your gifts and abilities, etc. However, being called to full-time ministry is also a lot about "receiving" and that's the part that gets me sometimes. I stumble over it because I don't always know how to do it gracefully. It's one thing to give and not expect receive anything in return, but it's an entirely different thing for me to receive and not be expected to give something in return. MAN, that's hard!! I am learning though, and certainly raising support to go to Germany has helped with that learning curve.
This weekend I was given a wonderful gift that I will cherish for a long time to come. On Sunday, I was invited to give a concert at Bethany Grace Fellowship Church in East Earl, PA, and because it was one of the last opportunities I would have to give such a concert before I leave for Germany, we decided to make this my "farewell concert". Tina Lapp joined me for half of it and I can't tell you how wonderful it was for me to sing with her again. She and I sang together for about 6 years after I graduated from college in 1998, and I have to tell you, I have missed those days. But what I have found to be true whenever Tina and I sing together is that even though we haven't sang for years, it's as though we can just pick right back up where we left off...it was like that all week during rehearsals and it was like that during the concert itself. I love it! The years of singing with Tina, the recordings, the traveling (and audio logs!) and the friendship are all precious, precious gifts that I will hold near and dear to my heart as I move into this next leg of my journey.
The chance to sing with Tina was not the only gift I received, though. There were so many people that gave so much to make this concert happen and I must take the time to give thanks and kudos to them for all that they put into this. My one regret about the concert is that I did not thank these people publicly for their time, energy and generosity. So I'm doing that now.
Several people who I didn't even know before this weekend, decided to take it upon themselves to begin planning the details and promoting this concert months in advance. Tess Eby, Emily Pierce, and Mary Kate Eberly all took part in making this happen, and I am SO grateful for their efforts because the promotional aspect of giving a concert is one that I have never quite been able to get the hang of. They did an incredible job!
Weeks before the concert I was told that Steven Courtney had agreed to record it for a possible LIVE album. For the past few years, Steven's and my paths have crossed a number of times and I have come to deeply appreciate this man, not only for his incredible skill in music, songwriting, recording and performing, but for his love of life and love of Jesus. He is an extremely gifted brother and I am so grateful for his gift of this recording.
Less than a week before the concert, I was informed that a young man and professional videographer, who I had never met before, had offered to video the whole concert. Daniel Forster came in with his crew Sunday afternoon and set up several cameras throughout the auditorium and a mixing station for live editing of the video feed during the concert. I have to admit that when I first heard that he was going to do this I was a bit freaked out, but when it finally came down to it, I barely even knew the cameras were there. He and his crew worked with such professionalism and skill and when I finally met him, I was so impressed by his heart and his desire to be used by God.
And of course, I cannot give kudos without mentioning my band mates. :) For the past two years, I've had the privilege of playing with Diana Lusk. She's a great percussionist and I can't tell you how many people come up to me after a concert and say "Boy, can she hit that thing!" It's true. She can. I've had such a blast with her these past few years and I think the thing that I've appreciated the most about Diana is the fact that she is on board with me on a ministry level. She's not just along to play her instrument, although she does that. She's along because she recognizes the ministry that the Lord has given us to encourage, challenge and plant truth in people's lives who are willing to receive it. That is what I love about her. Well, that and the fact that she usually packs my gear and loads the car after a gig while I'm talking to people. She has become a dear friend and I am really going to miss playing with her when I leave.
The truth is, I don't think this concert would have happened without the initiative of my bass player, Frank Portaro. From the moment I mentioned that I was thinking about giving a reunion concert with Tina, his wheels started turning and he began the process of pulling all these people together and booking his church for the event. I don't think it would have happened...at least not in the incredible way that it did...had it not been for Frank. In the past year of getting to know Frank I have found him to be not only a skilled musician who is excellent at what he does, but a man with a tender heart who loves of Jesus and has been changed deeply by His grace. It has been a privilege to work with him and minister beside him and I am going to miss playing with him as well. Of course, I can't thank Frank without thanking his wonderful wife, Nancy, who let us crash her living room for rehearsals and brought tasty wraps and chocolate for us to eat before the concert. What a blessing!
And for those of you who came out on Sunday, thank you for the years of support that you have given to both Tina and myself. Your interest in our music and encouragement along the way are gifts in and of themselves and we are truly, truly grateful (of course, I'm speaking for Tina here). The Lord has been so incredibly good...as if I would expect Him to be otherwise. In everything that was given...and received...my only prayer is that He was glorified in every last bit of it, because in the end HE is the great Giver of all things good.
It's good to be back in Hungary, but I have to say that it's a bit strange to be here without members from my church. If any of you who have been with me to Hungary in the past are reading this, know that you are missed. The other strange thing right now is trying to type on a Hungarian keyboard. VERY strange. I'm managing though. :) What's really good, is having the chance to go and sit by the Danube, which is just a short walk from the Bible Center and which is one of my favorite places in the world. I've spent a lot of time by this river and have talked to the Lord about many differnt things there, so it is a significant place for me. It's good to be back.
We arrived here at the Bible Center in Dömös on Saturday evening after a very long and tiring trip from Leipzig. It took us about 13 or so hours, but we finally made it and were greeted by Ernö and Katrin (Ernö is director of the Bible Center), and of course, Tünde ("toon-da"), our wonderful cook. She had a meal all prepared and waiting for us, and even though none of us were really hungry, we sat down and forced ourselves to eat. Sunday morning we got up and drove another hour or so to a small, but growing, church near Budapest. The people there seemed so warm and it was wonderful to share communion with them and attempt to sing with them in their language. (Apparently, Hungarian is the second or third most difficult language to learn!) I sang a couple of my songs for them, and Jack, from the Pennsylvania team, gave a message. Afterwards, we all split up into smaller groups and ate lunch in the homes of various families from the church. I always love these times of interacting with the people and having the opportunity to get a small glimpse into their lives. I went with Ernö and Katrin to the home of "Willie" and Eva. (I'll hopefully have a chance to upload some pictures later today).
Sunday evening I gave a concert here at the Bible Center for various friends and neighbors of the staff here. I sent the songs ahead last week, so Katrin and her friend, "Kristy", who is not a believer, translated them into Hungarian so we could project the lyrics behind me. There were about 30-40 people there and some even came who are professing atheists. The Gospel was explained and I simply tried to talk plainly about meaning of life and relationship with God.
Monday morning, Craig, Debbie and Peter (from Germany), left to take some medical supplies to Romania...which means that I have been somewhat in charge of overseeing the group. Yesterday and today have been spent working around the Center and tomorrow morning we'll be heading into the school to speak with the students studying English. I'm looking forward to connecting again with the teachers and students there and introducing the team to the wide open opportunities for building relationships in the schools.
Well, I know this post has been mainly factual, but hopefully it will keep you appraised with what's going on in my world over here. Thanks for all your prayers.
Today Diane, Eliana and I spent several hours touring Heidelberg (or "Heidelberger" as Eliana would say). It was pretty overcast today, so the pictures aren't the greatest, but here are a few...
This is Heidelberg Castle. The Bergbahn was under construction, so we had to take a bus up the steep hill to visit it.
Here's Di and Eliana checking out this....
The only downside to our day was that our tour guide at the castle basically threatened to kick us off the tour if "the baby" made so much as a 'peep' while she was talking. So, it was pretty interesting trying to keep Eliana, a lively little two year old, distracted and quiet for an hour during the tour. Other than that it was a great day and I would love to go back and explore more of the town sometime.
Tonight I went onto the Army base with Douglas to give a mini-concert and lead worship for the youth group from the Chapel there. About a dozen kids came and after about an hour of playing Underground Church (basically "Capture the Flag"), they came in for a lesson and then I sang and talked with them a bit. They seemed like a good group of kids, but it was interesting talking to the leaders about this type of ministry where the group is pretty transient. They have a short period of time to interact with the kids and then they're gone. Personally, I think that would be such a difficult ministry because of that, but it's cool to see the people that God has raised up to do it. Most of the leaders that I met were also "military brats" growing up and so they are able to relate to the transient lifestyle that these kids have.
Tomorrow morning I'm going back onto the base to give another mini-concert for a women's Bible study group from the Chapel. I'm looking forward to this, and should probably get to bed so that I can actually stay awake for it. :)
Gute Nacht!
First of all, I must say this...why God would chose me--for any reason--blows my mind. That He chose to redeem me is one thing--a great thing--but He could have stopped there. Instead, every day He chooses to move in my life in sometimes subtle, sometimes very obvious ways; and instead of stopping there, He chooses to use the ways that He's moved in my life to introduce others to that same love that changed me so deeply. But why me? Why this struggling, FAR-from-having-it-all-together, broken vessel? For whatever reason, He just does. And that blows my mind.
Last night was an interesting night. To be honest, I can't really put my finger on what it was, but as Debbie & I debriefed about it afterward, we agreed that there was a definite spiritual battle taking place in that hall. About 200 or so people came. The last time I did this in October, it seemed as though it was mainly people from the church that came, but this time Craig thinks that probably about 75% were not believers. Many students came from the school we visited the other day. Others came from the English group, Tafel (a food distribrution service to the poor that takes place at the Hoffnung Zentrum), Leipzig, and Isabel's English class. Martina was there, and even Jana ("yah-na"), C&D's former German tutor and professing atheist who broke contact with them for the past year or so, came with her boyfriend. It was great to see her again. I met her a couple years ago, but never was able to reconnect since she stopped contacting C&D. It's exciting to see prayers being answered in such a tangible way.
From the beginning of the soundcheck I was having problems with the sound. I couldn't hear myself very well and that never really resolved. Bad sound is such a distraction for me and I had to really concentrate on just singing the songs and trusting that I was being heard (I was told it sounded fine from the audience). Either way, Isabel's mic sounded fine, and since she was the one speaking German, that was the most important. I was able to talk openly about my relationship with God and why these songs are important to me. It also gave me the opportunity to tell them that God desires relationship with everyone and that that is possible only through Jesus Christ. At one point last night, I was struck with this thought: what are the chances that I would be standing on a stage in former East Germany sharing the Gospel with people who came to hear me sing? I somehow can't fully get my mind around that thought, but I suppose it just goes to show how creative God is in using His people. There are no impossibilies. Thanks so much for praying for me yesterday. You all are just as much a part of what's happening here as I am, and I can't thank you enough.
Today, we're heading out to spend the day in Wittenberg, the town where Martin Luther preached and nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Castle Church. It's a beautiful spring day here in Germany and it will be good to just walk around and enjoy the sights!
***Update with photos:
I actually didn't take too many photos because I got sick and ended up going back and sleeping in the car for a couple hours. Here are a couple that I did take...
