Winter Jam Bonuses

I recently had the opportunity to attend Lexington's Winter Jam concert event with a few youth and one parent. This event was, to say the least, spectacular. We heard Christian Music greats like: Newsboys, David Crowder Band, Kutless, Francesca Battestelli, KJ-52, Red, Newsong, Sidewalk Prophets, and heard a beautiful message by Tony Nolan.

     One of the most incredible realizations about this event happened in one moment when the lights came up and we were able to look across the arena and realized that Rupp Arena was full AND it wasn't a basketball game! Rupp Arena holds 23,000 people at capacity and there were no empty seats–and these were all Christians from across the state of Kentucky, and mostly youth aged! What a testimony for the work of the church where we live. Newsong lead vocalist, Eddie Carswell, began the evening gearing the crowd up for what the night would hold, led these 23,000 people in a word of prayer to start things off–invoking the Spirit of God into the people of God who gathered that evening. He said something quite profound, which obviously resonated with those gathered there that evening for they burst into uproarious applause. He said, "Our God is not Baptist, Presbyterian, Pentecostal, Nazarene, Catholic or Methodist. Our God is bigger than that. Our God is not Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, or Buddhist. Our God is bigger than all that. Our God, who gathers with us here this evening is a God of all people, loving us all as his children and calls us to love one another just as he does." WOW!

     How often does something like that happen in these kinds of gatherings? Of course, later in the evening someone else said something else that had a ring of an exclusive God theology that I did not personally agree with, but ironically I looked around and I wasn't alone in thinking this. Many in the crowd responded to what was said with enormous applause, but there were still those who held out and refrained from agreement in a sedate and non-confrontational way. It, too, was a beautiful moment. We gathered to hear incredible music for a very cheap price. We heard the testimony of a hurting young man that had turned his life over to Christ and lived to help others do the same. We gathered with Christians of every make and model known to our area–many we were familiar with and others we'd only vaguely heard of–but the beauty of it all was that we did not have to agree on the minutia details of the faith to come together for this one event. There was only the one thing we could all agree on: Jesus is the son of God and we choose to follow him. To look out on that crowd and know that about all who were gathered there that evening was truly and awe-inspiring occasion. 

     I was so happy to have had the opportunity to hear all these talented musicians in one night, but I was more pleased by the message we encountered as we gathered there than all the musical talent combined. 

Blessings,

Tracy