How he loves (john mark mcm)

You know how sometimes you get that "I feel like this is something I'm supposed to do" feeling? I had that last night, and ended up at a John Mark McMillan concert.

I have no idea where the feeling came from. I'd seen he was coming to town, but the only thing I knew about him was that he wrote that "sloppy wet kiss" song that David Crowder changed the words to and made famous-er.

But there was something.

Part of it may have been that I'd never been to this venue either and have always been curious. I thought HeBrews was a coffee house that occasionally hosted Christian concerts, and that seemed kinda cool to me.

So, here I am, picturing JMM and an acoustic guitar, singing ragged love songs to God in a little 50-seat-ish coffee house for a bunch of old timers... and I was hoping maybe the Big Guy had something special in store for me.

Well, it's a little bit funny...

Jane was tired from a long day at work but, lo and behold, the daughter and her hubby texted that they were going (I was afraid we had ruined both our kids to Christian music forever)! I went back and forth, and finally about an hour after it was supposed to start, I opened up Google Maps and headed that way. 

Ah, why was I not surprised to discover this "coffee house" was actually a big ol' CHURCH! And one of "those" churches, that screams: casual, contemporary, conservative, youth-group-oriented, family-friendly, and all the things I often forget have yet to go out of style and still exist! To top it off, the daughter said the opening band (which was fortunately already done when I arrived) was full on youth-groupy praise and witness and that it was a good thing I missed them.

Well, anyhew, I still wondered if there was some reason I was supposed to be there. Like God himself wanted me there. But what could it be for???

The evening did not suddenly take a turn for the better when JMM and his six-piece rock band started blaring sound and lights and fog from the stage. Oof. I've become too accustomed to quality sound environments, and this took me some time to get myself re-acclimated. Sadly, I think I spent more time shaking my head as I looked around the room at how many people still acted like this was 1995 and Geoff Moore & the Distance had come to their gymnasium.  

Finally... Finally... JMM did a few acoustic numbers alone and gave my ears a break. And, no, he didn't have the greatest voice, isn't a superb guitarist, doesn't really even have an endearing vibe... But he's got something. 

At one point he told about when he was 7 years old and, while trying to be cool, came totally uncontrollably, sobbingly undone by a love for God and others, and how people often questioned if he was maybe too manipulated by the music, and he said something like... "That may have been the case, and if it is, then I hope to God it happens to a whole bunch more people!!!" That's not how he said it, but the point came across. [Why do we think the devil can use any means to manipulate people, but for some reason God isn't able to work however he wants?]

I'm still not sure why, or even if, I was "supposed" to be there... Maybe it was because music had a way of pulling me into a love for God and his world also. Maybe it was a little bit to convict me of how high and mighty arrogant I've become, thinking I was too good for shows like this, and people like this, and churches like this...

I don't know... I could have done without the music, the lights, the coffee... But I came home a humbler man than I was. There's nothing wrong with that. It was also nice hangin' out with Drew Carrie.

"So we are his portion and he is our prize
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes
If grace is an ocean, we're all sinking
So heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest

I don't have time to maintain these regrets when I think about..."