Saturday, 22 September 2007

Perspective... from a Jeremy Camp concert?

I drove to Lansing with Ross not sure what to expect. I knew it would be a lot of fun, which is why I decided it would be how I'd celebrate my 22nd birthday. It seemed perfect-going to see my favorite concert artist with a good friend.

It started ordinarily enough. Ross and I were exchanging jokes and laughing our heads off at stuff in our seats while waiting for the show to start. The minister of Trinity Church came out and offered a prayer for the evening and then welcomed the opening act. Contrary to what our tickets had said, it was NOT the band Mainstay, whom Ross nor I had ever heard. It was Meredith Andrews, a worship leader out of Chicago who was touring with Jeremy Camp for part of his fall tour season. Pretty sweet stuff. Ross and I both liked her pretty well.

Then came a bit of a surprise: apparently Jeremy Camp cut a song called "I Am Willing" for the new film The Ten Commandments (the animated one). Maybe it's bias because I've heard another one of his film-inspired songs, but it reminded me a bit of "Open Up Your Eyes" from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Finally after intermission no. 1, Jeremy and his fellow band members took the stage. This I guess I could say I expected-a couple solid crowd-pleaser songs, some goofing around on stage and a little bit of personal talk about his family and the off-the-wall stuff his kids have said (picture a three-year-old saying with complete sincerity, "That wasn't funny, Mom. I know funny.").

The concert moved onward with more music, but every now and then he would stop and talk again to the audience about what was on his heart. This is what I think made it unique and took it beyond just a concert to the next level. He talked about struggles he's faced as a performing musician (ones that I have fought myself and continue to fight), about giving up everything to Christ, and just being encouraging. He cited the passage in II Corinthians 5:17-19 and highlighted the new creation and the message of reconciliation.

In the second set after intermission no. 2, especially during "Beautiful One," "Give You Glory," and his jazz/blues version of "Jesus Loves Me," Jeremy really set the tone as not simply performance but worship. It took away me from the mindset of watching a favorite singer to worshiping God along with Him and the several thousand people inside the church. It felt a bit like The Gathering. And I think that's what he would have hoped and prayed for last night. He later reminded the audience, "All that matters is what you do for Jesus." Powerful words. At the end, he even took the time to pray the Sinner's Prayer for anyone in the audience who may not have been a believer. Sounds a lot more like a high-energy, music-driven church service than a concert.

Unfortunately, I saw and heard things that bothered me as well. There were plenty of other fans at this concert besides Ross and myself (a full house) and some of them were your stereotypical teenage girl superfans. If they thought they had a fighting chance of being heard, they'd literally scream at the top of their lungs, "We love you Jeremy!" It made me cringe on so many levels. One, I can't bear to imagine how horribly they were treating their voices. Every kid screams and yells, but I've been officially brainwashed at Hope College to now think as a vocal music teacher and how incredibly awful that is for one's voice. Two, the unrestrained, nearly out of control enthusiasm must have looked ridiculous to everyone else, too. Three, and worst of all, these fans were misplacing all that gusto and fanaticism. It clearly bothered Jeremy while he was on stage. It finally reached a point where after a group screamed, "We love you Jeremy!" yet again, he quickly and firmly replied, "How much do you love Jesus?" They didn't seem to be able to scream back an answer. The audience was pretty quiet when he said that, and I then pondered how many artists would shoot down their own fans like that.

That really made me think differently last night about him. I'd say Jeremy Camp is my favorite Christian musician out there now. When you think about well-known people like him, you tend to automatically put them on a pedestal or look at them as something other than another person without even thinking about it. But after the concert, and especially when we went to meet him, Ross and I both agreed that we looked at him differently. We still saw him as the same artist we enjoy, but a lot more as a pretty normal guy like everyone else who deeply loves Jesus, who loves his family, who's had to deal with emotional and spiritual trials that some don't ordinarily face until they're more than twice or even three times his age, and who really enjoys writing and playing and singing music. He talked about facing the same kinds of struggles that many other people deal with as well. He's trying to use his music to serve Christ because he believes it is his calling (that sounds like familiar stuff I've had to think about recently). And he wants to minister to people in the audiences and listening to recordings spiritually through the music. He's not out foraging for those screaming superfans. His response to them last night indicates that I don't think he wants that at all. I know I wouldn't. I can't imagine how I'd deal with that.

It's not to say that meeting him was a disappointment by any standard. Jeremy was personable to Ross and me. Unfortunately for sake of time we couldn't get a picture with him, but we did each get an autograph, which was great. He asked where we were headed home towards and his face lit up when I answered "Holland." He asked us how far it was, and when I said it was a little under 2 hours, I think we shocked him. I said it was easily worth it and the smile in response was one I recognize myself as one of real appreciation. I obviously have nowhere near the grueling performing schedule this fellow does, but I was incredibly grateful to my family and to Ms. Sopha for making the trip from Ludington to come hear my junior recital. I knew they were coming, but I was still glad they came. Apparently that kind of travel by fans still means something to a pro like Jeremy, too.

The conversation on the way home meant so much, too. Ross and I were obviously trying to digest through all we had just seen and experienced, but our minds quickly moved elsewhere. He asked me what's been going on spiritually with me recently. I was honestly so glad he asked I couldn't express it; after the project I had to work on for Senior Sem, I needed to talk to someone with whom I was close about it. I hadn't been able to do that yet, so the chance to just kind of unpack all of what I had been dealing with to a trusted, close friend like Ross meant more than I could ever express. And it was a time as well where I was able to encourage Ross as well. I didn't know I had it in me to do that while driving on the freeway in the dark. But I think it's the Holy Spirit at work-giving us protection and allowing me to drive safely while I was talking and listening to Ross. And I think it was the Holy Spirit really ministering and encouraging each of us, just using the two of us as mouthpieces.

There was a Scripture reference under the autographs-Acts 20:24, which quotes Paul, saying, "However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace." Ross and I looked this up once we arrived back at Hope and were immediately impressed. Jeremy's heart is in exactly the right place.

In celebration of my 22nd birthday, Ross and I went to see Jeremy Camp live. But beyond the guy who's recorded five CDs and won several awards, we saw and briefly met a brother in Christ who loves Jesus more than anything and wants to serve Him with the talents that he has been given. That kind of example and reminder was a fantastic gift.

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"But God has promised us a new heaven
and a new earth, where justice will rule.
We are really looking forward to that!"
(2Peter 3:13)(CEV)-BibleGateway

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TheVoiceReturns