This is my facebook post from 1am after the concert:
If you have known me a long time you know that music has always had a large place in my life from choir to musicals that was expressed however it reached deeper then that.
My dad is a great guitar player. Growing up our house was rarely silent; music was the soundtrack. Different seasons of my childhood have their songs. I remember the good old days of the BMG music club and circling the next cd ideas. Dad always said that if the artist had true talent he would buy the cd and give it a try. Going to concerts was a family event. I lost track a long time ago to how many concerts I've been to...
But the one group that has been the most is Switchfoot. Switchfoot became a band for our family very early in their career and became a staple of what we listened to.
Over the past several years listening to Jon Foreman became a stress relief. When I'm stressed and waiting for doctors to call we watch Jon Foreman interviews. Why? Because it's grounding.
They point me back to God which is funny considering that churches go out and picket his concerts (he brings the picketers water because he loves them as people even when they hate him). He asks a lot of big life questions and shows that it's ok to wrestle with those questions. Honestly he is one of the people I would list as one of my top faith influences. I often get so frustrated with the American church and the stupid things we do and he is one of those people who I can watch really searching for what Jesus would do instead of the American gospel.
Today for me was amazing, not because I idolize Jon, i think he is a cool guy but I see him as a fellow brother in Christ who wrestles with some of the same things I do, we are both God's children, but I got to spend the day with my dad and brother. I was able to wrestle big life questions during the concert and movie and those are important, we shy away from them too often because they are uncomfortable.
If a movie and a rock and roll concert can end in worship, our lives can be daily worship too. It doesn't have to be mediocrity. We were meant to live for so much more!
The movie we watched tonight is coming out soon... go see it!
#25in24
Last night was a musical experience. Part of what my mom bought us was the VIP tickets. For the VIP experience you got to the venue at 5pm and they checked you in and then you got your lanyard saying you were with that group and a cool bag and fun stuff inside. Then you went into the room and Jon came down and sat and asked if anyone had any questions. Then he went to play a song and then asked for a second song and I asked for the song Caroline for Jilli. She LOVES that song (I know, weird song for a 5yr old to love but it is the same name as her best friend) I Facetimed Brent and Jilli was able to sing the song Caroline for her. She had the BIGGEST smile on her face! Then everyone was able to get pictures with Jon. Jon is a very personable person. He is interested in what everyone has to say. Dad got to ask him about why gravity is so significant in his songs and Seth was able to thank him for his music that helped him through when he was in the ICU. We then talked with some other fans for a bit and then headed to drop things at the car. The venue said all VIP ticket holders had to leave the venue and get let back in before the show so we had about 40min to figure out what to do with. We went looking for coffee but couldn't find any within walking distance so we ended up at a beer place... all they serve is beer but I wouldn't call it a bar either. It was a very open place. The guys each got a beer but because I don't drink and they didn't have soda I didn't have anything (which is probably ok as a mom before heading into a concert lol). We then headed back to the venue.
They told all of the VIP people to come back at a certain time but the venue decided on a later time for letting everyone in so the sidewalk got very crowded. They sent the Chick Fil A cow out to dance for us.
They let the VIP people in and we got our seats. It was open seating. We let dad, the guy with the musical ear pick our spots. The first part of the even was the showing of a movie... 25 in 24 where Jon played 25 shows in 24 hours. The movie was amazing and I cried more then once. It was one of those things you watch that inspire you to go out and do good. I highly recommend the video (you can pre-order it on Itunes now).
Then there was a short intermission
And then Jon came out along with an electric cello player and a drummer. These two were friends of Jon, not members of Switchfoot. He played three songs while everyone sat in their seats and then said that there was lots of empty room between the front row and then stage if people wanted to come up. This is where the event got even more energy. It became like a little family up by the stage. The crowd sang their heart out. There wasn't a set list for the night, instead they asked before the show for people to write out songs on slips of paper and Jon had those of the floor on the stage and he would pick them up and play a song. A few songs in an electric guitar player came out. He is with a different band that is playing in Madison tonight but he contacted Jon and asked if since they were both in town if they could make music together. Jon invited him out on stage to play a song with him... they had never even mic checked together. Instead of just playing one song, he played the rest of the concert with Jon, adding in sound as there were several songs you could tell at the start that he didn't know but is a good enough guitar player to be able to add in.
It was the night I needed. They always talk about self care and often that ends up being social media or dumb games... this was a true fill up instead of entertainment. Singing songs that wrestle with life in ways I do with other people like me filled me up. Worshiping together at the end because thats were the night went was amazing. This concert wasn't billed as a "night of worship with Jon" it was billed as a movie and songs but something Jon talks about is being real in your faith, that it is not a scripted thing, that God is in your every day instead of just on Sunday, and at the end we couldn't help but worship in thanks for all God has done for us and I think in some ways that is much more authentic then scripted worship(I am not saying scripted worship is bad, there is just a difference and I would challenge you to not only have scripted worship). Jon didn't need to preach, there was no fancy sermon, there wasn't that "Christian concert" moment were the artist gives their invitation speech, instead this was authentic, the songs spoke the words, Jon talked about life and the wrestles of life and out of that in the end came a large group of people worshiping. I am sure there were many people in that crowd last night who are not Christians, Jon isn't listed as a "Christian artist" but I hope they saw what it is really about last night, how the wrestling leads you back to God and how that leads you to worship.
I'm a "church girl"... I grew up in those walls... daddy is an elder... grandpa worked as the janitor for years... I have grown up in the walls of the church, but one of the things I didn't do much until college was ask questions without answers and in college when my friends did it scared me, but in following Jon's music I have learned how I can ask questions, some without earthly black and white answers, and use those questions to learn more about God. I think the American church often seeks comfort. We claim we want to live for more but we search for mediocrity because its comfortable. Its comfortable to sit in the same pew week after week and sing the songs you know. But what if that comfort isn't all there is? What does it look like to truly live out the gospel? Get I am not bashing church, Jesus said you need to be in the church to be growing and connected to a body of believers to help each other grow, what I am saying is what if we got outside of our comfort zones. What if we looked at worship as an every day thing? What if that worship included authentically loving others? What if that meant laying down our fears? What if that means our identity is in Christ and not anything of this earth? What if it means it is having deep conversations that are more then just "how are you?" What if it makes you uncomfortable? What if I truly live on earth not for my glory? What if it doean't look like "American helping?" What if it means you don't look like the mainstream American church? Dam, I want more then my life then to just be a warm body in a chair on a Sunday morning that sings a few notes and then goes on her way and is weighed down by life and stuck just trying to keep her head above water... because in that situation I miss my job in spreading the gospel. I miss true love and I sell myself short on my relationship with my maker.
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| This isn't my picture, but a Jon Foreman quote that I feel gets at where I am going here |
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| Jilli the other morning playing her guitar while we watched a Switchfoot interview |
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| Dad saw a need that night, so he jumped in and helped the guy leading the VIP tour |
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| Jon Formean just hanging out with the group |
Sometime I think it would be amazing to sit down and have a conversation with Jon about these things, not because he has it figured out either, but it would be interesting to get his take on things however a conversation like that isn't something that happens at a concert, so the reality of that actually happening is slim... but if you want to know my 25 in 24 dream, that would be on the list!
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