Last week's Follow Me Tour stop in Kingsport, Tennessee turned out amazing even though it started out very rocky and crazy. It was just Pete and I taking this one and when we pulled into the parking lot of this Christian teen club Pete made a joke saying "I hope they know we are coming." It had been booked out about 2 months ago. Sure enough we walk in and the lady that runs the place has this look on her face that said "I forgot"! She was a bit rattled because they had also over-booked the number of bands for the night and was really stressed out. At first she was really skeptical about us and started quizzing us about what our ministry was about. She asked exactly that and I answered "It's about Jesus." Her next question was "How do you feel about gays because we may have some people here in that lifestyle?" My response was that though I don't personally support that lifestyle that Jesus says we are to love everyone, share our faith with everyone, not be judgmental, and share His love and redemption.
Then she said that she would see how the night goes and that we maybe would be able to speak but she wasn't sure. I think she was taken aback when both Pete and I said that it was no problem and that we would just hang out, be around the teens and young adults, and just be a part of the evening however it worked out. She then asked me to be the MC to open with prayer and introduce the bands. As the night got started one of the band members came back to where she was at the concession stand asking if they could get some water for the group. She told them that she used to provide water but needed to sell it to them now because of budget cuts. He was great about it and went back to his merchandise table to get some cash. I quickly added up the members of all the bands in my head, pulled out a $20 and paid for the water (a dollar a bottle of something she could have purchased at Wal-Mart for $2.50 a case). I think that was the act that completely turned the situation around because after the first band she came up to me and asked if we would do the message between the third band and fourth.
When it was time for the Blue Collar Preachers to take stage I think the message went well. God put it on my heart to talk about how we face adversity in this life but how through his grace and love we have the hope of eternal life with Him. (1st Peter Chapter 1) The crowd was a pretty rough disenfranchised group of youth from the Kingsport area (read:Emo) and I hope it hit home with them. I talked about how God is with us throughout every day's walk and just continues to pour his love on us even when we don't seem to want it. Pete focused on how God can do amazing things in our lives even when we are challenged by life itself.
A lady who was there who was the mother of one of the band members of the first band that played (it was there very first performance) came up to me later and handed me something. She said that God had put it on her heart before she left the house to give it to someone at the place and after hearing the message and learning that the Follow Me Tour had no funding, no base church, or anything, that she knew it was for us. I just stuck it in my pocket and didn't even look at it.
Pete had just rented the space where the Victor Ministry was (the place we saw Jay Bakker) for a Sunday afternoon Bible Study/Outreach/Office for his ministry and a home base for the Follow Me Tour that morning. I reached in my pocket and said "Well, here's some money to start your fund for "The Gathering" (the name he's given it). When I looked down I realized that what I had thought might be a twenty was a HUNDRED!!!! It was crazy man…this woman had shared with us how her son had never gone to church, how her ex-husband had been abusive and was in prison, and how now God was working in their lives and that playing in a Christian rock band had saved him. What a witness!!!
We could have gotten upset and angry driving 190 miles to a place to find out that we were not part of the program. We could have allowed our egos to step in and destroy what turned out to be a blessing. Somehow, as we have learned throughout the Follow Me Tour run since June of this year, by simply following Him where ever He leads us something good will always come out of that followership.
