Greater Than Tour 2015

Two Roads

     On Friday November 13, I ventured to the beautiful town of Aiken, South Carolina to capture the Greater Than Tour with MercyMe featuring Tim Timmons and Phil Wickham with special guest author, John Lynch. 

     Millbrook Baptist Church welcomed everyone in to join them who had tickets for the sold out evening sharing together in the grace and redemption power of the cross. Reverend Bill Howard opened the service with a sorrowful sentiment in regards to the horrific terrorists attacks in Paris, France.  For those attending that evening it was the first that many of us had heard of it.  He asked if we could all take a few minutes to pray for those devastated by the acts of heinous violence and in that moment you could feel the presence of God hearing our prayers.

     MercyMe showed up on this tour bearing gifts.  When I say this I mean in the sense of the two amazing artists and speaker that they invited to join them. As they traveled across different states sharing their testimonies and talents with those who came to hear how God has changed and encouraged their lives, anyone who was able to take part in one of these special nights would leave inspired and challenged. 

                Not only do they all demonstrate the love of Christ in spirit and truth but as supporters of the non-profit organization Compassion International they create the opportunity for others to change the life of a child in need of desperate help.  This organization is in the top 1% of how the money supporters donate is utilized in the lives of the children each person individually selects.  Not only do they get to choose the child or children they will be supporting but they also get the opportunity to build a relationship with them and communicate, often times getting the chance to meet them.  



Nathan and his sponsored child Edgar

       Nathan Tasker, knows from personal experience the impact you can have on a child in need.  He told us about a child named Edgar who he started receiving letters from.  Little did he know a friend of his started sponsoring Edgar for him. Initially he was surprised by the gift of this relationship with Edgar and it turned out to be a great blessing to him. Nathan stated,

   "When God gives a gift He wraps it in a person."
       Compassion International and the groups that support this outreach are on a mission to release children from poverty while honoring Jesus and sharing our faith with them. I spoke with a really friendly volunteer named Caysee towards the end of the evening and she stated a little under a hundred children had been sponsored that evening alone. 

     I recently had the opportunity to review Tim Timmons latest album , Awake Our Souls so when the opportunity arose for me to get the chance to see him perform live I didn't hesitate to take advantage of that. Tim opened up the evening with a message that seemed to be perfectly aligned with what we see happening in the world today.  A lot of his music is written from his personal testimony of trusting God no matter what others say or the situation or hardship portrays. 

Tim blessing the sold out crowd in Aiken, SC in song

    
     He asked the question, "What if I lived as if God is God and I am not?"  After singing his opening song he made a profound statement that worded in his perspective portrayed a significant difference between following God and trusting God.  Having blind faith in our risen Savior is allowing Him to truly be our King. 

"Every time we worry about something we become the King or Queen of our Kingdom. We have to trust God. What do you see? What do you learn from what you are going through or facing? One thing we have to trust is that He says He works things out for the good when we seek His Kingdom first. A lot of us pray and we pray hard but not many truly surrender. If we continue to worry about situations we are taking away His power to change it."

         
     Tim performed four wonderful songs that evening off his new album including Awake Our Souls, Everywhere I Go, Spring Up and one of my personal favorites, You Are Good (that I may).   Below you can watch his video for this song and I highly recommend catching him on an upcoming tour. 
     

      Bart Mallard, lead singer from MercyMe came on stage to introduce John Lynch who has been a true inspiration to him through his life in ministry. Bart said that one of the books he wrote reminded him at a difficult time in his life that, "Nothing we can do will make Christ love us more than He already does. What we do in our lives doesn't really matter, because it's not about what we do that creates our identity, it's about what Christ has already done for us."

     It was shortly after the introduction that Mr. Lynch came forward to share a powerful demonstration out of chapter one of his book The Cure (co-authored by Bruce McNicol and Bill Thrall).

     He began to speak of two roads we often come to, sometimes even years after serving Christ and trying to draw closer to Him. "As a Christian, sometimes the devil likes to try to defeat us by condemning us so we began to build mounds of dirt under our feet pushing us away from feeling worthy of an intimate relationship with Christ.

     We cannot work any harder on our sin than Christ already demonstrated. The crossroad we face is choosing between trusting God and pleasing God and both of these roads lead to different rooms full of people who are searching for answers just like us. Many people get stuck hiding behind masks without actually being free in Christ and it's important to keep traveling and not remain bound." 

     You will have to buy the book to figure out "if God isn't who you think He is and neither are you."

Phil during his set in Aiken, SC

     John took a short break in the message to invite Phil Wickham to the stage.  Phil mentioned that he plans to release his new album in April of 2016 which I am definitely looking forward to after hearing him share his testimony and music.  He opened his set with a popular favorite This Is Amazing Grace. After his opening song he began to share about how our hope gives us the confidence in Christ to believe. 

     "God who can make the stars and the Heavens lives inside of us and He Has promised us in His word the thoughts He has for us of peace and a future of hope and that He will never leave us nor forsake us. Our hope gives us the strength to stand in the good and bad on the promises of God. Even in the midst of tragedy we can have peace in Jesus so that we do not have to live in fear"

     Let me just say it was truly a blessing to learn more about all three of these gentleman with amazing hearts for God and love both for music and the Word doing what they can to share it with others.  It had been several years since I had actually seen MercyMe live, so I was kind of blown away by how much they have changed personally.  I have basically grown up with them in Christ as well which is why I assume the messages in their music have continued to minister to me. This was the first time I had heard Bart share part of his testimony about his dad and the transforming power of grace that he seen unfold in his family.  This resonated with me so deeply that without going into detail if you choose to read part of my testimony you can find it here.  

     I don't know what I enjoyed more that evening, the singing or the ministry provided by every single person that stood on that stage. Bart got me all choked up though with the ministry he would share between each number they would do.  On their album Shake released in 2014 there is a powerful message behind every single lyric and he passionately demonstrated the relevance of each one.

Bart Ministering in Aiken, SC    

      "I don't buy flowers for my wife to remind her I love her. It's because she's seen me at my worst and she still loves me. It's kind of the way Jesus works.  If you keep pursuing Christ you get to a point when that's all that comes out of you. Without suffering grace is hard to see. Sometimes you see yourself and look at God and ask, "Why would you ever want this?" and He responds by saying "Because you are mine." If the worst day of your life was exposed God would still look at you and say, "I'm crazy in love with you." Regardless of how many times you mess up God still sees you as His own.  With grace it doesn't mean we should continue in sin, but it's because of the cross sin has lost it's power to keep us down."

     


     The creativity that was demonstrated in the line up that MercyMe delivered was fantastic.  They definitely try to hit a sprinkle of every single person's favorite. With 21 years of history making songs to cover that is a task they definitely conquer and with a ministerial style that proves itself.  

      It was one of those nights where everything that took place was laid out as if it was a perfect orchestra and all the instruments that were used created a different experience for every single person that was listening.  For those who are looking for a perfect stocking treat for a loved one MercyMe has a new Christmas Album available and it would go great with Tim or Phil's latest album as well as John's book. 

     When author, John Lynch came back on stage to close out the wonderful evening of ministry he finished telling the story of what happened in the room called grace.  

"We are all saints that sometimes sin, and God wants us to trust Him enough to run to His arms.  It's time to trust who He says He is in you."  

     If you haven't found the door of Grace, it's at the cross where Christ took your sin and your shame and said, "I am enough and I will carry you." All you have to do is enter into that relationship with Christ trusting Him with your life and choosing to believe that He is all you need.  He's waiting on the other side of the door, all you have to do is open it. 

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