THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS FOR EVERYONE
For about six years I had the opportunity to run & manage a venue that was essentially an independent outreach ministry, that held concerts in a nightclub setting. It was a fun gig but extremely stressful. I enjoyed my time there but I won't lie I also struggled.
There were so many fulfilling experiences there and then some not so fulfilling.
In March of 2012, 3 years into my stint as the Executive Director of that ministry, I had an opportunity to bring in the inaugural Fight The Silence tour for a concert. The tour featured five really popular bands, two overtly Christian bands and three “secular” bands. I was excited about doing the show because I thought it would be great for the ministry financially but more importantly it would be a great opportunity to get people to the venue who may have never been exposed to the Gospel message. A win-win!
And I was right! The show had near capacity attendance allowing us we cover expenses and then some. And I was also told that at the conclusion of the concert the singer of the last band held an impromptu altar call and led 40 or so teens to Christ. Success, right?
What I failed to anticipate was the backlash I would receive concerning the “secular” bands and their “worldly” influence.
One complaint in particular I remember vividly, an email I received immediately following the concert. In which an angry woman with a multitude of complaints, accused the venue staff of allowing, or more precise not stopping, members of one of the Christian bands from going across the street to a bar. In which I believe she assumed they were drinking to excess. It had been a long day at that point and with all the complaints I had already responded to at the concert I was tired of it. All of it! So I did what any other normal person would do in that situation and typed a lengthy “F**k You” reply. Thankfully, I never hit send. Instead I hit the backspace key on my computer and erased what I had spent the previous 15 minutes typing in anger. I took a deep breath and reworded my response.
I tried to explain to this angry “Christian” woman what it was like to be a member of a touring band. The life of someone who’s on the road over 200 days of the year. How that when on tour, away from their family, friends and support system, these band members were susceptible to temptations and spiritual attack. And often many of them fall and stumble. But often they are able to share Jesus with those “secular” bands they tour with and their fans. I further explained that I made it a personal goal to make the venue an oasis for all traveling bands. That I hoped it serve as a place where we: myself, staff & volunteers would not just meet the band’s physical needs but also meet their spiritual needs. I concluded by encouraging her to apply to become a volunteer at the venue so she could help us minister to these bands; and perhaps prevent them from going across to a bar in the future. But I never heard from her again.
Christians are a funny bunch. Some of us are good at pointing at flaws in others but often not willing to see our own. And most evangelical Christians, not all evangelicals, but a lot of those I encountered at my time at this venue, were more interested in segregating themselves into safe bubbles than actualy doing outreach. What I often saw was that if it wasn’t “Christian”, whether it was a book, movie, music, band, or even a non-believer, it or they wasn’t welcome in their world. And that’s not the message of Jesus a lot of other Christians and I try so desperately to represent.
That concert rocked my world, pun intended. It changed my life and the way I look at doings ministry both for the good and bad. I was definitely shell shocked afterward. For a week and half after this event I received numerous emails, phone messages and general feedback from more angry Christians concerning that show. It was extremely discouraging. In my mind the event was a success, financially and from a ministerial standpoint. Were there some issues? Yes, some profanity onstage, some rowdy behavior but nothing so obscene or offensive that it required the criticism I received. I tried to focus on those 40 or so kids that had a life altering event but it was hard to with the amount of grief I received. And by the way I never got one positive comment about those 40 kids committing their lives, not one.
Although it was never formerly said by the Board Of Directors it was hard to mistake their demeanor concerning that event. It felt like they wanted me to throttle back and not do more events with “secular” acts. It didn’t matter that had it not been for the secular acts those 40 or so teens wouldn’t have ever come to the venue in the first place. It also didn’t matter that the event provided much needed funds. Again unfortunately I paid attention to message I was receiving from the "Christian Bubble" and allowed it to effect me in a negative way. And as a result the I passed on numerous opportunities to bring in similar type of events and shows in the following two years.
In hindsight I should have stuck to the trajectory I felt God put me on and continued to bring more events like that one in March of 2012. But I didn’t and to be honest, I don’t think at the time I was emotionally equipped to handle all the criticism that would have come from doing those type of events. That show however is still probably one of a handful of the 500 events I’ve done that sticks out in my memory.
I’m thankful for the experience because it’s a reminder that we need to be fearless in outreach and to be more inclusive not exclusive. And as I move forward and do events in the future I will try focus on the potential for life altering experience and keep in mind what my good buddy Tommy Rock’s often says about ministry: “I’d rather be ministering just outside the gates of hell than within the sound of church bells”.
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