Hero

Last weekend I went to David Crowder’s farewell concert in Lawrence, Kansas at the Lied Center.  After eleven plus years together as a band they made the difficult decision to end the band and move on to be with their growing families at home as well as other projects in the works.  I arrived early since seating was by general admission and we wanted to make sure I had a decent seat.  While waiting to go in, out came Chris August, one of the artists performing that night.  He joked around with the crowd, answered questions, and even sang a couple songs.  If you have never heard of him he has a powerful story; be sure to check him out.

After several hours of waiting the time finally came for the doors to open and seating to begin.  As an aside, seven years ago I saw David Crowder in concert as he led worship for a youth conference I attended back when I led youth ministry.  I had my picture taken with Crowder.  It was a surreal moment.

Fast forward to today.  First to take the stage was John Mark McMillan, then Chris August, and lastly Gungor.  As each band came on you could feel the energy rising as the time inched closer and closer for the man of the hour to take the stage.  Finally, when Crowder and his band came on, the crowd became electric with excitement.  Here are just some of the many songs performed:

A Beautiful Collision

Here is our King

No One like You

You Are My Joy

How He Loves

O Praise Him

It is a night I will never forget!  Crowder’s music has impacted a generation and church in an immeasurable way, giving voice to the faith God was working in their hearts.  Song after song filled the air, bringing back personal memories of happy times, God-appointed moments in my life, and spiritual lessons of faith I have journeyed through these past years.  Wave after wave flooded my mind as I stood at my seat, the music bathing me in purest joy and praise.  There is something about music that touches the inner part of who we are.

After the concert I did the concertgoer thing and had a few shirts autographed by Crowder.  We even had all the band members sign one of the CD jackets we had with us even though we weren’t VIPs.  We waited outside of the specially roped off area and when the final VIPs had their items autographed, we begged them to let us in, and because of how cool the band is, they waved us through!  We wanted to reenact the picture shown above from seven years ago, but sadly no pictures were aloud (interestingly, the picture was taken almost seven years ago to the day).  I brought along the original picture taken years ago and when I showed it to him he was like, “Wow, check that out …” and then he laughed as only Crowder could.  He is such a humble man who has used the gifts God gave him in a profound way.  We thanked him for his many years of service to the Lord and were soon on our way.

David Crowder is my hero!  I feel blessed to have had an encounter with him two times in my life.  Who knows, maybe we will meet again someday.  I secretly dream that one day he’ll give me a call to collaborate on a new music project (Hey Dave, call me anytime!).  I even tried growing a Crowder goatee once.  The key word is “once”.  Kidding aside, I do know this, what makes Crowder my hero has nothing to do with the amazing music he made, the super cool hair he styles, or his snappy outfits.  Behind the music and man is something deeper, something more powerful than words could ever describe.  What makes David Crowder my hero is the passionate witness of faith he professed these past eleven plus years that he and his band shared Jesus through the gifts God blessed them with.

Crowder pointed people to Jesus … to “the” Hero Himself!  Yes, the music Crowder performed was amazing, but it was a mere doorway to the deeper message of salvation and life as shown and given through the cross.  Jesus freely emptied Himself for us in order to give us life and an eternal home with Him.  That, my friend, is something truly amazing, something worth singing about!

I close with words from the last song he performed in concert (from the song “All I Can Say”):

Lord I’m tired, so tired from walking
And Lord I’m so alone
And Lord the dark is creeping in
Creeping up to swallow me
I think I’ll stop; Rest here a while

And this is all that I can say right now
And this is all that I can give

And this is all that I can say right now
And this is all that I can give

That’s my everything

N