Different Kind Of Night / Different Kind Of Minister

Different Kind Of Night / Different Kind Of Minister Saturday, October 3rd was a different kind of day from what I've been experiencing for quite some time. I left my fiancee's house close to 4 in the afternoon. I was on my way to do a Follow Me Tour event. In case you don't know, the tour is a group of Christian men organizing praise n worship events around the southeast. This one was gonna be different though. The night before, I wasn't able to be a the tour event in Valdese, NC because my fiancee's daughter was very sick and I was with her at urgent care while Tonya was with her son at another appointment. This time however, I was the only tour member able to make it to the event. Some of my tour brothers were ill and the others had already made plans with their families which was totally understandable. I've skipped tour dates before for some family time myself. So, I set off for Fletcher, NC to mc the event and deliver the word by myself. As you read this, you'll probably notice that I'm not your typical ordained minister. First of all, I was headed to the NC mountains in my 2005 Mustang GT, decked out like Eleanor from 'Gone in 60 Seconds' with the louvers over the back glass, deflectors over the rear windows, the body kit, metallic paint job, and a few engine modifications. Also, the music I was listening to was a little different too. I had just got the new Megadeth CD, Endgame. Yes, Megadeth, a secular heavy metal band which some of you may not think a minister should listen to. If you listen to the title track 'Endgame', you'll realize, that the subject matter is taken from the book of Revelations and in the current state of the world is something everyone should pay attention to; the book and the song that is. Anyway, I was rolling down interstate 40 west listening to music, thinking about the message for the night, praying a bit, and talking to God. I punched out the CD and turned on 106.9 The Light, to listen to some Contemporary Christian music. There was a good mix on the radio, Todd Agnew, Third Day, and as I came across the hill leading down into the town of Fletcher, Revelation Song came on and new it was gonna be a good night. That song has become a favorite of all the guys on the tour. I was feeling a little hungry, so I was looking for something good and passed by an Asian Grille. I was hoping, though I wasn't really confident in them having sushi, but to my surprise they did. So I got to have raw salmon, tuna, and smoked eel. Yeah, so far this minister is driving a Mustang Gt, listening to metal music, and eating sushi. Oh yeah, I'm also a minister by calling not by profession. I work a full-time job and don't get payed to minister. I'm not knocking anybody, but that's the way I feel it should be. Well, I finished my meal and headed a couple of blocks down the street to the Christian coffee house the event was at. I met the guys from the band P.R.O.O.F. (Pure Reflection Of Our Faith) and praise n worship singer, David Coffin. All of the guys are very cool and since we're all there pretty early, setting up, it gave us a chance to get to know each other and fellowship since we haven't worked together before. A little after 8pm, we've got everything setup and Donna, the wonderful lady who runs The Encouraging Cup that's hosting the event gets us together for a group prayer. Afterward, I introduced David and he gave us some geat praise songs for about 40 minutes. Next up, I delivered the message God put on my heart about how as Christians, it's our duty to witness to those who aren't saved and show them love and forgiveness as Jesus would instead of the judgement and condemnation that so many are guilty of doing to people and pushing them away from the Christian life instead of bringing them into it. It really fit because David had just sung a song about love and frogiveness and I knew that one of PROOF's songs talked about a brand new life and a brand new day once you give yourself over to Jesus. I even quoted the lines from the song in the message. Notice I said The message, not My message. It was the message that God put on my heart, not something I was doing for my own glory. Anyway, everything just fit together perfectly. Even though we had a small crowd, I reminded everybody that it didn't matter as long as we did what God sent us there to do. If we touched one soul, it was what God willed us to do and all the guys agreed. After that, the guys from Proof hit the stage and gave us some great Christian rock-n-roll til about 10:30pm. It was just an awesome night altogether. I feel blessed to have been a part of it and also blessed to be sharing it with you now. Isn't that an awesome way to have church? That's what it was wasn't it? We praised God, we fellowshipped, we shared The Word, and we prayed together. Our God is truly an awesome God!!! Your brother in Christ, Pete. Pete 10-4-09