While we were at the tobyMac concert, I was involved in two conversations I thought were amusing.

In the first conversation, I found out that I’m a celebrity. I had shaved my head a day or two before, and was wearing a ball cap. My goatee is two or three inches long, and apparently, some event staff people thought I was Bart Millard of MercyMe. I had to explain to them, in all seriousness, that I am not the guy who sings “I Can Only Imagine.” They told me they could have gotten me backstage if I wanted to. Nice, eh? Maybe I should have said I wanted to go backstage anyway…

In the second conversation, I was invited to apply to be a student at Davis College, again. I was with two of my high school students, looking at the merchandise tables. One of the tables had literature from Davis, so I picked up a view book, and started looking for pictures of people I know. I saw Will Hall, Naaman Pallo, and a few others from my Davis days. The guy standing at the table asked, “Are you interested in going to Bible College?” “Absolutely not.” I replied. “Oh…Never mind.” I jokingly told him that I graduated from the school twice already, and didn’t think I wanted to do it again. He continued the conversation, asking if I enjoyed the school. I told him that I enjoyed it some days, and loathed it others; that I loved and hated my time there, and that I think that’s okay. He just stared at me, like I had eight heads.

Oh well. I thought they were amusing, anyway.

Last weekend, I and the other youth leaders at North Country Fellowship, had the pleasure of taking a group of teens to Elmira, NY in order to check out the Boomin’ Beyond Measure tour, with tobyMac, Jeremy Camp, and Matthew West. Due to a severe winter storm that hit most of New York, it took us five-and-a-half hours to get to First Arena (it usually would take three), and after the concert, it took us another forty-five minutes to get to the homes we planned to stay at overnight. The church we intended to worship with had canceled their services for the next day, so I led an impromptu service in the living room of the house we had gathered at, and after a big lunch, we headed back to Carthage, with clear skies and dry roads almost the whole way.

I have to admit, tobyMac isn’t my kind of music. I’ve never before enjoyed his artistic style (though I don’t dislike hip-hop), or his attitude in his performances. I didn’t like dcTalk much either, so I guess it’s a carryover from that. Regardless, the live show was pretty good; especially the last song (no, not just because it was over), the old dcTalk hit “Jesus Freak”. Having listened to dcTalk when that album was new (and before I was a Christian), that was a lot of fun. Jeremy Camp’s set was my favorite of the three artists, and this is despite the fact that he was ill with some sort of respiratory infection, and coughed up a lung in between each song. Matthew West was decent as well. He served as a nice mellow introduction to the two headliners.

The best part of the concert, for me, was watching the youth from my church eat it all up. For many of them, it was their first concert, and I believe that most of them consider tobyMac their favorite artist. It was a great night for them, and one I doubt they will quickly forget.

I think it was a great time of community building and friendship. I took Calvin’s advice, and outlawed all digital gadgets during the trip, so the teens wouldn’t be texting their friends and spaced-out in their own little musical world. Good advice; it worked like a charm.

Actor Heath Ledger was found dead earlier this afternoon.

I’m not the biggest fan of most of Hollywood, and don’t ever recall being truly surprised by a “celebrity tragedy” but I have to say, this one caught me off guard. I have an appreciation for Heath Ledger’s work. From The Patriot to 10 Things I Hate About You, he was truly enjoyable in a variety of different type roles. I’m looking forward to seeing his final performance, as The Joker in the upcoming Batman film.

Please join me in taking a short moment to pray for his family and friends during this hard time.