December 14, 2000

Christmas Greetings,

Again, on a note of self-preservation (for you and for me), if you'd rather not receive this monthly newsletter, hit reply on your provider (NOT reply to all) and type REMOVE in the subject heading. That way we'll both be happy. I like to avoid being a source of irritation, and you like to avoid unnecessary mailings. It's understood. 

"And the Word became flesh, and lived among us..." 

Christmas is good. In a way so pure and holy, God undressed. The pillar of fire, the wheel within the wheel, all the blood and smoke of the old covenant - all the glory and grandeur that was so good (yet bade us keep our distance) - were set aside, and God came near. All that God did so He might be intimate with us, is more than I can fathom.  

Christmas (for me this year) expresses God's longing for us to know Him intimately, and the cost it required. God Almighty - the Sovereign, the Omnipotent, the Consuming Fire - came to us in the most humbling fashion known to man. Nope, nothing about chariots in the Christmas Story. No armies, no fanfare, no parades (unless, of course, you count the shepherds). No thunder or earthquakes either. The most unlikely way for a supernatural King to come - a baby, born unto a young peasant girl in an unassuming small town barn - was the account of the advent of our God.  

Could it be amazing again to me this year? Could this truth appear before us and usher in worshippers as the angels did the shepherds? Could we learn something about intimacy from our Lord's advance at Bethlehem? Closeness requires vulnerability. God saw that it was worth it. "And they called him Jesus." 

While the Cross is God's most powerful display of His love for us, perhaps Christmas was the most intimate. (And there couldn't have been the Cross without the cradle.) God saw that it was worth it. 

Christmas is good.

News here isn't nearly as amazing. I've been busy, and won't be soon. Though this is cause for praise for some (namely, myself) it hardly seems grounds for much dissertation, so I'll be brief.

The first two weeks in November were full of miles and concert opportunities in and around the northern Illinois region. A handful of colleges, several coffee shops, a few youth groups, and two churches kept me busy for 13 of 14 nights before I returned to Minnesota. Perhaps the most memorable was one spent with Monmouth College students at First Christian Church in Monmouth, Illinois. The concert began at 7 and was done around 8:30. I invited some to stay for worship further into the night. Finishing at the piano in another 20 minutes, I took my seat among 30-40 college students. No one stirred. God's spirit had settled in among us in such a way that there was only silence (and sniffles). After 10-15 minutes had passed, a lady from the church rose and led us in  prayer and gratitude, after which another musician sat at the piano and led worship until 11:30 that evening. During that time there were prayers, tears, testimony, and counseling - all centered round the God who was making Himself so real to us right then and there. The fruit of that evening is being (and is still to be) revealed.

Just before Thanksgiving I was in Fargo, ND with FLY for a retreat focusing on worship. The weekend was blessed. After a few days with my parents in northern Minnesota (for turkey and football), I returned to Minneapolis to progress on the FLY worship album for the 2001 national conference. This has claimed most of my time (and a portion of my health) these last three weeks. (For three days I hardly had a voice; a concert just over a week ago sought 3 friends of mine - Wes Patterson, Kris Hanson, and Matt Hardy - to sing all the lyrics while I merely played and introduced each song!) We hope to be done with "Only Jesus" (FLY 2001) sometime early February.

Last Sunday night (the 10th) was the release concert for "The Extras" held at Emmaus Free Lutheran in Bloomington, MN. A team of technicians and nine musicians prepared the evening with a "living-room" style stage setup (with candles, lamps, and wooden chairs) and an organic presentation of the music (guitars, hand-drums, and voices) for a night with "the Dockcrew". Roughly 200 people came, and the evening was riddled with praise, worship, and prayer. We digitally recorded the event (both video and audio) to be edited for a project further down the road.

Now I'm breaking for Christmas - vacationing, rather - for a week in North Dakota and a week at home with my family. Incredibly grateful for the opportunity to breathe! Seems no matter what we do we're too busy... Extreme apologies for my extremely lax (or perhaps non-existent) correspondence as of late (say the last 7 months). E-mail has nearly become a vice in my life... 

Prayer concerns would be (If you've made it this far):

~ obviously, safe-travel (Midwest Winters...)

~ the decisions of a new year (scheduling, etc...)

~ thanking God for His sustaining grace (I've known this intimately as of late)

~ a push in 2001 for radio play in the states I visit most frequently (I'll be learning something new about this soon).

May the goodness of Christmas again leave you sockless. Blessings

abound.

His,

Jeremy