We bolted out of Birmingham right after our concert and hit the road for Nashville, TN, which was 2 1/2 hours up I-65. Our plan was to drop off the boys in Clemency, they had some other concerts lined up for the following week in Michigan and Indiana. We were very sorry to see these guys go.. We all became close friends during the week..We made it to Nashville about 1:30am and helped unload our trailer and load Clemency's gear into their trailer.
We said our goodbyes and then hit the sack for a few hours. Like clockwork, Nehemia awoke and we hit the road at 5am for Indy. We arrived in Indianapolis at about 11 AM and checked out the venue, which was called "The House." It was located in a shopping mall and it was a real neat place. Check out a pic of the interior here..
We greeted the man who operated the venue, Pastor Dixon.. He seemed a bit irritable and I could tell he had something going on that was causing him some grief. I gathered the guys outside the event and instructed everyone to take it real easy on him, be extra nice and helpful..In other words, do whatever we could to set him at ease.. As we were carrying in the gear, we had several more exchanges with Pastor Dixon.. and I got the sense he was not real happy with our presence in the venue. He was not our sponsor for this event, our sponsor had not yet arrived at the venue, which she had arranged the venue to hold the event at no charge..I walked up to Pastor Dixon and asked him how much it would cost to rent out his venue for an event like ours. He said, $300.. I said to him, I will have a check to you by the end of the event.. Then.. I felt compelled to give him a hug and as I did, I told him to not be discouraged...I could tell this man was very discouraged and under strain.. which was probably financial in nature. You should have seen his countenance change.. I told him not everyone is looking for a handout, and we wanted to sow into his ministry there at the house. It was a very cool moment and I'm glad I didnt talk myself out of what the Holy Spirit was telling me to do. Obedience is better than sacrifice is the lesson that is being repeated on this tour...From that point on, Pastor Dixon was a comrade in arms. Very cool!
Since this was a saturday event, we had a large lineup of artists.. First up was Shawna Marie. Shawna had a guitarist and a cool guy who played snare and percussion..She did a great job, and I later found out this was Shawna's first set ever. She handled it like a pro and did an excellent job. Here's a pic of Shawna..
Next up was a family group called "Higher Ground." Robbie and Denise had their 2 little girls with them to sing, talk about cute!! They were adorable and they all did a great job in spite of all of them being under the weather. Here's a pic of them
Next on was Kent Bottenfield. Kent is an excellent singer who has done a remarkable job on his music and ministry. Kent was an all-star pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals for 12 years and recently left baseball for music ministry. Check out a pic of Kent
Next up was the band "Booker's Bridge" which is a 6 piece band lead by Scott Booker. They did a great job.. they mixed music with Scott's humor.. Check out a pic here..
Next on was Luke Austin Daugherty.. Luke was great, I enjoy his thoughtful lyrics and music. Check out a pic here..
Finally, to end the event was Bread of Stone. They did a great job and everyone enjoyed their performance. Check out some pics here..
As we packed up, I went over to Pastor Dixon to give him the check for $300.00. I think he must have forgot, because he got all excited again! He called over 2 folks who were helping him clean up.. They all gathered to pray for me..which was very cool. We hugged, he cried.. I thought to myself, Lord, if this was why we came here, then that is good enough for me. Mission accomplished, hopefully a life was changed. We continued to pack up our gear and we were outside at the bus when I suggested we go back inside to pray for Pastor Dixon and his helpers.. So, we all went back in again, called them over and got in a big circle to pray.. Well, what a prayer.. one of the helpers there said the most remarkable, spirit filled prayer I've ever heard.. and the Holy Spirit fell on us.. It was very awesome..
So, even though in the flesh the day wasn't a huge success because of low turnout, it certainly was in the spirit.. which to us is more important. God is good!
Check out our next day here..Wednesday, June 12 2005 Travel to Canton, OH