The Long Run

This is gonna be weird but stay with me… I love music, all kinds of music. So when I saw something yesterday about the highest grossing concert tours of 2008 it caught my attention.

Here is why…#13 Michael Buble. Basically he is a reincarnated Frank Sinatra. BTW Sinatra would be 94 years old today. #12 Trans-Siberian Orchestra, they are a cross between Beethoven and Boston. #9 was the Eagles they have been around about thirty years. # 7 was none other than Neil Diamond, he turned 68 this year. The #1 tour of 2008 was a band that has been touring for 25 years…none other than Bon Jovi!

Neil Diamond grossed over 80 million dollars. He sold out 61 shows with an average ticket price of $97.00 each! Bon Jovi grossed over 200 million!

Why did I tell you this? One little reason. The world does not need or want something new or different. They don’t need or really want cutting edge or what’s never been done before. They want true, tried, tested and pure! They want the best! They want it over and over. They want it no matter the cost. They want the real thing!

What if we as believers and the church stopped trying to be something new and different and cutting edge and started focusing on being true and tested and pure. What if in our everyday life we always tasted like 2000 year old living water. 2000 year old bread of heaven. 2000 year old Spirit-filled men and women who were always the same! What if no matter when, where or who found us, we were always simply Loving Jesus, Serving Others, Reaching the World.

What if we stopped trying to be hip and relevant and contemporary and started being genuine and real. Not dressed up or dressed down, just dressed in humility. What if we put on Jesus instead of a show? What if we just made sure we were no more in public than we are in private. What if we hid so much in the prayer closet that we had nothing to hide on stage?

In the long run only Jesus will be able to give that peaceful easy feeling to a world that has a heartache, tonight!

Oh by the way…the number one selling album of all time? A collection of songs recorded between 1971 and 1975 by some guys who call themselves…The Eagles. 29 million copies sold.