Written by Paul Scanlon, member of HeartSong Orange
There is something special about every day being different. To wake up each morning with a new view, a new climate, a new venue to fill, a new set of people to get to know and love, that is what has given this season of life on the Transformed Tour its distinctive excitement. Every new place we go, though, we get to proclaim and live out the same, constant Gospel. My favorite aspect of the tour has been hearing stories of God’s faithfulness in lives across the country and from every stage of life. The same God sustains both the church fixture who has served steadfastly for 40 years and the high school senior who must trust in the only One who will go with them to college. At each event, Dr. White reminds us that “God is faithful; we can trust Him,” and His faithfulness was especially precious to me at the event in San Diego.
That morning, our team woke up to the California sun and palm trees, an unfamiliar site to this midwestern soul. As we fell into the routine of setting up for the event, though, my heart fell into a rut of self-dependence. On this Transformed Tour team, we have worked hard to ensure that all details point to the Gospel, but that day I could not look past the details except how they would proclaim my diligent work. I had let blinders settle over my eyes so that my love was turned inward in selfishness instead of outward in service. Somehow amid rigorous ministry, I had forgotten God’s faithfulness for a moment.
As the time for opening the doors to the event drew nearer and I began to anticipate the conversations I would have that evening, God pricked the prideful callousness of my heart. I offered up a quick silent prayer: “Lord, this night is yours. Help me.” And God heard my plea. As attendees began to trickle in and I entered the normal cadence of conversational questions, I was struck by the distances many of them had traveled to attend. It was a smaller event than normal, but God was reawakening my heart, building excitement for how He would reveal Himself in San Diego.
When 7 p.m. hit, I took my place at the keyboard on stage with the other HeartSong members. Before me stood a makeshift congregation, but the first person I needed to sing to was myself. As we sang Death Was Arrested, I was particularly shaken by a line at the end of the chorus which declares, “You have made me new, now life begins with you.” The sacrifice of Christ had already cleansed me from my old life of pride, and I have been given the Spirit to create a new life by His power. I was reminded that I am free indeed and that Christ is sufficient to scrape away my hardness of heart.
After the event, I connected with several students who were looking forward to attending Cedarville. With a soul refueled by the Gospel, I could share about God’s steadfast provision through transitions and the blessings He lavishes through Christian community, two patterns of His character that He has shown to me over and over again. That night in San Diego was no exception to His faithfulness. My prayer for this team is that we all would be captivated by God’s grace so that we may proclaim it clearly and boldly. What an honor it is to proclaim the unchanging God in our ever-changing circumstances!
Check out a message highlight from Dr. Thomas White in San Diego!
Tags: HeartSong, San Diego, Transformed Tour
Posted in: General