Sharing the Stage

On Saturday night we went to a Chris Tomlin concert at Sleep Train Arena (where the Sacramento Kings basketball team plays) called "Worship Night in America." It was one of only 3 shows that Tomlin did, the other two being at Madison Square Garden in New York and Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado.

It was the most unusual concert I have ever been to. Rend Collective was the opening band (who are worth the price of admission!). But after they played 3 songs there was this long pause, like they were completely disassembling and reassembling the stage and failed to think of how to fill this empty space for those of us in the audience who are now amped up from singing about setting the church on fire. Not to mention the fact that there are like 6 bands and 2 pastors listed on the concert flyer so we are imagining this thing going all night.

Then the craziest thing happened. Chris Tomlin took the stage. And so did Kari Jobe, Israel Houghton, Matt Redman, Kim Walker-Smith, and Phil Wickham.

Now I know that not everyone is a Christian music geek like me so this may not mean anything to you. But imagine that you went to a concert to see a band you really liked. And when that band took the stage, 5 of your other favorite bands went up on stage at the same time.

Like you go to see Taylor Swift and Bruno Mars, Ariana Grande, Justin Beiber, and Katy Perry all decide to join her on stage. Or you go to see Luke Bryan and what do you know, he's singing a trio with Jason Aldean and Eric Church. And it isn't long before you forget who the headliner is, because there is no headliner. They are all just up there doing their thing.

The world tells us that the goal is first place. That we should fight our way to the top and not care who we have to trample to get there. Center stage is the ultimate prize.

But Chris Tomlin said "these are my friends and they are just as deserving of the spotlight. In fact, they are more deserving." And not only did he invite his favorite musicians along, but also two of the most well-known pastors in the world, Max Lucado and Louie Giglio. Seriously, who does that? Doesn't he realize that any one or all of these people could outshine him?

It reminded me of so many scenes in the Bible. When Jesus went to John to be baptized, and John said it should have been the other way around. When Jesus washed the disciples' feet, and Peter said it should have been the other way around. When a woman anoints Jesus' feet with oil, his disciples say she should have sold the oil for money to give to the poor, and Jesus says "you'll always have the poor; you won't always have me." When Mary sits at Jesus' feet while Martha does all the work and Jesus said that Mary was the one who was doing the right thing.

The entire life and ministry of Jesus was "the other way around" from what the religious people of his time believed it should be.

And Chris Tomlin made evident to me, in his simple act of sharing the stage with so many other talented musicians and speakers, that Jesus' way is still the way. That in order to be first we must be last. That we are here not to be served, but to serve. That the way to be in the spotlight is not to kick everyone else out of the way, but to invite them all to share the stage. Because it's not about us. It's about the One who created us.