phil wing

My wonderful wife, Amber Lee Wing, has officially joined the blogging world. Woo Hoo. I’m sure that once she gets the hang of it, it’s gonna be quite a fun read. Go say hi and welcome her to the family.

Amber’s Xanga

these are my 10 favorite CD’s…today…at this moment…right now:

10. Jason Morant - Abandon
9. Switchfoot - Legend of Chin
8. Apex Ideas #6
7. Mae - Everglow
6. Mat Kearney - Bullet
5. Robbie Seay Band - Better Days
4. Jimmy Eat World - Bleed American
3. Matt Thornburg - Miss Malicious (digital project)
2. Coldplay - X&Y
1. David Crowder Band - A Collision

I either can’t stop listening or can’t stop wanting to listen to the music listed above. What about you? What are you diggin’ right now?

To hear a couple songs from the new David Crowder Band album:
go here - different songs each day
and here - Here is Our King, A Collision, and Do Not Move

I’ll be honest, I wasn’t too excited about this new album until this week. The last couple times I saw DCB, it just seemed like they weren’t there. They were up there, playing praise songs, but not really leading them. Ya know? It was almost like they were just a concert band…which would be fine with me, I love concerts, I guess I’ve just come to expect something different from them since they write all praise songs. I pretty much stopped listening to their CD’s for a while just because I had a sour taste in my mouth. I wanted those times to be huge, intense, exciting, humbling, etc. Instead, I left saying “that was a decent show”.

As I thought about it more, I realized that they’d been touring for well over a year. They’d also been playing those same songs for about 2 years. They were probably sick of playing some of those songs…I get that way sometimes. They probably missed their families. Can you imagine being on the road, away from family/friends, for over a year. They’d lived on a bus and in a hotel room for the majority of the past 14-15 months. They’d probably been a part of TONS of church services, but probably hadn’t experienced the real community of the church in quite some time.

To be honest, I realized that I’d been judging them. I think I do this a lot. I make quick judgements on those in the public eye, especially bands. Don’t get me wrong, I think that Christians in the public eye have to take their influence seriously. It’s a huge opportunity/responsibility. But why would I expect more out of them then I would myself? I get down. I get sick of songs. I miss my family badly…even when I’ve only been away for 2 days, and it definitely factors into my mood. Frankly, I get sick of being around so many people sometimes. I don’t always want to step up on stage. I do because I believe that it is what God has given me to do, and I believe that obedience is more important than my personal well-being. I’m not going to get on stage and fake that I’m all happy, happy, joy, joy. That would be lying. I am going to do what I feel needs to be done though. In all of that, I would hope that those in Apex (or any crowd for that matter) would extend a little grace to me. I would hope that they’d see me as a human, struggling through things just like them but still trying to do what God has made me for.

I’m not trying to make a case for the Crowder band here or even myself for that matter. More a case about the realization of my (our) ignorant expectations. I don’t mean ignorant in a derogatory manner - I mean it’s just something we don’t usually take the time to think through. Somehow, when someone takes the stage, we immediately expect more… demand more. At least I know I have. As I said before, I do believe that there are a certain amount of responsibilities that come with being a public figure. But I have to be careful not to let my idea of what they should be doing overshadow the truth that they are individuals, just like me, who are still learning what it means to “wear the rescue of Christ”.
Maybe we’d enjoy our bands a lot more if we saw them the same way as we see our accountant, or the Wal-mart clerk, or construction worker. As people, doing the job that God has placed in front of them, and trying to do it the best they can.

Sorry if this seemed like a sermon. It if was, I was preaching it to myself more than anything.

As of late, I’ve been very blessed by the book “Praise Habit” which was written by Crowder. I’ve also been very blessed by the new songs I’ve heard from this new album…for there is no doubt where their inspiration comes from. I’ve always been blessed by their writing. I know it’s not everyone’s thing, but it’s ministered to me on many occasions, including today.

“In our encounter with Christ we, too, have been laid down, devastated by His grace. We have been covered by this same grace. We have been taken from death to life by this grace. Our identity is changed. What was before this new beginning has vanished. We have been given new clothes. We have put on Christ. We are found dressed in His rescue, redemption, and righteousness and, aware of this rescue, we spew forth praise. We wear this very rescue into our relationships, into our interactions with pals and family and work and play. It is present in our embodiments or neglections of justice, in our contention or ignore-ance of the poor, of the widows, of the sick, of those in need. To wear the rescue of Christ into every moment is for every moment to become alive with the possibility of revelation. With the awareness of rescue, things unsuspected will begin to revelate redemption.”
David Crowder - Praise Habit: Finding God in Sunsets and Sushi

…was so good! Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a band perform that well before. Amber and I were blown away at the quality of the show. Here’s a few pics of the evening:

There was a 5 mile long line of traffic going to the show…bumper to bumper, no moving, type of traffic. That 5 mile line took us over 3 hrs. We left our house at 5:30 and didn’t walk in the amphitheatre till 9:40. We missed the opening act but got there just in time for Coldplay.
We sat about 1/2 way back so the pictures aren’t the best…but they’ll give you a good idea of what we got to see.

chris martin in red / bass player on big screen

guitarist in the lights / Chris and Drummer - The lighting for the show was ridiculously good.

the bright spot in the middle is Chris Martin singing in the midst of the crowd

right in the middle, they did this thing where they had everyone in the crowd take a picture at the same time. they turned the cameras on the crowd so all the flashes were up on the big screen. it was sweet.

talk about a great date with my great wife…

to see bigger pictures, click here