We were sitting around on campsite on Saturday morning and, while looking at the schedule, there was a band that was playing on the Coffeehouse Stage (read: Stage 3) at 11:30. They described themselves as something like “alt-rock anthems with violins”.  Well, that sounded at least interesting.  I said I was going to go. Gina, Leah, and our sister-in-law said they would come along, and a couple more people said they would come in a little while.

We got their early, so we sat and watched them to their sound checks, etc.  We heard them sing and play the violin and our eyes got wide.  Gina and I looked at each other and one of us said, “Um, these guys are going to be good.”  We looked over at our sister-in-law (who also had wide eyes ) and we said, “Call the other two and tell them to get over here!”

And then they started — and Reilly didn’t disappoint.  In fact, they exceeded our expectations even from the warm-up.  Not only were their songs full of great lyrics, they are fantastic musicians and had a wonderful stage presence.  This is not what you expect first thing on Saturday morning on the third stage!    For a taste of what we saw,  see this video on their blog.

At the end of the show, they reminded us they were playing on Sunday at 6pm and said that they were going to add a couple songs and that they hoped they would be there.  Our group all agreed that we wouldn’t miss it.  And that this was probably the best show we had ever seen in our years of coming to LifeLight.

One thing that’s cool about a music festival is that you can bump into some of the musicians.  I talked to Matthew at the booth when we were buying a CD (which we never do at LifeLight but we wanted to show our support).  I also ran into John randomly by the restrooms and saw Noele at another band’s performance later that night.  I made a point to tell all three the same thing — they were fantastic and, yes, I was going to seen them again.

Sometime during the festival, my brother-in-law and I were talking about a band we were listening to on the main stage and we were both liking them.  I asked him, “Do you think it’s better than Reilly?”  He said, “You can’t be better than the best.”  And that pretty much sums it up.

For the Sunday night performance, I went early to squat on some seats, figuring that word got out.  And it was a good decision.  The first show had around 500 to maybe 1000 people there.  Gina and I estimated there were around 3,000 people at this show and at least 20 people deep along the edge of the tent.  I could tell the band was a bit nervous when they started, but the crowd was ready to explode.  Heck, we even clapped during their warm-ups!  But when they started play, they fed off the energy of the crowd and had a better show than the first one!  Sure it was mostly the same songs, but they put more heart and soul into the music.  One of the songs they added was the most worshipful yet rocking version of “Nothing But The Blood Of Jesus” I’ve ever heard — or sang.  So now that was the best show we had ever seen at LifeLight!

Apparently they filled in  for another band on the Coffeehouse Stage between their first and last performance.  Not catching that scheduled performance is one regret I have of the whole festival.

So, yes, see Reilly and by their music. If they are scheduled to be close to you, go!  You won’t be disappointed.

we get to make things up as we go along, and take chances on people that nobody else would take chances on, and hold our breath together. And we get to do all that with the almost giddy confidence that all the love in the world is on our side.

You may not always agree with him, but he genuinely loves the people he has promised to serve.

Here is the track listing as I sent it:

Title: Two Movements on Love

Eros is Tempoary 
1. You Don’t Know My Name – Alicia Keys
2. Crush – Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds
3. Then I Kissed Her – The Beach Boys
4. Moondance – Van Morrison
5. Cold Song – Jewel
6. The One I Love – David Gray
7. Leaving On A Jet Plane – Chantal Kreviazuk
8. Somebody’s Crying – Chris Isaak

Agape is Forever
9. He – Jars Of Clay
10. This Is A Call – Thousand Foot Krutch
11. Lost The Plot – Newsboys
12. A New Law – Derek Webb
13. Of Minor Prophets & Their Prostitute Wives – Pedro The Lion
14. Christmas Song – Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds
15. Untitled Hymn – Chris Rice
16. Jesus Loves Me – Go Fish
17. I’ll Fly Away – Alison Kraus & Gillian Welch
18. 40 – U2

Tracks 1-8 were about a romantic relationship — from the first meeting to a sad breakup.  Track 9-18 was modeled after the Reformed Order of Worship — celebration of God, confession of sin, assurance of pardon, and the joy of life in Christ.  Interestingly enough, both movements ended in songs of lament — one about someone missing their loved one and the other asking how much longer will our sin entangle us.  It was an accident in my design, but it left it — it seemed to make great sense to close both of them like that.

Rick explained that many people come to church only twice a year — on the holidays — and they don’t sense they have any real problems so they don’t come back. If the service was about real problems, maybe they could identify better. Later Rick stated that blogs have become a good source of grit — where people let their problems and their struggles out for everyone to see.

I couldn’t agree more. Lately I’ve been reading some blogs that have had their share of grit, and to them, I salute you.

• Linda, who is glad God is more patient than she is.
• Jayne, who’s husband is still struggling with brain cancer.
• Dave, who lost his job and sees that as approaching a new horizon.

One thing that I thought of that I didn’t mention is that it isn’t just work.  It’s church, it’s school events, it’s sports practice, it’s music lessons, etc.  None of those are bad by themselves, but we can’t do all of them.  In fact, we have to work harder to get more money to afford to do more things, yet we have less time to do them.

How does that madness end?

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The facts are really simple: we simply can neither commit nor comply to the Law.  That’s because we simply can’t follow the Law — we are full of sin.  But some people ask, “Couldn’t God just make us follow the Law?” or “Couldn’t God just forgive us anyway?”

The answer is yes He could but no He won’t.  The answer is the same for both questions: God wants people to be committed to Him, not just compliant.

Christ showed us what being committed to God is like — even to death on the cross.  And the Christ sacrificed himself in exchange for our sins since we can’t commit to the Law, we could be commit to God’s forgiveness.  That’s really it — commit to God’s forgiveness and the rest is done for you.

With grace, commitment is the only option God has given us.  We can’t simply comply with it, because God has done it all. This goes back to one of the profound statements that I have ever heard.  It has stuck with me for over ten years and will probably be with me until I die.  “Grace brings forth response.” Meaning that once you are confronted with the reality of God’s grace, you must respond in one way or another.  There is no middle-of-the-road, shrug your shoulders kind of response to the grace and forgiveness of God.

So, then, how are we showing our commitment to God?

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What the article doesn’t mention is that [Reformed theology is growing in Christians in that age group.](http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/september/42.32.html) The question I have is why is the CRC denomination struggling with getting members in that age group while denominations like the Presbyterian Church in America is growing?

I think the truth can be found in what the former members said in the article. Instead of focusing on reaching out, the CRC seems to be pre-occupied with itself instead of thinking outside of it’s boundaries. It is asking?”Why are we struggling with this?” instead of “How can we reach out?” A similar question, but not quite the same thing.

But what do I know? [My church](http://www.omahacrc.org) is seeing a lot of young adults being attracted to our church. Not because we have a lot of programs for them, but because they are accepted and we find a place for them. If they have musical talents, they sing or play on a Sunday. If they want to work with our youth group, then we let them. I’m not saying that we are perfect at it, but suddenly, without trying, the church has a lot of people in their late 20’s and in their 30’s (and I’m one of them!)

What are we doing that other CRC churches aren’t?

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For those who haven’t read it, Chesterton thought he was developing a whole new belief system and, when he was done, he discovered it was orthodox Christianity (not necessarily Catholicism, which the reviewer states over and over again.  Though Chesterton did eventually become Catholic).

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if we preach a gospel that is entirely focused on “getting right with God” but which does not include in that presentation that God’s intent is to form a community (the Church) in which restored persons live out this Christ-shaped and Spirit-directed spirituality, then we can expect to hear lots of pulpit rhetoric exhorting us that the Church matters.

He calls us to preach, teach, and live out a gospel that truly reflects who God is.

As someone from the Reformed tradition, this should be a simple truth — because we believe God is Lord over all creation and that everything we do should be a reflection of our faith. Yet even the Reformed churches struggle with the fact that God wants us to be a community.

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