McHenry County Blog

I’m reminded of my daughter Alexandra’s reaction to seeing her two older cousins, Lissa and Heather hanging upside down on the swing set during the 1984 Olympics.

“Just like in the Olympics!” the 2-year old exclaimed.

“Just like in a rock concert,” was my reaction to the Bebo Norman at the First United Methodist Church of Crystal Lake.

Now, understand, I have never been to a rock concert.

Frankly, I’d rather listen to the music than a crowd.

And, I can’t stand smoke, whether it’s tobacco or marijuana.

But the production—with emphasis on the lights—was quite impressive.

I couldn’t use my flash, so most of the pictures I got were of light beams.

Oh, you can see there is someone singing and playing a guitar and maybe some of the back-up men, but the good close-ups, even from 4th row right were mighty few.

I’ve been to a good number of Cheri Keaggy concerts at our church, so I thought I knew what to expect.

Church members man tables where CD’s, tee shirts and other stuff are sold.

But this concert had something I have not seen before.

There were two tables of volunteers for Compassion International.

Upstairs there were exhibits for three Christian radio stations, showing the flag, I guess.

Kai Elmer represented WMBI.

Danielle Derks was behind the table for WYLL.

K-LOVE had Denise Glover, Susan Bauer and Kevin Dudley.

All were handing out stuff.

And Downstairs next to the kitchen were William Dean and Jaimee Bartha representing Judson College.

It was a mini-Christian trade show.

The most impressive part of the concert wasn’t the music.

There were certainly moving songs by Aaron Shust. He's from the Pittsburgh area and now is worship leader at Perimeter Church in Atlanta, Georga.

He still must have a real soft spot for Pennsylvania because one of the tee shirts he is selling has an outline of the state.

And Brandon Heath.

He's a Young Life camp convert who now lives in Nashville. He has recently gone from writing songs for others to sing to performing them himself. (Advice for song writers: Leave places to breathe.)

The one about forgiveness by Heath I was particularly interested in and bought the CD.

It was headliner Bebo Norman’s pitch for those attending to sign up to sponsor a Compassion International child, however, that was the highlight of the concert for me.

It’s not that I don’t know about Compassion International. We sponsor 9-year old Clifford Fernando Sotelo Brandan from Peru.

But Norman’s testimony was compelling. (I guess since everyone refers to him as “Bebo,” I shall, too.)

Bebo told of going to Tanzania to see the child he sponsors. He is a child of the Massai tribe.

He was having “a great struggle in life questioning death…spiraling down.

“Those kinds of places can trip you up.”

He referred to himself as “a clumsy believer. There are some things that are hard to look at.”

Bebo talked to being “tripped up, confused, clumsy, on the verge of being angry at God, asking, ‘Where are you?’

“By the end of that trip, He had given me an answer.”

“This kid lives with the Massai people a 2-3 hour bus ride (from where Bebo started)…literally we were passing giraffes. He belongs to a Compassion church.

“This little boy had given his life to Christ.

“I went to his house. Every single member of his household had given their lives to Christ.

“He lives in a circular hut made of cow manure and sticks. The roof is made out of straw.

“(With a translator) I talked to this little boy’s father. I asked, ‘If you could wish for one thing from God, what would you wish for?'

“He sat with his head down for a long time.

“(Finally), he pointed to this tree in the distance,” Bebo continued and (here the quotes are not exact—it was dark and I didn’t have much paper) “told me it provides food. A stream in the other direction provided water and his son had a goat from Compassion International that provided mild for his younger siblings.”

The father’s answer to the question:

My family knows who Jesus is and we have nothing else to ask for."

Clearly, this affected Bebo (not to mention me) pretty deeply.

Bebo observed, “The gift that makes a man a believer in a house made of cow manure is Jesus Christ."

He talked movingly of Gary Haugenan, an acquaintance who runs an organization that tries to use politics and the legal system to fight injustice like selling young girls into prostitution. The United Nations charged him with counting bodies in Rwanda after the massacre.

Bebo concluded that he didn’t think he had “the heart or stomach” for that.

“I’ve stopped asking, ‘Where is God?’

“Now I ask, ‘Where are God’s people?’

He related two of Jesus’ commandments:

"One, love God."

"Two, love your neighbor."

“It isn’t the job of the governments of this world to fee and clothe the poor. It is the job of the body of Christ. It is our job.”

Bebo also told of visiting another boy he sponsored in Brazil. His name is Wallef. Visiting his home, Wallef ran to a box in the corner of the small house and pulled letters from under a box.

Sponsor! sponsor!

the boy yelled.

“There is more in my heart than I know how to communicate,” Bebo said before he asked those listening to hold their hands up if they wanted to think about sponsoring a child.

He cautioned that the packets handed out were the only ones for that child, so if one decided not to sponsor the child, the packet should be returned to the volunteers.

As the artists were signing tee shirts, programs and CD’s, I asked one of the volunteers how many people had signed up.

‘’44 through the intermission,” he said. “We’ll hit 50.”

At $32 per month, I figure the audience pledged over $18,000 for the first year.

And, everyone who made a pledge got a free 2006 Bebo CD. Its cover says,

BETWEEN THE DREAMING

AND THE COMING TRUE

It features his songs, “I Will Lift My Eyes” and “Into the Day.”

Bebo said that he didn’t want people having to choose between buying his CD and sponsoring a Compassion International child.

After the concert the artists hawked their goods and signed autographs.

I can’t say I’m familiar with the songs or Bebo, but my wife’s not being able to attend the concert because her small group met Thursday night brought another almost 9-year old into our life. His name is Jeff Leonard and he lives in Haiti.

= = = = =

Lights probing the darkness, Aaron Shust starts the concert entertainment on top. Below is Brandon Heath playing in the spotlight.

Three Christian radio stations--WYLL, WMBI and K LOVE--had promotional tables, as explained above, as did Elgin's Judson College.

The first close-up of a performer is Aaron Shust again. Below him is Brandon Heath.

The map is of Zambia, from soon-to-be Methodist missionary Tshala Mwengo, who will soon return to his agricultural extension station in northwestern part of the country.

Bebo Norman is in the next four photos. In the first, he is explaining his trip to Zambia to meet one of his Compassion International children. He raises one finger when he says, "One, love God." His second finger goes up when he adds, "Two, love your neighbor." In the fourth picture, Bebo holds up the packet of an African girl seeking a Compassion International sponsor.

The man in front of the Compassionate International poster is in line to sign up for a sponsorship.

Pastor Heath's daughter Tamara poses with Bebo after he signs one of his tee shirts. The signed tee shirt is to the left. She is also seen at the WYLL booth.

Labels: Aaron Shust, Bebo, Bebo Norman, Branon Heath, Clifford Fernando Sotelo Brandan, Compassion International, Gary Haugenan, Haiti, Jeff Leonard, Peru, Tamara Heath