Experiencing a Christian Concert vs. a "Christian" Concert Part 1

A couple of months ago, my dad got tickets from a friend to go to Christian concert. He asked if any of us sisters would like to go with. I had never been to a Christian concert before and since I LOVE listening to my Wow Hits CDs, I said "ME ME ME!" Here is my horrific, but definitely a learning, experience.

I was so excited to go to this concert. I had never really heard of this group before. Didn't really know any of their songs. And that right there should have been a sign. Like I said, I listen to a lot of Christian music and Christian radio stations online. Once in a while, I go to other churches that sing praise and worship songs, so I know a lot of different artists. But this one, I didn't know anything about. But I thought, Dad is taking us so they must be good.

HA!

On the way there, I was in a horrible mood. I was so grumpy. I figured I will feel better once I get there.

We found our seats. The band came out. A lot of flashing, blinding, hypnotic lights. The music began. I waited patiently for the band to start singing...but they just kept playing. What felt like half an hour later, they started singing. And they sang the same words, over and over and over and over and over again. then there was an instrumental part. I am not talking a small 2 minute instrumental part, I am talking like 10 minutes. Then they sang again. Same words again again again. I didn't know the song but by the end, I was pro.

As I said, I frequent other churches and I can usually, more often then not, get really into those praise and worship songs. I can feel the presence of God in my heart. I can usually be brought to tears. But it wasn't happening. I started to get mad at myself. What is wrong with me? Am I in such a bitter mood that I cannot even open my heart to God today? I prayed silently. God, open my heart. Help me to praise you! Still something wasn't right.

People were swaying and arms were raised. Do not be worried. I have zero problem with this. I LOVE seeing people praise God with their whole heart. I love seeing people raise their hands when they sing to Him. I find it beautiful. But this was different. It was trance-like.

We sang a couple more songs. And I still felt no different. Then the speaker came out. He was a funny guy. I smiled at his jokes. He began to speak about their ministry. He talked about how the Holy Spirit worked in their congregations. Nice, nice.

Then he said, "While you guys were singing, I was praying to God to show me a sign. To tell me about this group. And what I saw before me was a picture of a spider on the back wall. And that picture was telling me that there is poison in the lives of these people. Raise your hand if you have poison in your life right now." Some people raised their hands. "Alright everyone, we will get that poison out of your life today! But first I want to deal with something else. Raise your hand if you struggle with migraines or headaches. Raise your hand if you have headache right now!" A couple people raised their hands.

"We are going to heal you! If someone around you has their hand up right now, put your hand on them. While we pray, I want you to touch their head like your pulling a spider web out of their hair and I want you to pray that God takes that headache away." HUH?! The people did as they were told. "Now raise your hand if your headache is gone." All those people raised their hands. Everyone cheers.  This is the moment where my right eyebrow went up. If you know me, you know this face. And I mean wayyyyy up.

This just wasn't feeling right. I have never really seen a prayer work quite that fast. But wait, it gets worse.

"Now, does anyone here struggle with a crooked spine, or scoliosis, or maybe one leg shorter than the other? If your one leg is shorter than the other, please come up here. We are going to heal you today and we are going to watch your leg grow out on stage!" About 5 people walk to the front. I look at my dad and my sisters with pure look of confusion. Are we really buying this? I'm the kind of person that gives things a chance. So I told myself to just wait and not to judge.

The speaker told the people in the front rows to come forward so they could see the legs grow, up close. These people put their hands on the short legs and prayed, "Jesus Christ, I command you to heal this leg right now. Right here before our eyes." Yes, command.

We heard a couple cheers and clapping. The speaker began to talk about what he was seeing. People's legs were "actually" growing out. "I wish we had a camera so I could show all of you what is happening right now!" He said. Meanwhile there were probably 5 video cameras on him as he said this. He invites a young guy up on stage to share what he saw, "WOW! That was crazy, man!"

"What did you see?" asks the speaker.

"I just saw that girls leg grow!"

"How much do you think it grew?"

"Like 2 whole inches!" said the young guy.

"WOW!"

Cheer cheer cheer.

At this point, I started to have a mini anxiety attack. I have anxiety on a regular day. But this was full blown anxiety coming on. I could feel my heart rate rising. I had a permanent frown in my brow. This cannot be right. 

As the night went on, we sang some more. Well it wasn't really singing. I couldn't sing. It was more like a moaning, droning on. I don't know how to sing like that. The speaker talked some more about the instant conversions that they had done. He told testimonies of people in the ministry who walked up to people with guns and instantly brought them to Christ. He talked about people doing crazy miracles in the the name of Jesus.

I was so confused. I wondered why my dad's friend gave him these tickets. I wondered if something was wrong with ME. I wondered if maybe I was wrong, and that this was actually okay and possible. But I felt so sick to my stomach. I was shaking like a leaf.

When we got to the car, I was still grumpy, if not grumpier, than when we left. My brain hurt. On the drive home, none of us really talked. When we got home, I didn't talk to anyone. I got my things ready for school the next day and went to bed. Later my mom would tell me that she knew something wasn't right with me. I was not myself.

While lying in bed, I tossed and I turned. What was that? Was it me? In the middle of the night, I woke up. Unable to fall back asleep, I checked my phone. I had a facebook message from one of the sisters that came with to this concert. When we were at the concert, she had checked us in on facebook. One of her facebook friends had seen what concert we were at and had felt the need to message Shayna and let her know what he knew of this band. Shayna had forwarded me this message. The relief I felt when I got that message is indescribable. He said he was not judging us for going because maybe we didn't know, but this band was something dangerous. He sent Shayna a link to a blog that spoke about them. His exact words were that they had "some sketchy stuff going on."

In the morning, I checked that blog. Sure enough, this band was practically a cult. They had testimonies of raising people from the dead. They believed in trance-like, hypnotic worship. After checking the band's website, I saw that they were really all about "me, me, me." If you were to read their "About Us", its all about how "we do this" and "we did that." They believe in connecting with "the spiritual fathers and mothers." They are all about the supernatural: healing (and I mean like commanding God to heal), speaking in tongues and resurrecting the dead.

I googled them some more. I looked deep into it. I got passed all the blogs that were in favour of it all, and found the ones that talked about other opinions. One man talked about when his wife got sucked into this cult. He said she went from being a loving, caring, wonderful wife and mother, and turned into a self-centered, antagonistic, miserable woman.

When I got home from work, I talked to my dad. I told him I wasn't too sure about this thing we had gone too. It seemed really wrong. Dad had felt the same thing and had checked it all out before he went to bed. So it turned out, I wasn't crazy. And my heart was not locked up that evening. I guess this was God telling me that this was not right.

It was a learning experience, that is for sure! Don't get me wrong, I am not condemning these people. I am not judging them. I pray for them, that they see the truth.

The moral of this story is, if you know nothing about the band, do your research BEFORE you leave for the concert! ;)

This is just part 1: the "Christian" concert experience. Stay tuned for part 2 where I experienced a Christian concert--the one with the happy ending.


-Jenna


P.S. If you are wondering why I did not post the name of the band, it is because I do not want to judge people. I know some people who really like their music and I do not want them to feel that I am condemning them personally. If you are really curious, feel free to message/email me and I will tell you the name.

Bananas

In case you didn't know. I love my job. And I know I am blessed because there are not many people in this world that can say that. But there is always a downside...

What's the worst part about teaching?

Bananas.

I despise bananas.

I don't know when this began. I remember eating them in my Rice Krispies as a kid. But even my students know, do not ask Miss Hordyk to open that banana unless you give her two paper towels along with it so she doesn't actually have to touch it.

And don't you dare eat it near her.

There is something about kids and bananas that has ruined the whole idea. For one, no matter how good your kid is at closing their mouth while eating, as soon as they get a banana, they forget that some people don't want to see the food slopping around. Or worse yet, hear it! Oooo that smucking sound could make me gag.

Second of all, they will eat a banana no matter what colour it is. I have watched kids eat yellow bananas--okay, I can deal with it, as long as your no where near me. And brown bananas--ick, save those for the banana bread please! And green bananas. Green, unripe bananas, don't peel nicely into one piece for easy disposal. The peel comes off bit by little bit. Which end up on the floor. Which then turn brown by the time anyone notices, but also fails to throw out. And their hands get all slimy trying to get that ridiculous peel off. ICK. I will eat banana bread and anything that is artificial banana flavour. For instance, I remember being jealous when my sisters got a prescription from the doctor for banana medicine. But real bananas. Ew.

Third of all, I hate that my students know that I hate bananas. I have come in my classroom after yard duty to find a banana on my desk. I have had a banana shoved up my nose, literally. Paintings in art class are often of bananas.

The kids like to tease me. But I suppose its okay. It brings some comical relief after a hard math lesson.

But the best part is, they laugh at my ridiculous fear. And when they laugh, I laugh.

Florida

You may or may not know that at this moment I am in Tampa, Florida with my mom, dad and little sister Olivia. I figured that since I am relaxing and not doing much other than sitting in the sun and reading a book, I should write a blog post. (Also, because a friend of mine told me that “a wee little bird” hadn’t told her anything in a while.) So I will tell you about my trip so far. This might just be a pretty boring post but its something for now. I got a better one cookin up in my brain as we speak--hopefully by the end of the week, I will have it posted.

We drove here. I told myself last year that I would never drive this ever again, but when it came down to a sun or no sun situation, I chose the sun. We left Friday morning before 5am, drove all day. I popped some Gravol in my mouth and slept most of the way like I usually do on long drives. Why, you ask? Because I am not a nice person when I am confined a small space with people. I get grumpy and sarcastic and I am just plain rude. So a sleeping Jenna is a better Jenna. But when I was awake, I was kind :) But I was also tired, groggy and, what my best friend would call, “overspunna.” At one point I started crying hysterically. It started when I was eating a Crunchie chocolate bar. About an hour later, I found a piece of that toffee that you find inside that chocolate bar, melted on my chest. That’s when the first giggle started. I picked it off with my fingernail, unsure where to put it. So I flicked it. It flew across the car and landed somewhere near my dad. I watched him look up, down, and sideways. He didn’t say anything. He just had this really confused look on his face. And that’s when I started laughing uncontrollably. And I could not stop. Mom and Livvy looked at me like I was crazy and asked me what I was laughing about. I couldn’t stop long enough to tell them what had just happened. Eventually huge tears welled up and started flowing out of my eyes like a fountain. Every time I caught my breath and tried to tell them what had just happened, I started laughing and crying all over again. I gave up, buried my face in my pillow and convulsed in silent laughter. Sooner or later, the giggles were far enough apart I could tell them happened, but they didn’t think it was as funny as I did. And you probably don't think its all that funny either. Like I said, overspunna.

That night we stopped in North Carolina at a cheap hotel. The receptionist told us to go to “Brintle’s” down the driveway for dinner because they had “good food.” Boy oh boy. What a lie. The place looked a little sketch as it was. Olivia and I ordered a pop. Flat as anything. The waitress asked, “Will you be ordering from the menu or going to the buffet?” We said we would try the buffet. If we were smart, we would have walked over the buffet counter and saw that it all looked disgusting. But after driving for 12 hours, I guess we weren’t so smart. “Yes, we will take the buffet.” We get out plates and head over. Corn? What corn? All I see is cloudy water! Oh, but if you dig, if you dig nice and deep in that heated pan, you will find corn at the very bottom. OK, I will take a small spoonful. French fries? OK I will give it a try. And a biscuit. It looked normal enough. It all tasted real gross. The French fries were alright other than the fact that they were soggy from the corn water. We all had about 2 bites off our plate. Mom and I ate our biscuits. And that was enough. We munched on snacks at the hotel instead.
We left before 5am the next morning and drove the 11 hours to Tampa. Nothing eventful happened on that trip. Liv and I watched Greys Anatomy and fell asleep halfway through every episode.

When we got to Sheraton Tampa East Hotel, we were greeted at the door by quite the friendly fellow. His name is Verone, I think. He asked where were from in his little accent. He offered to drive us anywhere we want to go in his little shuttle van. That way our parents can get “drunk at the restaurant” and not have not to worry driving. Um hello?! I am 21 sir. I know look like I'm 10 because I have no makeup on and my hair is a mess, but come on, you shouldn’t assume. ;) Now this guy bugs us anytime he sees us, asking where we’re headed and when he gets to drive us somewhere. Mom and I have made a sport of avoiding him at all costs.
This is a very nice hotel. A very large hotel. I don’t venture off too far anywhere because everything looks the same and I would get lost for sure. I know my way to the pool and to the room with the free snacks and that’s about it. We are on the 5th floor. Apparently this is the special floor. “Sheraton Preferred Guests” is what they call us. Why thank you dad's aeroplan points! Like I said, we have a room with free snacks. But you need your room key to enter.


You also need your room key to get the 5th floor. First evening here, mom and I forgot that rule. We were taking our time coming from the parking lot after dinner. Dad and Livvy booked it to the room. Mom and I get in the elevator, “CRAP!” we both say simultaneously. Bright idea—let’s just go to the 4th floor and take the stairs. We get to the 4th floor, and like I said, everything looks the same here. After wandering aimlessly for a while, we never found those stairs. We gave up and mom called dad.

Olivia and I are sharing this room (that sentence doesn’t sound right but spell check says it is, so don’t blame me for improper English). We have nice king bed to share. We can’t even see each other over the space and plenty pillows from our opposite sides of the bed. But for some reason I still feel Olivia’s feet every night. The girl sleeps on a slant. Who does that? Her head is in her corner of the bed but her feet are near me. Also, I think the A/C is broken in this room. We came in the room and it was set at 72 degrees. Since then, I have it cranked up to 80. It is still freezing in here. I am wearing jeans, a sweater. and slippers as I'm typing this.

So far, I have a sunburn. Woohoo! Sitting by the pool, palm trees overhead, listening to my ipod. It’s just lovely really. When we woke up this morning, it was raining. Boo! We went shopping instead and hopefully tomorrow will be a day full of sun. I heard the weather in Canada was nice. :) I am happy about that. I am glad that I am not hogging all the good weather to myself. In case you didn't know, sunshine is good for you.


That is all for now my friends! Hopefully I can keep my word and get that better post up by the end of the week.


-Jenna