phone.
As Mark went around the circle, he gave everyone something that he knew they liked. Lexi got a king sized candy bar, Mary Lynn got a new sweater, and each in turn responded with a prayer request that involved something they were dealing with in their lives. The last one in the circle was Brad Williams. “This should be interesting.” Brad said out loud.
“Brad,” Mark addressed him, pulling out a card and handing it to Brad. “I know you are going to be without your brother for a while, so this is my phone number. I want to be your brother until Brian can resume that duty.”
Brad took the card and looked down at the floor. He tried his best to hold back tears, but he was truly touched by the sentiment.
“How can I pray for you?” Mark asked.
Still trying to hide his emotions, Brad said, “You can pray for Brian. Pray he has his come-to-Jesus moment.”
Mark typed into his phone. Then he asked everyone to stand up and hold hands. “I’m going to hold you accountable now,” he stated, “and I need you to hold me accountable too. We are a team, but I’d like us to be a family.” As everyone stood and took each other’s hands, Mark began praying. He prayed passionately for the requests that everyone made, and he prayed that this would not be a one-time event, but that it would be the normal way the Renaissance praise team functioned from now on.
When they were finished, everyone took the stage. As Ted handed Cody his guitar, Cody looked at him and said, “Are you the only one on the praise team who’s not playing this weekend?”
“Yeah, but I have a feeling you and I will be sharing the stage more often than not after this week.” Ted assured him.
As they practiced, Lexi and Cody were amazing. The rest of the members were reminded of what it’s like when you first join a team - the excitement and the joy. In fact, Mark believed that the new song they were doing this week kind of described the direction they were heading. It was called ‘A Song of Joy’, and not only was it a fun song to play, but the spiritual truths it revealed about God’s love and how we should view our lives were really inspiring.
The vocalists had a great time singing together too. While Kat still held down the lead on most of the songs, Susan Levitz did a beautiful harmony, and Jennifer Mitchell and Margie Spencer fleshed out the other parts Mark had been looking for. Mark had actually recorded just their parts with the music and asked them to practice with his recordings earlier in the week. By the time Thursday practice rolled around, they were all pretty comfortable with their parts.
At the end of practice, Mark encouraged them all to continue practicing their parts heading into Sunday’s Christmas service. There was an odd feeling of camaraderie among the team members that night. Rather than being concerned with who was going to sing on any given song, they were concerned with getting their particular part right. Ted was kind of disappointed he was going to be on vacation Sunday, this year’s Christmas Service promised to be something special.
Fortuitously, Ted got a call from the airlines Friday afternoon. It seems that there was a winter storm raging at the airport and all flights had been either cancelled or postponed until they could get the runways cleared. When Ted asked about the next available flight to Florida, he was told it would be Sunday evening. Smiling, Ted told the airlines he would take it. When he told his wife and children, they were disconcerted at first. But after hearing how enthusiastic Ted was about the service Sunday morning, they resolved that this must be God’s will and looked forward to attending Renaissance. They could start their vacation a couple of days late.
On Sunday morning, everybody arrived early. Mark was so surprised that he checked his watch several times to make sure it was showing the correct time. He even asked a couple of the team members why they were early, and the only explanation they were able to provide was their excitement in anticipation of the service. God was really moving in Renaissance, and the praise team all felt it. They even had some time to chat in the cafe over coffee and doughnuts, a luxury rarely afforded the praise team on Sunday morning.
When they all took the stage and got ready to begin worship, Pastor Mark stepped up to the microphone and said, “The Bible tells us in Psalm 98:4 to ‘Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth; Break forth and sing for joy and sing praises’, and that’s what we want to do this morning. Join with us and sing A Song of Joy to the Lord…”
As the band played, and the vocalists sang, Mark could tell that the congregation was in a worshipful mood this morning. Some days they were not, especially during Christmas or Easter services where there were a lot of new people or visitors, but this morning the Spirit was definitely moving. He saw Susan reach over and take hold of Kat’s hand while they were singing. Then Kat took hold of Margie’s hand and Susan took hold of Jennifer’s hand. Not only did Kat’s voice soar, but the harmonies were like a choir of angels… it was hard for Mark to not just stop playing, raise his hands and praise God. This was what being a worship leader was all about.
When the praise band finished the worship portion of the service and left the stage to sit down with family, Mark noticed Ted Kinney a few seats down from him. He stopped for a moment and whispered, “Aren’t you supposed to be in Florida?”
“Flight postponed due to weather.” Ted whispered back.
“Oh, I’m sorry.” Mark said.
“I’m not,” Ted replied, “It’s been a while since I experienced a worship service like that. That was powerful.”
Mark smiled and returned to his seat. He listened to the sermon, but he wouldn’t remember much of it. He was on such a spiritual high from the worship that he couldn’t stop thinking about it. ‘A Song of Joy’ indeed. Even in the midst of pain and struggle and chaos, the members of his team were able to find joy. Mark wasn’t sure what would become of Justin and Brian, but Cody and Brad seemed to have rediscovered their joy and purpose. And what about the vocalists? Mark wasn’t sure if it was just the Christmas spirit or if this newfound friendship between Kat and the others would last, but right now it was inspiring. He silently thanked God as he looked over to where they were sitting.
Mark didn’t know what the future held for Renaissance, but he knew who held the future.
OUTTRO
(Renaissance Spring)
As April’s showers turned into May’s flowers, Mark couldn’t help but think of this as his favorite time of year. The days were getting longer, the weather was getting warmer, and the Easter service had brought even more new people to Renaissance than the Christmas service had. The joy that Mark had experienced at Christmas had indeed flowed over into the New Year, several times over.
Cody Lane and Kat Driggers were now dating, and seemed to be getting serious. Cody had bought a new guitar and amp, and was building his pedal board as he had time and money. Kat had stepped back a little from her responsibilities at the store to spend with her new beau and her new friends. It was good to see Kat getting along better with the other women at church, and she was even seen clothes shopping with Mary Lynn Dobson from time to time.
Ted Kinney and Cody Lane did indeed share the stage more often than not after Christmas. After he got back from vacation, Ted got together with Cody and they began working out which parts each was better suited to playing. Fortunately Cody was more of a lead player and Ted was more of a rhythm player, so there wasn’t a whole lot to work out. Now the two call or text each other a couple of times a week about the latest pedal or deals on a good used guitar. It has proven to be a beneficial spiritual relationship for both.
Rose Kinney has begun playing about once a month or so with the praise team. She plays the keyboard/synthesizer part while Mary Lynn plays piano. Rose is also scheduled to play a couple of weddings later this year, including Lexi and Darren’s. Both Mark and Mary Lynn believe that Rose is ready to become a full-time member of the praise team, and the additional in
strument would really add to the experience.
During the court case for Justin Stallard and Brian Williams, it came out that Justin was the one dealing the drugs, so he won’t be getting out of jail any time soon. Unfortunately he has renounced the church and wants nothing to do with Mary Lynn or anyone else involved with the jail ministry that has tried to visit him. His former band has long since hired another guitar player and moved on.
Brian Williams is a different story. The first few weeks of ‘drying out’ were really hard on him physically. Evidently no one had realized how much and how often Brian had been drinking, but his body had become so accustomed to having alcohol in it that he went through a pretty severe withdrawal period. He’s been sober for five months now, and is supposed to get out of jail next month. Mary Lynn had been talking with him through the jail ministry and convinced Erica to begin visiting him again. They seem to be working things out. Of course, it remains to be seen what will happen once Brian gets out, but for now there is reason for optimism.
Last Sunday was an open invitation baptism, and an older gentleman came down to be baptized. They said his name was Bill Mars, and he evidently knew Mary Lynn. He kept apologizing to her and asking for forgiveness. I think someone said they