And Just Imagine, It Used To Be A Strip Club.

Already interested?  I like to get the mind racing with scandalous thoughts about what Jennybunny is up to. 

Since Phil Wickham was not able to “Grace” us (haha) with his presence in Michigan during his current tour with David Crowder; I looked on his calendar for a show that was a little closer to my home state and was near some friends…in Indiana.  Basically, there wasn’t much thought that went into the voyage of this trip, just the thought of going to a coffee house and hearing Phil in his element, with his guitar, his voice, and the Holy Spirit guiding us through the evening.  When I say there wasn’t much thought that went into the trip, I mean that the voyage to the destination was 4 hours and 37 minutes of driving time….alone.  No worries, I downloaded an audiobook by Kyra Davis called Obsession, Deceit, and Really Dark Chocolate — funny murder mystery.  While my entire drive was about 11 hours total, the book lasted just until I got into Chelsea, Michigan territory.  Awesome.

May I definitely suggest Google maps for your travelling needs.  I did not have one single problem getting to my destination utilizing their site.  Either that, or I can follow directions fairly well.

Arriving at Sacred Grounds Coffee Shop, I was of course not knowing what to expect.  I opened the large old fashioned door to a decent sized front parlor and the smell of coffee and pastries invaded my nostrils.  The place was BUSY.  Two acts were performing that night: Abandon (a really awesome group out of Texas), and Phil Wickham.  Their merch tables were in full view of the front door and on the left was the bustling and busy coffee shop counter.  As I walked in, a large staircase was to my left and to my right I could see the stage.  The area was kind of strange, at least not the way that I imagined it.  There was another area to the coffee house that housed concerts.  Three openings lead you into a room that had two sides on either side of the stage with a row chairs against a wall that directly faced the stage.  What I saw on stage was not uncommon.  Four guitars and two hot pink post-its marked “PHIL”.  I chuckled to myself as I picked a seat near one of the walk through areas directly facing the middle of the stage.

It was 7:32 p.m.  I had arrived early.  Not bad, but I just don’t anyone here and I am stuck scribbling furiously in my journal as I check my phone and leave a message for a friend I haven’t heard from in a bit.  I watched people.  All kinds of people; all ages, shapes, and sizes.

7:45 p.m.  A tall man walked toward me.  I thought he had asked “you do know these seats are reserved?”  I replied, “No, I did not know.”  He rephrased to ask if the seats were reserved, and when I told him no, he and his wife sat down to the left of me.  The husband’s name was Mark and his wife Jenaffer and I started talking immediately about the history of the area and the coffee house.  She said that the coffee house was previously a strip club by the name of “Danzers”….yeah, I thought it was pretty corny, too.  She said that the neighborhood as a whole was a poorer neighborhood and that they had had previous crime issues happen in the area some years ago, but for the most part, they as a church and coffee house have tried to remain salt and light to families and students in the area.  Jenaffer is a Sunday School teacher for the church and mentioned that the current church does not have a permanent place to call its own, but it has been blessed by the kindness of others for places to worship.  Jenaffer was originally from Crawfordsville, Indiana, lived in Los Angeles for 10 years and moved back recently.  She said that the people of Lafayette always viewed their city as big, Jenaffer said it’s big enough for her and she likes the pace.  Also — Jeremy Camp’s father is the pastor here.  Just thought I would throw that one in.  I got to meet him briefly; nice funny fella.  Also, Jeremy Camp’s brother-in-law and sister run the coffee house.  Great ministry they have; I hope and pray it continues!

I won’t give a full review of Abandon, however, their hearts are pure and they have really great hair.  No, you don’t understand, each of the band members’ hair was a freakin’ work of art.  Not only that, they were all pretty.  Not only that, they all had a heart for God, were singing every single lyric the lead singer was, and really truly wanted to be there.  Nice boys.  Check them out. Set List:  Invincible, You and Me, Who You Are, Hold On.

P-Dub, Philly Steak n’ Cheese, Philly Wick, Phil Wickham:  I would have to say that this was easily my favorite Phil concert.  I mean, it is my third one this year, and my final one THIS year, I promise.   Phil was in rare form tonight as he was so excited that he could worship the Lord with believers for more than 30 minutes.  Touring with David and The Myriad only gives him so much time.  Phil started out so sweet with “After Your Heart”.  If this were the 50’s, I would have been in bobby socks fainting at that moment; it’s getting that bad which is why I am fasting from P-Dub shows for the rest of the year.  Phil had just come from Chicago performing at the House of Blues and said it was an amazing night seeing people worshipping the Lord.  He pretty much sang songs from his new album, “Cannons” and sang the title track mixing in Agnus Dei for a really great moment of hearing everyone sing “…I’m so unworthy, but still you love me.  Forever my heart will sing of how great You are.”  He sang my favorite of his “Mystery” and then he did something quite unexpected.  Apparently his road manager, Brody, really loves a song that Phil has done before, but Phil believes the version he has heard was so perfect that nothing could top it.  He played “Hallelujah” the way that Jeff Buckley did over 10 years ago.  It was so haunting, so rich and full.  Each note played on his guitar and each note he hit with his voice was so beautiful.  I had to record it for a friend who said that the first time he heard Phil, he knew that it would be amazing to hear him sing that rendition of the song. 

The next song required an introduction.  Actually, he went into full detail as to why he wrote the song.  As a kid, he read The Chronicles of Narnia and his favorite book from the series was ‘The Voyage of the Dawn Treader’.  His favorite character in the story was the mouse, Reepicheep.  He had everyone visualizing this naked mouse with a sword in hand, saying with a british accent, ‘onward!’  He had the crowd rollin’, actually.  The song he was referring to was Sailing on a Ship; one of my favorites from his new album and, well, as usual it was effortless for him. I guess all in all, I would have to say that you will never ever be disappointed in attending a P-Dub show.  I know I am never disappointed going to hear him worship.

Well, last thing?  The set list of course:

After Your Heart
Desire
Cannons
Mystery
Hallelujah
Sailing on a Ship
Messiah
True Love
Jesus, Lord of Heaven
Always Forever
Divine Romance
How Great is our God
Oh Come Let Us Adore Him