Rescue Mission Work

September 3rd, 2005


We went to help with the rescue mission ministry in Newark again on Tuesday. It's a unique ministry for rescue mission work, because it appears that most of the men present are already saved. Well, when we got in the vehicle to leave, it turned out that only Pastor, our deacon, and myself were going to represent our church. We handle pretty much the whole service, aside from the preaching. So Pastor asked the deacon if he'd give a testimony after we sung a few songs, and the deacon agreed. Then he asked me to come up from the piano and say a few words after we'd sung a few songs. Then he asked me to sing. Problem being, that there's no good mic down by the piano, and last time I tried to sing while accompanying myself on that big, open grand, no one heard a word I sang over the piano. So he asked me to sing a capella. Nothing quite like standing up in front of that gang (probably upwards of a hundred) of rough looking characters, and starting in to sing a capella. I hadn't brought any music with me, since I hadn't at all expected to sing, so I was working from memory. I drew a complete blank except for one song, of which I could remember the name, chorus, and first line. Ironically, the song was "Lord, I Need You." So I went up there, and line by line, it came to me as I sang the previous one. When I finished the chorus, I couldn't for the life of me remember the first line of the second verse, so I stopped. Might have been the shortest special those guys ever got. Of course, as soon as I sat back down at the piano, I could remember the whole thing, and probably any other song I wanted to. I think it was of the Lord -- He wanted someone to receive precisely the message of the first verse of that song. The men seemed to approve, but whether it was because it was good, or because it was short, I don't know. And probably don't want to know. Whew. Who said this stage fright stuff goes away with time?