July 10, 1997

(Continued from 08/12/10)  Having lunch with Lisa Kraus Spires today, so it will be a very good day!  Hope you have one too!

The Geoff Moore & the Distance tour bus arrived at the Tupperware Convention Center around 8 AM on the morning of the show after driving all night.  At Geoff's request, I had arranged for he and a few others to play golf that day.  Jill Painter and friends shuttled them off to the golf course while myself and some others remained at the arena to make sure things went smoothly with the set-up.  There was a tremendous amount of equipment to integrate with the sound system already in place at the TCC, but the band's crew and the TCC union guys were all pros, and we just sat and watched.  In the meantime, the bus driver came to me with an issue.  The main lock on the bus door was broken, and he wanted to know if there was any place nearby to get it fixed.  I made a few calls and found a place in Kissimmee, but that only solved part of the problem.   They had no money.  I had this image in my head of famous, wealthy touring musicians, basking in the good life, when in fact these guys were pretty much broke.  We worked out an arrangement to get the lock fixed, and they were very grateful.  I suddenly did not feel nearly as bad about how much we had paid them to come play for us.

When the guys returned from playing golf, it was time for a sound check.  The place was going to rock; there was no doubt about it!  The TCC crew commented to me that this was the most professional band they had ever worked with, including the Willie Nelson's of the world.  Then it was time to feed the band (and ourselves).  I had asked Geoff if he had any requests, and he had suggested meatloaf.  I went to Boston Market and got meatloaf and lots of sides, and we had a feast.  The band loved it, thanking us for providing them with some variety on the road.

Show time arrived, and my prayers for a miracle had seemingly gone unanswered.  A crowd of about 500 ( we needed at least 1000 to break even) showed up to hear one of the best concerts I have ever attended.  If the band was disappointed in the size of the crowd, they never let on, and it did not effect their performance.  They rocked the house for two solid hours before closing with a moving time of commitment.  Even though I stood in the back of the TCC feeling depressed, I could tell everyone was enjoying themselves.  I especially remember that GMD played two new songs from an upcoming album- Only A Fool and Free.   Both were awesome.  After the show, the band hung around and sold hats and t-shirts and signed autographs until the last youth had left the building.  Our students were thrilled.  It had been an amazing night.

So why did I feel so crappy?  Despite the high energy success of the night, I knew we had lost a lot of money (about $7000) and did not have the huge impact on the community we set out to achieve.  I felt like a failure.  But God was not done with that night just yet.  As I was preparing to leave, a man from FUMC-K came up to me and put his arm around me.  He knew I was down, but he wanted to tell me something.  He said that during Geoff's time of worship and response that night that his wife, who had never given her life to Christ before, went forward.  His exact words to me were "Carl, the whole thing was worth it- if just for that one soul."  Kent King had just put the night into perspective- God's perspective.  Over the next few days I heard from others with similar experiences.  One of our Youth Counselors, Darin Miller, donated a large sum of money we didn't even know he had to help cover the losses.  I had prayed for miracles, and even though I had lacked faith, those miracles were popping up all over the place!  God had taken what seemed to me like a massive failure and turned it into an event that changed lives.  "To God be the glory, great things He has done..."

A few months later I was at at Long's Christian Bookstore in Orlando looking to purchase the new GMD album called Threads.  I was looking at some books when I felt a hand on my shoulder.  I turned around and was very surprised to see Geoff Moore.  He was there to autograph CDs.  We hugged and shot the breeze for a minute, and then he (rather sheepishly) asked me if I was still working at the same church.  After the small crowd, he had been worried about me.   I told him it was all good, and he gave me a copy of Threads- autographed.  I still treasure it as reminder that for all of those years, and for that one night in particular, I was doing the job "that only a fool would do..."

Because of Jesus,