Jesus Loves Perpetual Groove

The picture below is from December 30th, 2010, at a Courtyard Marriott in Atlanta, Georgia. I met four of the seven not-me people in it the night it was taken. The other three I met back in May, at Amberland.

The whole reason - in fact the only reason - that I know any of these people is because we all like Perpetual Groove. PGroove played a two-night New Year's Eve run at the Variety Playhouse, in the Little Five Points area of Atlanta, and that was how I rang in 2011 - listening to my favorite touring band doing what they do best. (What they do best, by the way, is "be awesome.")

Originally, my sister was going to come with me to both shows, but things happened. No big. Then, I was planning on meeting two very good friends for the NYE show, but work came up. No big. At one point, when Mom realized that I was going to be driving down to Atlanta (6 hours) and going to two concerts by myself, she said, "Oh, that's sad!"

I quickly replied, "No... It's fine. Don't worry. I'll be alright."

And those people in that picture are just a part of the reason why.

Do I wish my sister had been there? Definitely. Do I wish my friends had been able to come up? You bet. But even in being "by myself," I was never alone.

I'm fairly new to Perpetual Groove. They've been around since 1999-ish, but the first time I ever heard them - heard of them, really - was September of 2008. In the year and some change since then, I've seen something that really just completely blows my mind. The crowd that follows PGroove is something completely unbelievable, and it's almost impossible to explain, but I'll give it a shot anyway...

Imagine a group of people who love you unconditionally.

They accept you, completely, for who you are.

There is no judgment.

There is no exclusion.

There is no jealousy.

There is no elitism.

There's just love. Love, love, love. My goodness, the love. There is some real love with these people. Sacrificial, open, warm, compassionate love.

And it's based on what? Liking the same band?

Wow.

Jon - the not-me big guy on the left of the picture there - refused to let me pay for my own tab at the bar we stopped in before the show on the 31st. I met Jon on the 30th. Rick - the tall guy behind me on the right - refused to let me chip in for the cab fare on our way back to the hotel. I met Rick back at Amberland, and I've seen him three times since, counting New Year's.

And yeah, it's just a few bucks... But what about all the free food and drinks that both guys have thrown at me already in the short time that I've known them? What about the completely free, no-strings-attached ride Rick gave me from Nashville to Chattanooga back in July? What about the sincere, heartfelt, open support and encouragement for the prospect of my job with the church in Oregon?

That last one, by the way, is not at all limited to Jon and Rick or anybody else in the picture, but extends out to everybody else I've encountered in the PGroove circuit. There's even a few folks who've started referring to me as "preacher man," which suits me just fine.

Now, I am not going to go so far as to say that every single person I've met in the PGroove family is a regular Sunday morning attendee at the local congregation of their choice. For a lot of them, I know that's actually not the case, like... on purpose. There are, believe it or not, people in the world of jam band followings who don't necessarily believe in the Biblical definition of God, much less Jesus as Christ.

And yeah, I'd love to talk to them about that. I'd love to show them what I see. I'd love to give them a kernel of the Truth that I've found to be so amazingly powerful in my life and see if they don't find it to be just as amazing for them. I firmly believe they would. I firmly believe that an active, sincere, deep relationship with God, through Christ, would change their lives for the better.

But at the same time... I believe that their lives are already pretty good, because whether they follow Christ or not, they've managed to figure out one gigantic thing that the rest of the world is a little behind on: Love everybody.

Something else that happened to me while I was in Atlanta... I got to talking to Debbie. I love Debbie, and Debbie loves me. We met in the first wee hours of 2011 and talked about Jesus.

Debbie is a sweet, wonderful, kind, compassionate, caring, amazing woman. But she ain't too cool with Jesus. Why? More importantly, how?

According to Debbie, Jesus is just another reason for people to divide themselves, and that's not OK.

And you know what? She's actually right. Well, about the divisions part. Not about Jesus Himself (sorry, Debbie - but you know I love you).

In Debbie's view of Christianity, she sees nothing but the infighting, the self-righteousness, the arrogant judgmental attitudes, the hatred of sin and sinner...

It's bad, you know.

So I'd like to start the year off with a challenge to all the Christians reading this: Let's do it right.

If a group of people who only know each other because they - again - like the same band can get together in a community of completely open, heartfelt, genuine, sincere, unconditional love... Why can't the children of God do the same thing?

Why can't we show the world what Love really means?

Aren't we the ones who are supposed to be instantly recognized by our Love for each other?

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

- John 13:34-35

(I think that's a yes.)

Folks, I am not saying that there aren't churches in the world today that get it right, because there certainly are. I am fortunate enough to attend a very loving congregation in Nashville - West End Church of Christ, feel free to come with us sometime - and the Madras congregation is so openly loving that it's easier to think that they are literally a blood family than "just a church family." There are folks out there who do it right.

But man, there are a lot of folks out there who do it wrong, too. There are a lot of folks out there whose actions do not at all point towards the reality of the singular, unifying, transcendent and immanent, all-encompassing Love of God for all of His creation.

And then there's Perpetual Groove.

There's some crazy people in the PGroove family. But they're loved anyway. And they're loving anyway. And they're lovable anyway.

I'm not gonna lie... I want to have a lot more conversations with a lot more of the PGroove crowd about Jesus. I want to talk to folks about Christianity. I'm a preacher. It's what I do. There's no point in hiding it. Yes, I want to help people come to see Christianity as a better way of life.

But at the same time... Man, I sure do want to help a whole lot of Christianity come to see "loving everyone you come in contact with" as a better way of life, too.

As Christians, should we be trying to make "the World" happy? By no means!

But if "the World" is calling us out - and Debbie is not at all the only person saying this - for not loving others, for being a force for division instead of unity, for quite frankly bringing shame to the name of Christ by warping His message of Loving God and Loving others... Then yeah, I think we've got a little bit of work to do.

If it's been with love, things that you've done

Then you did all you could do...

If it's been with love, things that you've done

It can save you...

- Perpetual Groove (who else?), "Andromeda"