Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Leeland Concert (kind of)


So, a few months ago, my wife, Jennifer, asked me if I wanted to go to a concert: Casting Crowns. My response was what she expected: no. THEN she told me that Leeland was opening for them. That changed my answer to a big YES.

I first met Leeland Mooring at the 2007 reCreate Conference, in Franklin, TN. He was there with his brother, sister, and parents. I really didn't know much about him at all, but quickly recognized God's Spirit shining through him and his family. They left quite an impact, and I've been kind of following them since.

With the recent release of their new CD, Opposite Way, I was VERY excited about the concert, which I attended the week before last with my brother, Tyler and his wife, Cassey, and my friends Mark and Ilze Calahan. The concert was a bit of a let down, as Leeland did only 5 or 6 tunes before Casting Crowns took over, but it was still great to be there.

One of the songs from the "Opposite Way" CD that is sticking in my mind a bunch lately is called "Let it Out Now". What makes this song stick are phrases like:

"I'm not ashamed to call myself one of Yours, Lord"
"God's looking for a people with passion in their hearts"
"God says who you are, not...."
"Is there anybody different?"
"We're stuck in a system"

Long story short, go to Leeland's website and click on the "listening booth" icon on the right, if you've not listened to them before. If you hate them, blame me for the wasted 43 seconds of life (assuming you'll turn it off quickly).


"Let it Out Now"

It’s like you got to walk like him
Got to talk like her
Got to be like them
Everybody knows you follow the crowd
Or get singled out
But God says who you are
Not the world or movie stars
Don’t you know
He holds the answers in His hands?

We’re stuck in a system
Is there anybody different?
Is anybody listening?
Is anybody listening?

Everyone has their own sound
Let it out now, let it out now
There’s nothing wrong with living loud
Let it out now, let it out now

I’m drawing the line between
Being them or being me
I’m not ashamed
To call myself one of Yours, Lord

But it’s a narrow path
I’ve got to break from the pack
No turning back
No turning back

Yes, God’s looking for a people
With a passion in their hearts
We’re God’s children
We need to shine bright
We need to shine bright
Everyone has their own sound
Don’t you know all God’s children have their sound?

3 comments:

RLHanks said...

Okay, so what's up with the blatant Casting Crowns snub???

Ted Williams said...

Sorry if it came off that way...I like Casting Crowns fine. They have a few GREAT songs, for sure. What I was saying is that I wouldn't pay $30 per ticket to hear Casting Crowns (although they did a great job in concert). Also, I was a bit disappointed that they marketed Leeland as a part, and gave him very little at best. I'm a cry baby...I know....

RLHanks said...

Well since you put it that way (the whole $ and cry-baby aspects) I get it now.