I am playing percussion/road managing for the Andrew Peterson “Behold the Lamb of God” (BTLOG) Christmas tour, which, if you aren’t already aware, is the telling of the birth of Christ in song… and its great.  Andrew wrote the cantata about nine years ago out of a realization/frustration with how traditional Christmas songs have sort of lost their meaning and too many times miss the meaning of Christmas altogether.  It is safe to say that the tour is becoming a tradition among Andrew’s friends and peers.  Every year there are special guests and each year the story of Christ is told not only in song but also in community.  The response is overwhelming as is the story.  What a concept, no Santa Clause, no Rudolf and the only “jingle” bells present are the ones that I shake along with an assortment of bells, shells, and goat’s nails.  (I didn’t intend for that to rhyme, but it did and I like it)  There are twelve of us out on the tour and we have all known each other for years, so we are having a blast.  Bebo Norman, Andy Osenga, Jill Phillips, and Andy Gullahorn  take turns singing on different songs while the band, made up of myself, Garett Buell, Gabe Scott, Ben Shive, Cason Cooley, and David Henry provide instrumentation galore.

What I love is that the story being told is bigger than all of us telling it, yet we play a part in the story.  Andrew is doing what he was created to do as a songwriter, or storyteller… telling the greatest story there is.  Most of us have been involved with BTLOG in some capacity for years. The songs don’t change and the instrumentation doesn’t change much either, yet I am moved every time I see it and/or perform in it.  What a testimony to this great story, or as Andrew calls it,  “The true tall tale of the coming of the Christ.”  As a believer, I am amazed at how this story never gets old.  I always need to hear it, and when I do I am hungry for it.

Now, don’t you love to share food?  I would say that all of us as believers connect with the story being told, but it doesn’t stop there.  We are also connected with each other.  Second to the story, the community represented here is what we savor.  We are all involved with our own careers and most of us don’t see each other that often throughout the year, so, on one level we get to catch up with what’s going on with our friends.  On another level that often goes unspoken, we are united by this story in community and friendship that feeds our souls.  It is a sacrifice for all of us to be away from our families, especially at this time of year, but somehow that is part of the story too.  As I understand the story more, I realize that my family extends far beyond the ones that I live with.

If you get a chance to catch the show this year you won’t be disappointed, but more importantly, this Christmas season remind yourself of Christ’s Story.  Taste of His goodness, savor it and share it.  This is the one food of which we cannot eat too much.