A new anthem?

On A Corner In Memphis

Saturday on Beale St. with the drunk and the searching
I hear an old man playing guitar
I can’t make out what he’s saying
But I can tell you that he’s suffered
And that he means every word from the bottom
Of what’s left of his heart… tonight

A few hours later, I slip into church
Singing songs about saving grace
One guy’s nodding off and another hates to be here
And we all mouth the words to save face
It’s 11:15 on Sunday morning
And I wish I was

On a corner in Memphis listening to the old man
Singing out his sorrows and laying down his pride
He’s telling me his story or at least his side
With no need to pretend and nowhere to hide

‘Cause we are all broken here
We’re are all ashamed
I couldn’t fool you if I wanted to
Our stories are too much the same

And what about this Jesus?
They say He drank with the poor and the blind and the lame
Do you think He’d like the songs that we sing?
Or would He feel the same as I do?
What if Sunday School was on Saturday night?

What if their heart-breaking cries of pain
Are the first hymns of tomorrow’s saints?

On a corner in Memphis, we’re singing with the old man
Crying for his sorrows and laying down our pride
He’s telling us our story, or at least his side
With no need to pretend and nowhere to hide

On a corner in Memphis
We’re singing out our sorrows
He’s telling us his story
With no need to pretend and nowhere to hide
On a corner in Memphis

Written by Todd Agnew
©2007 Ardent/Koala Music (ASCAP). All Rights Reserved.

Update

Just wanted to get my retreat impressions out there, as it were...

I felt like the women's retreat this year went really, really well! We worked on it, praying and planning and tweaking and refining for nearly a year. Our theme was Overflow, and I asked our speakers to prepare 20 - 30 minutes on that theme, and that was pretty much the only direction I gave them. And we stepped back and watched God bring it all together - so amazing!! Somehow, even over all the miles between everyone, He made everything nearly seamless! I had so many comments on how well everything came together, and how Spirit-filled the weekend was. I think the highlight for me was the prayer walk. I had so much positive feedback on that. One sister in particular said that even if we did nothing else for the entire weekend, the prayer walk was more than enough for her, and that Jesus met her in a very real way. I'm anxious to hear what others who attended the weekend thought of the retreat!

Now, on to the rest of the year...!