Luke’s Notebook

Back in September of 1999, the four oldest guys (that’s Paul, John, Mark, and myself) drove south to meet up with a couple of our aunts who had rented a condo in Destin, Florida, and had invited us to join them for the weekend.

That trip was extremely memorable, for a number of reasons.  For one, it was the first time any of the Arndt guys had visited the ocean (technically the Gulf).  It was also my first time in Florida.

One really sweet memory I have from that trip is, very simply, the purchase of a CD.  I believe I was given a little bit of money to spend while down there, and we stopped by a Christian book store.  For some reason — and I really couldn’t tell you why — I found this CD and wanted to buy it.

I can’t even remember what reason, if any, I had to buy the “Better Is One Day” CD.  I don’t think I had heard of Passion before, and I’m pretty sure that was my first time seeing that CD.   Something just drew me to it.  It could have been as simple or nondramatic as the attractive cover art and the neat “P.”  I really don’t remember why I picked it up in the first place.

Well, that was my introduction to Passion music.  Since then, I have come to learn about the Passion conferences, how they are gatherings geared towards college kids in order to have them fall more in love with Jesus.

I fell in love with that album.  I listened to it over and over.  Back then, our music library was pretty sparse, so this CD got a lot of playing time.   Even though it didn’t have a tremendous amount of competition at the time, it was by far my favorite CD.  It just had some beautiful songs on it, such as “Knowing You,” “You Are My King,” “To Speak Your Name,” “Better Is One Day,” “The Heart Of Worship,” and “Agnus Dei.”

As the years went on, and as I could afford it, I would buy the newer Passion offerings — “Our Love Is Loud,” “Sacred Revolution,” “The Road To OneDay,” “OneDay Live,” “How Great Is Our God,” “Everything Glorious,” “God Of This City,” and even their “Hymns” project.

If you were to ask me to pick a favorite out of those albums, I don’t think I could do it.  I love “Better Is One Day” not only for the songs I listed but because it was my first Passion CD, my introduction to their music.  But each new CD would come with a fresh batch of worship songs that I would quickly love and come to know by heart.  Each album has its own flavor, but there are just beautiful, passionate songs found in all the recordings.

I think what hooked me on the Passion CDs is that I didn’t feel like I was listening to a performance, but was instead joining the worship of God.  And that really can be kind of rare.  There are a lot of great songs out there, and a lot of great performers, but this is the type of thing that shouldn’t be performed.  It’s not a “Hey, look at us” type of approach.  It’s people who passionately love God and who want to glorify Him singing, and there just happens to be a microphone present.  I mean, obviously they recorded this intentionally and there is production value, but my point is that the feeling I get when listening to most of these songs is one that makes me think of God and how awesome He is, rather than how talented the performer is.

I’m sure part of the reason I rave so much about Passion is sentimental.  I was 14 when I bought the first CD, and their music has been around during some major parts of my life.  But I think there is something special about the albums.  I don’t want to romanticize it too much or try to overspiritualize it.  I’ll just say that these albums have played a key role in me growing in Jesus, in cultivating a heart of worship.

They kind of work as a great tenderizer, so to speak, to keep me from getting too hardened or stale by ordinary, everyday life.  They work as almost a fail-safe method to get me back to Square One — to fall in love with Jesus, realizing who I am and who He is; marveling over God’s incredible — just incredible — love for me, despite my sin; and trying to comprehend His majesty.

It’s stuff that blows my mind, to think of how great He is.  And then to learn that He loves me — and even likes me!  I pray I never lose this passion!