There's No Place Like Home

Right now I’m privileged to be on a tour around the USA with a great band called Casting Crowns. Their songs have made a massive impact in so many lives – ‘Who am I’, ‘Praise You in this storm’, ‘Voice of truth’ and ‘East to West’ are simply outstanding messages of truth for the saints to listen to, and sing along with. It’s a little different for me to travel around with a band who aren’t a straight-down-the-line congregational worship team – but their heart for worship, and for evangelism, has always impressed me and I was so glad to be invited along to help shape these evenings as worship gatherings.

What has impacted me more than anything else is the way these guys shape their diaries around some things that matter most. For one thing, they take their families with them whenever they can while they travel. But they also endeavour to stay extremely plugged in at their local church each week – and in fact, most of them are on staff as youth pastors at church to this day, even though they could so easily be a full-time band and nothing else. In a nation where they could quite happily travel from city to city for weeks on end, these guys make complicated and often costly plans to shape their lives around serving in their local church body. They’ll travel many hundreds of miles home on less than ideal amounts of sleep to make sure they’re back in their own community and church family to fellowship and minister. I’ve heard their albums and seen them at big gatherings for many years – and have witnessed them to be one of the most known and sought after Christian bands of the last decade. So to get behind the scenes and find a big heart pumping away passionately for local church has been really inspiring.

I’ve met some young worship leaders recently who seemed to have a slightly different viewpoint when it came to local church. In the worst case scenario, it’s almost as if local church is the starting point for them, and somewhere to get some momentum going for their ministry until they go on to something ‘bigger’ and ‘better’. But local church should never be viewed as a stepping-stone to something else –it should be seen as our home, the place we treasure most. It’s not a short-term necessity to kick-start something grander – rather it’s the thing we’re committed to for the long haul.

Ultimately, it’s all about loving people. Travelling from town to town, leading worship can involve loving and shepherding people, for sure. But it’s a totally different dynamic to the commitment that’s required to stick around somewhere week after week, and love people through thick and think, seasons of joy and seasons of pain. I’m not judging anyone, and at the end of the day I too need to search my heart on matters like this. But hanging out with the Casting Crowns guys has been a healthy reminder that ultimately there’s no place quite like home, nor should there be.

Matt is married to Beth and they have four children; Maisey, Noah, Rocco and Jackson. Based in Atlanta they are part of a team starting 'Passion City Church' with pastors Louie and Shelley Giglio. Matt's songs include 'Heart of Worship,' 'Blessed be Your Name,' 'Never let go' and 'Dancing Generation.' His new album 'We shall not be shaken' is now available. For more information visit www.mattredman.com.