The acoustic thing was over, and a different guy was taking the stage. He looked like a surfer, and couldn’t have been over thirty. “I’m Greg Baylor, one of the pastors,” he said. The name rang a bell; I wondered if this guy was the pastor for the service Grace went to on Sunday nights. “If you’re ever looking for a place to hang out on Sunday nights, I’d encourage you to check out our service—” I was right. At this some cheering erupted toward the middle of the crowd; the rest of the audience laughed, and Greg pointed and waved. “Ah, some of my fellow Sunday nighters making their presence known,” he explained. “Anyway, I’ve been asked to come up and talk a little bit before we finish up, but I know you all came to hear this great music, and not me. And so, for that reason, I’m going to make you a promise. I am only going to talk for ten minutes, and then the fantastic musicians will come back up here and close out the concert. And since I’m only going to talk for ten minutes, I would like to ask you to listen—really listen—to what I have to say, and think about how, if at all, if might affect you.

“So, that being said, let me tell you why we”—at this he waved his hand to indicate the people who had been on stage, and the people in the audience—“are here this afternoon.” And for the next nine minutes and thirty-four seconds—I timed him—he outlined what this whole Christianity thing was about.

I was riveted.

GRACE

“GRACE, YOU LOOK positively green. Are you all right?”

I stopped pacing. “A friend is here at the concert. He’s not a Christian.”

Rochelle, the alto who stood to my right onstage, reached out to squeeze my hand. “That’s wonderful! You should have told us; we could have prayed for him before the service.”

“Who’s this?” asked William, one of the cellists.

“Grace has a friend here who isn’t a believer.”

“Hey, that’s great, we oughtta pray for him.”

Word spread, and suddenly seventeen musicians and singers were bowed in prayer. This sense of camaraderie warmed my heart, and I momentarily lost my anxiety.