We had church.

The “It’s Time” Tour made a stop in Birmingham on May 25.

Natalie Grant.

Tasha Cobbs Leonard.

Tamela Mann.

Katie Torwalt.

Naomi Raine.

Powerful voices singing an even more powerful message. From the get go, the ladies told the entire crowd that they had battled through some intense Spiritual warfare just to be there that night. No details were provided…..yet.

What I can tell you is that as my daughter and I were walking towards the concert hall, the crowd headed that way looked like potpourri. Tall. Short. Bald heads. Gray heads. Braids. Buns. Wedges. Tennis shoes. Great grandmothers being escorted in on walkers. (This is where my crying started. Their resolve to worship Jesus spoke so loudly without saying a word.) A 10-year old sitting next to me. Every shade of skin color. It was beautiful.

As the music began, every hindrance amongst the crowd was dropped. We clapped. We raised hands. We laid on hands and prayed. We cried. We expressed gratitude. We. Had. Church.

When Natalie Grant took the stage for her solo portion, she shared that she wondered why there was SO MUCH opposition to the Tour happening in Birmingham that night. She shared that she had done a bit of research about Birmingham and that it made sense……because the crowd did not reflect the racial bondage that continues to hold Birmingham (and most of Alabama, to be honest) captive today. She talked about how beautiful the sea of people was…..reflective of THE Body of Christ….THE Church. It was one of those moments that it felt like a mass hug was in order. The Holy Spirit was in the room.

Thank you, Natalie, Naomi, Tamela, Tasha and Katie for fighting through pain, pneumonia and other afflictions to sing Hope over our city. Thank you for not backing down and for fighting against what we can’t see so that we got to “see” what we did see!

May 25 was an Altar of Remembrance night. We. Had. Church.