LifeOverFlow - First Baptist Church Student Ministry

J.C. Wert on Steve Fee 08/25/2010

"This is not the blog I planned to be writing today" - by J.C. Wert

I had planned to write about the struggles on trying to write fiction again and a method I'm using to try and break the block. That changed with a single tweet to ablog posting about a worship leader who admitted adultery. A quick Google search confirmed it and led me to another site where a friend of Steve Fee basically said the man has lost everything. He's in counseling and he & wife are trying to work it out. I'll be praying for them. I hope that manyPeople of the Second Chance come beside them to help restore them.

Unfortunately, I'm not optimistic. Based on my experience and that of so many others I know, I'm betting that Steve's already been written off as a "dirty sinner" by a lot of Christians. I've seen a lot of comments on the internet that lead me to say:

I can't prove it but I'd be willing to bet many of the churches that used his songs on Sunday mornings have pulled them.

I can't prove it but I'd be willing to bet many of the people who bought concert tickets, CDs or T-shirts are feeling like they were betrayed because Steve wasn't perfect and committed a "major" sin.

I can't prove it but I'd be willing to bet many people think all Steve Fee did during his time as a worship leader and with his band Fee are invalid because he was having an affair.

All of those things fall into what I call a giant crock of crap.

When my addiction came to light and I received the Holy Toss Out The Door™ from the Christian community I had a moment with one of the few people who was actually being a Christian during the situation. He had attended an event I worked a few weeks prior and he just looked at me.

"What I don't understand," he said, "is how you could make a prayer like you did at the event if this was happening to you. You sounded like you were pouring yourself out to God. How could you do that and still be doing what you did?"

The reason that prayer sounded so powerful is BECAUSE of what I had been struggling with in my life. I wanted to be free. I didn't want that addiction hanging on me, sucking my life away, causing me to run away from God. It was a giant, gaping wound that no one knew about and I felt I couldn't talk to anyone about because I would be condemned, attacked and scorned. (And I hate that my fears were quite correct about what would happen when my sinful decisions came to light.)

My prayer that night...and every other time I spoke about God...was as sincere as every other person who prays to the Lord.

My being human doesn't invalidate God's truth and lessen desire to really connect with Him.

I can't say that every single leader in a Christian ministry that's slipped up has been feeling that desperation to connect to God. Some could have entirely been focused on worldly things. I just know that because someone slipped in a way that's considered too horrible when compared to others that it doesn't automatically invalidiate the ministry they have done.

I know there are people who have sinned in ways that make gossipmongers salivate that were screaming out inside for God to help them, heal them, change them, save them...while at the same time honestly wanting others to experience the freedom, joy and grace they themselves felt was out of their reach.

I've never met Steve Fee. I've never listened to one of his albums. In fact, the only time I've heard his songs is when worship teams I've heard play them on Sunday morning. I know I've seen those songs reach people and drawn them closer to God. I don't need to know Steve and I don't need to hear his confession and I don't need to see how he's repenting to know that his work reached people for Jesus Christ.

I know beyond any doubt that right now Steve Fee could play Glory To God Forever in front of a stadium full of 80,000 people and God will be glorified, people will connect to the Lord and man will be standing there leading people to Christ with a new appreciation for the fact we have a God who gives second chances.

I just hope God's people will give him that second chance.

Their past track record doesn't leave me too hopeful.

I really want to be wrong on that.

That's what's sparking my mourning for Steve Fee today. I'm mourning the pain caused to him, his wife and those connected with him. I'm mourning the people who are going to use Steve's mistake as an excuse to run away from God. I'm mourning the pain I know is coming down the line toward him in ways he can't see right now. I'm mourning the unforgiveness I know will force him to keep facing a sin that God's forgiven over and over because somehow we think he needs to get our forgiveness rather than God's.

And I'm mourning the fact that my first thought of God's people is that they're going to condemn and throw Steve away...and that there's way too much evidence that makes it a valid concern.

http://www.jcwert.com/jcwert/post/2010/08/19/Im-mourning-for-Steve-Fee-today.aspx

New Site......Why? 07/02/2010

2 Comment(s)

The old site was great and actually had a lot more to offer as well as was more flexible. Now with that being said - let me give you the scoop for the new site. Weebly.com offers free hosting and the ability to make quick changes. In the student ministry, changes to schedules and content changes frequently. Weebly.com gives me the opportunity to make those changes anywhere in the world with access to the web. Being a graphic design novice I can't create the awesome layouts I use too..... However, I can make changes quickly. There you go..... Time was the issue and now weebly.com has helped me out with that. In Christ, Anthony.

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