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 august 19, 1997
Notes from the Road i hate going this long without writing. it’s been well over a month. i always have such scattered thoughts whenever i take wait this long to get them down. way too much ground to cover. enough complaining. it’s been really relaxing actually being in houston for a few days in a row. normally we’re here and gone so fast that i can’t really enjoy the 104 degree weather and the 150% humidity... i’ve determined that it’s definitely not the weather that i like about houston, but the people and the places; the familiarity, i suppose. as much time as we spend in really beautiful parts of the country, i’m astounded that i still live in houston. God may be keeping me broke in order to keep me from leaving town... well, summer is winding down for most of you i’m sure, but the good news is that that means that we’ll probably be seeing each other soon-if you’re in college, that is. the summer was busy around here, and really good actually, but i just couldn’t get used to playing these Christian festivals-i think we did all of ‘em (well, not ALL of ‘em...). although we did actually see some college folks at the shows, for the most part it was junior highers and high schoolers. that’s cool and all, but it’s just not what we’re used to. i’m SO looking forward to getting back onto some college campuses this year and seeing some of you guys. we just played a concert for a pretty good size group of college folks in new mexico, and i told them to form a line next to the product table after the show so that i could hug every one of them, just because it was so good to see them. it was actually really cool, because most of them ended up holding me to it which i’m sure i needed. seriously, i think it’s going to be a great year. we’re as excited about getting back on the road (one way or another) than we’ve ever been. God has really used this little bit of time off to rejuvenate us and remind us-the hard way-why it was we got into this in the first place; to disciple, and to be discipled by our peers. for some reason i’ve been reading like there’s no tomorrow lately. i’m actually endorsing a book by a Christian psychologist friend of ours in town, dr. don rauniker, about the pitfalls of modern dating and biblical courtship and marriage. totally radical stuff. it should be out sometime in january, but i’ll be sure and let you know more about it as the time approaches. in fact, i believe that i’ll be helping do some promotional work for the release of the book. i’m pretty nervous as my endorsement will be side by side with endorsements from elizabeth elliot, robert magee, and a few other folks who i can’t remember but am equally intimidated by. i was totally honored that don even cared to call me. needless to say, i’m pretty excited about the whole thing. sometime later i’ll write a whole journal on what the book is about, and all that i’ve learned from don on the before mentioned subjects. we were making a 30-hour drive from houston to monterey, california a few weeks ago (along with a flight from california to ohio to play and then back to colorado. in case you’re wondering how our stuff got from california to colorado while we were in ohio, it’s thanks to the driving prowess of one josh connelly, who is currently attending texas a&m university. if you are a student there as well, make it a point to find josh, and then to sing any song from ‘willy wonka & the chocolate factory’ that you can think of. then say, "that was from derek webb, who loves you.") just before leaving for that trip, my email account got turned off accidentally by america online. i was talking to micah (ottosen, our faithful and compassionate road manager) about it, and he told me to remind him when we got home and he would reactivate the account for me. the more i thought about that email account, and how much importance that i placed on email, and how much time i spent doing it, and how much it totally stressed me out, i wondered what would be the worst that would happen if i didn’t have micah turn it back on for me. the more time that i thought about that the more i realized that i honestly couldn’t come up with one good reason to turn it back on. now, for those of you who know me, you know that the thought of me without email is like thinking of a train without tracks or a guitar without any strings. no email. what a truly radical thought! i decided that there were too many things in my life that i was neglecting, and too many areas of habitual sin that i was dealing with. i realized that i had become totally complacent in my sins, and my habits. it was time to get radical. the more i thought about it, the more sense it made. i am very honestly a slave to my tv. that may sound funny, but i mean it very seriously. i can’t be in my house without turning it on. my parents have the total package cable (cinemax, showtime 1&2, hbo 1,2,&3, etc.), and it was becoming harder and harder to avoid watching certain things. i was too often putting myself in vulnerable situations, and too often failing in my struggles. i just decided that i was sick of it. we are called to be set apart. when we are justified in Christ, we aren’t just made ‘good enough’; we don’t get into heaven ‘just by the skin of our teeth.’ we are justified in Christ and made righteous. the picture isn’t of a ‘sinner, just saved by grace.’ it’s of saint; of one that is made righteous, but being ‘saved man’ and not yet ‘glorified man’ still has the ability to sin, and will until death struggle with sin. my life and purity, be it in mind or in deed, wasn’t reflecting that of a righteous man. i realized that the only solution for a creature of habit was going to have to be a radical one. the main point is this: why the heck not? why not be totally radical? if you have a problem with obsessing about email, why not just nuke all your email accounts? if you have a problem with watching too much tv, why not literally unplug your tv and carry it out on your front lawn? why not be radical? i think that we’re called to be radical people. if we truly believe that God is sovereign, and that Jesus is who he said that he is, then why not literally sell all of your belongings to follow him? why not get radical? and what’s more, why-in a million years-do we stress so much about little stupid things, if God is more than capable of meeting our every need, and is totally sovereign. two facts: 1. God is totally sovereign (i.e. there is NOTHING that can fall outside of his governing), and 2. God loves us. ultimately, everything works out for his glory. in light of that radical news, why would i not come home and nuke my email accounts and give away my tv (for starters...)? so basically, that’s just what i did. God has added such a new joy and peace to my life since i’ve gotten some of this mental and physical junk out of his way. i thank God that he is so sovereign. now, for those of you wondering how you’re going to get a hold of me now that my email is gone, i have an answer. i thought about this quite a bit, and didn’t want this to jeopardize my communication with y’all in any way, so this is what i decided. write me at home. it’s as simple as that. i’m committing to write everyone who writes, and have recently bought about $50 worth of postcards and stamps and whatnot. write down my address:
derek webb obviously i won’t be getting mail while i’m on the road, but i should be home a lot so i’ll be able to get it every few days. i would post my stinking phone number, but i’m just never home... i want everyone to understand that i haven’t gotten rid of email because i wanted to close myself off; quite the contrary, i want to talk more personally with the people who really need to talk. if you’re just wanting to say hi or have a simple question than please leave it on our new and improved (at least i think...) message board, which i check about twice a day, and i’ll write you there. this way we’re all communicating better. i really appreciate you understanding all this. well, i should probably get to sleep. i’m going into the studio tomorrow here in houston to record some songs for the new ‘caedmon’s guild cd vol. 1. there’s going to be some pretty rare stuff on that cd, including random radio interviews with live songs, random bootleg stuff, really old stuff, and songs that you might hear about every so often but have never really heard (i.e. somewhere north of here, and others...). i’m so excited about the ‘guild.’ we’re basically going to get a mail list of the folks who are really into what we’re doing-and hopefully understand us pretty well-and just bombard them with randomness. i’m going to be doing a newsletter entitled ‘thirsty plants,’ which will include everything from more extensive journals and news about the band that won’t be in public mailings, to movie and book reviews and political commentary. i might even through in an occasional recipe. there are many, many more benefits to being part of ‘caedmon’s guild.’ you might check out the info that’s available on this web page by going back to the main page and clicking on the link entitled "join caedmon’s guild." if you have questions, you can email our illustrious and tireless manager, kirby. thanks so much again for reading. i challenge you to prayerfully consider areas in which you need to get radical. let’s stop sitting complacent on these sins in our lives-let’s get up and do something about it. please pray for me as i try to keep my commitments. i find myself walking by store windows and staring at the tv’s there for 15 to 20 minutes at a time... let’s all pray for each other as we attempt to tie up our loose summer’s ends. grace of God and peace of Christ to you- derek |
