Phil's Blog

Thanks, Phil, for doing such a superb job while I've been gone.

Yesterday we drove north to Garden City on the outskirts of Los Angeles and visited the Crystal Cathedral. It's pretty amazing. We took a brief tour, and our guide was so enthusiastic about everything we saw. The sanctuary itself is beautiful and seems to absorb the sunlight. It seats 2800 people. Every seat and every window have the name of a donor on them. There's a huge pipe organ in the front and an even larger one in the back balcony. While we were there the organist was practicing “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross.“

If you've been paying attention to the news, you know that Dr. Robert Schuller has just retired and his son Dr. Robert Anthony Schuller will assume charge of the ministry. The grandson, Robbie Schuller, is just about to graduate from divinity school and he holds services each Sunday for the youth in the arboretum.

One of the things I most enjoyed was the beauty of the grounds, which are meticulously cared for. There are beautiful larger-than-life statues everywhere you look- Moses the Lawgiver, The Smiling Jesus, Job, Jesus Intervening for the Woman Taken in Adultery, Jesus Blessing the Loaves and Fishes, The Holy Family Returning from Egypt. That last one was incredibly detailed with Mary and a little boy Jesus on a donkey and Joseph leading it. Joseph has a look of surprise on his face, and when you look closer you see that the donkey is biting his robe. The material used for Jesus in this statue is shiny enough so that when you look into the face, you see yourself reflected back.

Two of my favorite statues were of Jesus with children. In one, Jesus plays with a group of children in biblical dress and some little lambs on low steps. Our guide told us the statue was created on the little steps so that children who come to the church can climb and play on it. I love that the art was created for people to interact with, not just look at from a distance. In the other, Jesus plays with children in present-day dress  jeans, tennis shoes, a smiley-face t-shirt.

We finished our visit to the Crystal Cathedral with a stop at their bookstore. I discovered the new Avalon CD there. Well obviously I had to buy it! There are songs on it by so many of my friends, so what a kick to snap it up right away. Congratulations to Joel, Twila, Tony, Chad, Ronnie, Ian, Barry and I sure hope I'm not missing any other WAJ clinicians who have cuts on the project.

We went right from the Crystal Cathedral just down Interstate 5 about 30 minutes to another famous church- Saddleback. We had learned that there was a Bible study at 7 p.m., and so we showed up early, Bibles in hand.

The Saddleback campus is equally impressive in a different way. Lot of huge buildings which almost seem like a shopping mall rather than a church. Once we got inside, were were given a warm greeting by a lady and her husband who were putting table cloths on the tables and setting out signs that indicated where different small groups would sit. As the people began to arrive, about 500 of them, many brought snacks for the people they'd be sitting with. We sat at a table marked “Whatever,“ close to the front.

Rev. Tom Halladay taught the study called “Foundations,“ and it was terrific- an hour that just zipped by while he talked about why and how to read and study the Bible. In the middle of the study, Tom's son, just home from seminary, helped out by teaching a section. He was just great- funny, self-effacing, soft-spoken, knowledgeable.

When the evening was over, we stopped by to say hello to Rev. Tom, and I suddenly hear our friend Ed, who can't let an opportunity to brag on me pass by, saying, -“ won a Dove Award“... “Everything To Me... Avalon“... The next thing I know, Rev. Tom says to me, “You're kidding. Let me give you a hug!“

It turns out that his daughter who just graduated from high school last year, absolutely loved “Everything To Me.“ Every morning as she drove her little brother to school, they would listen to the song together. So when Rev. Tom made her graduation video, he used the song at the end of the video under all kinds of pictures of her growing up.

He grabbed me by the hand and said, “Come over here and meet Ryan.“

Christian songwriters just don't have experiences like this very often. You become used to most people not knowing anything you've written or anyone you've written it for. So it was such a treat to meet Rev. Tom's wife and younger son Ryan. The two of them immediately grabbed their cell phones to try to call the daughter, who is now away at college, and when they couldn't get her, Ryan left a message.

One of the very sweetest moments for me was when Tom said, “I used pictures of her when she was little at the beginning where the song says 'I grew up in Sunday school?' Well YOU know what it says, YOU wrote it.“

It was just a God-orchestrated experience. Just something God did to encourage me and give me a little boost. He's just like that with His children. He loves us, delights in us, plans fun surprises that He knows will make us happy.

The Saddleback Bible study will not meet next week. They are having a worship night' an evening of music and sharing the Lord's Supper. I said to John, Ed, and Janet, “Can we make it back here for that?“ Wish I could. That would be a lot of fun.