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Communication through the man in Serbia who first told us about the festival had been challenging in the run up to the event, but once we arrived in Croatia things went very smoothly. My friend said again and again how impressed he was with the organization and how far Macedonia has to go to be able to pull off events like this. And that is coming from someone who sings in the Macedonian Opera for a living!

After the dress rehearsal that afternoon, we tooled around the town for a couple of hours. This town was severely damaged during the war between Croatia and Serbia when Yugoslavia broke apart in 1990. Beginning in August of 1991 the city came under siege by the Yugoslavian army. Despite being vastly outnumbered and completely surrounded, the Croatians defended the city for almost a hundred days until finally capitulating. It was a sobering reminder of the many wars that have been fought in the Balkans and how Christ remains the only hope for reconciliation and healing.

There were probably 500 people in attendance that night for the festival. Surprisingly, the event was recorded for TV broadcast in June. So all of Croatia as well as other countries in the Balkans will get to hear my friend’s song! We are praying that many would be touched by the message of the song: to come boldly before God believing that He can cleanse us from our past and make us right with Him.

My buddy was one of 20 performers, and although I’m slightly biased as his friend and producer, I think his song was definitely among the top three. However, the festival was not competitive in nature, so no winner was pronounced. It was fun to see the front row of priests clapping and getting into his song! The guys commented several times that such a festival would not be possible in the Macedonian Orthodox Church, since instruments are not even allowed in the building.

On our journey home, our conversations in the car were really encouraging. We read and discussed most of the book of Philippians and also did a songwriting workshop. My friend really seized the moment and spoke into the lives of the younger men. My hope is that our group of four will continue to meet and that younger guys will be encouraged and equipped to lead worship well in their churches.]]> Tue, 25 May 2010 09:00:00 EDT