EricNentrup.com

Last week, I had a couple of surprises pop up and both of them led me to the infamous Red Rocks Amphitheatre West of Denver.

The first outing came last Monday when my boss asked me if I wanted his tickets for the Sheryl Crow/John Mayer concert! YIKES! How COOL is that?!??! Kim and I had a great time, getting to see our first show at this amazing amphiteatre nestled between a pair of enormous natural rock formations, on a hill overlooking Denver metro. The “eye candy” was overwhelming. As was the pot. Man. People have a GOOD time at the Rocks! And Colorado’s liberal tendencies are flyin’ their freak flag in the amount of whacky tobbacky choked down. Kim and I swear we had 2nd hand pot hangovers the next morning!

We were INCREDIBLY grateful, as we really enjoyed the show.

Then my friend and co-worker Caleb Bislow approached me about a “ministry opportunity” later in the week. Usually, Caleb’s pretty quiet and reserved, but when it comes to speaking passionately about the Gospel of Jesus, the man is BLESSED. I have YET to see him take a platform and NOT speak with the utmost of sincerity and zeal in a way that leaves you with NO CHOICE other than to man up in your relationship with Jesus.

And I should’ve expected no differently when he explained what he meant by “ministry opportunity.”

He asked me if I would consider going with him to the ROB ZOMBIE / GODSMACK concert at Red Rocks later in the week! WHAT???!?!!! Yes. Rob Zombie and Godsmack, together at the Rocks. And he was going. AND he was asking me to go with him. TO BRING JESUS INTO A VERY DARK PLACE.

And of course I couldn’t say no.

Thursday, Caleb had tickets for the both of us as well as another coworker, Terrence Williams. The three of us arrived and prayed our guts out in the parking lot before heading into the gates. On the way to the entrance, I was offered a $10 hit of pot, and we saw folks already in various states of pre-show inebriation. And we had invited ourselves to their party to see if anybody there would be at a point of emptiness and readiness to accept God’s love.

Caleb even had visions of getting on stage during the intermission to preach to the crowd. I wish I can say that’s what happened and 8,000 people en masse confessed and repented, breaking out a revival that swept down the hills into the city. But that didn’t happen.

What did happen were a culmination of several serious one-on-one conversations with people all over the map demographically and theologically. I talked with a guy who claims he’s an atheist for nearly an hour. Caleb and Terrence EACH talked to a guy who confided he’s had HIV for 25 years and couldn’t figure out why God had kept him as healthy as he was. Terrence spoke truth into this guy’s life about the POSSIBILITY of God’s sustaining him in order to be a blessing to those around him who are also infected with the deadly disease. I doubt ANYONE has ever told him this. Terrence also talked with a pregnant girl who was CONVINCED the only out she had was abortion.

All this while some of the WILDEST things I’ve ever seen were happening in the crowd and ESPECIALLY on stage during Zombie’s act. CRAZY, sick, twisted, shock-and-awe kinds of things.

It wasn’t what we expected on so many measures. But it stirred within us and hopefully within those few we spent the evening with, a fire of life and purpose and the truth of God’s prevailing love for all of us no matter where we’re at.

I was IMPRESSED by Caleb’s willingness to DO SOMETHING about the burden God has placed on his heart for lost and hurting people. And I have to say — I was ENDLESSLY entertained by doing something so outside of my comfort zone and fraught with perceived (and I guess some REAL) danger.

I walked away knowing that God has MORE PROBABILITY to use me if I’m intentionally choosing to put myself out where He CAN use me. Jesus didn’t come to heal the well, but the sick. That’s the ENTIRE reason He CAME. Because we were sick, and needed a way towards whole health.

Hard telling what Caleb may ask me to do next time. He’s been known to go to Africa ALONE and travel from one Masai Tribal Village to the next with a translator, preaching the Gospel. And villages that have beaten other missionaries who’ve tried to manipulate them have let him in, and listened to what he’s had to say. And I kid you not — ENTIRE VILLAGES on their own volition have chosen to believe in Jesus after listening to Caleb talk.

It’s a BLESSING and an honor to be challenged by such a friend to put your feet where your faith is and walk.

I’m sitting at the Comfort Suites hotel on the northside of Marion, Indiana. Kim and I have been touring the midwest for the past 2 weeks, working on connecting with ministry partners, presenting to potential partners, and catching up with family and friends.

When Kim suggested we get a hotel for our evening in Marion, I knew I had married a genius! I knew well before that, but the notion of us intentionally pressing pause and having a place to stay tonight that gave us a bit of a haven from the “road life” we’ve been living the past two weeks was just TOO tempting to pass up.

It’s been an interesting trip. As usual, expectations don’t match up with reality. And it’s not a disappointment at all, it’s just to say that what we’ve pre-visualized for this fund-raising trip and what it’s turned out to be haven’t lined up. We’ve been PLEASANTLY surprised in a few instances, in fact.

There’s just something amazing about how God has called us to this faith journey in working with Kingdom Building Ministries, and how Kim and I go about sharing that sense of calling with others.

I feel STRONGLY about the potential that KBM has to help the church, help summer camps, help others REALIZE FULLY the weight of God’s love upon them. And it’s just not difficult for me to be enthusiastic about that with the folks we meet with. I’ve SEEN the value in this small band of dedicated individuals at KBM’s home office AND in those itinerant speakers in the field. And I understand how even MORE people stand to gain MORE OF HIM–not more of us, as long as we keep on keepin’ on.

Dave Ward and Johnny V (two KBM itinerants) came back from a camp in Georgia in July and brought back some amazing stories about the decisions kids AND adults who were working at the camp made in their desires to follow Jesus more closely.

If you’re interested in getting a taste of what that was like, I’ve put some footage together in a video you can download. It’s a LARGE file (23mb) but a high quality clip, and it REALLY captures what CAN happen at an event we send a speaker to:

KBM Video

You may need QuickTime to see it if you don’t have it installed. (http://www.quicktime.com)

And I should probably tell you about the website we’re launching for our latest book, “Plan A”

You can check it out at:

Plan A Connection

Thank you for your prayers, and if I may ask — PLEASE keep praying that God will show us the right people to talk to about partnering with us financially as we desire to move our support level from the current 60% to the full 100%.

Peace & Blessings…Eric