Leeland

Hear the inspiration behind the song "Follow You." More "Behind The Song" videos coming soon!

In February we sat down for lunch with Brandon Heath and started dreaming about touring together one day. We said, what if we put together a tour that's less about the artist, and more about the God we worship. We wanted to break down the whole hierarchy of "opening bands" and "headliners". And most of all we wanted the world to be impacted by these nights of worship. We wanted to inspire action that's birthed from an experience with God.

A couple months later we found ourselves in Japan, Cambodia, and Bangladesh (Brandon joing us for the first two) and God truly spoke to us while we were abroad. For me it was an unexpected lesson. I learned that poverty is complex, but the God we serve is truly omniscient and all-powerful. He knows the solution even when we don't. He is more than capable of healing broken lives, cities, & nations. Here's the amazing thing though... He's wanting US to play a vital role in this process.

I'm God's child, but so is the poor kid in Cambodia, as well as their mom & dad, and so is the investment banker in Manhattan. God's love is for EVERYONE, and as followers of Christ we CAN show this love in very tangible ways. Just try it.

This tour is about following God into the hard places, whether it be Cambodia or Cleveland... London or Little Rock. People are hurting, and they need the healer. His name is Jesus. 

We're four shows into this tour and God has already done great things. We're expecting more, and we would like to ask two things of you:

1) Would you pray for us? That we would keep our hearts aflame for God. That we would speak with boldness on behalf of the forgotten. For safety as we bus across America, and for our families while we're away.

2) Would you commit to falling more and more in love with Jesus? If we're not doing this first, everything else is for naught. Let simple intimacy with God overflow into your actions so that justice, love & righteousness can be known in the world. 

Please come to a show and partner with our ministry and we'll see God's kingdom come!

Much love.

-jack

Yesterday, we played at a show in Chino, CA. During the day we had some free time. We played soccer in the amazing California weather, and ate some chiken fajitas for lunch. We were having a perfectly comfortable and normal day before it was ruined in a beautiful way. The whole band sat in front of my computer, completely captivated and heart broken.

A few years ago I heard about a little film that changed the lives of my friends that watched it. It's about three college guys that went to Africa with no real plan... they just wanted to DO something, and document the stuggles of the Sudanese. On their trip they made an unexpected discovery. For over twenty years a war has raged in northern Uganda. You might say, "What's the big deal? Africa's full of wars, right?" It most certainly IS a big deal, and this war is unique in it's tradgedy.

A rebel army called the "Lord's Resistance Army" has been fighting the government of Uganda for years. They're about as far from the "Lord" as anything can be. They're lead by a ruthless maniac by the name of Joseph Kony. They've been responsible for the death of thousands of innocent lives, including women and children. What makes this war different from all of the other conflicts in Africa?

Over half of the LRA's soldiers are boys between the ages of 10-18. These innocent children are kidnapped from villages at night, and they're forced to watch violents acts. Then they themselves, are forced to murder. Kony indocrinates them and exploits them for his twisted means. These kids are just like any other child in the world.... they have hopes and dreams but their lives have been stolen away by forces of darkness. And there's thousands of children that live in fear for their lives, knowing THEY could be the next abduction.

You might think, "This is something that happenned a few years ago, right? Surley it must be over by now!" Well... unfortunaltely it's not. As you read this, there are children in Uganda & the Congo being kidnapped and forced to kill. Just last Christmas (Dec 25, 2008) the LRA massacared hundreds of people and abducted 160 children! That was THIS Christmas! How can we let this happen? Raise your voice, and let's show the world that these Invisible Children have faces.

What can you do? Well, go watch THIS short film online, and listen to their plan for action. Come on Leeland bloggers... let's DO something!

PS. If you're already familiar with this story... what have you done to respond?