In Eckleburg's Eyes - 10/1/2008, Part 2

I spent Tuesday night with my parents at the Compassion Coalition Fund Raising Banquet. The event was held at Calhoun’s on the River. I have had the pleasure of working with the Compassion Coalition on many occasions and my parents and I were invited to the event by MLM.

The Compassion Coalition is a nondenominational group that attempts to unite churches and nonprofit organizations to respond to the needs of the community. It was founded in 2000 by Andy Rittenhouse (JAR). JAR now serves as Minister of Domestic Missions & Evangelism at the First Baptist Church of Concord while Grant Standefur (GLS) is filling JAR’s previous role of executive director.

From what I understand the fundraiser was typical of such events. There was assigned seating. We were crammed into the restaurants’s upper level banquet hall into a space that would have made sardines uncomfortable. My parents and I sat at Table 11 with Bob (BIP) and Sarah Poston (SAP), the Ulmer family (CMU and his parents JMU and MMU), the musical trio of “Two or More” (and one of the members’ baby Abel) who were performing on this night, and of course, MLM. (Note: This picture is of CMU and his beautiful mother, MMU.)

The group used the Chris Tomlin’s song “God of This City” as its theme, sung by both the musical act and accompanying a video. The night’s theme verse was John 17:18:

“As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.” (John 17:18, NASB)

Bob Bell from the Christian radio station WRJZ served as Master of Ceremonies. The speakers were GLS and Randy Nichols, who has served as Knox County Attorney General since August 18, 1992.

As noted the music was provided by the local group, 2 Or More. (The group also has a MySpace that can be accessed here.) The trio is comprised of Sarah Mentzer (SEBM), Brandee Vandergirff (BCFG), and Rebekah Wade (RW). SEBM and RW are sisters whose father served as music minister at Broadway Baptist Church in Maryville for 29 years. They were really good. The trio sang at the White House on December 16, 2006. They had given their second performance at Carnegie Hall earlier in the same day. The group’s name comes from the King James Verison of Matthew 18:20:

For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. (Matthew 18:20, KJV)

The organization has a $350,000 annual budget and hoped to raise $100,000 on this night. No word on the results at this time. Though I loathe events such as these, I strongly support this organization.

It is also worth noting that the third edition of the group’s Salt and Light Guidebook has been released. If you would like to serve in the Knoxville area, this is an invaluable resource. It takes its name from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount:

“You are the salt of the earth...You are the light of the world.” (Matthew 5:13-14, NASB)

After the event, I visited KLTW, KJW and RAW. KJW was in a snuggly mood with me after having been apparently a typical two-year old earlier in the night. (I don't believe it.) We flipped between watching the White Sox’s 1-0 victory in a one game playoff over Twins and an episode of House, MD. Has anyone else noticed the USA Network has played that show almost continuously of late?

Finally, Tuesday marked ALK’s birthday. I will take you out soon to celebrate “47"!