Shaun Groves

Blank Stage Tour

Emmaus Bible College

Dubuque , IA

Friday, October 15 th , 2004

After a dreary and cloudy day, I was looking forward to a nice evening of music from Shaun Groves at Emmaus Bible College in Dubuque , Iowa . As the night began, Shaun toyed with the soundman during an impromptu sound check that occurred mid-stream through the first song, and as the night went on he continued to playfully joke around with the largely college audience.

Groves' first two CD's on Rocketown Records are what I would call pop-rock or radio-rock, but on the “Blank Stage Tour” it's just Shaun, the guitar, or the piano. I really found a new appreciation for his songs as he shared the stories behind them. He also played a few new songs from an upcoming release that is centered on the Beatitudes. These songs were so fresh that he had to use the sheet music to play them. It was as if he was working them out right there in front of you.

In between songs, Groves would interject either a story from his life, or a Biblical lesson. He did this with great ease, and with an amazing amount of wisdom. When he's not on the road touring he uses these same talents as he co-leads a weekly Bible study with college students. As the night closed, Shaun got to the point of his intentions when he bluntly stated that he was on the road touring for one main purpose, and that was to talk to the youth. He gave a mini-sermon on Isaiah, and he put forth a challenge to rethink how we interpret Worship; and that it's not just a genre of music, but a lifestyle of service.

The entire evening turned out to be very sunny after all, and as I drove home, I wrestled with my feelings for “Christian” music. Is it just music, or can I be drawn into genuine worship through it? It was great to enjoy the music and take in the stories, but what I took away from it from a Biblical perspective was worth a whole lot more.