An MTV Generation

There is no way I can possibly come close to describing our trip to New York in September of 2001 with the same eloquence that Mom did, so I won’t even try.

What I can tell you is how it affected me.

Being in New York at that time and then transitioning back to reality was a moment in my life when I felt genuine purpose.  I knew that God had made me to be right there, right then.

I was in my first semester of college, and I knew I had a gift, but I had no idea what to do with it.  At that moment, on that trip, I knew how to use my gift.

At the same time as the politics of a terrorist attack on U.S soil were raging, there was a new band making it big, and they had a new hit single.  I knew I loved them because they were Christians making it in the secular realm.  The band was Lifehouse, and I was drawn to them because they didn’t compromise who they were simply to get air time on MTV.

Our pastor was doing a conference called The Father Loves You.  And we went to NYC as part of the ministry team.  But it was my first time there, so we had to do touristy things too.  We walked through Times Square, right past the TRL studio.  There were American flags EVERYWHERE.

It was like the only thing that really mattered was that we were all Americans, and we were all in this together.

So I did the only thing I knew to do.  I prayed, and I filmed.  I shot everything I could.  I even got a couple shots of the wreckage that was the Twin Towers . . . then the marines threatened to confiscate my camera, so I put it away.

When I got home, I had to find a way to put it all together.  To capture the essence of the trip and the spirit that I’d felt while there.

Yes, it was a trip with a Christian emphasis, but it was also an American moment.

So I made a music video, because I was raised on MTV.  I’m part of the MTV generation.

But it was that moment when I was able to combine all parts of myself to create this one thing.

This video is very close to my heart for all those reasons, I hope you enjoy it.