TobyMac - City on Our Knees

CITY
ON OUR
KNEES

City on Our Kness
Copyright 2010 by Bethany House Publishers

Art direction by Paul Higdon.
Design by Lookout Design, Inc.

Manuscript prepared by Todd Hafer and Rick Killian.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwisewithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

Published by Bethany House Publishers
11400 Hampshire Avenue South
Bloomington, Minnesota 55438
www.bethanyhouse.com

Bethany House Publishers is a division of
Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

E-book edition created 2011

Unless otherwise identified, Scripture quotations are from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONALVERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations identified CEV are from the Contemporary English Version. Copyright American Bible Society 1995. Used by permission. Scripture quotations identified ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture marked GWT is taken from Gods Word. 1995 by Gods Word to the Nations. Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations identified KJV are from the King James Version of the Bible. Scripture quotations identified MSG are from The Message. Copyright 1993, 1994, 1995 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. Scripture quotations identified NCV are from The Holy Bible, New Century Version. Copyright 1987, 1988, 1991 by Word Publishing, Dallas, Texas 75039. Used by permission. Scripture quotations indentified NKJV are from the New King James Version of the Bible. Copyright 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations identified NLT are from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

ISBN 978-1-4412-1351-8

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

City is about a MOMENT

A moment that we all
come TOGETHER

And our DIFFERENCES FALL
by the wayside

And LOVE fills in the cracks

And we turn our attention
on what UNITES us.

Thats what I envisioned
when I wrote this song.

CITY IS ABOUT
A MOMENT,
AND THAT MOMENT
COULD BE NOW.

CONTENTS

CITY ON OUR KNEES:
DIVIDED WE STAND

Its all love tonight
When we step across the line
We can sail across the sea
To a city with one King
A city on our knees

WHEN YOU LOOK AROUND THE WORLD TODAY, the division is overwhelming. We are divided along so many lines. Rich/poor, black/white, liberal/conservative, male/femalethe list could go on and on. Sadly, within the church you will see the same thing. Baptism, spiritual gifts, and style of worship are just a few of the things we are divided over.

There are elements of society that seek to separate, divide, and demean people, and these forces are at work continually. You can see these forces during a divorce, through cyberbullying, or even in the national health care debate. The bottom line is we are divided. We live in such a self-focused society, continually encouraged to stand up for ourselves and look out for number one, when actually we need to think of others, see their perspective, and look out for those who may not be able to look out for themselves. Sometimes instead of trying to be understood, we need to try to understand.

Thats one reason that, throughout my career, God has continued to put certain songs on my heart. Songs like One World, Diverse City, Colored People, and Walls express my hope of seeing humanity putting aside differences and loving wellof seeing people realize that we are better together. We can accomplish so much more in life when we spend our time and energy working with one another, striving for a common good.

One of my secrets to staying sharpened spiritually is walking with inspiring people. People who are in hotter pursuit of holiness than I am. Its built-in accountability or peer pressure turned upside down. They make me want to love God and others more passionately.

I have been very fortunate to see great things happening where I live, in Franklin, Tennessee. God has been doing something very special here. One example is the church I attend, Strong Tower Bible Church (www.strongtowerbiblechurch.com). It is a multiracial church pastored by my close friend Chris Williamson, who has written the book One But Not the Same. The congregation is truly a Diverse City, and each week Pastor Chris leads us onward as we learn to walk together in oneness while celebrating our differences.

Then there is New Hope Academy (www.nhafranklin.org), another community in Franklin that you will hear more about later on. It brings together the poor and the affluent, realizing that both will remain impoverished and underprivileged unless they come together and tear down the walls that constrain us.

In Franklin we also have one of the answers to the national health crisis. Dr. Tim Henschel from Vanderbilt Childrens Hospital felt called to provide pediatric care to children who could not afford it, so he worked with the community to open Mercy Childrens Clinic (www.mercytn.org). Today it is a thriving clinic that has seen over 9,500 children.

Other examples include The Red Road (www.theredroad.org), a much needed ministry to Native Americans, and Hard Bargain Mount Hope Redevelopment (www.hardbargain.org), which builds, repairs, and restores homes for those who otherwise could not afford it.

I could go on, but I think you get the idea. In this day and age when it always seems like somebody is against somebody else, people can lay their differences down, come together, and search for the answers.

The answers dont always come easily, but one thing I do know is this: If we hope to find Truth, we will find it when we come together and fall on our knees.

This brings me to City on Our Knees. Of the dozens and dozens of songs Ive written over the years, this one is uniquely special to me. It says all I have wanted to say in a song in a passionate, artistic way. It sums up what my career, my life, have been about: People rising above their differences and coming together in Gods love. People letting down their guard and stepping across the lines that separate us. We become one people, worshiping one God. Its a vision of a dream moment for me. Ive been asked Why should we come together? In response I always describe a life of diversity in one wordrich. Life is fuller when we are together. When I have embraced people who grew up differently than I did, who dont look like me, or who dont have the same financial resources I have, my life has been enriched. Youll see this truth time and time again in the pages of this book.

Its no accident that one of the sections in this book is We Are Family. One line in City on Our Knees says, We are one choice from together / Were family. Im a husband and a father, and that word,